Arabella watched from her spot by the window as the sky slowly turned from a dark blue to a lighter blue. The sun was rising and she was still awake. Addie was sleeping soundly in her bed and Arabella would have given anything to be in her place. Arabella was alone and exhausted and empty. She felt totally drained. Hunter was the one for her but they were never meant to be. Arabella was going to be getting on an airplane in about 4 hours and flying off to New York. She would pack her things and never see Hunter again. With a sigh, Arabella looked at her phone to check the time. She needed to start packing. Slowly, she started to fill her bags, trying not to look at anything. Everything she had reminded her of Hunter.
She tried as hard as she could to blink back tears and she packed up all of her things. All of her memories. She packed away the sweater that Hunter had given her. She packed away the dress that she wore on her date with Hunter. She packed away her camera. She packed away all of the things that she bought at gift stores across the country. Arabella finally closed her suitcases and she closed her eyes. Tears were falling freely now and all she was doing was trying her best not to sob and wake Addie up.
Whenever Arabella closed her eyes, she could see Tiffany and Hunter. She could see the moment perfectly in her mind and it broke her. It hurt her to her core. But it shocked her most of all. Hunter wasn't like that. Hunter wasn't Chad or Brian. He wasn't a liar or a cheater. It didn't make sense that he would do something like that. Arabella let out a soft sigh and she grabbed her bags, walking out of the room quietly. She closed the door behind her with her foot and she started to walk down the hall with her bags. A few people who were awake walked past ehr and gave her weird looks. She didn't blame them, really. She was crying so much and she was having trouble breathing because she was holding back her sobs. Arabella walked down to the lobby and she slipped ehr sunglasses on, hiding her eyes from view.
"I hope you enjoyed your stay in San Fransisco" The man from the desk said to her in a happy voice. Arabella turned her head and looked at him. She tried to smile back at him but she just couldn't. She couldn't smile. She was too broken. Arabella turned away from him, walking out of the doors. Going to New York would be a painful flight and she wasn't looking forward to it. But she was anxious to land in New York. Once she moved out, she would be able to find a new life for herself. A life that she didn't want but it would still be a life. Not this horrid waiting and travelling. Arabella brushed a tear off of her cheek as a cab pulled up and she placed her bags in the trunk. She sat down and folded her arms.
"To the airport, please" She breathed.
Hunter woke up and immediately covered his eyes. He had gone to bed incredibly early and the fact that he had managed to fall asleep surprised him more than anything. The last thing he remembered was seeing Arabella talk to some guy. The guy was sharply dressed and was handsome. Hunter sat up quickly. What did he do last night? Hunter immediately laid back down and covered his face with a pillow. Lights were bright. Sounds were loud. It had been hours since he'd had alcohol, but he felt like he could still smell the tequila on his breath. What if Arabella decided to go with that guy? What if Hunter had completely embarrassed himself? There is no way that he was going to let the last time she ever saw him be a drunken him. Some kind of drunken mess flailing on the dance floor or fighting some stranger for talking to the girl he had no right in chasing.
Hunter groaned as he threw the pillow against the wall and sat up again. He stood up and caught a glance of himself in the mirror. His tuxedo was a wrinkled mess and his hair was even worse. He looked at his face. His skin was pale and his eyes and bags under them. It must have been early. He finally realized as he looked at the window. He moved the blinds as he started to unbutton his shirt. The sun was just starting to rise. Maybe there was still time. Her flight didn't leave until 7. It takes 30 minutes to get through security. it takes 20 minutes to get to the airport. It was 5:45. He had 25 minutes. Hunter yanked the shirt from his tuxedo off and left his room. He needed to find her. He needed to find her and tell her that he loved her and to tell her that she couldn't leave. That she needed a proper memory of him. Hunter didn't bother making sure his door closed. Nothing in that room was as important as what was about to slip from his grasp. He slid on the carpet and cursed under his breath before yanking off his shoes. He didn't need them. He lunged down the stairs and reached the front desk
"What room is Addie Osborne staying in?" He asked frantically, getting a headache from his hangover. He was mostly running on adrenaline at this moment. The woman behind the counter panicked for a moment before typing something into her keyboard, each clacking of the keys making him groan a little. It seemed like forever.
