When they got to the hotel, Arabella made sure that they had a room with connecting bedrooms again. She needed to be able to open the door and hear him sleeping at night again. Falling asleep with Hunter in the car had made her confused. It was a wonderful sleep and she knew that it was because she had curled up to Hunter's side. She could feel his warmth and hear his steady breath. It was relaxing and comforting and soothing. But she woke up. She woke up to a reality that she didn't like. Araabella could remember her dream easily and it had scared her. There were no monsters, she wansn't falling, there was no physical pain. But she had dreamt of Hunter. Just him. When she woke up, she was reminded of how he had broken her heart. She was reminded of the pain. She was reminded of the fact that Hunter had kissed Tiffany.
Arabella had been happy when they got to the hotel room. She helped Hunter carry the bags up to their room and she took her bags off to her bedroom area where she gently placed them down. From the room next to her, she could hear Hunter moving around. She took a small breath and sat down near the window. She wanted to walk over to his room and hug him and kiss him and tell him that she forgave him. That she could move on and trust him and love him again. But she knew that it was probably a bad idea to do something like that. He had cheated on her. He would do it again. They always do it again.
She was determinded to make it through this trip though. She needed to be nice and she needed to be his friend. Arabella took a deep breath and she stood up, walking over to the door that connected hers to Hunter and she knocked gently. There was a pause before Arabella heard Hunter walking over to the door and he eventually opened it with a slightly confused look on his face. "Can I come in?" Arabella asked with a small smile, trying to look friendly and warm. Hunter looked at her for a moment and he still looked a little stunned that she was asking him if she could come in. He finally nodded.
"Yeah, sure" He said in a quiet voice and he stepped to the side, opening his door all the way. Arabella walked in and she sat down in a chair. Hunter looked at her for a moment before he turned back to his stuff and started to work on setting his things up again. Arabella watched him for a moment before shaking herself and folding her legs under her.
"What do you want to do today?" Arabella asked him gently, hoping that they could just have an easy and simple day together. Hunter looked over at her and he shrugged.
"I don't know..did you have anything in mind?" Hunter asked her quietly and Arabella looked down at her lap, picking at a loose piece of string on her shirt.
"I was thinking that I would get a shower and take a nap or something. Then I'll figure out what I want to do for the rest of the day. We should also go see Rushmore at some point" Arabella said and she took a small breath before looking up at him, her eyes were a little wide. Hunter looked down at her and their eyes locked for a moment. Arabella didn't want to look away. She didn't want to break this contact that she had with him. For a moment, she just looked at him and he looked back at her. Eventually though, she had to break it. Looking at him too much made her want to forgive him and she knew that she couldn't do that.
"I was told that it's best to see Rushmore at night" Hunter said quietly and even though she wanted to look at him, Arabella kept her eyes away from.
"Then we'll go at night" Arabella agreed. When it came to things like this, Arabella still trusted him. She stretched before standing up and running her fingers through her hair. "Okay, I'm going to get a shower now and all of that" She told him and she walked back to her room. As she walked past him, her fingers brushed against his hip a little and she blushed deeply at the mistake but she didn't talk about it. She just sped up and quickly got into her room, closing the door. Arabella leaned up against the door and she closed her eyes. As she stood there, she had to take a few deep breaths to try and calm herself down. Hunter had kissed Tiffany, there was no way around that but Arabella was starting to have to remind herself of that fact more and more. She couldn't forget it because if she forgot it, then she would get hurt again. But whenever she was with him, she would forget about it and she would focus on the man in front of her. The man who she loved. Arabella shook herself and she went to get a shower.
The rest of the day passed by quickly and without any hiccups. After Arabella showered, she curled up in the sitting area with a book and she ordered hot chocolate for herself from room service. After everything that had happened the day before, Arabella just wanted a day to herself to relax. Hunter did his own thing that day and Arabella did her own thing. It had been a really nice day, to be honest. Something that Arabella wasn't really expecting. It was the first time that she felt a bit better since she saw Hunter kissing Tiffany.
