Arabella watched Hunter as he hesitantly stepped into her apartment. She gave him a small smile then looked around her apartment. It decorated beautifully, of course. A mix of colors, patterns and neutral accents but it all seemed to work. It was a huge, open concept with funky pieces here and there and it was all very personal. She had little personal touches all over, like her childhood teddy bear and pictures of her friends from Camp. On the fireplace mantel, there was a little statue that Arabella had made for her when she was in Greece of Aphrodite.
She didn't bother giving Hunter the grand tour or asking him questions or making small talk, she just pushed him towards the bathroom. Arabella needed to take care of her friend and that was more important than anything. Ignoring his protests, Arabella went into her office and pulled out some men's clothing and placed it on the counter in the bathroom.
"I can't take those, I'm sure your boyfriend won't appreciate it" Hunter said to her, looking a little uncomfortable and nervous. Arabella rolled her eyes and folded her arms.
"They're not my boyfriend's. I made those. I'm working on expanding into men's clothing and I would really like your input" Arabella said to him and when Hunter raised an eyebrow at her, she giggled a little.
"Just..have a shower and we can talk when you don't smell like a dog" Arabella said to him and punched his arm lightly, the way she used to when they were younger.
Once Hunter was in the shower, Arabella went to the kitchen to look in the fridge. What was she going to make for Hunter? She didn't cook. Her oven was being used as storage for her shoes because she ran our of closet space. With a sigh, Arabella called the first number on her speed dial, the Chinese take out place down the street. She ordered the meal for four, because it looked like Hunter was nearly starving.
While she waited for Hunter to finish in the shower, Arabella sat down on her couch, thinking of everything that happened today. Thinking of Hunter brought tears to her eyes though and she tried to wipe them away before Hunter came out and saw her crying. What had happened to him? Where was the man she knew? It made Arabella feel guilty to think of everything that she could have done for him if she only knew what was going on. She could have saved him. Everything had changed so much since they were last at Camp. Arabella would probably trade everything she had to go back to her knife fighting lessons with Hunter.
When the food came, Arabella set the table, putting all of the food in the middle of the table. She walked to her fridge, still trying to hold back tears. Quickly, she poured herself a glass of white wine then went back to sit on the couch, thinking of what to say to Hunter the whole time. She needed to know his story, how someone like him became homeless and begging outside of her company. Arabella took a sip of her wine and thanked the gods that she could Charmspeak the guy at the liqour store into letting her buy booze.
The shower turned off and Arabella sat up, drying her eyes quickly. She looked at Hunter who was walking down the hall towards her. Putting a smile on her face, Arabella stood up to inspect his outfit
"Damn, I am good" She said to herself then looked up at Hunter's face, who was giving her a very small smile.
"Has your ego gotten bigger?" Hunter asked her, teasing her. Hearing him teasing her made Arabella's heart ache for 2 years ago. It was so familiar to their old life together but at the same time, it was different because they were so different.
Arabella cleared her throat "Here...I got you some food" she said in a small voice, gesturing towards the table "Eat..then we can talk about your hair cut"