"Room 217. But why--"
"Thanks." Hunter said before sprinting toward the stairs. He bounded up them and sprinted down the hall, finally finding room 217. "Ellie! Addie! Open up!" He said, pounding on the door. No answer. He pounded again. "Ellie! Open up! I have to talk to you!" He was starting to tear up a little. What if she had gone to that guy's room last night. Then he would never see her again. Hunter raised his fist top knock again, but the door opened.
"Hello? Hunter?" A very tired-looking Addie said with a sheet wrapped around her. "What is it? Where's the fire?"
"I need to talk to Arabella. Is she here?" Hunter asked, looking into the room. Addie looked at him for a second and then shook her head.
"No. She left early." She said quietly. "Maybe there was traffic or something. I'm really really sorry." Hunter's heart fell. Everything shattered all at once. He didn't know what to do.
"Okay." Hunter muttered. "Thanks. I'll see you around." Hunter said with a half-hearted wave. That was it. They were through 'Huntabella' was no more. She was gone and he was leaving. Hunter reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring. He would never be able to give it to her. He would never be able to drop to one knee and ask her to marry him and put this ring on her finger. He walked back to his room and sat down on the bed. This room made him sick. Everything made him sick. Everything reminded him of Arabella. Arabella was everything. Hunter paked up his stuff quickly. He needed to be on the road. He needed to be distracted from all of this. He hated it and he wanted to old her and kiss her, but now he would never have the chance. Hunter finished packing and headed out the door.
"I hope you enjoyed your stay in San Fransisco. Have a good day." The woman said, plainly. Hunter looked at the woman and wanted to punch her. Hunter was going to have the worst day of his life. There was nothing her could do. Hunter shouldered his bag and threw it in the back of his car. He finally slid into the driver's seat and started it. He closed his eyes a moment and leaned on the steering wheel, openly sobbing. He wished that he could open his eyes and look over and see her. She would be sitting there with a smile on her face and she would be smiling and everything would go back to being perfect. Hunter finally backed out and started out of San Fransisco, wondering what the point of going back to New York was.
"Where are you flying to?" The cab driver asked. Arabella looked over at him, stunned for a moment by his question. She had forgotten that the whole world didn't stop. People were still going about their days and she was horribly heart broken. Her entire world was falling around her but no one seemed to notice.
"New York City" Arabella told him softly and she picked at a loose thread on her shirt.
"New York? That's a long flight. Are you going home?" The cab driver asked her. He had a friendly voice and he seemed like a really good person. Maybe he was someone's father. That thought hurt Arabella too. She knew that she would never raise a family with Hunter. That future was gone. It was flying away. Was she going home? Arabella didn't feel like it. Home was with Hunter and Ajax and Jolie. Home was the house that they lived in together. She wasn't going home. She was going back to New York to pack up her things and search for a new house.
"No, I'm not" Arabella said in a small voice and she took a shaky breath. She was crying again and there was nothing that she could do to stop the tears from falling. Arabella took off her sunglasses and she brushed the tears off of her cheeks with her thumbs. The cab driver looked in his rearview mirror at her before turning back to the road. He picked up a box of tissues and passed it back to her.
"Did you have to leave a loved one?" He asked her in a gentle voice and Arabella nodded, taking the tissues from him and wiping her eyes with one.
"Yeah, I did" She confessed in a watery voice. He gave her a small, understanding smile.
"If things are meant to be, you'll see each other again soon. People who love each other never stay far away from the other. They always have a way of making it back into your life somehow" He said to her in a comforting voice. Arabella looked up at him and her hand automatically went to the pendant around her neck. She rubbed it with her thumb and looked out the window.
"Hey, could you turn on the radio for me? I have a question that need answering" Arabella asked softly and the driver nodded. Arabella closed her eyes as she waited for the radio to come on. Are Hunter and I meant to be? She sent her question up to the gods. She sent it out to the universe. Whoever was listening to her. She needed an answer. Arabella rubbed the pendant as the cab driver flicked the radio on.
I'm gonna love you more than anyone/I'm gonna hold you closer than before/And when I kiss you soul, your body be free/I'll be free for you anytime/I'm gonna love you more than anyone.
