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Arabella pulled away from Chad a little bit, looking around her apartment. Was that a door closing? Was Hunter back? Her heart skipped a beat "Did you hear that?" she whispered to Chad, trying not to get her hopes up. If she ran to see if it was Hunter and saw that it just her imagination..it would probably split her heart in two. Chad looked at her with a little frown on his face and shook his head. Arabella couldn't tell if he was lying or if she was really just hearing things.
"It was probably nothing..you're hearing things" Chad whispered to her, running his fingers through her golden hair. Arabella bit her lip and nodded sadly. Where was Hunter? Did he really leave her? The more the thought about it, the more tears started to form in her eyes. Chad didn't notice that she was trying not to cry, he just leaned back in, kissing her neck again. Arabella closed her eyes, putting her hands on his sides. She tried with everything she had to keep Hunter out of her mind. Maybe he would come back soon. Arabella let out a little gasp when she felt her bra come undone. She was so lost in her own thoughts, she didn't realize that Chad had put his hands up her shirt again. Was he really expecting this from her? He had just swept back into her life and expected her to go to bed with him. Arabella pulled away from him and looked in his eyes. Was it only about sex for him? Chad leaned down and he kissed her lips softly "Come on" he whispered, pulling her close to him and walking down the hall towards her bedroom.
The next morning, Chad pushed himself up into a sitting position and looked down at Arabella. She was curled up into the fetal position and had her back to him, fast asleep. Chad smirked a little bit to himself and slid out of the bed, pulling on his clothes from the day before. He walked down the hall quietly, hoping that he wouldn't wake up Arabella. Yesterday afternoon, he heard someone come in and leave. But he wasn't about to tell that to Arabella. Chad walked into the kitchen and saw a small envelope with Arabella's name on it. His eyes narrowed and he picked it up, slicing it open in a quick swipe. Chad quickly scanned the words on the page, anger boiling up inside of him. He had just gotten her back. He wasn't about to lose her to Hunter. Chad folded up the note, slipping it into his pocket and ripping the envelope into pieces before throwing it out. She didn't need to know that it had ever existed.
Two days had passed. Two days and not a word from Hunter. Arabella thought that he would at least stop by to say goodbye or let her know that he was okay. But she didn't hear a thing from him. Why would he just leave her like that? It would be one thing if he stayed with her, as friends. Arabella could maybe deal with that. She had been his friend for a long time, maybe she would be able to go back to that. But he didn't seem to want to be her friend let alone anything more than that. It broke her heart when she thought about how he left her. Arabella's self esteem plummeted. She was so critical about everything, especially her looks. She hated what she saw in the mirror. She was sure that the reason why Hunter left was that there was something wrong with her. The only time that she felt halfway decent was when she was with Chad. He paid attention to her and even though he always expected her to sleep with him, at least he wanted her too. She felt a little bit better knowing that Chad liked the way she looked.
Arabella stepped out of her bathroom, pulling her wet hair up into a bun. She didn't look in mirrors anymore, she avoided them like the plague. Arabella walked down the hall and into the living room. Chad was standing at the fireplace, his designer jeans were low on his hips. He wasn't wearing a shirt and Arabella could see that the muscles in his back were tense. As soon as she saw that, Arabella's stomach got tight. He didn't look happy. Chad turned around and looked at her. His golden hair was messy and in his tanned hand, he held the small statue that Arabella kept on the mantle piece. It was something that she had gotten made for her when she was visiting Greece. It was a small statue of Aphrodite and it meant a lot to Arabella. It was like having her mom with her all the time. Chad was clutching it now, like it was ugly and horrible, like he just found drugs in Arabella's apartment.
"Why do you keep something like this?" Chad snapped at her, holding the statue up. Arabella flinched slightly and folded her arms across her chest.
"I like it Chad. Most people keep pictures of their mothers around the house. That's my mother" Arabella said simply, like it was obvious. Why was he acting like this? Chad rolled his eyes.
"Why are you so proud of that? So what, she's Aphrodite. You're still stuck here in New York, living a plain and mortal life. There is nothing special about any of this shit. And I'm sick of looking at your mother's face everyday" Chad said, his voice raising slightly. He walked over the the closet and tossed the statue in and closed the door. Arabella flinched and looked down at the ground.
"I'm proud of who I am Chad, I'm proud of who my mom is" Arabella said softly and looked up at him. Chad glared at her, clenching his fists. He looked livid and Arabella knew that it was best not to push the issue any more. Arabella bit her lip.
"Just order the damn food" Chad said harshly and walked over to the couch, sitting down. Arabella nodded softly and walked over to the phone, quickly ordering the Chinese food. She closed her eyes and rested her forehead against the fridge, listening to Chad flip through the channels.
"Arabella?" Chad called to herArabella didn't respond. She didn't know why..she just..didn't. Arabella wasn't used to actually hearing her name, she was used to hearing Ellie.. She just kept thinking about other things, ignoring the voice from the living room "Arabella?! When is the food coming?" Chad snapped. Arabella shook herself and cleared her throat
"It'll be here in 20 minutes" Arabella told him in a small voice. Arabella couldn't help it, her mind flashed back to Hunter. If Hunter was with her, Arabella would have been curled up on the couch, watching the Jersey Shore marathon. Hunter would probably be cooking super for them. Then he would join her and they would make fun of Snooki together. They would have talked for a little bit, Arabella would have made hot chocolate then they would have gone to bed happy. She would not be ordering Chinese food and pouring herself a shot of Absolut.
