Arabella was curled up into a ball with her chin on her knees. She looked down at Hunter, laying in the bed and she felt yet another wave of guilt. What could she say to him? There was so much that she wanted to say but 'I'm sorry' didn't seem like enough. Arabella closed her eyes for a moment and she wrapped her arms around her legs even tighter. She took a deep breath and chewed on her lip. "How are you feeling?" she whispered.
"I'm good." Hunter said quietly as he itched at his cast a little. His arm still ached, but the combination of adrenaline and painkillers they had him on either made him not care or make it hurt less considering how badly it was broken. "Ellie, please don't beat yourself up over this. Accidents happen. This is no different." He said quietly. "Come on. Come sit by me. I'm cold." He said with a smile, holding out his good arm to her.
Arabella looked down at Hunter with red, puffy eyes from crying. She looked at the cast for a moment before closing her eyes and shaking her head quickly. More then anything, she wanted to crawl in the bed next to Hunter. She was shivering slightly and had his sweater wrapped around her tightly. "I don't want to hurt you again" she breathed and sniffled a little bit, wiping her cheeks with the back of her hand.
"Oh, please." He said with a scoff. "You didn't hurt me. The stairs hurt me." He said with a chuckle. He looked at her. He hated the fact that she was beating herself up about this. He sat up in bed and winced, immediately putting an arm around his ribs. "Don't make me drag you over here." He said with a weak smile. She shook her head again. He sighed and started to get out of bed. "If you won't come over here, than I'm coming to you." He said, taking a deep breath and preparing to get out of bed.
"Oh gods, you are impossible" Arabella whispered and she got out of the chair that she was sitting in. She looked down at his bed anxiously. Arabella wanted to sit do so badly but she was still nervous. What if she did something that hurt him? She took a deep breath and gingerly lowered herself onto the edge of the bed. "Is there anything I can get you? A drink? Jello? Cookies?"
Hunter smiled as he laid back down. He reached his good arm and pulled her down, immediately pressing his lips to hers. "Ellie, I'm fine. Just relax." He said, kissing her again. "If you really want to do something for me, stop beating yourself up about this. I fell down the stairs. I'm not going to get upset with you for showing affection." He pressed his lips to hers. "Come on. Don't cry." He said, wiping her eyes with his thumb. "I've had much much worse. This is nothing." He said with a smile.
"No. No, no, no, you're not. You're not fine" Arabella said, shaking her head and pulling away from him a little bit. She was still worried that she was going to hurt him if she sat too close to him. "I don't care if you've had worse. And you should be upset with me. I was the reason you fell which makes me the reason why you are now in the hospital and I am so, so sorry" Arabella said in a small voice and she looked down at her lap, away from Hunter.
"Stop it. Stop being sorry." He said, putting a hand on her leg. "Seeing you upset...It really bums me out." He said with a sigh. He was sad to see her so put out like this. Earlier she literally jumped his bones and now she didn't even want to touch him. "Ellie, what do you want me to do?" He whispered, brushing hair behind her ears. "Did you want me to yell at you? Rage at you for hurting me? Just become so enraged at you that I can't stand looking at you?"
Arabella turned her eyes to look at him for a moment before looking down and nodding. She had grown to expect that. Not from Hunter. Of course not from Hunter. But it was almost like an old habit, to expect something like that. Arabella took a shaky breath. She wanted to look at Hunter but she was afraid to look at him. She was afraid to see his injuries again. Arabella slowly turned her eyes up to look at his face and she chewed on her lip. "Why not? I'd probably be raging at me if I was you" she muttered.
Hunter knit his eyebrows a moment. "If I tackled you, we'd probably both be in here." He said with a small smile. He sighed and looked at her. She looked like she was in so much pain. "Ellie, I'm not mad at you." He said, cradling her cheek in his hand. "I don't need you protecting me. I protect you. That's how this works." He said with a chuckle. "Now, lay down. Let me be the judge of whether you hurt me or not."
Arabella looked down at him and she let out a sigh. She wanted to be by his side and in his arms so badly. But she was terribly worried about hurting him. Arabella pulled her hair back, held his sweater around her tighter and slowly laid down next to him, trying to be as gentle as possible. "Is this okay? Should I move? Does it hurt?" she asked him nervously, looking up at him.
Hunter smiled and looked down at her. "No. It's perfect." He said, pulling her closer. He bent down a little and kissed her gently on the lips before putting his head back and closing his eyes. "This is much better." He said with a happy sigh as he put his arm around her. He loved her so much and he didn't want to do anything to hurt her."Ellie, I'm sorry for being so...Whatever it was I was." He said quietly. "I'm just so worried about...Everything, honestly. I'm worried about you. It almost killed you when you found out you weren't pregnant. I don't want to see you like that again. I'm worried about our kids. Or at least our first one." He said before putting his face in her hair a little. "What will we be teaching out kid if neither of his unmarried parents are employed and roll around in the sack every other day?" He reflexively reached his left arm up and inhaled sharply at the pain. She looked up at him with worried eyes. "It wasn't you. It was me." He clarified, gingerly putting his arm back down.
Arabella looked at him and she let out a soft sigh. She didn't really know what to say at first. Mostly because it still gave her butterflies when he mentioned anything about their future together. She was happy and excited for it to begin but she never thought that she would be so lucky to have Hunter in her life like that. Arabella touched his left hand lightly. Her fingers grazing over his knuckles. "Hunter, I don't want you to have to do something that you're not comfortable with. If you have worries or doubts or questions, then we should be able to talk about it, right? We need to be open and honest, especially about this stuff." Arabella told him softly. "I'm sorry that I was so upset. I know that it was silly to be that excited, but I couldn't help it. I was picturing a perfect life and suddenly, it was like it was all ripped out from under me"
"Don't be sorry, Ellie. I don't blame you, at all." He said, wiggling his fingers on his left hand at her touch. "I just...I don't know. It's not that I'm uncomfortable with it, I just don't want our first child to just...happen." He said kissing her head again. "I want us to look at our relationship and its strength and be able to say, 'we are ready to meet little Audrey.' 20 years later, I don't want to tell my daughter that she just...came about. 'Well, we had your two younger siblings on purpose, but you-You were an accident.'" He said all in one breath. He closed his eyes and sighed. "Ellie, I want us to be ready. I want us to be able to support this child from birth. Right now, we can't do that. In 9 months will we be able to do that? I have no idea. I don't know if I'll be able to find a job. I don't know if I'll be a good fa-" He stopped himself. Was that what this was all about? How had he not seen it at this point? How would his kid see him? Would he be able to be a father? "Ellie, what if I turn into a bad father?" He asked with a sigh. His father was an alcoholic and a child abuser. The only person to be an actual father to him was Chiron. He tried his best, but overall he wasn't very good. He had nothing to go off. There was no example. Hunter felt a lump in his throat growing. He imagined his kids growing up and hating him. "Ellie, I don't want to be a bad father." He said in a shaky voice, a tear trickling down the side of his eye.
