Hunter rode in the taxi for what seemed like hours. His mind was too busy thinking about his discussion with Tom to notice when they actually pulled up. "You can sit in here, but I'm gonna leave the meter on, kid." Hunter shook himself back to reality and cleared his throat. He reached into his pocket and paid the driver before thanking him and exiting the vehicle. He walked up toward his house and stood in his driveway. No matter how much time he spent in this house, it still felt like it didn't belong to him. He stepped toward his car and ran a finger along the top. After waiting long enough he stepped inside of his house.
He walked upstairs into the master bedroom and sat on the bed. He had spent some time decorating and arranging this room to make it comfortable to him and make it semi-comfortable for Arabella. He imagined them living together. Here. In this house. Sleeping in this bed. Eating in that kitchen. Watching movies in that living room. He laid back on the bed and could feel his body relaxing. Part of him missed the feeling of a bed. He had been sleeping on the ground for so long, he had gotten used to it. The only times he had slept in a bed were with Arabella. He wanted to share this bed with Arabella. Even if it meant just to sleep. At this rate, that is all it would be meant for. He sat back up and stood, taking off his jacket. He slowly walked over to his closet and hung up his jacket before noticing something he hadn't noticed before.
"What in the world..." Hunter muttered before pulling everything out of his closet. He set it all down on the bed and walked back to the closet. He looked closely and saw a small outline in the back wall of the closet. hunter ran a finger along the crack and eventually found a string. A small and thin string, but still a string. Hunter grabbed hold and pulled, opening a small compartment with a small box in it. He grabbed the box and closed the compartment before sitting in a rocking chair by the window. He carefully opened the box to find it full of pictures. A woman that Hunter had recognized as his grandmother and then someone else. He looked like her, but then had a familiar way about him. A radiant smile and bright blue eyes. The pictures were old, but in good shape. As he flipped through the pictures he came across more and more pictures of this kid. In most of them he had a guitar and that's when he realized who it was. "Arthur." Artemis had told Hunter about Arthur, but didn't linger on the issue. Apparently, he committed some crime against the gods. There were a lot of pictures, more than Hunter had thought and by the end of them he hadn't realized how long he had been gone.
He stood up and set the pictures on his dresser before grabbing his jacket and slipping it on. He walked out of the room and down the stairs. He grabbed his keys out of the dish near the door and walked toward the door. "Hunter. There you are." said a familiar voice. Hunter froze. He hadn't heard that voice in so long. The last time he had heard it, it was screaming at him. He slowly turned around to see Artemis standing in front of him.
"Artemis, what are you doing here?" He asked quietly. He wasn't exactly happy to see her considering he would have avoided homelessness if it weren't for her.
"I uh...recently had a discussion with Philippa." She said quietly. "I was upset with you because you actively disobeyed me. However, new information has come to light. I was unaware of Philippa's desire to leave the Hunters. If I had known that you were standing up for her wishes I would not have been so ready to...scold you." Hunter scoffed.
"Scold me? You threatened to castrate me, I believe. No, wait. That was one of the other hunters. You just threatened to kill me." He said bitterly. Artemis nodded apologetically.
"I understand that we may have been harsh." She said calmly. "You have my deepest apologies." Hunter looked at her with narrowed eyes. From the threats that he received, Hunter was glad none of them happened to him. In a way, he got off pretty easily.
"I can forgive, I suppose." Hunter said quietly. "That doesn't answer the question of what you're doing here." He said with a sigh. Artemis nodded again.
"Well, after my discussion with Philippa, I decided that you did nothing wrong and since you willingly broke your oath, I am here to welcome you back to the hunters." She said with a small smile. Hunter's eyes widened.
"Welcome...the hunters..." He mumbled as he leaned up against the stairwell. "I uh...I don't..." He said quietly. He immediately thought of Arabella. He loved her. He didn't want to give that up. "I...No. I don't accept. I don't want to go back." He said quietly. She nodded.
