Arabella had fallen asleep ontop of him that night. It took her a little while to fall asleep but she eventually did and it was nice to be close to Hunter. Waking up in the morning was tough though. Hunter was still laying under her and when the sun shone through the window, Arabella hid her face in Hunter's back, groaning softly. She pulled the blanket up high and let out a soft sigh. Arabella didn't want to have to wake up and she didn't want to have to talk about the things that had happened the previous night. When she was asleep, they could pretend that it had never happened.
Hunter felt Arabella press her face into his back. He smiled softly as he woke up, loving the feeling of her close to him. That soon changed when the events of the previous night flowed back into his mind. He frowned a little feeling guilty for everything. Hunter rolled so that she was on top of him and he was looking at her. He brushed the hair out of her face and cradled her face in his hands before pressing his lips to hers in a kiss that tried to show how much he loved her. How much he would always love her. How much he meant to her. How beautiful she was. Everything that they needed to talk about, but didn't want to talk about.
Arabella leaned into him a little bit and she kissed him briefly before pulling away to yawn. "Morning" She said softly and she rubbed her eyes. Arabella wanted to be back asleep with Hunter. It was comfortable like that and there wasn't the elephant in the room. It was peacful. "How did you sleep?"
I only slept okay because I had you near me, but other than that I was too bothered by the fact that I hurt you the other day and refuse to forgive myself until you forgive me or until you at least feel better about the situation because everything that dirty whorish tramp, Tiffany, said was completely false and completely untrue and could not be further from the truth because you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen and I love you more than life itself and I can't imagine my life without you anymore. "I slept okay." Hunter said quietly, disappointed that his kiss didn't have more of an oomph behind it. Was he starting to lose it? "Did you sleep okay? Can I get you something?" He asked, running his hand up and down her arm.
Arabella shook her head "No, I don't need anything, thanks though" Arabella said softly and she rested her head on his chest, yawning. She let out a small sigh and she snuggled close to him, shivering a little. Arabella tugged up the blanket and closed her eyes. She wanted to tell him that she loved him and she cared about him, no matter what happened the previous night. "I slept pretty good. Did you know that you are really comfortable?" Arabella said. "Sorry that I slept on top of you last night"
"Don't apologize, my love." Hunter said quietly, kissing her head and running his hand down her back. "I happened to enjoy it." He said with a soft smile, kissing her head again. He sighed and closed his eyes feeling better about this whole situation. She still loved him and he still loved her. This one little thing won't stop that. "How's about we go out for breakfast? We can walk around the arch and look around the city." He proposed. "Then you can drag me to all of those embarrassing stores and make me hold your purse while you try on all sorts of stuff and then I'll pay for everything. I like this idea." He said with a nervous smile.
"Well, we'll see about the paying thing" Arabella teased and she rolled off of him, sitting up. She ran her fingers though her hair, messing up the curls a little bit. There was a smell of chlorine in her hair and it wasn't strong but she could smell it pretty easily. Arabella wrinkled her nose. "I'm going to take a shower though, I smell like the pool" she said with a nod and she slid off of the bed. After grabbing a pile of clothes and a new towel, she smiled to Hunter and slipped into the bathroom.
Hunter stretched out on the bed for a moment as he listened to the quiet shuffling from inside the bathroom. The sound of her accidentally knocking over a bottle of shampoo. The quiet cursing as she picked it back up. The sound of the curtain being pulled aside and the sound of the water being turned on. Hunter sat up and debated getting into the shower with her. "She might not want me to. She could still be angry. It might make things worse. It could just fix everything though." He mumbled to himself. He sighed, stood up and took a deep breath as he made a final decision. "Alright. In I go." He said with a smile as he stripped off his shirt and walked toward the bathroom. Knock knock knock! Hunter sighed and stepped away from the bathroom and to the door. He removed the chain and opened it.
"Oh, hello there." Tiffany said, clearly ogling Hunter. She had a room service cart in front of her and she started to push it in, when Hunter stopped her.
"We didn't order breakfast. What is this?" Hunter said, gesturing to the cart. He eyed Tiffany cautiously and she just giggled and bit her lip, leering at his bare chest.
