Chapter 1
Accident
So, I'm new to fanfiction, and this is my first fic. Please don't judge me too harshly! Hope u like and please review.
- Reade
Briar was taking a risk.
Sure, she was known in high school for taking multiple risks. 90% of them were dangerous and reckless and the rest 10% was mostly in class work.
Yet still, none of those risks had ever lead her to ruining her relationship with Hopper Croakington.
Here was her husband, sitting opposite a fairly lovely pink-haired girl with pigtails and dark skin, wearing circular glasses. Ginger Breadhouse was a very pretty girl. And she used to have a huge crush on Hopper since they went to high school.
"Hey, sweetie, I'm just going to Ashlynn's, I'll be right back," Briar said.
Hopper didn't answer, as he was too busy staring at Ginger, who was smiling back. Briar was taking the risk to leave the two. Alone. Together.
"Sorry, what was that?"
"I'm going to Ashlynn's," Briar repeated, as Hopper and Ginger turned to her. She forced a strained smile and nodded curtly at Ginger, who had already resumed her focus on Hopper.
"Bye," Hopper said dismissively. Clutching her black tote, Briar hurried out of the mansion, making sure to slam the door behind her.
She leapt into her hot pink covertible and rested her head on the steering wheel. "I hate him," she muttered. Which was true in a weird way. She hated Hopper so much that she loved him.
Taking a deep breath, Briar started up her car and drove away, making sure to turn the radio as loud as possible, like she was trying to drown out those thoughts in her head. It was extremely hard to concentrate when Blank Space and her thoughts were overlapping.
I've got a blank space baby…
Get back to your house now…
and I'll write your…
Hopper might be cheating on…
boys only want love when it's…
what the flip could Ginger and Hopper be doing now…
Briar was relieved when Ashlynn and Hunter's modest teal bungalow came into sight. She parked near their cosy home and quickly jumped out of the convertible, making her way towards the front door.
Briar knocked on the door. She heard a scurry of footsteps, a crash and a yell, and then the use of the most colourful words she had ever heard. Hunter, a handsome young man wearing a green t-shirt and khaki shorts, appeared at the door.
"Sorry, Bri," he apologised. "Come in, Ashlynn's in the living room. She's been waiting for you."
"Hopefully not for long," Briar half-joked, and hurried down the hall into the quaint living room of their's. Sitting on the pastel coloured couch was Ashlynn, her strawberry blonde hair in a loose bun, wearing a teal dressng gown that was stretched over her rather sizeable stomach.
"Oh my gosh, she's getting so big!" Briar squealed, plopping down next to a content Ashlynn. "Any names yet?"
"I was thinking Blossom or Harmony…" Ashlynn said, stroking her stomach proudly. Briar smiled. "Ooh, that's cute!" She paused. "Speaking of cute…"
She fished around in her tote and pulled out a coral-coloured bird plush. "For your little Blossom or Harmony," she stated.
"Oh Briar, you didn't have to…" Ashlynn said.
"Pish posh, I'm your BFF since primary school," Briar replied cheerily. "Besides, I've got more!" She pulled out a cream-coloured blanket and a rose-shaped rattle. "Ta-da!" she exclaimed.
Ashlynn took the gifts gratefully. "Thank you," she said sincerely.
"Hey Briar, wanna see the new room we set up for the baby?" Hunter called, poking his head through the door.
"Go ahead," Ashlynn said, gesturing down the hall. Briar followed Hunter into a small room. Her reaction was immediate the second she set eyes on the place.
"Oh my gosh, this is so amazing!" Briar cried.
The walls were light blue, natural light pouring in the wide, whitewood-framed windows. Pastel paper butterflies were stuck on the mint-coloured walls in varying colours. A small whitewood cot, matching the window, with a coral pink mattress, sat in a corner, with a willowy white dreamcatcher dangling above it, the long feather grazing the bedframe as it swung in the breeze. The cream carpet was just about the softest thing Briar had ever felt. A minature desk and deskchair was seated by the window, painted coral to match the mattress. A toybox sat invitingly next to it. Several backless stools were scattered around, and bookshelves lined the wall.
Briar was just inspecting the dreamcatcher when suddenly, a loud, familiar-sounding scream shattered the comfortable silence. She and her host immediately turned and ran for the door.
"ASHLYNN!" Briar and Hunter shouted simultaneously, and rushed to the living room, where Ashlynn was clutching her stomach and screaming for dear life.