"Oh...Hunter" Arabella said softly, looking up at him. She reached up and kissed the tear away. With a small groan, she pushed herself into a sitting position so that she could look into his eyes easer. She took his right hand in both of hers and she rubbed her thumbs along the back of his hand. "One day, you are going to be an amazing father, Hunter. You're going to love those kids so much, they almost won't be able to stand it. You're going to raise them so well and you'll teach them so much. They're going to love you and you are going to be the best dad that anyone could ever hope for" Arabella told him softly and she looked down at him, trying to smile. She didn't even realize that he had felt that way at all. She never thought that it would be an issue. "You're also going to make our daughter go upstairs to change her clothes before she leaves and you'll tell all of her boyfriends that you have a black belt and you're probably never going to let her date until she turns 18, at least"
"No dating until she's married." He said with a nod. Was she right? As much as Hunter was excited to be a dad, he was nervous if he would be any good at it. He was good at a lot of things, but he would have to wait and find out if he was any good at being a dad. "Speaking of good parenting, you're going to be the best mom in the world." He said with a smile. He swallowed and looked up at her. He couldn't help it anymore. He reached up with his good arm and pulled her down, somewhat on top of him. He pressed his lips to hers and wrapped his arm around her. "Mmm....Our kids are going to be so lucky to have you as a mom." He said with a sigh, brushing his lips to her neck.
Arabella looked at him for a moment then closed her eyes, letting herself really feel everything that he was doing. She could feel every single tingle in her skin where his lips touched her and she could feel every muscle in his arm as he held her. Arabella smiled softly, keeping her eyes closed. "You really think so?" She asked him in a whisper "I mean, I had never even thought about kids until that scare. Kids used to bug the crap out of me." Did Hunter really think that she would be a good mom? Arabella didn't know if she would or not but she knew that she wanted kids in her future and that must have something to do with her parenting skills, right?
"You take care of me enough." He said with a chuckle. He pulled away and looked at her. "You're kind." He said, kissing her lightly. "And smart. And funny. And beautiful. And joyful. And strong." He said kissing her with every adjective. "You're perfect, basically. That's what I'm trying to say." He said with a chuckle as he ran his hand up and down her back. "Let me handle the cooking though, okay?" He said, smiling against her lips.
Arabella's cheeks got brighter and brighter with every kiss and every compliment. She wondered if Hunter realized just how much his words meant to her. Just how amazing it felt to hear him say things like that to her. It was so incredibly special and she loved him for it. He made her feel special. Arabella smiled softly against his lips and she nodded lightly. "Yeah..I don't want to burn the house down" she said softly and she ran one of her hands through his hair lightly. "I can't wait to start my life with you, Hunter" she whispered.
Hunter smiled and glanced over at the door and the windows. "Why wait?" He said with a chuckle. "Quick! Shut the blinds. I'll get the door." He said with a joking smile on his face. "I can't wait to put both of my arms around you again." He said with a chuckle. She started to pull away, but Hunter ran his hand through her hair and to the back of her head where he pulled her lips into his, kissing her tightly. He fit all of his love into this kiss to show her that she shouldn't feel bad about hurting him. Hunter had forgiven her he just needed her to know that. He finally broke away and wrapped his arm around her again. "Mmm...I love you, Ellie." He said, closing his eyes and smiling up at her.
"I love you, Hunter" Arabella said softly and she pulled away a little bit so that she could look at him, his eyes closed. She gently grazed her fingers along his jaw line before moving them up to his forehead. With a small smile, she ran her fingers down his face and brushed his lips with her thumbs. "I really am sorry about all of this Hunter. I'll owe you big time once we get home." she told him with a nod. "And don't try to protest" she added quickly when she saw him open his mouth to say something. "I am going to make sure you get better and I'm going to make it as easy as possible for you"
Hunter sighed and opened his eyes. Hunter was comfortable and he was warm and he was happy. The combination of all of that kind of made him want to fall asleep, but according to the doctor he has to stay awake for an entire 24 hours with a concussion like the one he got. "Oh?" He asked groggily, a smile cracked across his face. "And how will you go about doing that?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. "Are you going to help dress me? Oh, wait. You're happy to do that." He teased, biting his tongue a little to hide a laugh when she lightly slapped his chest. "We know you won't cook. At least, not since your stuff is there now." He said with a big grin. He finally moved his hand up and down her back again. "So, what are you going to do for me?" He asked, leaning up to kiss her again.
Arabella giggled softly and she moved her lips away from his, brushing them against his jaw line. "Mmm...I've got a few ideas but I can't say because it would ruin the surprise" she said softly and moved her lips towards his ear. "Besides, I really shouldn't be saying some of them while we're in a hospital" she whispered and placed a hand on his chest lightly. She giggled and pulled away to look at him. Arabella wanted to fall asleep with him. She wanted to take him home and set him up in their bed and fall asleep next to him. But she knew that he couldn't fall asleep and that she would have to wait to fall asleep next to him. "So..we've got 24 hours before you can fall asleep again. What do you want to do?" she asked him with a grin. Her heart ached with guilt but she didn't want to fight with him or be upset around him. She just wanted it to be easy.
"Well, we're in a hospital." He said with a nod. "It's the middle of the night. Err...morning. Whatever time it is." He said, making a list. "There's you and me and a TV and a bed." He said, glancing around the room. "We could-" He was interrupted by the sound of his stomach grumbling. "We can just ignore that. I'll silence it from now on." He said with a sigh. "Do you have any games on that fancy phone of yours?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "Or we can watch TV? Or you can go to sleep in my arms? I'll stay awake. I promise." He said before kissing her again. "Any of those appeal to you?" He asked with a small smile.