"It's on the house. My boss said something and blah blah blah." She pushed through Hunter into the room. "You get free breakfast." She said with a devious grin. She stepped forward toward Hunter and smiled at him.
"Thanks for breakfast. Now get out." Hunter said firmly. She smiled and kept walking toward him, placing a hand on his chest. "Tiffany...GET. OUT." He said, putting his hands on her shoulders and pushing her away.
"But I haven't gotten my tip yet, hot stuff." She said before grabbing his hands and pulling him in for a hard kiss on the lips, slamming his hands onto her butt.
Arabella showered pretty quickly, for her at least. She was starting to really look forward to the day. Maybe her and Hunter could just move on and not talk about it again until they were at least 40. Arabella just wanted to have a happy, peaceful day with Hunter. Soon enough, she slipped out of the shower and pulled on a pair of skinny jeans, shirt and a sweater. She twisted her damp hair up into a messy bun and she put on a little bit of make up. Once she was ready to start the day, Arabella stepped back into the room and what she saw caused an unexplainable feeling and she squeaked in horror. Hunter was topless and Tiffany had her lips pressed against his and his hands were placed on her butt. It made Arabella want to scream and cry and crawl into a hole all at the same time. She didn't even know what to say to him. She looked at him, frozen for a moment. "You son of a bitch" Arabella breathed in a broken voice before she grabbed her purse and she headed for the door.
Hunter pushed Tiffany away and looked up as Arabella opened the door. "Ellie, wait!" He said, pushing past Tiffany. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him back.
"Let her go. We've got time now." Tiffany said, going to kiss him again. Hunter wanted to hit her. He grabbed her by the shoulders and threw her onto the bed.
"LEAVE. ME. ALONE." Hunter shouted at her. "Don't touch me. Don't look at me. Don't talk to me. Or I swear to Zeus, I will get you fired!" He grabbed the breakfast cart and shoved it out the now open door. "Take your cart somewhere else. I don't know who's breakfast that is, but give it to them. I honestly don't care anymore. LEAVE ME ALONE!" He shouted before running out the door. "Ellie! Ellie!" He ran toward the elevators and saw her waiting for one. When she saw him she huffed and then started down the stairs. Hunter followed her and quickly caught up with her on a platform between the floors. "Ellie, stop." He said, wrapping his arms around her and holding on tight, despite her fighting him.
"No! Dammit, Hunter, let me go!" Arabella kicked out and she wiggled around in his arms, blinking back tears. Angry, hurt and horrified, Arabella just wanted to be as far away from Hunter as possible. She pushed herself away from him, trying desperately to get him to let go of her. But he wasn't. He was holding onto her and she wasn't strong enough to wiggle out of his arms. Finally, she dug her fingernails into his arm until he let go of her and she quickly took a few steps back from him. "How could you do this to me? How could you hurt me like this?" She said and Hunter opened his mouth to say something but she stopped him. "No. I don't want to hear it. I don't want to hear the 'I'm sorry' and the 'I won't do it again'. I'm not letting myself get into another situation like this and I'm not letting myself get hurt again. When we get back to New York, I'm packing up my stuff and I'm moving out" She said to him.
Hunter's heart clenched. "Ellie..." He breathed, but he wasn't sure what to say. "Ellie, you can't do this. I didn't do anything!" He said, pleadingly. He went to hold her, to touch her, but she pulled away. "I told Tiffany to leave, but she grabbed me and surprised me and I...I'm so so sorry." He said quietly, a lump forming in his throat. He wished that he could show her what happened, but he knew that wouldn't be possible. "Ellie, I swear. I would never cheat on you." He said, reaching out to take her hand.
"You would never cheat on me? Well that damn well looked like cheating you little bastard!" Arabella shouted at him in a heartbroken voice. "How could you do this to me, Hunter? You promised that you were never going to leave me. You promised that you were never going to hurt me" Her voice broke off and she wiped at the tears that were pouring down her cheeks.
"And I meant every single word." Hunter said firmly, feeling a twisting in his stomach. "Ellie, she kissed me. I was trying to shove her out the door and she kissed me." Hunter went to wipe her tears away, but she smacked his hand away. "Ellie...Please. Please. Don't do this. You have to know that I would never think about a girl the same way I think about you. Please. I love you." He pleaded.
