Arabella looked at Aphrodite for a moment, not bothering to hide her tears. Being around Aphrodite was special to Arabella. She loved the fact that when she saw Aphrodite, she saw a woman who looked just like herself. There was no denying that this was her mom. Aphrodite gave her a small smile and Arabella couldn't stop herself. She threw her arms around Aphrodite, hugging her close. Tears splashed down Arabella's cheeks and her cries shook her whole body. Aphrodite just held her, rubbing her back gently.
"Oh, my beautiful girl...what happened to you?" Aphrodite whispered. This was something that Arabella loved about her mom. She cared about her children. Arabella knew that Aphrodite loved her and that she had her best interests at heart. Aphrodite pulled away from the hug so that she could look Arabella in the eyes "You and Hunter must be the most difficult relationship since I don't know when" she sighed.
"Whatever I had with him is over" Arabella whispered and looked down at her lap. Aphrodite shook her head and tilted Arabella's head up again.
"That boy loves you. You love him" Aphrodite said simply. Arabella shook her head and sniffled. She knew that her makeup was running, but she didn't care.
"He hates me now. How could he not?" Arabella whispered and wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand.
"What have I always told you about love? What is the one thing that I tried to drill into your head as much as I could?" Aphrodite asked, her voice low but steady.
"That shoulder pads were a huge mistake?" Arabella said, kind of avoiding the actual question and the actual answer. Aphrodite looked at her with an eyebrow raised and Arabella let out a sigh "That love is what it's all about and that it's forever" she whispered. Aphrodite smiled and nodded.
"He loved you once, he loves you now and he's going to love you for the rest of his life" Aphrodite said and she was so confident, it almost made Arabella believe her. Would Hunter really love her still? After everything she had put him through? She didn't think that he would ever be able to forgive her "Do you love him?"
"Yes. I love him" Arabella whispered "I broke things off with him because I love him. If he sticks with me, he's just going to get hurt and left alone a lot. This is better for him in the end" she finished, looking away from Aphrodite again. Aphrodite huffed and Arabella could practically feel her roll her eyes
"You are going to give up on love because of your company? That is one of the stupidest things I've ever heard. You don't need this company anymore. You don't need to be a part of it. You have enough money to last you for the rest of your life" Aphrodite said and Arabella looked back at her, tears flowing easily again "You know what the problem is? You're afraid. You're afraid of getting hurt again and you're afraid of being left alone" Aphrodite continued and gingerly wiped the tears from Arabella's cheeks. She took out a cloth and started cleaning up the make up that was running down Arabella's face.
"It's too late, Mom" Arabella whispered and closed her eyes. Her whole body felt tired and emotionally, she was drained. She wanted to fall asleep and wake up to a different reality. She wanted to forget that any of this had ever happened to her.
"It's not too late, Arabella. It's never too late" Aphrodite said and she took a deep breath, running her fingers through Arabella's hair, getting rid of the small tangles and fixing it a bit "What you need to do is get in that car of yours and drive to Camp Half Blood before Hunter makes a very, very stupid mistake" she told her. Arabella's heart dropped into her stomach. He was going to join the hunters.
"I-I can't..I have to go to Europe and my bags are probably already on the plane-" Arabella said softly. Aphrodite gave her a little smirk.
"Now they're not" Aphrodite said and Arabella gave her a small smile "Go and find your man. Tell him you're sorry and that you love him. He won't be able to resist" she said with a little nod. Arabella smiled a little smile at her mom.
"Thank you" She said softly. Aphrodite waved her hand, dismissing her thanks.
"I really do this more for me than anything. Huntabella had kind of been a goal of mine for a while" Aphrodite said with a wink. Arabella closed her eyes for a second and when she opened them again, Aphrodite was gone. Would Arabella Foster please board at Gate 10. Arabella looked at the gate for a moment before standing up and running through the airport. People looked at her as she ran past but she didn't pay attention. She just ran. Her heart was hammering and she had to work to keep her breath steady, but she didn't stop. Arabella ran out of the airport and threw herself into her parked car. She drove as fast as she could, urging the car to move faster. If she got three just a minute too late then it would all be ruined. Arabella couldn't let him join the hunters without him knowing how she felt.
It wasn't long before she was parking the car and running out of it and into the rain. Her heart was really beating now and her breathing was more laboured. By the time she reached Thalia's Pine, she had to take a few seconds to catch her breath. She rested her hand on the tree, taking deep breaths. She looked down at the sleeping form of Peleus "Damn Hunter and his stupid casseroles" she breathed before she started running again. Arabella sped into the camp, ignoring other campers who were looking at her with slight shock. She ignored her siblings that tried to stop her to say hello. She ignored some of the hunters that were giving her slightly dirty looks. She ran into the Big House, pushing the door open as she ran. Hunter was standing there with Chiron and Artemis. He was standing straight and had his back to her. "No! Hunter, you can't!" she cried and skidded to a stop. She didn't even realize that she was soaking wet, making her clothes cling to body and her hair lose a bit of it's curl. She didn't care, really. All she cared about was Hunter. He turned around and looked at her with a slight hint of shock on his face
"Why can't I?" Hunter said to her in a cold, emotionless voice. Hearing that stillness in his voice and seeing the way that he held himself scared her. She had never seen him like this before. It was like all of the life was drained out of him.
"Because I love you" Arabella said, forgetting about everyone else in the room and letting tears fall down her wet cheeks "I love you with every fiber of my being and I made a huge mistake. I was stupid and pathetic and afraid so I pushed you away. But I realize now that I need you in my life. You saved me, Hunter and every single day that I wake up, you save me again and you make my day worth while. I love you now and I'm going to love you for the rest of my life. I'll understand if you never want to see me again but I couldn't let you become a hunter again without telling you that" she told him, not breaking eye contact with him the whole time. She took a deep breath, trying to not sob right there "I'm sorry..I am so, so, sorry" she whispered, her voice breaking off