Hunter just didn't know what to do with himself. When they had gotten back to the hotel that night, he said good night and then walked into his room. For the first 30 minutes he just stood at his door. He didn't know what to do. He absently rubbed his pendant as he looked at his room. He was tired. Very tired and the room in any other situation would look comfortable and warm. It didn't. It was missing something. It was missing Arabella. He had been able to push down his feelings for her for so long. He needed to. They were friends and she needed to move past him. He was willing to help her do that, but everything was too much. He was glad that he had had some free time. Every time he spent time with Arabella it made him think how things would be different if Tiffany hadn't delivered their food that night. Her sitting on the couch and reading would be replaced with them holding each other and talking about what they wanted to do for the rest of the day and the rest of the trip and the rest of their lives. They would talk about how much they love each other and how they wanted to get married to each other and live with each other and raise kids and grow old together. But that's not what they were doing. Arabella was reading. Hunter was sitting on his bed, messing with the bow from his pendant.
The next 30 minutes after they got back was full of him changing his clothes and getting packed up for getting back on the road tomorrow. He didn't know when they were leaving, but he needed something to distract him. Seeing that picture. Holding her. Being near her. Touching her. Being in a romantic place with her. Talking to her again. Looking at her again. All of that made keeping his feelings for her bottled up almost impossible. How he had stopped himself from kissing her right then was a mystery that he will probably never be able to answer. As soon as Hunter was done getting packed up he sighed. There was nothing left to distract him. He changed into pajama pants and paced his room a little, his mind out of control. He stopped in the middle of his room and rubbed his face for a second before putting his hands in his pockets and being surprised to feel something there. He pulled it out to find that it was the ring. the ring that he had tucked away, out of his memories. When he saw it again, everything just became too much. Tears started to fall again. He was every emotion thinkable and all he wanted to do was go into Arabella's room and kiss her and hold her and apologize and hear her say that she forgives him and he would insist on being sorry and he would beg her to forgive him and she would and they would fall asleep in each other's arms for the first time in too long.
It wasn't until 2 o clock that he realized that he had spent the past 2 hours leaning up against the connecting doors. He was listening to her partially. For the most part he was crying and looking at the ring. Looking at the work along the band. It had taken him a few hours to get it done with plenty of help from Marina. The diamond in the shape of a heart that he thought was so perfect when he saw it. The bronze that had meant so much to him, but was willing to give up for her. He had moved on and wanted to move on with her. Finally the engraving. "I'll always love you, Honey bunch. Always." He read it over and over again, regretting everything. He was mad at Tiffany. What gave her the right to do any of the things that she did? To kiss him like that. Who was she to do that? He was mad at Arabella. He loved her and he thought that she loved him, but it was obvious that she didn't. She gave douchebags like Chad second chances, but for him...With all the heartbreak that she had given him. With all of the insisting she did when she thought she was going to lose him forever. A girl kisses him and she immediately jumps to the worst possible scenario. That he was cheating on her. How could she think that he would do that? And then how could she break things off and then act the way she was. She was toying with Hunter.
Over his anger was an overwhelming sense of sadness. He was sad. Very sad. The tears kept falling even after he cursed himself for crying. He was mad at himself for crying. Hunter slumped against the door, sitting on the ground. He stared at the ring and wished that he would still be able to give it to her. He wanted to be in her room with her. To help her sleep. To help himself sleep. To hold her. To love her. No. It wasn't allowed. She broke things off. Maybe he could tuck the ring away, among her things. When she got packed up she wouldn't notice it. Maybe years later when she's looking for a ring to wear to her daughter's wedding then she would find it. She would look at it and maybe feel a touch of sadness at the love, or what she thought was love, that she shared with him. Hunter didn't want it anymore. He had nowhere to go. He didn't know what to do. Arabella would find a new apartment. She would go back to working at her company. She would feel sad for a time, but she would come back. She would find a new guy. She would fall in love. Actual love. She would get married and she would completely forget about Hunter. She would finally be happy.