Arabella glared at him, her heart racing. "That's what they all say, Hunter. I don't want to hear it. I don't want to hear how sorry you are or that 'she kissed you'. I don't want to hear the excuses." She snapped and she took a breath, looking away from him. She was hurting and she was angry. "Why don't you go back to her. I'm sure she's waiting for you to get back." She hissed and took her phone out of her purse.
Hunter shook his head. "I told her to get the hell out. If she's still there when I get back I might just kill her." He said, closing his eyes a moment. "And don't you dare compare me to the other douchebags you've dated!" Hunter said, clenching his fists. "We have something here, Ellie. You of all people should be able to notice that. You can't leave me." He said, holding his arms out again.
"Watch me!" Arabella snapped, smacking his arm away. She didn't want to hug him, she didn't want to touch him. She wanted to go home, wherever home was now. Arabella blinked back more tears and she looked over at him. "You are just like them, Hunter. Just like all the other guys that hurt me. You might not have punched me but you and Tiffany and.." She started but her voice broke off when she sobbed a little bit. Out of a burst of anger, she took the phone in her hand and she threw it at Hunter.
Hunter jumped a little and clumsily caught the phone. "Just like them?" He said quietly, looking down at the phone in his hand. He had bought her this phone. That was right before their first break up. He took a deep breath and set it down on the ground. He didn't want to think about their last break-up. "I guess I was wrong." He said quietly, a lump forming in his throat. Maybe she was right. He was just like all of the other douchebags. Like Chad. Like Brian. Like Ian. He didn't cheat on her, but guilt hit him like a 18-wheeler. He was hurt that she could ever think that, but if she actually thought that way, maybe this wasn't meant to be. He looked at her and his heart fell. He loved her, but all he wanted was for her to be happy. She can't be happy when he does stuff like that. Hunter took a deep breath and turned away from her. "We should get back on the road, Arabella. We can stop for breakfast on the road." He said before walking back up the stairs, swallowing back the tears that he would cry later.
Arabella heard the quiet tone that he was using and the way that he called her Arabella and not Ellie. It broke her heart but the pain she felt when she saw Hunter kissing Tiffany was too much for her. Arabella watched walk back up the stairs but she waited a few moments before she followed him. Her breathing was shallow and she felt like her heart was about to break out of her chest. How could this happen to her? How could she let herself get hurt like that again? Maybe there was something wrong with her. She was sure that Hunter was different though. Arabella took a deep breath and she wiped a few tears away from her cheeks before walking up the stairs and back into their room. She walked past Hunter without talking to him and she started to pack up her bag.
The silence in the room was deafening. The sound of folding clothes and zipping bags was the only thing to be heard. Hunter finished packing and was tempted to look over at Arabella. He couldn't. He knew that if he did then he would want to kiss her and hold her and everything, but she didn't want that. He had hurt her once too many. He wanted to tell her he was sorry and he wanted to get her back, but that would be selfish. She can't be happy with him anymore. She needs someone else. Hunter took a deep breath and bit back a few tears before clearing his throat. "Ready to go?" He asked in the quiet tone he hadn't used in so long. He felt alone again. He was with one of his closest friends, but she didn't want him anymore and there was nothing he could do about it. "It's about 4 hours to Kansas City. We'll get there around noon."
"Let's go" Arabella said softly and she grabbed her bags, quickly walking out of the door. They walked in a horrible silence towards the car. Arabella didn't want to look at him or touch him or speak to him. The idea that he could even think of kissing another girl, especially Tiffany, made Arabella sick. She could hardly stand the pain that was in her chest and quickly spreading everywhere else. She didn't talk to him the entire way out to the car. She didn't talk to him as they shoved their bags into the back of their car She didn't talk to him as she climbed into her seat and she didn't talk to him as she pulled out her teddy bear and curled up into a little ball, putting her head on the window.
Hunter sighed and pulled out. It was a long drive to Kansas City and at this rate it was going to feel even longer. They drove for about an hour before Hunter noticed Arabella shiver a little. He reflexively raised his arm, assuming she would snuggle into him, but nothing happened. He took a deep breath and almost cried right there. They had only been broken up for an hour or two, but Hunter missed her so much. He felt like he was missing part of himself. He missed her being close to him. The smell of her hair. The feel of her skin. Her smile. Both of their faces had been fixed into a emotionless frown since it had happened and Hunter hated it. "I'm still your friend, El--" He caught himself. "I'm still your friend, Arabella. I've done nothing, but hurt you. I know, but I'm still your friend and I don't want to have this horrible deafening silence anymore." Hunter said quietly. He missed her voice. Her actual voice. He missed her so much.