"What appeals to me, if finding food for you" Arabella said and she touched his stomach lightly. Arabella rolled out of the bed and she got her phone, looking through the games. She finally found a card game and stuck it in his hand. Arabella looked at him with a smirk. "I'll go get you some food. If I'm not back in 10 minutes, assume the enemy has gotten me. I love you, Hunter" She said in a fake serious voice and she headed towards the door, crouched low like she was a spy. Arabella got to the door and burst into giggles. "I watch too many spy movies" she muttered and walked down the hall. Something that she loved about being a daughter of Aphrodite was her Charmspeak. If a nurse came up to her and asked her what she was doing, Arabella could just tell her to leave her alone and the nurse would walk away. Arabella finally found a vending machine and she popped some money in. A few bags of chips, a couple chocolate bars, some bags of crackers and a couple bags candies fell out. Arabella gathered them in her arms before buying a couple bottles of juice and a couple energy drinks from the other vending machine. She steadied herself and walked back to the room, dumping it all on the foot of Hunter's bed. "If we're going to be pulling an all nighter, we need to have junk food" she said in a matter of fact voice.
"La plus belle de toutes beautés. Vous avez retourné." He said, dramatically reaching out to her. Hunter smiled and handed the phone back to Arabella. "I beat your high score." He said before reaching down and grabbing a bag of wavy lays. "This isn't what I imagined doing with you, the first time we spent all day in a bed." He said quietly, shaking his head and popping a chip into his mouth. Immediately his hunger went away. "Mmm...You're the best, you know that?" He said, sitting up and carefully swinging his legs over the side of the bed. He felt a little helpless with the cast on his arm, so he was incredibly grateful to have Arabella here with him.
"Well...I didn't. But you tell me that almost every day, so..I figure that there might be a little bit of truth to it" Arabella said gently, her cheeks a bright red. She plopped down in the chair, moved it so that it was right up against Hunter's bed and folded her legs under her. She picked out a bag of Lays BBQ and opened them up with a happy little sigh. She took a bite out of a big chip then placed her hand on his leg. She was worried about him. She was worried that he was going to hurt himself trying to get better sooner. She was worried that he was going to do something stupid and was going to hurt himself a little bit more. "Hunter...are you sure that you should be sitting? Maybe you should lay down" Arabella asked him with a slightly nervous voice.
"I'm good. No pain." He said, twisting a little. He had figured out pretty quickly what you can or cannot do with broken ribs and sitting the way he was currently was the best way to sit with broken ribs. He scooted back a little so that his feet weren't touching the ground and he swung them slightly. "Thank you though." He said with a smile as he ate another chip. "Lying down makes me sleepy and sleep is evil when paired with a concussion. Unless, you wanted to entertain me in some way." He said with a smile. "A method of keeping me awake." He said with a nod, taking a bite of the chocolate.
Arabella ate a couple more chips and she traced circles on his leg with her fingers. She smiled softly up at him. "I can think of a few things. I don't think we're allowed to do any of them in a hospital though" She teased, giving him a wink. Arabella giggled and she looked down at his leg. Sitting with him was nice. Even though they were at a hospital, Hunter was hurt and she was feeling pretty guilty about it...it was still nice. Arabella loved that they could sit with each other like this. In all of her other relationships, once she slept with the guy, it would almost ruin the relationship. It certainly ruined her relationship with Brian. She was never able to just sit with him and not have him trying to find some way to get to the bedroom. Arabella let out a little breath. "Guess what this is" Arabella said with a giggle and she started to trace a picture of two stick figures, holding hands.
"Umm...Do it again." He said, looking up at the ceiling. She did it again and Hunter looked at her oddly. "I'd say the Chimera, but it would be missing the goat head." He tapped his chin with his index finger for a second. "Oh. Two people holding hands, yes?" He said with a smile. She nodded and giggled. Hunter laughed and patted the bed next to him. "Mmm...My turn." He said, putting the wrapper to his candy bar down next to him. She sat down next to him and offered her arm, but Hunter brushed the crumbs from his hands and grabbed her leg, hauling it up onto his lap. He quickly ran his hand up and down the top of her leg, letting it linger in some places. "Had to clear the chalkboard." He said with a grin. He found a spot right above her knee and traced a picture of a heart on her leg with 'H+A' written inside.
Arabella put her chin on his shoulder, closing her eys as he drew on her leg. Her eyebrows knitted together in concentration. "Again" Arabella said softly and opened her eyes to look at his face while he drew it again. "A heart, yes? With...something inside. Letters? It felt like an H and an A." Arabella smiled and when Hunter nodded, she leaned forward to kiss his cheek. She looked down at his upper arm and slowly started to trace the words 'I love you' with her finger tips.
Hunter flexed his arm at her touch. "One more time." He said with a smile. He already knew what it was, but he enjoyed the feeling of her fingers on his arm. He chuckled and looked over at her, pressing his lips to hers. "Mmm...I love you, too." He said with grin. "Hmm...Let's see." He said quietly as he ran his hand up and down her leg. He looked over at her and narrowed his eyes. "This is a tough one. I wonder if you'll get it." He said with a grin before drawing a circle above her knee and then lifting it and kissing in the circle.
Arabella giggled, and instinctively held onto his arm with her hand, lightly pressing her fingers into the muscle. "Mmm...I like that one" She told him in a soft voice, a smile seemed to be stuck on her face at this point. Arabella wished that he wasn't hurt and that they were on their own bed at home, but she was going to make this work for Hunter. She was going to do whatever it took to make him happy. "Guess what this one is" She whispered and she placed a few gentle kisses along his shoulder.
"Mmm...I don't know." He said jokingly. He smiled at her and put his forehead on hers. "I'm glad you're here with me." He said quietly. "I don't know what I'd do without you." He said with a sigh, wrapping his arm around her and putting his head on hers.
Arabella smiled, looking up into his eyes. "If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't be in here in the first place" She said in a teasing tone but she still felt a pang of guilt. Arabella shook herself lightly and chewed on the inside of her cheek for a moment. "I'm happy that I'm here too, Hunter" She finally whispered and closed her eyes. After a few moments, Arabella took a breath, trying to think of a conversation topic. Something to keep Hunter awake. "I must say, I'm pretty excited to drive across the country with you" she said happily. "We're going to have to plan out all of our stops"
"Well," He said, blinking his eyes awake again. "What do you want to see? Get on your phone and we'll do some planning." He said with a yawn. She pulled her phone out and opened the map. "Okay, well. I've never been outside of New York, so I'll need your help. Philadelphia, would be good. There's a lot of history there." He said with a nod as he grabbed an energy drink and opened it. He gulped some of it down and kissed her cheek. "I like history."
"Let's go to Vegas!" Arabella gasped and she grinned at Hunter then looked down at the map. "Sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself. But we are so going to Vegas." Arabella giggled and looked down at the map. She was excited to go across with Hunter. It was just going to be them, the car and the open road. It was almost too good to be true. "Hmm..well, we could go to Buffalo from there" She said with a nod and marked off Philadelphia and Buffalo on the map.