It was the song that Hunter and Arabella had danced to at the wedding. It was the song that he had kissed her too. It was the song that was playing when she was starting to feel whole again, when the hole in her heart started to fill again. Hunter was never going to hurt her and he never did hurt her. Arabella had jumped to a silly conclusion because of her past. Hunter loved her and he would never, ever kiss Tiffany. Arabella opened her eyes and she looked at the cab driver.
"Turn around. I need to go back to the hotel" She said in an urgent voice and the driver looked back at her with a knowing smile on his face. As soon as he could, he turned around and headed back to the hotel. The drive felt so long. Every second that ticked by felt like minutes. Minutes felt like hours. What if Hunter already left? What if she was never going to see him again? She couldn't let him leave. She needed to tell him that she loved him and that she was sorry for how she acted.
Finally, the driver was pulling up to the hotel and Arabella saw something that made her heart race. Hunter's car was pulling out of the parking lot. He was leaving. Arabella tossed a hundred dollar bill into the front seat and she threw herself out of the cab. She ran as fast and she possibly could. She didn't car if she looked stupid. She was going to stop Hunter. Arabella ran in front of his car and she skidded to a stop, placing her hands on the hood of the car.
Hunter slammed on the brakes and closed his eyes, bracing himself. He finally looked up and saw Arabella looking at him through the windshield. They locked eyes and Hunter could feel tears welling up in his eyes. She came back for him. Hunter threw his car into park and got out. They locked eyes one more time before Hunter ran at her and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her tightly on the lips. It felt so good to hold her again. To kiss her. To be near her. "I missed you so much, Arabella." He whispered, breaking the kiss and putting his forehead on hers and letting tears finally fall.
"I missed you too, Hunter" Arabella breathed in a watery voice. She closed her eyes, tears falling freely. She was sobbing and she was tired but her heart was starting to fill again. Hunter was with her and even though they still needed to talk and clear some things up, Hunter was kissing her and holding her. Arabella pulled him down to her, kissing him again. It was the only thing that she wanted. She just wanted to kiss him. Her arms slipped around his neck and she held herself close to him. Arabella folded herself into him. She let herself fall apart in his arms. She buried her face in his neck, wanting to stay like that forever.
Hunter held her close and closed his eyes. He buried his face in her hair and inhaled her smell. He was so happy. They stood there for several moments. Just holding each other. Enjoying each other. Memorizing each other. He was smiling a genuine smile for the first time in too long. "I'm so so so sorry." He said quietly, willing to do anything to stay like this forever.
"Shhh.." Arabella said softly and shook her head. She wasn't ready to talk about it. She couldn't talk about it. not there, not then. She was too emotional to talk. Arabella just wanted to get into the car and drive somewhere, anywhere. She was already crying and trying desperately to hold back her sobs. There was a honk from behind them and Arabella pulled away to look behind them. A car was parked behind them, unable to get out of the parking lot. "We should go..." She said softly and even though she didn't want to, Arabella pulled out of his arms to grab her bags.
Hunter stood there for a second, already feeling cold from her absence. He hurried to her and grabbed her bags, taking her hand and kissing it. It felt natural and he missed the ability to do it. He gave her a small smile and put her bags in the back of the car before getting into the driver's seat. He put the car into drive and pulled onto the street, driving wherever the road took them.
Arabella slid over to him, needing to be by his side. She couldn't stand to be away from him for a second longer. Her body was sore and worn out. Her emotions were all over the place and as soon as she put her head on Hunter's shoulder, she realized just how exhausted she was. Arabella closed her eyes when she felt Hunter's arm around her, giving her a squeeze. It was comforting and it was real. It wasn't a dream. It wasn't something she was doing while he was asleep so that she could get to sleep. "I really missed you, Hunter" She breathed.
Hunter nodded. "Get some sleep. I'll wake you up eventually." He whispered with a smile on his face. He kissed her head and held her closer than he ever had before. He loved her. He had missed her so much and now that he had her back, even if things were unclear, he never wanted to let her go. He never wanted to be away from her again. He could feel her slowly falling asleep in against him and he was so glad. "I love you." He whispered, gently kissing her hair.