"I can understand that. This is a surprise to you." She said calmly. "Come to camp. Return to camp if you change your mind. The hunters and I will be there for the rest of the week. You can find us there if you decide to rejoin us." She said calmly. Hunter shrugged.
"Don't count on it." He said under his breath. She nodded.
"Goodbye, Hunter. I do wish you change your mind." She said with a nod before disappearing. Hunter stood there a little shocked by the recent conversation. Of all the things he had thought might happen while he was here, that wasn't on the list. He finally took a deep breath and left his house, locking the door behind him. He got into his car and backed out of the driveway. He drove toward the apartment. 30 minutes and a stop at an Apple store later, he arrived outside the building. He parked and ran in. He ran up the stairs and strolled into the apartment to see Arabella with damp hair. "Hey, I have an odd story and some news." He said, walking toward her and leaning down to kiss her cheek. She turned away and Hunter thought he heard a quiet whimper. His heart sank as he saw the look on her face.
"I have some news, too." She said quietly as she sat down on the recliner at the end of the couch. Hunter looked at her for a second before sitting down on the couch.
"You go first." He said, a little nervous about how she was going to respond to Artemis' offer. She shook her head. "Come on, Ellie. I'm a grown up. I can take it." He said with a chuckle. He could suddenly see tears welling up in her eyes, causing Hunter's stomach to clench.
"Umm...Hunter? For work. There are these kind of events called Fashion week. Now there's one in Milan and one in London and all over Europe. I need to go to all of them." She said, her voice shaky.
"That's great. What's the problem, then?" He asked with a shrug. She let out a small sob before continuing. Seeing her cry made Hunter want to cry a little.
"I'll be working, Hunter. Pretty much all the time. I won't have time for you." She said calmly. Hunter stood up and sat on the armrest of the chair.
"Ellie, I don't care. When do we leave?" He asked quietly as he grabbed her hands.
"Hunter, I hurt you. I know I did." She said, with tears in her eyes. "Hunter, I don't want to hurt you again. I can't stand to see you like that again. This trip around Europe is going to be that times 1000. Hunter, I can't hurt you again. I'm sorry." Hunter's heart sank.
"What are you saying?" He said quietly as he stood up from his spot near her. "Are you...Are you breaking up with me?" He asked, feeling so many feelings all at once. She buried her face in her hands and finally nodded. Immediately, Hunter felt like he got punched in the stomach. He could feel tears rolling down his cheeks. "So, you don't want to hurt me again, so what? You thought you'd do it early and save you some time?! You're sorry? You know what, ARABELLA? I'M sorry. I'M sorry for thinking that this was more than a fling for you. I assumed that you would want me there for everything in your life, good or bad. I didn't want to be you booty call for the New York area." He said, angrily. She stood up and placed her hands his arms, but Hunter shook them off. Hunter turned away and sobbed a few times. She stood in front of him and opened her mouth to speak, but Hunter stopped her. "Don't. Just don't, okay? I'm done with all the I'm sorry. Just be honest about your feelings for me for once would you?" He said with a sob before walking toward the door.
"Hunter, I-" She choked up.
"You know? I just came back from talking to Artemis. She wants me back to the hunters. I said no, but I guess that answers one question!" He shouted before opening the door. He turned back and looked her in the eye. "And to think I loved you." He muttered before storming out. He walked down the stairs and sprinted to his car. He got in and put his head on the steering wheel, tears flowing freely. He looked over at the passenger seat and saw her new iPhone sitting on the seat, unopened. He wanted to smash it. He wanted to break it into a million pieces. He grabbed it and sprinted back to her apartment. He swung open the door. He tossed the iPhone onto the couch where she was sitting and took a step forward. "There. We're even. I never have to see you again." He said quietly as he gesticulated. He turned to walk away, but turned around to say something quickly. He saw her flinch as if she thought he might hit her. Hunter was shocked. "If you ever thought that I would even think about hitting you, this was a giant waste of time. I might be nothing, but a fling to you, but I would never lay a hand on you. I thought you knew that." He said quietly as another tear coasted down his cheek. "I thought wrong." He said before storming out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him.