Arabella took a shaky breath and she quickly rubbed her eyes, trying to hide any evidence that she had been crying. Most of her didn't want to talk to him or look at him. She was still so horribly mad at him and disapointed. But there was a small part of her that desperately wanted to talk to him. Arabella still loved him, even if she didn't want to admit it. After a few moments of silence, she finally turned her head to look at him. "What am I supposed to say, Hunter?" She said in a slightly raspy voice from not speaking in well over an hour.
"I don't know, Arabella." Hunter said quietly. "I'm not asking you to forgive me. I'm not asking you take me back. I just don't want that stupid whore back there to successfully ruin this entire trip." Hunter wouldn't begin to express how much it hurt him to have to compromise with her. To be friends. Just friends. Nothing more. His heart clenched and he was having a little trouble breathing. "Please, at least try and enjoy the trip. I feel bad enough that this all happened, but I don't want my stupidity to ruin this whole trip. We're about an hour away from Kansas City, so try and think of what you want to do there." He said before closing his mouth for a long time. If he opened it right there, he probably would have cried.
Arabella didn't think that she could be just friends with him at this point. She was hurt and she didn't think that she would be able to have a regular friendship with the man that had hurt her. but even thought she didn't want to admit it, he was right. The trip was going to be long enough, they didn't need to make it any longer by not talking to each other. Arabella took a deep breath and she looked at him. "Maybe we can go see a show or something" She eventually said in a soft voice. She was thinking of going to a show because she knew that they wouldn't be able to talk and she would have to try and think of something to say to him.
Hunter closed his eyes for a moment, feeling glad that he could hear her voice again. He glanced at her and saw how hurt she was. He regretted the action. He hated seeing her in pain. He hated seeing her all curled up like that, especially because it was his fault. He wanted to hold her and kiss her and apologize to her, but that wasn't his choice anymore. That privilege was no longer his. "A show sounds good. We'll have to see what's playing." Hunter looked at her again and his heart ached. He needed her. He loved her. More than anything.
Arabella nodded slightly and she pulled her sweater around her tighter. It was cold in the car and not just because of the temperature. Her whole body felt cold because she was away from Hunter. It was a chill that went through to her core and made her shiver. Arabella sighed, the silence was getting heavier again and it was pressing down on her. She felt like she had to say something but there was nothing that she had to say. If she tried to talk much more, she knew that she would probably breakdown into tears. Instead, Arabella reached over and turned on the music, keeping the volume at a low level.
If Hunter had known that when he woke up that morning and kissed her that it would be the last time, he would have put more into it. He would have held it longer. Allowed him to keep a memory of it, but already he was forgetting. Hunter looked over when she turned up the music and regretted it. She looked so hurt and she was shivering. She didn't even realize, but the sweatshirt that she was wearing was actually Hunter's. She had put it on one night and he thought she looked so adorable in it that he let her keep it. Why did everything have to be so difficult? "We're just about here. Let's find a hotel first and then we can figure out what we want to do." Hunter said quietly.
Arabella nodded softly and she tugged on the sleeves of her sweater. "Yeah, that sounds good" She said softly and she cleared her throat before putting her head back on the seat. She felt so overwhelmed at that point and the more she thought about it, the worse she felt. What was she going to do when they got home? She'd have to find a new place to live, pack up all of her things. Maybe she could work at her company again or maybe she would do something else, something to distract her from the pain she was feeling. "How much farther?" Arabella asked him.
Hunter took a deep breath and rubbed one of his eyes. He didn't want to get to Kansas City. If they got there that means they were one step closer to being back in New York. And that means she would be one step closer to leaving him behind. Every time he thought about going back to his house and knowing that she wouldn't be there, he started to think what the point was. He would be alone again. He would have that big house and he would all of those rooms and he would have the dog and he didn't want any of it without Arabella. "Probably 30 minutes." He said, his voice feeling cold coming out of his mouth.