"MY WATER BROKE!" Ashlynn managed. Hunter immediately scooped her up in his arms and made a run for the door. Briar followed suit. They all hurried into Hunter's Jeep, and as soon as all the seatbelts were on, Hunter slammed on the pedal and away they drove. All three were visibly shaken, their heartbeats amplifying. It was all happening so fast…
Briar hugged Ashlynn protectively as her friend groaned in pain.
"Does it hurt a lot?" Briar asked gently.
Ashlynn nodded. "It's a good hurt," she added quietly. "I'm making a baby." She smiled a bit weakly, and then cried out.
"The hospital's only a few streets away," Hunter reassured, although he was as worried as Ashlynn is. "How are you coping, Ash?"
"I'm good," Ashlynn managed, her voice strained.
Briar hugged her tighter, and Ashlynn leaned into her. The huge building, White Rabbit Hospital, had come into view.
"We'll take her straight to the ER," Hunter instructed.
"Sure," replied Briar, and gazed at Ashlynn worriedly.
Ashlynn cried out again, and Hunter looked back with concern. Tears of worry were starting to line his hazel eyes. Almost immediately, Briar's head snapped up and she screamed. "GUYS!"
Hunter's eyes swerved forward and he cried out in fear. A huge black BMW crashed into the Jeep. Hunter braced himself, squeezing his eyes shut as the car swerved off course. The metallic crash of a street sign meeting with the car door made Ashlynn scream. Briar wrapped her arms around her and the two gripped each other. The car skidded across the road. The passengers swung around as the Jeep spun in crazed circles.
Ashlynn started to cry. The vehicle's wheels caught on a pole. The entire Jeep swivelled around and crashed into the grassy field. Ashlynn screamed louder than she ever had before, and the last thing Briar heard was the sirens before everything went black.
—
"Jeep…crash…pregnant…"
"Hurt…maybe…injured?"
"Might…sad…late…"
Briar blinked. She was in a room. A very white room. She could hear the beeping of heart monitors, the scurrying of flat doctor's shoes on linoleum, and she knew she was in the hospital.
"Heh-loh?" she croaked. She cleared her throat and tried again.
"Hello?"
That was better.
Immediately, two nurses scurried over.
"Am I…hurt?" Briar asked, and experimentally moved around a little.
"No, don't!" one of the nurses cried. "You bruised your neck and broke your arm, stay still."
"That was fun," Briar replied cheerily, as she didn't feel much pain. Suddenly she gasped loudly. "Wait, where's Ashlynn?"
"She's in the ER," the other nurse explained. "Is she the pregnant girl?"
"No, Ashlynn's the man…yes, she's the pregnant one!"
Briar glanced around the room and spotted a figure crouched by the open door. "Hey, Maddie!" she shouted.
Her cheery friend ran in, her colourful curls bouncing on her shoulders. "Briar!" she shouted. "Flibbety gibbers, are you okay?"
Madeline embraced Briar very tightly. "Can I sit up?" Briar asked, as she felt uncomfortable.
"No, don't!" the blonde nurse warned.
"Nonsense!" Maddie declared, and helped Briar prop herself up. She pulled in a plastic white chair and sat down, still grasping Briar's hand.
"Now what happened?"
"Ashlynn was pregnant…" Briar began, and had to stop because she started crying. Maddie looked very sorrowful indeed, and hugged Briar again and again, but the tears kept coming.
"Is she hurt very badly?" Maddie asked the nurses.
"Well, she just bruised her neck and…"
"Ashlynn."
"Oh…well, it seems like she might be in a coma."
At this, Briar started crying again, and Maddie threw both of her boots at each of the nurses until they left.
"Not very helpful, are they?" she frowned, and sat down again.
"I'm worried. What about Hunter?" Briar asked.
"Oh, I saw him, he's a little bruised and he has a few cuts and a sprained ankle but he's okay," Maddie babbled.
"I'm guessing he's pacing in front of the ER right now?" Briar guessed.
"Yep," Maddie replied.
Briar looked around the empty white room. "Where's Hopper? Is he here?" she asked, suddenly feeling dread.
"Oh, they said that he said that he was too busy to come, and I was the next on your contact list," Madeline explained. "Is he at work?"
"He's at home with Ginger," Briar replied.
"Ah. Well, I just came from work, you see," Maddie said.
Suddenly, Briar felt very touched. "You're the best, Mads," she said.
"Yes," Madeline stated proudly. "Yes, yes I am."
—
Ashlynn could feel and hear things, but she couldn't move or see. She had been unconscious for a long time. As weird as it sounded, Ashlynn felt that she was empty and flat.