The idea made Hunter smile. That she would be happy. That's all he wanted. Even if it was someone that wasn't him. Someone that she hadn't met yet. Someone that could make her truly happy. Someone that she deserved.
Hunter clenched the ring in his hand and closed his eyes. He imagined her getting married. He wouldn't be there, but he could see it. She was getting married to someone else. She was laughing and she was smiling and she was much happier than he had seen her in so long. What felt like so long. He watched as she raised kids with the guy. Little blonde haired kids running around her feet as she leaned up to kiss her husband. She was going to be such a great mother. Hunter didn't want to see any of this. It broke his heart to see her with someone else, but he needed to get used it. He couldn't hang on to her anymore. He needed to let her go. He loved her. He would always love her.
He would help her move out and then be lost again. He would go to his job. He would work. He would teach archery. Every time he took aim, he thought of a happy moment. Something to focus on to help him direct his shot. He would lose his ability. Every happy moment he thought of would involve her. He didn't have anything else. He would go home and sit alone, wishing that he could do something else. Anything else. The house that she dwelled in. They had planned their life in. How could he keep it? He would have to sell it. All he would have is his car and Ajax. He would find somewhere else.
Ajax would howl for his lost friend. The woman that he had come to adore and the small dog that he had grown attached to. They would be lost forever and every bark and every howl would shatter any defense Hunter could help to build against the bitter memories of the girl that he truly loved. Would he ever find someone that meant as much to him as she did? As she does? "No." Hunter muttered under his breath, reading the rings inscription one more time. "I'll always love you, honey bunch. Always." It was all that he needed to know to answer how the rest of his life would play out. It might have been just a ring, but it was true. He would always love her.
Hunter finally put the ring in his pocket and slid into his makeshift bed on the floor, closing his eyes and sobbing a little bit more, trying to fall asleep. He had finally stopped crying enough to start drifting to sleep when he heard the connecting door open. He looked over cautiously to see Arabella sliding back into bed and curling up under her covers. Hunter closed his eyes again, trying to fall asleep and trying to resist the urge to crawl into bed with her. Would she even accept his advances? If he stood up and walked into her room and crawled into bed with her. He would kiss her on the lips and savor the feeling that he had been missing for so long. She would pull him closer and they would hold each other. "I love you." He would say and he would kiss her again and again and she would finally tell him that she loved him too.
Or she would yell at him. She would kick him out of her room and that would answer any questions that he had. He would crawl back to his room with heavy shoulders and a hanging head and he would curl up in his spot on the floor never to move again. After a few hours of anxiety, Hunter finally managed to fall asleep. It wasn't very good sleep, but it was sleep.
Hunter's eyes opened when he felt the air flow change in the room. He looked up to see Arabella, standing in the doorway and looking right at him.
"You okay, Arabella?" He asked quietly, wiping some tears from his eyes. He sat up a little and looked at her closer. She looked tired and she was just staring at him.
"Ellie." She said in a sad voice as she stepped toward him. She lowered herself onto his lap and she wrapped her arms around his neck, looking into his eyes. "Call me Ellie." She said insistently.
"I'm so sorry, Ellie. I promise you that I would never ever cheat on you. I swear on the river Styx that she kissed me. I didn't want to touch her let alone kiss her." He was studying the ground, but he felt a hand on his chin, pulling his face up. "I'm so so so sorry." He said, a tear falling down his face.
"I love you, Hunter." She said before kissing him on the lips. Hunter could feel tears falling, but he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back, loving the feeling of her being everything again. "Why are you sleeping on the floor?" She asked, looking at him with worried eyes. Hunter kissed her and closed his eyes, putting his head on her shoulder.
"Because I miss you. I missed you. I will always miss you." Hunter said, kissing her neck. "I love you so much, Ellie." He said, his voice, a watery mess. "I'm so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you." She shook her head and kissed him again.
"I know, sweetie. I know. I overreacted." She said quietly. "It's okay now. I'm with you." Hunter smiled and sniffled a little before kissing her again, tightly on the lips. It felt so good to be with her again and for once in what felt like weeks, he was happy again.