"Good" Arabella said softly and she sat in silence as they drove towards the city. Arabella was searching her mind for something to say to Hunter. She didn't want to yell at him because she was so tired. She didn't want to have a regular conversation with him because she didn't want to forgive him. She didn't want to talk about what happened because that would probably kill her. Once they got into the city, Arabella pointed out a hotel that looked like it was pretty decent. "Over there" She said in a blank tone.
Hunter nodded and pulled into the parking lot. He found a parking spot and parked. He got out and ran around to Arabella's door as a reflex, but stopped himself. He was about to open her door and kiss her hand but he stopped. He sighed and swallowed the lump in his throat before grabbing the bags from the back. He shut the back and carried their bags into the hotel. "Hi, we need one room...No. I'm sorry. I need a room." He said quietly, feeling tears building in his eyes.
Arabella looked up at Hunter and she bit her lip. The truth was that she didn't really want to be away from
Hunter. Not far from him at least. She didn't want to be alone and she knew that if she had a bad dream or something like that, it would comfort her to know that Hunter was in the room next her. "Can we get room next to each other? Or a room with two bedrooms?" She asked, turning her eyes back to the older man behind the counter. He gave her a knowing smile and he nodded, getting them a suite with seperate bedrooms. Once the room was all squared away, Arabella grabbed her bags and walked towards the elevator, missing the feel of Hunter wrapping his arms around her.
As they rode in the elevator silently, it made him really uncomfortable. Whenever they were in an elevator they would always be kissing or hugging or at least holding hands, but now Hunter had his bag and she had hers. Hunter was a little curious why she had requested a room together, but he was happy about it. They finally reached their floor and Hunter walked to their room. They walked in and Hunter looked at the room. There was a small kitchenette and a sitting room. To their right were their bedrooms which were connected by a door in the middle. He glanced at Arabella and took the first room. He closed the door behind him and dropped his bags. He threw himself down onto the bed and buried his face in the mattress. He felt like garbage. He just wanted to walk into her room and kiss her and hold her and tell her that he was sorry and he would do anything for her to take him back, but she didn't want that. She didn't want him. He cried harder than he had in a long time. A wave of sadness swept over him and he buried his face deeper in the mattress. He needed to stop crying. They were just friends now. He wanted her to be happy and seeing him beat himself and seeing him cry wouldn't help her be happy. He stood back up and wiped the tears from his eyes and looked at the connecting door. Without thinking he stood up and walked to the door, standing right outside and putting his hand against it, wishing he were in there with her.
Arabella closed the door behind her and as soon as she heard that click, she let the tears fall. Why did this always happen to her? How did she let herself fall for someone who hurt her? Was it something she did? Did she turn good guys into liars and cheaters? Arabella placed her bags onto the floor and she walked over to the window, gasping back tears. She loved Hunter with her whole heart. She always would. But he didn't want her. He wanted someone like Tiffany. He probably wanted to 'play the field' and to be honest, Arabella didn't really blame him. It still broke her heart though. She couldn't believe that Hunter of all people, would do that to her. Arabella had been planning her life with him. She was going to marry him and have kids and grow old with him. But he had hurt her. Arabella wanted to go over to his room and she wanted to hug him and kiss him and tell him that she would forget everything. But she knew that she couldn't do that. Arabella had forgiven men too easily before only to be hrut again. She took a shaky breath and she rubbed her eyes before walking over to the door that was connecting her room to Hunter's and she put her hand on it. With a little gasp, she felt warmth from the other side and realized that Hunter had his hand on the door. Maybe if she talked to him a bit, this would all be a bit easier. So she wiped the tears off of her cheeks. "Hi, Hunter" she said in a soft voice.
Hunter gasped a little when he heard her voice. So softly. He swallowed and wiped a tear away. "Hi, Arabella." He said quietly, moving closer to the door and leaning his head on it. He sniffed and swallowed again, feeling happy that she was talking to him again. "Is the room okay?" He asked, trying to keep his voice level. He would have never realized that being just friends with her would be so difficult. The sound of her voice made his heart ache. He had no idea what to talk about with her. Everything seemed too touchy. "Do you need anything?" He said, closing his eyes.