When the food came, Arabella paid for it and put it on plates. She quickly finished her shot and brought the food out to Chad, placing it on his lap. He was paying attention to the football game on TV and he just started eating, not saying a word to Arabella. Arabella wasn't hungry. she had a couple bites of steamed veggies before putting her plate down and resting her chin on her knees. "We should watch a movie tonight" she suggested and looked over at Chad "I just bought I Am Number Four"
"There's a football game on" Chad said to her in a harsh voice. Arabella sighed and looked out the window. She pushed herself off of the couch and took the plate to the sink then looked at Chad.
"I'm going to bed" Arabella told him. He waved in response. Arabella sighed softly and walked off to her bedroom, curling up under the blanket.
Another day and a half had passed and still no word from Hunter. Arabella started to really worry about him. but her worry was quickly replaced with anger. Her anger was quickly replaced with sadness. What if something happened to him? How dare he leave without saying goodbye! Was he missing her like she was missing him? Arabella sat at her desk in her office, organizing her papers. She just had a meeting with her team about Fashion Week and she was stressing out about it. There was a knock on her door and Arabella looked up "Come in" she called and watched as the door opened. Her brother Daniel walked in, closing the door behind him. Daniel sat down in the chair across from her with a look in his dark eyes that said 'I am about to give you a speech'. Arabella sighed "What is it, Danny?" she asked, folding her arms on the table.
"I think you know" Daniel said to her simply, not taking his eyes off of her. Arabella let out a sigh, pretending that she didn't know what he was talking about.
"What? Is is the twinkle lights for Fashion Week? It's not too much, is it? I know that I need a lot of them but it will pay off in the end, I know it" Arabella said quickly. Daniel, however, ignored this. He leaned forward and looked at her.
"Chad? Really Arabella? Of all the guys in the world, you pick Chad?" Daniel said to her in a soft voice and Arabella looked down at the desk "In case you forgot, he was horrible to you. I haven't forgotten the sound of you crying every night or all of those bruises on your body. You can say whatever you want about the bruises being from training, but I'm not stupid Arabella. You never trained. You tanned. How could you go back to someone like that? He was terrible and I know that he still is because you look so sad all the time. Whatever happened to Hunter? I know that you have feelings for him"
"He doesn't want me" Arabella said, looking up at Daniel "He doesn't want me and he probably never will. He left. Without saying goodbye. He just...left" she said, her voice breaking off at the end. She looked out side the window and took a breath "It doesn't matter if I have feelings for him. It doesn't matter what I want. I can't force him to stay with me"
"Arabella..." Daniel said softly. He moved to go give her a hug but just then, her office door opened and Chad walked in. Daniel sat down, glaring at Chad. The look of anger in Daniel's eyes was enough to make you think that he could possibly be Ares' son if you didn't know better. Arabella looked over at Chad, forcing a smile onto her face.
"Come on, Babe" Chad said, grabbing Arabella's purse "Let's get home. I already talked to your assistant and told her that you were going to be going home early" he finished and looked at her, waiting for her to get up. Arabella bit her lip.
"I have to stay, Chad..I've got a lot to do here. I can't just..go home" Arabella said and she immediately regretted saying that. Chad looked at her with angry eyes and she flinched. He didn't even have to say anything. Arabella stood up and looked at Daniel with sad eyes before walking out with Chad leading the way.
As soon as Arabella walked into the apartment, she pulled off her shoes "I'm going for a bath" she told Chad but she didn't get very far. Chad put a hand on her shoulder and pulled her back. Arabella looked at him for a moment and Chad smirked. He pushed her against the wall and he started kissing her. She tried to push him away but he was so much stronger than her.
"Chad..I'm tired" Arabella said and bit her lip as he kissed her neck. She wanted to push him away but the warmth of his hands on her back felt so good. Next thing she knew, he had picked her up and walked over to the couch with her. Her sat her down then leaned over her, kissing neck and down to her chest. Chad sat up and pulled his shirt off before he went back to kissing her. Arabella closed her eyes and pretended that she wasn't there. That she was somewhere else. Or that Hunter was the one who was kissing her. Chad's hands found their way up her dress and he started running his fingers up and down her sides. His lips worked their way to her chest again and he kissed with urgency, knowing full well that Arabella didn't really want to do this with him.
Arabella thought about Hunter, still pretending that it was his hands, his lips that were touching her body. Not Chad. Maybe she just got caught up in the moment or maybe she didn't realize that she was saying out loud, but ever so softly, Arabella moaned "Hunter.."
Chad stopped what he was doing and looked down at her. Her dress was rumpled and pulled up to her stomach. She had a worried look on her face as soon as she realized what she had said "What did you call me?" Chad hissed, leaning over her so that his face was inches from her. Arabella shook her head.
"Chad. I said Chad" She whispered, trying to make him believe her. Chad's hand was around her throat then and Arabella tried to pull him off of her. He was squeezing a little too tight.
"You said 'Hunter'" Chad hissed and before Arabella could do anything, before she could stop him or defend herself, she felt his fist hit the side of her face.