"Buffalo? What's in Buffalo?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. "Oh, is that where Niagara Falls is? We should see that." He said with a nod. "Let's see. We need to just keep going West, so what's the next largest town?" He leaned and looked at the map over her shoulder. He ended up looking at her neck and cheek for a few moments, noting how smooth they were and resisting the urge to kiss them. "Ummm...It looks like Cleveland." He said with a nod. "I'm sure there's something there we could see." He said with a nod, putting his chin on her shoulder.
Arabella turned a little so that she could look at Hunter and she smiled softly at him. He was truly amazing. Arabella knew that if it was Chad or even Brian sitting in the bed next to her, Arabella wouldn't be so happy. They would be blaming her for everything and telling her that it was all her fault. Not Hunter. He was special and he was perfect. Arabella took a little breath and she leaned into him, kissing him. The phone was held loosely in her hand as she leaned into the kiss more.
Hunter wrapped his arm around her and kissed her back. He wished that they were back home and he didn't have a cast on his arm. He even would have settled for being able to sleep with her by his side. He let her fall back on top of him and he gritted his teeth as he felt pain hit his ribs. He didn't care and he didn't want this to stop.
Arabella leaned into him slightly, forgetting about everything. She forgot that he was hurt. She forgot that they were in a hospital bed. She forgot that her phone was falling out of her hand and onto the ground. Arabella lost herself in the moment. The feel of Hunter's lips on hers and the strength that she got from his arm wrapped around her. It was a perfect moment. But then she felt Hunter grit his teeth and her phone fell to the ground with a loud clatter and Arabella gasped, pulling away. "Oh, Hunter..I'm so sorry" she squeaked.
Hunter sighed and sat up with a groan. He was caught up in the feeling of her body against his and his lips on hers. He could feel his heartbeat slow to normal as she picked up her phone. He put his arm back around her and kissed her cheek. "Don't be. It's not your fault." He said into her ear. "Ellie, just stop it. I don't blame you. Don't blame yourself." He said, placing kisses to her lips. He placed a few small kisses on her lips before putting his chin on her shoulder again. "Where were we?" He asked with a sigh, turning his eyes to the phone again.
Arabella looked over at Hunter and she bit her lip. Things never seemed to come easy for them. There was always something wrong. Arabella took a small breath and she cleared her throat softly before looking back at her phone. Her mind wasn't there anymore. She was thinking of a million other things but mostly the warmth that was coming off of Hunter's body and the feel of his chin on her shoulder. Arabella shrugged a little bit and held the phone out to him. "Wherever you want to go is cool with me"
"I'm not the only one going on this trip, Ellie." He said, leaning his head against hers. He turned and kissed her cheek lightly. He wrapped his arm around her, so that his forearm was against her stomach and pulled her in close. He took the phone carefully with his other hand and laid down with her in his arm. "Something's wrong. What's wrong? Talk to me." He said, pressing his lips to her head.
Arabella looked up at him and chewed on her lips for a moment. "I just really want to go home with you. I hate hospitals. I still feel guilty about putting you in the hospital, don't even bother trying to tell me that I shouldn't feel that way because I do and there's nothing you can do about it. I'm also a little tired and not to mention the fact that you are unbelievably sexy and it's taking all of my will power not to jump your bones, right now" Arabella told him, finishing in a teasing sort of tone.
Hunter blinked a few times. "Let's go." He said, pushing her up into a sitting position. "I'm checking myself out." He said, swinging his legs off the side of the bed and standing up. She stood in his way and put a hand on his chest. "Ellie, move. You want to go home. I want to go home. I'm unbelievably sexy. You're unbelievably sexy. You're tired. I'm tired. Let's just go home." He said, putting his arm on her hip. "Just because we go home doesn't mean we sleep." He said with a wink.
Arabella looked up at Hunter and she thought about it for a moment. She desperately wanted to go home and maybe Hunter was right. They didn't have to stay at the hospital just to make sure that Hunter stayed awake. She let out a little sigh and nodded after a moment, stepping out of Hunter's way. She grabbed all of the snacks, shoved them into her purse and looked at Hunter again. "Are you sure that you're going to be okay at home, Hunter? I just don't want you doing something that could make your injuries worse"
Hunter slipped on his shoes. "As long as I avoid stairs and a horny you, I'll be fine." He said, kissing her forehead. He quickly finished his energy drink and threw it away before peeking his head out the door. It was about 2 in the morning and the halls weren't too full. He took Arabella's hand and pushed open the door before hurrying down the hall and out of the hospital.
Arabella quickly slid into the driver's seat and she looked at Hunter for a moment before laughing. It was fun, running away from the hospital like that. She started the car and started to drive towards their house. Their house. Just thinking that made Arabella giddy. They lived together. A smile spread across her lips and she turned on the radio. "I'm thinking that we need to come up with a bunch of stuff for us to do tonight, to keep you awake. Slumber party type games" Arabella said with a giggle. "Truth or Dare? That's always a fun one. 20 Questions is always fun too"
Hunter chuckled and shook his head, blinking his eyes. He got a slight head rush, running to the car and his concussion didn't exactly help. He put his head back on the seat and closed his eyes for a moment. "Sounds like a good night." He said, grabbing the other energy drink from her purse. He gulped half of it down and pointed to a store. "Hey, stop at the store. We should get some stuff for our party tonight." He said with a nod. "Slumber party stuff." He said, drinking the other half of his energy drink.
Arabella looked at him and she raised an eyebrow. "Are you should you should be drinking that much caffeine?" She asked him with a small laugh. She didn't want him to do anything stupid or do anything that would make the concussion any worse. Arabella looked at him then pulled into the parking lot of a 24 Hour Walmart. "Do you want to come inside or should I just grab everything really quick?" Arabella asked him.
"I'm coming. I want you to show me what to buy for a slumber party." He said, slipping out of the car. He hooked a few fingers on his left hand out of the cast and around a couple of Arabella's fingers and squeezed them weakly. "I'll get the cart. You tell me what to grab. Keep in mind, we have 17 more hours of entertainment left and we're all out of energy drinks." He said, tossing the can in the trash can.
Arabella smiled softly at him and looked at his cast. She bit her lip for a second before turning and walking into the Walmart. "Okay..energy drinks. Check" Arabella said as she placed a four pack of Monster energy drinks into a cart. She looked over at hunter and she took a deep breath. "If anything hurts, we can just go home, okay? If your ribs start to really bug you or something, we'll leave the store right away" she told him and she pushed the cart towards the food section.
