"Oh Hunter..." Arabella whispered, in total shock. So many things ran through her mind at one time. How could all of this happened? It was too much. She was furious with Philippa and she was angry with the gods. She wanted to go and give Artemis a nice slap. Her heart ached for Hunter. She knew that he was just skimming things down and telling her the short version of it all, but it was all that she needed to hear. How could someone go through everything that Hunter had gone through and still be standing? Arabella didn't know what else to do, she reached out and she took his hand, trying to give him some kind of comfort "Why didn't you call me? I could have done something, helped you out.." she asked him, her eyes wide
He glanced down at her hand in his. "I wasn't looking for someone to baby me, Arabella." He said with a sigh. "When I left camp I wanted to leave that life. Everything about it. Everyone had turned their back on me and I didn't want anything to do with them. That included Iris Messages..." He said quietly. "Maybe I was just ashamed..." He said in barely a whisper.
"Hunter. I thought you were smarter than that. You're my best friend and I love you. Nothing you can say to me would make me turn my back on you. I'm here for you. Always and forever" Arabella said to him in a soft voice, trying to hold back her tears. she felt so guilty that she hadn't been there for him, that she hadn't helped him. Maybe if she didn't go to LA, he wouldn't be in this position. If she stayed at Camp then she would have been able to be with him and he wouldn't be alone like this. Quickly, she wiped a tear away from her cheek.
Hunter, who was looking really uncomfortable and nervous, cleared his throat "What happened with Brian?" he asked. Clearly, he was desperate to change the subject and Arabella wasn't going to stop him. They could talk about it some other time. She wasn't really excited about talking to Brian, but Hunter asked her what happened and if she told him, maybe he wouldn't leave her.
"We moved to LA, so that I could go to school and everything was amazing at first. He was so kind and loving and I was happy. He even proposed to me. Without really thinking about it, I said yes. It was like a fairy tale" Arabella told Hunter in a small voice, pulling her legs up to her chest. Nervously, she started to tug at her ring finger on her left hand. There was still a hint of a tan from where the ring was "But he started to change. Everything became about sex to him. I would come home from a long day at school, totally exhausted and he would expect me to sleep with him. When I said no, he would get really mad and not talk to me for the rest of the night. He was...he was starting to remind me of Chad" Arabella said in a whisper and looked down at her lap. A couple of tears fell down her cheeks, but she kept talking. It was like a dam opening up. For so long, she had no one to talk to, no one to trust or confide in. Being able to talk about it was like having a huge weight lifted off of her shoulders "We got into a big fight..I might have thrown some plates at him...and I moved back to New York" she finished softly. Arabella looked over at Hunter, then away, trying to wipe the tears away
"I'm so sorry, Arabella. I uh...I didn't mean to bring it up. You don't deserve that." He said quietly. He was mad at himself for bringing it up.
Arabella looked back at him when he spoke and she gave him a sad little smile. She shook her head in protest, not wanting him to feel bad for her "Don't feel bad, I owed you" she told him
Hunter reluctantly lifted his arm up and put it around her shoulders. "How long has it been, then?" he asked her. Arabella kind of froze for a moment, not really sure what to do. This was the first time that he had done something like that since they last saw each other. Arabella missed the feeling of him holding her. After a moment, she melted into his side, taking in everything about that moment. How he felt, his smell..everything.
"About a year" Arabella told him and shrugged a little bit "Once I left him and came back to New York, I threw myself into my work and it's gotten me some pretty amazing things. So I guess I can't complain too much"
They sat in silence for a moment and Arabella closed her eyes. She wanted to sit like that forever. So peaceful and easy and simple. But her stomach growled and she pushed herself out of his arms "I am so hungry" she said with a little smile on her face and she walked over to the fridge, pulling down her box of take out menus
"Pizza, Thai, Sushi or Indian?" Arabella asked him, holding up the colorful pieces of folded paper