Waking up the next morning wasn't easy. Arabella was sure that it had all been a dream. Hunter showing up would be too perfect. Maybe she was dead. Maybe she had actually died in her tub and she was now in the Underworld. But with a shock, Arabella realized that if she was in the Underworld, then she would know. So yesterday must have happened and she must have fallen asleep next to Hunter. Arabella sat up quickly, but she regretted it. She was light headed and her body ached. Her arm was throbbing and she looked down at the scar running up her arm, almost reaching her elbow. Slowly, Arabella looked around the room and saw that she was the only one in there. Hunter wasn't there. Hunter had left her. Arabella's heart sunk and she took deep breaths, trying to calm herself down. Everything that Hunter had said to her last night was all just a lie. He only said those things because he felt guilty. Arabella leaned back against her pillows, staring out her window with blank eyes.
"I hope that I put enough sugar in the coffee"
Arabella turned her head quickly to look at the door. Hunter was standing in the doorway holding a tray of scrambled eggs, toast, fruit and coffee. She let out a small sigh. He didn't leave her. Arabella wanted to throw her arms around him and stay there. Finally, she settled herself against the pillows and tried to give him a small smile. She didn't want him to feel guilty or sorry for her. She didn't want him to see that she was still a mess. Arabella pulled her knees up to her chest as Hunter placed the tray by her on the bed. She picked up the coffee and took a sip "It's perfect" she said gently and looked down at the food. Arabella wasn't hungry, at least, she didn't feel hungry. Arabella picked at the fruit, popping a strawberry into her mouth.
"How did you sleep?" Hunter asked Arabella in a gentle voice, sitting down on her bed. Arabella looked up at him and took a sip of her coffee, thinking it over.
"Best sleep I've gotten in a while" Arabella confessed and looked down at the tray of food. The truth was, she had slept well because she had fallen asleep with Hunter by her side. Arabella bit into another strawberry and looked down at her wrist for a brief moment before finishing off her coffee. With a sigh, she looked at the calendar by her bed and her heart nearly fell into her stomach.
"What is it, Ellie? Are you okay?" Hunter asked her in a worried tone, seeing the look on Arabella's face. Had that much time already gone by? It almost seemed like yesterday she was writing that note down. Arabella slipped out of bed and even though her legs were shaky, she hurried as fast as she could over to her closet.
"Oh...no. No, no, no, no, no" Arabella moaned, looking inside at the rows of clothes. Of course, it would be this day that she didn't have a dress. It would be this day that she needed a fancy one the most and it wouldn't be there. Arabella put her forehead against the wall and closed her eyes "Dammit!"
"Ellie, what's wrong?" Hunter said walking towards her. He sounded worried about her, like there was something really terrible and that she was going to do something stupid again. Arabella sighed and turned around so that she was looking at Hunter and leaned against the wall.
"Tonight is the CFDA awards" Arabella said in a stressed out voice "It's like the Oscars of the fashion world and I'm supposed to go to it because I'm nominated for Womenswear Designer of the Year and Fashion Icon of the Year" She added and Hunter gave her a small smile.
"That's fantastic, Ellie" Hunter said in a proud voice "But what's the problem?"
"I have nothing to wear! I need to have a red carpet dress and I need my hair and make up to be just right and I'm not ready for it at all. I totally forgot about it" Arabella moaned and hit the back of her head against the wall lightly. Arabella looked at Hunter and he looked like he was trying to hold back a chuckle. Of course the one thing that would get Arabella out of bed and starting to move around again like a functioning human being would be the fact that she has nothing to wear. Arabella rolled her eyes, gave Hunter a smack on his arm and turned back to her closet. She started pulling out every dress, skirt and shirt that she could find. The pile on the floor got bigger and bigger and Hunter looked more and more uncomfortable as Arabella started throwing bras onto the pile.
"I'll, uh, I'll go get you some more coffee" Hunter told her uncomfortably but Arabella didn't acknowledge him. She was too busy trying to find something, anything that she could wear. Once Hunter had left the room and Arabella and pretty much emptied her entire closet, she sat down on the floor, looking at all of the pieces. The hardest part about trying to put together an outfit for fashion awards was that it was fashion. Everyone was going to be looking at her dress. Everyone was going to be studying her dress. Arabella let out a sigh and laid down on the pile and moaned. Why did it have to be tonight, of all nights? Arabella searched through her clothes for a few moments and she finally found a dress that might work, if she wore it the right way. Arabella slipped into the dress that hit about mid thigh and was a basic, black bandage dress. She looked at herself in the mirror before she padded down the hall to see what Hunter thought of it.
"Hey, Hunter? How does this one look?" Arabella asked him nervously tugging at the hem of her dress.