"I'm fine, miele." He said, pulling a box of cereal off the shelf and tossing it into the cart. "I've had way more than this broken and I continued fighting a big monster. I think I can shop." He said, grabbing a thing of Gatorade. He walked over and put an arm around her waist. "Thank you, though." He said before placing a kiss on her temple.
Arabella smiled up at him "I just don't want you to strain youself" She said in a small voice and she tossed a fruit tray and a veggie tray onto the cart. She pushed the cart along, grabbing a few snack things and drinks here and there. She walked past the craft section and she ran down it, grabbing a package of Sharpies with every color of the rainbow. Arabella grinned at Hunter, who was looking at her with a slightly confused look and she pulled the cart towards the check out. "I think we got everything..."
Hunter eyed the sharpies carefully. "You're not going to write on my face or something, are you?" He asked quietly. She looked at him and smiled before putting the contents of the cart onto the register. "Oh, are we low on..." He glanced around and leaned in close. "Protection?" He whispered nervously into her ear.
Arabella looked up at Hunter and she let out a little giggle. He looked so nervous by the topic and she thought it was adorable. She thought about it for a moment then nodded. "I'll be two seconds" Arabella said and kissed him on the cheek before running off. She thought for a moment, then grabbed a box. Arabella looked over and there was a guy standing a few feet away from her, looking at her with a weird grin on his face. She glared at him, tugged on the hem of Hunter's sweater and walked back to Hunter's side. "Guys are weird" she muttered
"Tell me something I don't know." He said, kissing her forehead. The cashier ran up their order and Hunter paid quickly before grabbing the bags in his good hand. "This is going to be a fun night." He said with a chuckle as they got back into the car. "So, what are we going to do first?" He asked with a smile on his face as he drank out of a bottle of Gatorade.
"Hmm...I don't know, yet" Arabella said with a smile. She grinned at him before starting the car and heading towards their home. Finally, she was parking the car and slipping out. she grabbed all of the bags before Hunter managed to get them and she hurried towards the house. Arabella knew that if he got his hands on them, he would try to carry more than he should with a broken arm and broken ribs. She unlocked the door and pushed it open with her hip before stepping inside. Arabella took a deep breath, happy to be home and she set the bags down on the counter in the kitchen.
Hunter smiled at his home and leaned on the door for a moment with his eyes closed. He took a drink of Gatorade and walked into the kitchen, holding it with the fingers on his left hand. He stood behind Arabella and wrapped his arm around her waist. He was so glad to be home. He closed his eyes and put his face against hers. "I'm so glad to be home, babe." He said, in thanks to her. He wouldn't have left is she hadn't said anything. "I love you so much." He said in a tired voice.
"I love you too" Arabella whispered, her stomach jumping and her heart racing. She wanted to go to bed with him and fall asleep in his arms but she knew that he had to stay awake. With a sigh, she pulled away and kissed him lightly. "Open your eyes, sleepy head. I'm going to make coffee then we can play 20 Questions or something" she said and walked over to the coffee pot, turning it on quickly.
Hunter swallowed groggily and finished his Gatorade before snagging a Monster. "Animal or mineral?" He said with a chuckle, wrapping his arm around his ribs with a wince. "Okay. Maybe not." He said with a quiet groan. He took a drink and stood up straight again. "Well, whatever it is. Let's begin." He said, taking another drink. "Whenever this stuff kicks in...I'm going to be glowing." He said with a chuckle, clutching his ribs again.
Arabella looked at him, clutching his ribs and she let out a sigh. "Hunter..you need to take it easy" She said and chewed on her lip nervously. She quickly poured herself a cup of coffee then turned towards him again. "Come on, let's go sit down on the couch" she said, her voice slightly nervous and she started to walk towards the couch. "Or we could play Truth or Dare. Or I've Never. Those are always a blast.."
"I've never is a drinking game, isn't it?" He said, shaking his head. "Besides, I haven't done practically anything, compared to you." He kept a hand on his ribs as he sat down, putting his arm around her. "Truth or Dare, then." He said with a smile. He took another drink of Monster and cleared his throat. "Truth or Dare, Ellie?" He asked, kissing her temple and putting his head on hers gently. He didn't want to laugh too much so he hoped that her response would be something not funny. It hurt to laugh.
Arabella took a sip of her coffee and she thought about it for a moment. Dare was a always a fun choice but it was almost always something that was either funny or sexual. Truth was good too but it usually turned into something that involved confessing some sort of secret. "Hmm..." Arabella took another sip of her coffee and she looked up at Hunter. "Truth" Arabella finally decided.
"Truth....Truth..." Hunter said, putting his head on the top of hers. "Oh, I got one." He said, kissing her head and putting his head back against the couch. "What is the most embarrassing thing you've ever done?" He took another sip of Monster and cleared his throat in wait for a response.
"Most embarrassing? Hmm..." Arabella thought about it for a moment, trying to decide which moment in her life was the most embarrassing. There were a couple, for sure. "Well, there was the time when I was 16 and I was talking to a group of people by the beach at camp. I was giving some big speech about something and I was trying to be all smart and stuff but then I tripped over my own feet ad fell into the water. Then there was the first time that Chiron caught me with a boy. That was pretty embarrassing because it became a huge thing at camp. But I got over that pretty quick" She told him and finished off her coffee "Truth or dare?!" She asked him excitedly.
"Uh..dare" Hunter said and Arabella grinned.
"Hmm..dare..dare.." She thought about what she wanted to dare him to do. Arabella didn't want him to do anything that would hurt him in some way. "I dare you to...make a prank phone call" She said with a giggle and handed him her phone.
"A prank....phone call." He said with a sigh. He gingerly held her phone in his hand and stared at it cluelessly. "I...Who? I don't know anyone." He said with a shrug. "And besides, what do I even say?" He poked at her phone for a moment before sighing. "I don't know how. You can't dare something I can't do." He said with a small chuckle as he handed her phone back.
"You are such a party pooper!" Arabella giggled and she put her phone down on the coffee table. She sigh and thought about a good dare for Hunter. "I dare you to...try to touch your tongue to your nose" Arabella finally said with a shrug.
Hunter looked at her incredulously. He was genuinely expecting her to say something sexual or romantic or affectionate or something. He wasn't disappointed to find differently, but it did come to a shock. He swallowed a moment and took a deep breath before sticking his tongue out as far as he could and aiming it straight up at his nose. It didn't reach all the way to the tip of his nose, but he could touch between his nostrils. He laughed a little which sounded weird, considering where his tongue was. "I can't do it." He said, putting his tongue back in his mouth and smiling. "How about this?" He said before leaning forward and licking the tip of Arabella's nose. "Ha! Close enough." He said with a smile. "Truth or Dare?"
