Hunter had lied awake that night. He laid under his covers hoping that she would walk in and crawl into bed with him. Not that he wanted to do anything, he just liked being near her. He rolled onto his side and stared at the door. She seemed...different. He understood that she was busy with work, but he never imagined that she would ignore him. It felt odd. It felt shallow. He felt unwanted again and, to be honest, lonely. That morning he woke up with the sound of the shower going. He heard her frantically preparing for work. He heard her swear under her breath when she stubbed her toe on the doorjamb. He wanted to burst out and sweep her into his arms, but...she didn't have the time. As the door closed, he quickly changed clothes and stepped out. He had to meet Elliot in about an hour.
He was about to prep his usual breakfast of toast and when he opened the door to the fridge and found a wad of cash. "What in the..." He grabbed it and closed the fridge. "Did Ellie leave this?" He asked quietly to himself. He set it down on the counter and went back to his breakfast. No bread. No butter. "Time to- Ohhh..." He said as he grabbed the cash and shoved it into his pocket. "She wants food, of course." He chuckled quietly to himself and finished getting ready. He tied up his shoes and reread the note that she had left the previous day. He sighed at her signature before replacing it in his pocket and leaving.
When he arrived at Elliot's office, he walked right into his office. "Ahh...Mr. Reed. You're a very punctual man." He said with a grin.
"Please, call me Hunter." He corrected, trying to sound polite instead of frustrated. "So, what's for today?" He asked, ready to be done already.
"Well, Hunter. Yesterday, we basically cemented ownership and transferred stuff and all that jazz." Elliot said standing up and walking over to a filing cabinet. He searched for a second before pulling out a large file that made Hunter cringe. "Today is the 'fun' part. Your grandparents and your mother and your father all had property and items that would then fall to you. However, after 20 years...You know? I've gotta tell you something." Hunter took a deep breath. He was nervous about what it was that Elliot had to say. "This has gotta be THE strangest case I've ever worked. I'm not going to even try and figure out where you came from all of a sudden, but that's not the only part. Your grandmother. Generally, when there's a whole lot of things to sort through, after a few years it just gets auctioned off or sold, but your grandma. I remember, she came to me. She gave me 10 grand up front, if I never do that. If this policy never expires. Considering the size of this file, I kept it all. It's almost like she was expecting you to show up." He said with a chuckle.
"No, she was expecting my mom to finally break her oath and have something to survive on." Hunter thought to himself as Elliot walked over to his desk and sat back down putting the file in front of him.
"Anyway, there are a lot of items that we need to take care of. There is a house that belonged to your parents. There's a collection of complete and incomplete cars. There's an assortment of jewelry. There's a trailer home. Anything except clothes and other personal item were kept and itemized here. Right now, we're going to go through all of it and see what you want sold or auctioned off and what you want to keep. Depending on your level of sentimentality, you can walk away from all of this with a whole lot of money, Mr.- excuse me - Hunter." Hunter looked at the file and sighed. He was going to have to go into detail the lives of his dead family. The sooner the better.
"Let's start, then." He said quietly. Elliot put on a pair of half moon glasses and looked at the first item.
"A trailer home. It belonged to your father, Mel." He slid it across the table and Hunter looked at it. The place where his father raped his mother. No, let's not keep that.
"Let's sell that." He said quietly before sliding it back. It went like that for a few more hours. It was the afternoon when they decided to call it quits for the day. He shook his hand and left, emotionally tired. He returned to the apartment via the grocery store and immediately put the food away. After a little while he started dinner. Beef roast with mashed potatoes and fresh vegetables. As it was cooking, he heard the door open and he smiled to himself. He walked out of the kitchen and looked at her. "Hey, how was work?" He asked opening his arms up for a hug.
"Another busy day. Dinner smells great, Hunter." She said as she walked right by him, her arms full of papers and binders. Hunter's heart sank and he let out a sad sigh before walking back into the kitchen. She came in and started snooping a little at the food. Hunter gave a small grin before walking toward her. She put a pot of water on the empty burner and turned it on. Hunter froze. She turned and looked at him and took a step forward. She kissed him briefly on the cheek and smiled. "This looks really good. Can you do me a favor though? Can you bring it to me on a tray? I've got a lot of stuff to do before tomorrow." Hunter blinked a few times before forcing a smile.
"Of course, Ellie." He bent down to kiss her on the forehead, but her phone rang and she answered it and left before he could. He sighed and went back to cooking. As soon as he finished he made a plate for her and set it on a tray with her tea and a small vase with an orchid in it. He hoped that she would notice the extra feature. He picked it up carefully and pushed into her room. She was talking on her phone. Hunter set the tray on the bed and received a nod and a smile before walking back out. He walked back into the kitchen and filled a plate of his own. He sat at the table and picked at it for a little while before putting it back. He put away the leftovers and cleaned all of the dishes from dinner before going into his room and closing the door. He didn't bother asking her is she needed anything. He changed into a pair of pajama pants and laid down on his bed on the floor.
"Hunter!" She yelled from her room. Hunter smiled and quickly got up. He walked into her room to see her covered in papers. "Hunter, can you do me a huge huge favor? I'd do it, but I'm a little..covered." She said looking down. "Can you make me some more tea? Oh, and I finished eating. Thank you so much. It was delicious." She said before handing him the tray. He looked down at himself to see that he was shirtless. No flirtatious comment that would make him blush? He looked around to see the orchid on her bedside table. She didn't care.
"Yeah. I got it. After that I'm going to bed." He said in the same quiet tone he hadn't used in a while. She flashed him a smile before answering her phone again. He walked out and into the kitchen. He washed and put away her dishes before going back into his room. He laid down again, partially hoping that he wouldn't have to see her again before tomorrow.
Hunter sighed quietly as he rolled toward the door. He wanted her to come in and be with him, but he also wanted to just be alone. He didn't want to see her. He had never thought that, but now...he was hurt. He was busy with the legal stuff and he came home in slight depression. Now, he was feeling really down. He rolled onto his stomach and thought about her, like he had a choice. "She barely knows I exist. I need to get in front of her work. I'll make her lunch tomorrow. I'll ask Elliot for an early day and I'll make her that pesto pasta. She loves that." He smiled a little as he put his head toward the door. "That's gotta work." He said quietly before putting his face in his pillow and quickly falling asleep.