Hunter stood there in the lobby holding his room key. There it was. One of the last times, he would talk to her or even see her. Hunter stood there wishing that it would have been on better terms. He sighed and rubbed his eyes a moment before starting toward his room. He was a little worried. He was worried that he was going to run into someone he knew and at the moment, he was not interested in talking to anyone. He didn't want to move. At some points he didn't even feel that interested in breathing. Hunter reached the room and opened it, letting the door swing slowly. He walked in and dropped his bag, leaning on the door.
He didn't know what to do. The entire room was nicely made and looked comfortable. It had a nice, rather large TV and a full king size bed, covered in soft sheets and pillows that looked very welcoming at the moment. There was a table with chairs around next to a kitchenette with a fridge and an oven with a stove. The room was full and complete, but it just seemed empty. They way that Arabella would fill a room. With clothes and just her personality. Even when she was in a bad mood, she had a way of making a room feel full and energetic. Hunter moved to the bed and sat down, wishing that he had Arabella with him.
Hunter sighed and for the first time in a long time, had nothing to do. There was always something to do when he was with Arabella or even when he was traveling with Arabella. Hunter sat on the bed and watched TV, only flipping channels for an hour. He never stayed on one program. He needed to keep moving. For the most part, it was because he didn't know what he was doing. He doesn't watch TV and he didn't know what was going on for the most part. Ring ring...Ring ring... Hunter looked at the phone when he heard it ring. He hesitated a second before walking over to the phone. He picked up the handset and took a deep breath before putting it to his ear. His heart skipped a little when he thought that it might have been Arabella.
"H-Hello?" Hunter said quietly into the phone. There was a brief shuffling on the other end before a voice came on.
"Hunter?" It was Rory. Hunter took a deep breath and cracked his neck before clearing his throat.
"Yeah. Rory. How's it going?" Hunter said, trying to sound excited for the big day tomorrow.
"To be honest? Really nervous." Rory said with a chuckle. Hunter nodded even though Rory couldn't see him.
"So, what's up?" Hunter asked. "How can I, the best man, help you, the groom?" He asked, putting an unnecessary smile on his face.
"Oh, nothing, really. I just wanted to make sure that you and Arabella got in okay." Rory said with a chuckle. "I just making sure that you've got your speech ready and your suit and everything. We'll take care of the rest tomorrow." Hunter froze. He had completely forgotten about the speech. He was going to get Arabella's help with it and after everything that had happened he had forgotten about it. He didn't have it done. He was going to ruin this whole thing.
"Yeah. Definitely." Hunter lied. "I've got it right here." He said, patting his pocket even though he didn't have anything. "It's nothing too embarrassing. I promise." He didn't know he was such a good liar until know, but apparently it was convincing enough.
"Okay. I was just making sure." Rory said with a chuckle. "Well, say hi to Arabella for me and have a good night." He said before hanging up. Hunter's hands shook a second before letting out a quiet sob and hanging up the phone. No one knew. Arabella and he had broken up and no one knew a thing. He took a deep breath and sat down on the bed, hating where he was. He was alone. He had a king size bed that he wasn't going to use. He had to go to a wedding, a celebration of love, with a broken heart. Not only that, but he had to give a speech about two people who were in love. Two people that were so in love that they were getting married.
He laid down and put his hands over his eyes. This isn't even coming close to how this trip should have gone and he really just wanted to be back in New York, so he could just start being alone forever. Sadly, he had to give a speech. He needed to write a speech in one night and be able to say it in the morning. After moments of trying to compartmentalize everything. Of trying to sort how everything was going to go. Arabella was taking a flight back to New York and he was driving back to loneliness. He would be by himself. He would feed Ajax and only be able to talk to himself. He had nothing to look forward to. He shook himself and finally got out of bed, grabbing a notepad off the nightstand. He sat down at the table and started to write.
"Vera Lorry and Rory Mitchell." He started. "They love each other. And it's great and stuff and really good and awesome..." He balled up the paper and threw it on the ground. This was going to be a long night. He quickly burned through that notepad and got a new one. He was just glad that there were a lot of drawers in this hotel room. It was on the 4th notepad when he figured out something was wrong. He was thinking about this the wrong way. He needed to find something. A memory. Something that made him feel the emotions he needed to be talking about. He put his head down and before he knew it, he was asleep.
Hunter was back in the house. His house. Their house. He was waking up. Arabella was lying on top of him, but she was still asleep. It was the night after Halloween. He remembered it perfectly. The dogs were around and were doing things that made Hunter laugh. Arabella and Hunter were watching the dogs and he was holding her and kissing her and everything was perfect again. He was at the happy again. He felt completed. He felt finished. For the first time in a long time, he was smiling. A genuine smile. There was nothing wrong. Everything was perfect. Hunter leaned in and kissed Arabella tightly on the lips, holding her closely. "I love you."
And that's when he woke up. Hunter wanted to cry at first. He had gotten a glimpse of paradise and now he had to wake up to the hell that was his current reality. That feeling was what he needed. That residual complete and utter happiness that he felt from that memory was what he needed to use as inspiration.
"Hello, I'm Hunter Reed. I'm the best man and I'm here to talk to you about love. more importantly their love. See, love is a mysterious thing." He started to write. "There are many times and places to say 'I love you'. At a family reunion. A gathering. When you're reassuring someone of how you feel about them. When you feel complete happiness with one person. To say 'I love you' has become a lesser phrase in recent years. There are plenty of teenagers, tossing it around like hand grenades, assuming that the first person of the opposite sex to smile at them is going to be their soulmate. Not between two people such as Vera and Rory. When one of them tells the other that small three word phrase, I love you, you can feel the rush. You can see how happy it makes them. It's like a wave of energy coursing through them at that moment." He closed his eyes and was back in that memory. He was feeling that happiness. "It's a jolt of love that just fills the other up. It courses through them and fills of small little nook and every tiny crack. It completes the other. I love you is all they need to say to tell how happy they make each other and how satisfying this relationship is going to be. The love that they share doesn't come around often and it's so beautiful to see that it has happened here. The three words that will dictate the rest of their lives." Hunter raised his glass and looked at Rory and Vera. She was still in her wedding gown. The beautiful wedding gown that Arabella designed. Her red hair vibrant compared to the rest of the reception hall. She was smiling ear to ear at this momentous occasion. And Rory. He was in his tuxedo and was grinning from ear to ear, but wasn't looking at Hunter. He was looking at his wife. The new Mrs. Rory Mitchell. Hunter raised his glass. "So, Rory Mitchell, do you love her?" Rory nodded. "Vera Mitchell, do you love him?" She grinned even bigger and nodded. "Alright. Then tell each other that." He chuckled and smiled as the two newlyweds exchanged those three words. "Now, I'm going to put you guys on the spot. Vera you can keep the pigtail this time, but kiss him. Right on the lips. It's long overdue!" He was met with several hoots and hollers from the crowd as the lovebirds locked lips for a moment. Hunter sighed with a smile on his face. "To Rory and Vera! May you live long, happy, and wonderful lives together. Good luck, you guys." He finished before taking a sip of water from his glass and setting it back down on the table. There was applause and Hunter stayed long enough for it to die down. It was when the music started from the DJ and people started going to the dancefloor that he left. He needed to be away from there for a little while. He walked out of the hall and found a small closet nearby. He walked in and fell to pieces. That speech was everything he wanted to say to Arabella, but he couldn't. It was too late.