Arabella giggled and she pulled herself closer to him, wiping her nose off on his cheek. She placed a few kisses on his jaw before pulling away and looking at him with a raised eyebrow. "Since I said truth last time, I'm gonna go with dare" she said with a a nod, a little bit nervous about what he was going to say.
"Dare...Dare..." He said, pulling her closer. "Umm...I dare you..." He glanced around, looking for inspiration. "I dare you...to..." He grabbed a Gatorade off the table and handed it to her. "I want you to chug this entire Gatorade." He smiled and kissed her cheek. "Without using your hands."
"Without my hands? How am I supposed to do that?" Arabella laughed and she took the Gatorade from him. She opened it and looked down at it with a sigh. "This is going to be so messy" Arabella muttered as she maneuvered the bottle so that it was in between her forearms. It was already splashing over the sides a little bit. Arabella took a deep breath then shugged the Gatorade, closing her eyes. After a few moments, Arabella dropped the empty bottle and giggled, wiping her mouth with the sleeve of Hunter's sweater. "Oh..gross.." She said and peeled off Hunter's sweater that had some Gatorade on the collar. She threw it over the side of the couch and looked at Hunter. "Are you happy? Truth or dare?"
Hunter stopped laughing and clutched his ribs before glancing at his sweatshirt. "Well, I was...." He said, mourning his sweatshirt a little. He looked at her and kissed her cheeks. "You taste like Gatorade." He said, kissing her lips lightly. "Mmm...I'll go truth." He said with a smile against her skin.
"Hmm..." Arabell thought about what she wanted to ask Hunter as she pulled a blanket around her shoulders. She was suddenly a lot colder without the sweater. She leaned into Hunter lightly, enjoying the feeling of the warmth that was coming off of him. "What's your wildest fantasy?" she asked with a giggle.
"My wildest fantasy?" He said with a raised eyebrow. "Umm...I don't know if I have any fantasies. Let me think." He said, leaning his head on hers. "I guess my only fantasy has come true, so that's doesn't count anymore." He said with a grin and a sly glance at Arabella. "Truth or dare?"
Arabella smile up at him, ignoring his question for a moment. She leaned into him, kissing him lightly. Her stomach was so full of butterflies, it almost didn't see possible. Arabella trailed kisses down his chin and down his neck then smiled "Truth" she whispered against his skin.
"Truth...." He said with a sigh. "Umm...What was..." He started, but stopped and looked at her. "What was the best day of your life? Or your most favorite day?" He asked, kissing her forehead lightly and pulling her closer. "I'm really starting to like this one, personally." He said with a chuckle and clutching his ribs a little.
"Ouu..that's a good one..." Arabella whispered and she placed her hands on the arm that was clutching his ribs. She let out a little sigh and chewed on her lip. "I guess I would say that the best day of my life is the day that you kissed me for the first time. Either that or the day that you met my dad for the the first time" She told him, brushing her fingers along his collar bone. "Your turn."
"Our first kiss was my favorite, too." He said with a smile at her. "Your lips are too pretty to chew on." He said with a grin before touching her bottom lip lightly with his thumb and pressing his lips to hers in a tender kiss. He thought it was adorable how she bit her lip when she was nervous or when she was focusing. "Dare." He whispered against her skin.
Arabella shivered lightly at his warm breath against her skin and she closed her eyes. "I dare you to...do whatever you want to me" She breathed and burst out into giggles, wondering what he was going to do. Arabella pulled away slightly so that she could look into his eyes.
Hunter raised an eyebrow at her and kissed her nose. "Whatever I want, huh?" He said in a low voice. There were so many things that he wanted to do with her. "Hmm..." He stood up and walked over to the counter in the kitchen, grabbing the stereo remote. He turned on the stereo and threw the remote on the coffee table. "Dance with me." He said, holding out his good arm.
Arabella looked up at him and her heart started beating at hyper-speed. She took a deep breath and she slowly stood up and walked over to him. Arabella had to move slowly because she was almost shaking. Hunter had a way of making her swoon so easily. She walked over to him and she slipped her arms around his neck. "I love this song" She whispered and smiled softly at him.
Hunter swayed gently to the music. Out of all the things he wanted to do with her, he just wanted to dance. He took a deep breath and wrapped his arms around, pulling her closer. "Is this okay? Us dancing?" He asked, kissing her on the forehead. "I just wanted to hold you." He said under his breath. He closed his eyes and continued swaying, feeling luckier and luckier every moment that he could be with someone so amazing.
"This is perfect" Arabella breathed and she nuzzled her face into his neck. Dancing with Hunter was one of the best feelings in the world. It made her feel elegant and graceful and beautiful. Feeling Hunter's warmth, hearing his gentle breaths and inhaling his intoxicating smell made it a perfect moment. Having Hunter with her was something that she had wanted for many years and it was finally happening. Arabella closed her eyes and she slid her hands down to his chest gently. "You're perfect"
"We're a match, then." He said with a small smile as they danced together. Hunter looked into her eyes and was so entranced that he didn't notice the song end. All he wanted to do was hold her for the rest of his life. The way their bodies fit together like two puzzle pieces. He kissed her forehead and pulled her closer, never wanting to let go. "14 hours left." He said quietly.
"A whole 14 hours? Just me and you? Ugh..that sounds terrible" Arabella groaned, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She smiled and took a deep breath. Arabella was so warm and comfortable and happy in his arms. She could have stayed that way forever. Her body started to feel heavy as her eyelids drooped and started to close. She was tired and she was falling asleep. "Ugh, I need more caffeine" Arabella yawned.
"Just because I have to stay up doesn't mean you have to stay up, you know?" He said quietly. He figured that he would go downstairs and figure out how some of the new stuff he got with Tyler. "I'm perfectly capable of staying awake." He said, kissing her cheek and brushing his lips to her neck.
Arabella shook her head and she opened her eyes. "Nope. I'm good. I want to stay awake" She told him and shivered when he brushed his lips to her neck. She dug her fingertips into his chest lightly and she smiled softly at him. "Come on, I'll get myself a Monster and we'll figure out something else to do" Arabella nodded and she kissed him tightly, not really wanting to walk away from him.