That's when he woke up. The sun was warm on his face and he looked over to see the doors open. He sighed and rubbed his eyes as he tried to wake up a little. His sleep was crap, but it was better than nothing. He stretched as he sat up, looking over a little. He was surprised to see a foot. Not just a foot, but an entire leg. He rubbed his eyes again and looked to see Arabella lying in the bed. His bed. He stood up quietly and looked at her, a small bit of confusion poking at his brain. He stepped carefully into her room and looked into her bed, not knowing why. Maybe he was expecting her to be there too or maybe he was imagining things. What did it mean? She got into his bed. He wasn't in it, but she was close to him. He looked back at her as she was starting to stir a little, possibly waking up. Hunter panicked for a second before hurrying back to his spot and pulling the covers back on, pretending to be asleep. He heard movement and a yawn as he kept his eyes closed and simulated the sound of sleeping as best he could. He felt the mattress creak slightly as she positioned herself differently on the bed. Hunter felt an odd sensation. He could feel her looking at him through his closed eyes. Hunter tried not to ruin this moment. He loved her looking at him. He felt loved, even wanted after that. The two of them stayed like that for a few minutes before he heard movement again. The soft sound of footsteps told him that she was awake. He heard them to the door before they stopped. He froze. Was his cover blown? He heard them get closer again and Hunter unintentionally held his breath.
"Good morning, Hunter." She said quietly as she crouched down, putting a hand on his arm and kissing him lightly on the forehead. Hunter wanted to cry at that moment. He followed the footsteps back to her room and finally heard the door click closed before losing control. Tears flowed down his cheeks as he breathed heavily. He strained to keep himself quiet, but it was difficult and he wasn't sure how he was doing. She kissed his forehead. She touched him. She said good morning. She watched him sleep. She slept near him. What was that? Hunter was feeling so much, but he was more confused than anything. He finally stood up, taking a seat on the bed where he could wipe his tears away and control himself a little more. Hunter got dressed again and hurried out of his room into the bathroom.
He looked at himself in the mirror. He stared at himself. His eyes were tired and he was so close to the mirror he could smell the cleaning solution. It was morning. The time of feeling sorry for himself and realizing what his life without her as like was over. He needed to put his friend mask back on and be there for her. No more emotions. No more caring for her. No more feelings.
"Yeah. Like that's likely." Hunter looked in the mirror and saw Imaginary Hunter standing on the toilet. Hunter sighed and rubbed his face.
"What are you doing here?" Hunter asked with a sigh as he splashed water on his face.
"Confucius say: Man who stand on toilet is high on pot." IH said with a chuckle and a raised eyebrow. Hunter blinked and looked at him. "You...Are such a sourpuss." He said with a sigh as he stepped down from the toilet. "What happened to you? Since when do you just give up? Seriously. You look like a strung-out heroin addict." Hunter looked at himself in the mirror. The night of crying hadn't done wonders for Hunter's appearance.
"What am I supposed to do? She broke up with me?" Hunter said as he wiped his face with a towel. IH took the sunglasses from his shirt collar and wiped them with his sleeve.
"Look, she obviously still cares. Would she be staring at you and kissing you and that stuff if she didn't?" IH said as he checked the lens' cleanliness. "You gotta try and win her back, man! I mean you never give up. Against a Titan. Against a god. What makes a 20 year old girl the real challenge? You've killed the things of nightmares, but when it comes to talking to a girl, you're as docile as a dead cow." Maybe he was right. Hunter had never really wooed someone before. Maybe, trying to win her back wouldn't be the worst thing. Hunter sighed and shook his head.
"Just...go away." He said, closing his eyes tightly. When he opened them, IH was gone. Hunter left the bathroom to see Arabella emerging from hers. "Good morning." Hunter said quietly, giving her the most charming smile he could muster. It wasn't much, but it was a start. Hunter probably couldn't do much, but smile and nod, but he would do what he could. He yawned and stretched a little. At this rate, he couldn't do much.
"I think I'll drive today." She said with a smile.