She must have given birth.
Ashlynn's brain immediately went berserk. Where was Harmony? She wanted to hear the laugh of her baby and hold her in her arms.
"Ashlynn," a voice spoke. Hunter's voice. She'd recongise it anywhere.
"Ashlynn, please wake up," Hunter said, his voice choked up. "Please Ashlynn, I need you. We all need you."
She felt him grasp her hand.
"It's okay, Hunter."
Briar's voice.
"Keep holding on, Ash," she said gently. "She's always been a strong girl, Hunter. It's okay."
"It's all my fault," Hunter sobbed. "I wasn't watching the road."
"Shut UP, Hunter, clearly it was my fault for distracting you."
No, it was MY fault! Ashlynn wanted to say. I should've gone to hospital when I first felt the bad pains. Don't blame yourselves…
"Does she know yet?" Briar asked.
Silence.
"I haven't told her," Hunter replied, still rather teary.
Told me what? Ashlynn thought.
"Toe may wuh?" she asked.
"ASHLYNN!" Briar and Hunter shouted simultaneously. Ashlynn groggily opened one eye, then the other. Both of her two favourite people in the world hugged her. They were probably crying. It was all very wet.
"Oh my gosh, you scared us, Ash," Briar said.
"Sorry…" Ashlynn tried.
"It's not your fault, it was mine," Hunter replied.
"Oh, for the second time, it was MINE!" Briar argued.
"The fault is mine," Ashlynn interrupted.
Then they hugged her again, and Hunter kissed her over and over.
"Where's Harmony?" Ashlynn asked. "Where's my daughter?"
She felt so empty without her baby inside her stomach. "Where's my baby girl? I want to see her."
Hunter and Briar were silent. They exchanged sad glances. Ashlynn's smile dropped.
"No…" she whispered.
"It was a still birth," Briar explained quietly.
That did it. Ashlynn burst into tears.
"I-I a-a-always w-wanted a ch-ch-child…I-I s-set up e-everything…sh-she w-was s-supposed t-to g-go to N-Nursery Rh-rhyme P-P-Preschool…" Ashlynn sobbed. Hunter kissed her again.
"We can always have another one, Ash," he reassured.
"N-No! I-I w-want m-m-my H-H-Harmony!"
Ashlynn was surprised how spoilt she sounded, but she couldn't help it.
"I-I w-want m-my ba-baby gir-girl…"
She cried again, and when all the tears ended fresh ones spilled from her eyes. She couldn't stop crying, and Hunter and Briar were crying too and holding on to her and they were all sobbing.
"I-I worked s-so hard for my H-Harmony…" Ashlynn whimpered.
"Sshhh…it's okay…" Briar soothed.
Ashlynn nodded, drying her cheeks. Even though she knew it wasn't.
—
Briar, her arm in cast, entered the house. It was dark, so she flipped on the lights. She went upstairs and was greeted by a hug.
"Briar, where have you been! I've been so worried!" Hopper said. Suddenly, Briar felt a coldness. Hatred. Pain. Sadness. Grief.
Briar just stared at him. "Hopper, if you were paying attention to the doctor rather than Ginger's face, you'll realised that I was in a car crash, and they called you to come over but you were too…'busy'."
"What do you mean?" Hopper asked innocently.
"It's like you don't even care anymore!" Briar shouted. "I was involved in a freakin' car crash, out of all things…with Ashlynn and Hunter! And Ashlynn was pregnant and her water had broke…and Harmony isn't with us anymore!"
Hopper blinked. "Who's Harmony?"
"You know what? It doesn't matter! It never mattered, I never mattered! I bet you were just using me for my money all along! You never even got a job, it was always me! I did the housework, the cooking, and I helped you! And what do you do? You run away with our old schoolmate, because she's…prettier? I don't know, just…"
Briar stopped and shut her eyes. "Shoot, I'm going to cry again…"
"Briar, I really don't know what you're talking about…"
"Oh yeah? Hopper, have you ever noticed, two weeks ago, I moved all my stuff into a seperate room? I slept in a different bed? Didn't you ever notice?" Briar snapped angrily.
"I thought you just needed some alone time…" Hopper replied.
"Some ALONE time? Hopper Croakington II, are you just acting stupid or what? I've been trying to get your attention forever! Whenever I try talk to you, and give you something, you ignore me!"
Briar took some deep breaths, silence filling the house.
"I'm sorry…" Hopper began.
"Shut up," Briar responded, and headed for her room, feeling lonelier and sadder than she ever had been in her entire life.