"If you're sure." He said quietly, expecting her to slide out of his arms to get a Monster, but she stayed. He blinked at her and looked her in the eye. She hadn't slept in a long time. She had minimal food for dinner. She was wearing shabby clothes. Still, she was the most beautiful being on the planet. He used his fingers on his left hand and brushed a little bit of hair out of her face while cradling her cheek with his right. He breathed for a moment before pressing his lips to hers. He moved his good hand to her side and pulled her closer. He finally broke away, licking his lips. "What to do? What to do?" He asked quietly, finally releasing her from his grasp. "Do you want me to cook you something?" He said before looking at the cast on his arm. "Or show you how to cook something?"
Arabella looked down at his cast and she took his other hand. "I can try cooking. You can tell me what to do" She said with a small laugh and walked towards the kitchen, pulling him with her. Arabella wished that she knew how to cook but she just didn't have the patience. Besides, with Hunter around, there was no point of actually learning how to cook. He was already amazing. When they got to the kitchen, Arabella poured herself a big cup of coffee and she looked at Hunter with a grin. She wanted to get the cooking done before she started getting silly from the lack of sleep. "We could make something really easy. Toast, maybe" Arabella teased.
Hunter looked at her with narrowed eyes. "Toast..." He said, taking a pondering stance. "No. Too risky." He teased with a grin. She went to smack his arm, but he held out his cast and she pulled away. "Ha!" He said before kissing her forehead. "Alright, so what shall we make?" He said, looking around the kitchen. "Hmm...Oh. I've got something." He said, pulling out the Froot Loops. "We'll need a pan, a stick of butter, and the marshmallows." He said with a smile. "This recipe is going to get sticky."
Arabella raised an eyebrow at him, wondering what he had up his sleeve. "Well...messy is always...fun?" She laughed before bending over to get the pan. She placed it on the stove and found the butter and the marshmallows. "What are we making, exactly? It doesn't exactly look like something from the healthy menu" Arabella teased and nervously turned the stove on, looking at Hunter for approval.
"You'll see." He said with a grin as he set the stove correctly. "Alright. Put the marshmallows and the butter in there." He pulled out a measuring cup and set it by the Froot Loops. "Measure out 5 cups of cereal, okay?" He said with a grin, patting her butt as she walked past him to the cereal. He pulled out a rubber spatula and sprayed it heavily with cooking spray. Turning down the heat a little, he started to stir the marshmallows and butter, so that they would melt.
Arabella laughed and gave him a wink when he patted her butt and she looked down at the cereal with a measuring cup in her hand. How hard could it be, right? It was just measuring out 5 cups. Arabella checked to make sure that she had the right cup before starting to scoop out 5 cups. She looked over at the marshmallow and butter mixture then grabbed a spoon. She scooped out a little bit and when it cooled down, she placed it on Hunter's nose with a giggle "Oh, yes. Perfect. You are such a looker" Arabella said playfully
"Must the food always end up on my nose?" He said with a sigh. He reached down and wiped it on her cheek. "So, how are those 5 cups of cereal going?" He asked, pretending to be upset with her for slacking. He hurried past her to the cereal to see none of it done. "So much for you cooking, huh." He said with a chuckle, clutching his ribs again.
Arabella rolled her eyes and she went to smack him again but she saw him clutch his ribs and she chewed on her lip. He was in pain. That much was obvious. Arabella let out a little sigh and she started putting the Froot Loops into a bowl. "Hunter...if you're in pain then we can go back to the hospital or something. Maybe get you some more drugs" Arabella suggested with a nervous edge to her voice.
"Nah..." He said, standing up straight. "I just need to stop laughing." He said with a chuckle. He put a hand gingerly on his ribs. "Like that. I need to stop doing that." He said quietly. "Alright. That's all the Froot Loops we need." He took the bowl and set it next to the stove before stirring the marshmallows for a second and sliding it off the heat. "Hey, sweetie? Can you pour that in there?" He said, directing her to pour the marshmallows in the bowl.
Arabella looked at the pan nervously for a moment then she nodded and walked over so that she was standing in front of Hunter. Chewing on her lip in concentration, Arabella lifted the pan off of the stove and she took the spatula from him and she slowly started to push all of the marshmallows into the bowl of Froot Loops. After a few moments, all of the marshmallows were in the bowl and Arabella was grinning proudly to herself. She went to set the pan down but she managed to hit the bottom of the pan against her forearm. Arabella let out a squeak of surprise at the sudden heat and she quickly put the pan down. "Oh...that's going to hurt tomorrow" she muttered.
"No, no, no. Come here. Let's see." He said, gingerly taking her wrist in the fingers of his left hand. With his left hand, he found the burn and rubbed it a few times before slapping it lightly. She squeaked a little, but Hunter rubbed it again. "It's okay. You'll be fine." He said, kissing it once and bringing it over to the sink. "Run it under cold water for a little while. It'll be like it never happened." He said, kissing her forehead. He walked back over to the bowl and started to stir the cereal and the marshmallows together. "After you're all better, can you spray some cooking spray on a cake pan?"
Arabella turned on the cold water and she stuck the burn under the water. "How is it that I manage to hurt myself every time I try to cook? I think that I might be the only person on the planet, who can't do a single thing in the kitchen without getting hurt. That must be a special skill all on it's own" She muttered, keeping her eyes on her arm. After a couple of moments, she walked over to the pan and grabbed the cooking spray, coating the bottom and the sides of the pan. "Why couldn't my mom also be the goddess of like...cooking or something"
"Because they knew I was going to be here to make you feel better." He said with a grin, leaning over and kissing her gently on the lips. He took the greased pan from her and set it on the counter next to the bowl. "Alright, now we spread this out in here." He said before clumsily picking up the bowl and trying to pour the cereal into the pan.
Arabella quickly took the pan out of his hands and she smiled up at him "I think that I should be able to do this without hurting myself" She laughed a little bit and she started pouring the cereal into the pan. Cooking with Hunter was fun. He didn't make her feel like a total idiot and she felt like maybe she was learning, a little bit. Maybe one day, she would be able to make a meal for Hunter and not burn herself or cut herself or hurt herself in any way, shape or form. Arabella smiled and she put the bowl down, smoothing the cereal out as best as she could. "Does this go into the fridge?"
"Why yes, it does." He said with a smile. He hated not being able to use both his arms, but he didn't want Arabella to feel bad about hurting him. "Now, we have to wait for them to cool." He said, leaning on the counter. "What shall we do in the meantime?" He said, tapping his fingers on the counter next to him.