Arabella wanted to tell him that all she needed was for this to be a bad dream and she would wake up in Hunter's arms and everything would be okay. Instead, she took a breath and shook her head. She realized that he couldn't hear her shaking her head and she cleared her throat. "No, I don't need anything" She said softly and she ran her fingers through her hair. "The room is fine.." Arabella chewed on her lip for a moment before she finally got up the courage to open the door.
Hunter's eyes shot open when he felt the door open. He had been leaning on it, but now that it was open he was off balance. He stumbled forward and ran into Arabella, knocking her to the ground and landing on top of her. He winced a little as he picked himself up a little, holding himself over her. He looked down at her for a moment, missing being this close to her. "Oh," He said, shaking himself back into reality. "Sorry. You okay?" He muttered, standing up and extending his hand to help her up. "I guess after all those times of you jumping my bones, the tables have finally turned." He said with a quiet laugh and immediately feeling embarrassed. "Sorry." He said, turning away from her a little, hoping that she couldn't tell he'd been crying.
Arabella couldn't help herself, she giggled a little bit when Hunter made a joke. It wasn't the best joke to make, given their situation, but it lightened the mood a little bit and it made her feel a bit more comfortable. She stood up, trying to ignore the electric shocks that went through ehr hand when she touched Hunter. Having him hold her hand and fall ontop of her like that was making it difficult to stay mad at him. She wanted to hold him close to her and kiss him. Arabella could see that he had been crying bit she didn't mention it because she had been sobbing too. "I uhm, I was thinking that I would be able to find the shows that are playing on my phone. If you're interested" Arabella said softly.
Hunter cleared his throat and nodded. "Yeah. That sounds good." He said quietly. "I saw a brochure for some theatre. The Starlight theatre I think." He said with a nod. Hunter took a deep breath and studied his feet, trying to regain his composure. He sighed and finally looked up at her. He hated being just friends with her. They were friends. Before this whole thing they were friends. Things were different now. They couldn't joke and flirt like they did at camp. It didn't even seem like they could talk to each other. "I'm uh...I'm going to take a shower real quick. Then we can figure out food and what show we'll be seeing." He said quietly. He grabbed some clothes and walked to the bathroom. He clicked the door closed behind him and leaned on it, wishing that she would come in here with him.
Arabella watched him walk into the bathroom and she took a breath before turning back to her room and pulling off ehr sweater. As soon as she did, she realized that it was Hunter's sweater. Arabella bit back a sob and instead of throwing it out, she folded it up neatly and placed it in the bottom of her bag. She pulled out another sweater, a pink one of hers and she pulled it on. Arabella fixed her hair a little bit and she fixed her makeup. Once she was done, she heard the shower being turned off and Hunter opening up the door.
He stepped out of the bathroom in nothing, but boxers and immediately realized his mistake. "Oh, I'm so sorry." He said, noticing the doors still standing open. He snagged his bag and walked back in, slipping into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He dug through his bag for a jacket, but could only find a cardigan that Arabella had made for him. He rubbed his face for a moment, taking deep breaths before shoving it to the bottom of his bag and throwing his backpack up against the door in frustration. He was past being sad about this. He was just so angry that this had happened to them. But there wasn't a them anymore. There was a her and there was a him. No them. He walked back out and set the backpack on the bed, finally looking at Arabella. She had taken off his sweatshirt. His fist clenched a little and he took a deep breath before walking over to her. "Did you find something?" He asked quietly.
"Bye Bye, Birdie" Arabella told him softly, not looking at him and she slipped her things into her purse. She patted the corners of her eyes a little, making sure that her makeup wasn't running or anything. It felt a little odd to wear makeup again. She had stopped wearing it recently because of Hunter. But now that he wasn't with her, she felt like she needed all of her makeup again. "I don't know what you want to get for food. I'm not really hungry" She told him and pulled the zipper on her purse.
Hunter shrugged. "I'm not either." Hunter said quietly. He hesitated a moment before turning around to his bed and sitting on the edge. "We can just hang around the room until the show. Or did you want to walk around the city or something?" Hunter looked up at her and noticed her make up. She was wearing make up again. Was she planning on finding another guy all of a sudden? The very idea made him feel ill. "It's up to you. Kansas might be more exciting than you think."