Hunter felt trapped. He wanted to be there. Be there with her, but he didn't want to be babied. He wasn't going to be there for someone to coddle him. Would it be so wrong to live with her? I mean, she did say something about a private chef. Maybe Hunter could do that. She wouldn't be taking care of him. He would be working for her. It would be mutually beneficial. She was his friend. "Ellie, I'm sorry for what I said. I don't want to leave. I'm not going to leave. None of this is your fault and you don't deserve to be snapped at by someone like me. I don't exist. I'm not important." He said before turning around from his spot by the sink, soapy water from doing dishes covering his hands. "But you don't know that because I'm talking to myself. Ms. Foster has gone for a swim. At night. By herself." He said quietly before turning around and leaning his head into the cupboard above the sink, his head hitting it with a thud. He sighed and went back to the dishes.
The whole time his mind was on Arabella. I've seen nicer guys than you get hurt and you're as nice as they come. Mike's voice rang in his head. He shook Arabella away and quickly finished the dishes. He checked his watch. "Okay, Ellie. Where are you? You've been out there for a while." He said nervously. His heart sank at the thought of something bad happening to her. He felt like it was his fault. It was his fault. HE told her he was leaving. HE didn't give in to her hug. HE didn't make an effort to fix this. "Olympus forbid you have a good time, Hunter." Hunter heard a voice say. He looked over to see himself sitting in a chair at the table.
"I'm not alone anymore. You don't need to be here, imaginary Hunter." Hunter said pointing at himself sitting in the chair, suds flying from his fingers. Hunter watched as he casually ate the portion of dinner that Hunter couldn't finish. He chewed and swallowed a bite of pork and casually stood up.
"The pork's a little dry." He said clearing his throat. "It looks a lot like being alone, doesn't it? I mean, I was there all the times you were alone. I was your...alternative to something more reckless. Or at least something crazier looking. If memory suits, you're kind of in your same jive, man. I mean, did you not like hanging out with a good friend? Someone you missed and someone that's as smoking hot as Arabella out there?" Imaginary Hunter said, looking Hunter in the eye. Hunter blushed.
"Did I just make myself blush?" He asked quietly. Imaginary Hunter smiled and nodded. Hunter studied the ground. "I'm that awkward?" He said leaning up on the counter. He shook his head after a moment and grabbed the plate off the table and scraped the half-eaten food into the trash. "This is just another job. El--Ms. Foster is just another person being charitable and giving me something in exchange for work. That's all that's happening. I would expect nothing more or nothing less." He said clearly before washing the last few dishes. He looked back up at Imaginary Hunter who was staring at him, mouth wide open. "Would you go away?!" Hunter said, rolling his eyes. "I have some floors to sand." He said, leaving the kitchen and going back to work on the floors. Imaginary Hunter followed him.
"Are we blind?! Just another job...If this is just another job, then I'm the Queen of England. No, wait. France. I like Shepherd's Pie too much to not be the Queen of England." Imaginary Hunter said with a nod. Hunter stopped his standing and looked at him in astonishment.
"I can't believe you're me." He said quietly. He shook his head and went back to sanding.
"No, sorry. I got sidetracked." He said with a sigh. "To be honest, I can't believe I'm you, either. I mean, when you became a Hunter, I didn't know they removed everything down there. I just thought it was an oath. Not a...sacrifice." He said with a chuckle. Hunter stood up and looked himself in the eye.
"What do you want? Do you have a problem?" He said with a sigh. "She doesn't want me. I'm nothing, but a burden. I saved her life, so she's putting me up for a little while. I never intended for this to be permanent. Neither did she." He said, trying to convince himself before returning to work.
"You must be dumb, then. If you can't tell that you want her and that she wants you BAD, then I...You cannot be helped." He said with a chuckle. "I mean, let's say that you're not blind, deaf, and dumb. That means that you see it and you're disregarding it. That girl out there, swimming in the dark, though she may not be exhibiting her best judgment at the moment, is the smartest, prettiest, strongest, funniest, and most kind girl you know. I know this for a fact." Hunter stood up to protest. "Deal with it. Now, if you have any balls at all, you'll go out there and deal with her. Apologize. NOW." Imaginary Hunter said sternly. Hunter looked himself in the eye and dropped the sander at his feet. With a sigh, he walked upstairs and grabbed a towel. He walked down to see that Imaginary Hunter was gone.
"That guy is such a douchebag..." He said quietly as he shouldered the towel and walked out. As he approached the beach, he thought about his conversation with himself. Was he right? Do I like Arabella? He shook the though away as he moved from dirt to sand. He walked to the beach and stood at the shore. "Ms. Foster, you should really come back in. It's starting to get really dark." He said spreading out the towel and prompting her to come out of the water. She turned to look at him with plain eyes. She stepped toward him a little and blinked.
"Sorry. Ms. Foster is busy having fun right now. Leave your message after the beep...BEEP." She said indignantly before turning around and diving back into the water. Hunter looked at her and sighed. He shouldered the towel again and turned to walk away, but saw Imaginary Hunter standing in his way. He simply shook his head and pointed at Arabella sternly. Hunter sighed and walked back to the shore.
"Hi, Ms. Foster. This is Hunter. I just wanted to apologize for how much of an idiot I am. If you want to continue ignoring me, I'll understand, but I just wanted to let you know that you didn't deserve anything that I said to you. I was an idiot for how I acted to you. It was completely uncalled for and I'm an idiot. If you feel like accepting this apology, that's good. Personal chefs should get along with the people they're feeding." Hunter said with a sigh. "Thanks for having me. I await your return call." He said before folding the towel and placing it on the ground near her shorts. He stood their for a moment before turning around and starting to walk away.