Finally, the sun was starting to set and Arabella was getting dressed, pulling on a sweater and a pair of jeans. She pulled her hair up into a bun and she walked out to see Hunter already waiting for her. She smiled a little bit and together, they walked down to the car. They drove in silence but Arabella didn't mind. The silence between them wasn't as horrible as it had been. It was getting easier to sit in silence with him. She yawned a little bit and she stretched. Once Hunter parked the car, she easily slid out of the car and she wrapped her arms around herself, looking around. It was really beautiful. The moon was full and it lit up everything in a stunning way. There was a gift shop and a museum but Arabella really just wanted to get to the look out area. She wanted to see everything before she went shopping. As they walked towards the row of flags that led to the look out, Arabella felt her phone buzzing.
"Could you take some pictures?" Arabella asked and she passed the camera to Hunter, quickly pulling her phone out of her pocket. She answered the phone and held it up to her ear. "Hello?"
"Hey, hun!" Daniel's voice came out of the phone, sounding really happy. It almost made Arabella sad because she knew that when she left him, her and Hunter were just as happy. She didn't want to tell him about her and Hunter, not yet. Maybe she would tell him when she got back from this trip. Her and Daniel could sit down together and talk about it all.
"What's up, Danny? I miss you" Arabella said, trying to not sound too sad. Now that she was hearing his voice, she realized just how much she wanted to see him. She wanted to hug him and hear him tell her that everything was going to be alright.
"I miss you too" Daniel said with an audible smile. They were quiet for a moment then he took a breath. "I just wanted to give you a call and say hi and tell you that the dogs are doing great. I might not give them back" He teased.
"I need Jolie back, Daniel" Arabella said and she giggled a little bit. "It's good to hear that everything is going okay"
"Yeah, everything's great. Jolie and Ajax are getting really close" Daniel laughed and Arabella looked down at the ground. When she moved out, she would be seperating Jolie and Ajax."Jolie fell asleep in Ajax's crate last night and she let him join her for once. She usually tries to kick him out"
"She is such a diva" Arabella said with a little laugh and she let out a sigh. "Listen, Danny, I'm going to have to call you back, okay? We're just getting to Mount Rushmore now" she told him.
"Alright! Well, it was good to talk to you! Give Hunter a hug for me" Daniel said "Love you"
"Love you too" Arabella said and she hung up the phone. She slipped it back into her pocket and she looked over at Hunter. "That was Daniel. He said that Jolie slept with Ajax in his crate last night and that usually, she kicks him out" She said with a small giggle. Hunter looked over at her and there was a small smile across his lips.
"Where does Ajax usually sleep then?" Hunter asked with a raised eyebrow and Arabella shrugged.
"I hope he doesn't have to sleep in her crate because that thing is tiny" She said took the camera back from him when he passed it too her.
"Poor Ajax..." Hunter said and he stuffed his hands into his pockets. Arabella giggled and she nodded in agreement. She was too busy enjoying herself to feel sorry for herself. She was talking with Hunter and she was having a good time.
"Jolie is such a tease. I have no idea where she learnt that" Arabella said and she looked over at Hunter, a smile spread across her lips. He chuckled and he looked over at her with a raised eyebrow. Arabella rolled her eyes and she nudged him with her hip. "Just..shut up" She muttered and together they walked to the look out. It was a clear night and from where they were standing, they could see the moon perfectly over the mountain. It was one of the most beautiful, romantic things that Arabella has ever seen. Just seeing it was enough to nearly take her breaht away.
There weren't that many people. Just a few couples, which was almost worse than being in a huge crowd. It made Arabella's heart ache with the thought of what could have been if Tiffany hadn't kissed Hunter. She took a small breath and looked around, snapping a few pictures with her camera. Even if the trip had gone downhill, she still wanted to remember it forever and have moments like this in pictures. They stood in silence as they looked at the mountain and the wise faces that had been carved into it. It was something that couldn't be described. Arabella turned her eyes to the sky and she gasped a little bit. She took a couple steps closer to Hunter but she stumbled on a rock. She felt his arm around her waist as he grabbed her to keep her from falling.