"You don't need to call me Ms. Foster." Hunter turned around to see her looking up at him. She was biting her lip and twirling a piece of her wet hair between her fingers. Hunter nodded at her.
"Noted." He responded. "Thank you, Arabella." He turned to walk away again.
"Ellie." She said a little bit louder. Hunter smiled gently for a brief second before turning back around. "You can call me Ellie." She said quietly.
"Will do." He said with a nod. "Thank you, Ellie." He said, turning around again.
"Hey, Hunter. Can you help me, real quick?" She asked him. Hunter smiled and silently chuckled to himself before turning around slowly. "My foot is kind of stuck in some weeds or something. Can you help pull me out?" She asked quietly. Hunter sighed and nodded. He walked into the water until he was about calf deep in the water. It almost touched the hem of his shorts. He reached out a hand.
"I told you swimming at night was- Whoa!" He said as Arabella grinned deviously and grabbed his hand. With a big yank, she pulled Hunter into the water. Hunter stood up quickly and shook the water from his head. He glared at her. "I can't BELIEVE that you would do that..." He said with wide eyes. She smiled deviously at him. Hunter sighed and looked at her. "You are going to get it!" He said with a grin and a laugh as he took off after her. She screamed playfully and turned and ran away.
"No! No!" She screamed as she jogged away from him. Hunter easily caught up to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He pulled her back and spun until they both fell into the sand and water. He looked up at her from his place on the ground with her laying on top of him. He smiled gently until he realized their current situation. He turned bright-red and quickly stood up.
"Sorry. Let's uh...We should really get inside." He said, reverting back to his normal state. He walked out of the water and grabbed his shoes. "I'm actually going to go to bed...Ellie. I'm really tired." He said quickly as he took off toward the house without showering or drying off or even looking back. He walked in and hurried up the stairs. He opened the door to his room and quickly changed into a pair of pajama pants after drying off a little. He immediately climbed into his bed on the floor. He feigned being asleep, but his mind was racing too fast.
Arabella watched Hunter run off to the house and she sighed a little to herself. Hunter had smiled. He actually smiled at her and he laughed. Arabella slowly walked out of the water, wrapping a towel around herself and climbing up the stairs to her bedroom. She dried herself off and took off her bikini, pulling on a pair of shorts and a tank top. Arabella flopped down on her bed, thinking about everything that had happened that night. She smiled softly to herself, remembering the feel of Hunter's arms around her. They were warm and comforting and she felt safe. Arabella closed her eyes, but she couldn't sleep. Her skin was still tingling where Hunter had touched her.
Hunter tossed and turned on the floor, trying to force himself to sleep, but his eyes wouldn't close. He had never felt this way before. At least, he didn't think he had. He finally stood up out of his bed and started pacing. "I can't believe this." He said quietly. "She was...And I...Now I....And she's..." His mouth could barely keep up with his mind. At this rate, he was going to carve a hole in the floor with his pacing. He froze in place when he heard a creak outside his door. It's her. Is she listening to me talk to myself? Is she going to come in? WhadooidoWhadooidoWhadooidoWhadooido. He thought to himself as he stared at the door.
Arabella had gotten out of bed eventually, not being able to sleep. Without thinking, she walked towards Hunter's room. The door was closed but she stood outside of it with her hand on the wood, wondering if she should go in. He was probably asleep now, right? Arabella took a deep breath and she was about to push the door open when she heard movement and a voice coming from inside his room. Arabella's heart skipped a beat and she chewed on her lip, quickly taking her hand off of the door. Oh gods, he is going to think I've gone totally crazy if he opens the door and sees me standing here. Arabella took a couple steps backward, hoping that he wouldn't hear her or see her. Out of nerves, she quickly tip toed back to her room and closed the door. Arabella leaned her back against it and closed her eyes. When did I turn into such a wimp?
Hunter cautiously stepped to the door of his room and put his ear up against it just in time to hear a door latch closed. Hunter started shaking out of pure nerve leaned up against his door. Was she going to come in? What did she want? She probably wanted to ask about dinner tomorrow. Or if I had clothes. Yeah. That's probably it. No. She probably wanted to say good night. Yeah! Of course. He tried to convince himself. He placed a hand on his doorknob. "I might as well say good night. She probably heard me talking to myself and thought I was busy." He said with a nod. He creaked his door open and cautiously tiptoed to her door. He placed a hand on her door. It was warm. IS SHE RIGHT ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS DOOR?! He thought to himself with wide eyes. He took a deep breath and looked back at his open door. He slowly bent down and pressed his ear against the door. He could hear her heart beating. A small smile spread across his face at the feeling. He felt the presence disappear into the room, waking Hunter from his trance. He cursed under his breath and scurried back to his room. He slid into his bed and threw the covers on top of himself before closing his eyes. After an hour or two of panicking he finally drifted off to sleep.
Arabella heard movement outside of her door and she froze. Was he standing outside of there? Is he going to come inside?! Arabella looked around her room, nervous. What if he opened the door? I would fall on top of him! Quickly, Arabella hurried over to her bed and threw herself down, listening to the sounds outside her door. She wanted him to come inside so badly. When Arabella was younger, she couldn't sleep unless she had someone or something to cuddle. It was because she was so worried about being alone. However, she had been alone for quite a while and got used to sleeping alone. Now though, all she wanted was Hunter to walk into her room and crawl into bed with her. She heard him walking away and into his room and her heart sunk a little. Arabella let out a sigh and turned over on her side, grabbing her teddy bear and hugging him tight to her chest. After about an hour, she slowly drifted off into a light sleep.