Arabella could feel his heart racing against her shoulder and the moment was tense. But his hand on her hip was making her stomach do flip flops and her head spin. She felt Hunter pulling away but she didn't move. She didn't want to move. It was comfortable like this. To cover up the awkwardness, Arabella pointed up at the sky, not moving from Hunter's arms. "Look..it's Venus" she said softly, looking at the small dot in the sky.
"Yeah..." Hunter said in a quiet tone after a few moments, like he had been thinking the whole thing over in his head and trying to figure everything out. Arabella knew that she was playing with his emotions a little bit. She knew that getting back together with him was a bad idea but she loved the feeling of his hand on her hip so much. It was the best she felt in too long.
"I'm really sorry to bother you.."
Arabella turned when she heard a man's voice apologizing to them. She didn't really know why he was saying sorry but she was a little bit thankful that he had showed up because she could pull away from Hunter before she did something stupid. She looked over at him and folded her arms across her chest, clearing her throat. "Oh..no..it's fine." she told him softly and he smiled at her.
"My name is Shane..I'm a professional photographer and I saw you two together and I couldn't not get a picture" He said and he handed a polaroid to Arabella. She looked at Shane then looked down at the photo. It nearly made her cry the moment she saw it. In the background was Rushmore and Arabella was standing with Hunter, her hand pointed up to the sky. It was a beautiful photo but it broke her heart because she knew that what looked like a happy couple in the photo wasn't exactly the truth.
"Thanks, Shane.." She said softly and he smiled at her before he turned and walked away, the smile still on his face. Arabella looked down at the photo and she looked up at Hunter who looked like he was holding something in, tears or words..Arabella wasn't sure. All she knew was that she wanted to get back to the hotel room. "Let's uhm..let's go back. I'm kind of tired. We can come shopping here tomorrow if we want" She said softly and Hunter nodded in agreement.
Together, they walked to the car and in silence, they drove back to the hotel. Arabella's mind was racing and she couldn't stop thinking. She couldn't focus. The photo was still gripped tightly in her hands and she was fighting against all the urges that told her to cry. She wouldn't cry. Not here. She was so lost in her own world, she didn't even register the fact that they were parking at the hotel, getting out of the car, walking into the building and taking the elevator up to their room.
When they got to their hotel room, Arabella and Hunter muttered a quick 'goodnight' to each other at the same time. She looked at him for a moment before turning and walking into her room. As soon as the door was closed, she took a breath and started crying as she got changed. Why did this have to be so difficult? Arabella was so hurt and now she was so conflicted. She didn't know how to deal with all of her feelings so she just curled up on the bed in her pajama shorts and closed her eyes, trying to get to sleep but it wasn't working. Not at all. She tossed and turned for hours. It was 3 in the morning by the time she finally pulled herself out of bed and walked over to the connecting doors. She pushed it open and saw Hunter sleeping on the ground again. After a moment, Arabella walked back to her bed and laid down. Listening to Hunter breathing in the room over had helped her last night. It helped her sleep and she hoped that it would help her sleep again.
But when 5 in the morning hit and Arabella was still awake, she knew that listening to Hunter's breathing wasn't going to help her. She needed to be with him. She felt a deep, strong urge to be in the same room as him. Arabella didn't even pause to think about it. She pulled herself out of bed and she padded into his room. Quietly, she lowered herself onto the bed where she would be able to see him. As she laid in the bed, she thought of him and the way his muscles felt when he squeezed her tight. The way she felt like she could fly when he kissed her. They way the warmth of his body felt when he held her close when they fell asleep. A few tears trickled down her cheeks and she closed her eyes, focusing on the sounds of his breathing.
It took her five minutes. Only five minutes in the same room as Hunter and she was fast asleep.