Arabella slipped the cake pan into the fridge and she shrugged, looking over at him. She stifled a yawn and her hand snaked over to grab Hunter's. Arabella wanted to be with him. She didn't really care what they were doing or where they were doing it. "Let's just..go sit down and we'll figure something out" She said and tugged on Hunter's arm lightly as she walked towards the living room with him. Arabella plopped down on the couch and picked up the package of Sharpies and she opened it gently.
Hunter watched with a raised eyebrow as she opened the sharpies. He sighed and grabbed one, sliding it into his cast. He closed his eyes as he scratched at the spot that had been itching him for the past hour. "That's fantastic." He said quietly. "Now, I know why you bought the Sha- What are you doing?" He said, noticing that she was writing on his cast. It was odd to him. He had broken more bones than anyone, but he just got put in the infirmary and healed by one of the demigods.
"You have a cast. I have to draw on it" Arabella said, like it was obvious. She was currently working on a little drawing of Hunter's old pendant, the one that now hung around her neck. Arabella got a new color and continued drawing on it. "When I was going to a mortal school for a little while, I used to see the girls that broke their leg or something and everyone would want to talk to them and sign their cast. I wanted to be normal so bad at that point because then if I broke something, everyone would want to be my friend and sign my cast" She confessed and started working on a drawing of a heart.
"Oh." He said quietly as he watched her draw. "I'd sign your cast." He said with a nod. He uncapped the Sharpie and started to draw on it himself. Nothing too fancy or ornate. He drew a bow and arrow and some other stuff that reminded him of camp. He was never one for drawing. He glanced over at her drawing. "How did you become so amazing at drawing?" He asked, hiding his clumsy drawings with his hand.
Arabella looked up at him and she blushed lightly then went back to her drawing. She finished the heart and started working on writing her name in fancy letter. "I just..had a lot of practice I guess. Thanks" Arabella said and a big smile spread across her lips. "When I was younger, before I started going to camp year round, I didn't really have too many friends in the mortal world. So I spent a lot of time going for walks around Central Park and sketching whatever I saw there"
"And then you did the whole 'Huntabella fan journal' and the fashion thing and now you're here." He said with a smile. "With me. Doodling on my cast." He sighed and put his head against the back of the couch. "Do you know how Tom's doing, by chance? Or Daniel for that matter?" He asked, lifting his head up again. "I really hope they're doing okay. Tom and I could sign each others casts." He said with a chuckle.
"Oh gods, they're great" Arabella said with a small roll of her eyes. "I've been getting texts from Daniel every morning, telling me all of the wonderful details about his relationship with Tom" She shuddered and went back to drawing on his cast. She thought for a moment before she started to draw the silhouette of a deer. "Daniel seems really happy. He says that he's found 'the one'. So...that's a good thing" She said with a nod.
"All of the details, huh?" Hunter said quietly. "Daniel is kind of an over-sharer, isn't he." He said as he glanced over at Arabella. She just finished drawing something and capped the sharpie. "Alright. What did you draw?" He said, pulling her close and putting the cast in her lap.
Arabella laughed and she nodded. "He is the biggest over-sharer ever. It's crazy" She told him and she smiled down at his cast. "I drew a deer" She told him excitedly and pointed it out. Arabella looked up at him and she kissed his cheek softly. "How many more hours?"
Hunter sighed and rubbed his eyes a moment before checking his watch. "9, by my count." He said quietly. He smiled slightly and looked over at her. "I can't thank you enough for staying up with me." He said, kissing her cheek. He sighed and blinked again before kissing her on the cheek. He finally kissed her on the lips passionately with his cast over the back of the couch and his right hand running up and down her leg.
"I'm happy to stay awake with you. This is fun" She said with a small giggle. Arabella slipped an arm around his neck, pulling herself closer to him. She didn't want that moment to end. She didn't care about anything or anyone else. Arabella got goosebumps as his fingers danced along her leg. Her hand slid down his chest lightly, her fingers hardly touching his skin. She rested her hand on his abs and kissed his bottom lip, nibbling gently. "Mmm..this is a good way to stay awake" She whispered.
"I'm certainly not complaining." He whispered back, sliding his hand up her leg and up her hip until he found the hem of her shirt. He slipped a few fingers inside and gently caressed the soft skin on her side. "Do we have the energy?" He asked quietly, more to himself than her. "We could always go down stairs and play that Wii thing." He said with a shrug as he trailed kisses across her cheek and down to her neck.
"Whatever you want to do is cool with me. I'm up for anything" Arabella whispered and she moved both of her hands to his neck, slowly rubbing the back of his neck. She could do anything and be happy, really. She just wanted to be with Hunter. "I don't want you to hurt yourself though, so..whatever you think will be easiest on you" Arabella said, pulling away slightly so that she could look at him.
Hunter shivered a little as she rubbed the back of his neck. "Alright. Let me think about it." He said, leaning into her and pressing his lips to hers again. He carefully crawled on top of her brushed his lips down her cheek and to her ear where nibbled lightly on the ear lobe. "Let's go play Wii." He said with a sigh, before standing up and offering his hand. She sighed and with a little bit of a frazzled look on her face, she took it and stood up. She walked past him toward the stairs and Hunter followed. "Ellie, wait." He said, before dropping to one knee.
Arabella looked at him when he got on one knee. Her first reaction was that he was hurting and she was going to have to rush him to the hospital. She even slipped her hand into her pocket, closing her fist around her phone. However, something clicked inside her brain and she gasped. Was he really about to do this? Right here? Right now? Arabella's heart skipped a beat and she covered her mouth with her hands, trying not to squeak. "Hunter..what...?"
Hunter quickly tied his shoe and looked back up at her. "My shoe was untied and I didn't want to fall down more stairs." He said before clumsily standing up. "Alright. Let's-Are you okay?" He asked, putting an arm around her. She looked like she had seen a ghost or something. "What's wrong?" He asked with furrowed eyebrows.
Arabella finally let out the breath that she had been holding in and she looked down at his shoe. She honestly thought that he was about to give her a ring. Her heart was beating about a million times a minute and her stomach was still knotted up. She looked up at Hunter then shook her head. "N-nothing's wrong. Let's go play that game" She said quickly, her cheeks a bright red.
Hunter stood in front of her and looked into her eyes. "Ellie, are you sure? It looked like you saw a ghost." He hugged her and noticed her heart practically beating out of her chest. "You're starting to scare me a little, baby. Do we need to take you to the hospital?" He asked, kissing her hair. She took a deep breath and shook her head.
"No. No. I'm...I'm okay." She said, her hands shaking a little. Hunter rubbed her back and sighed. Whatever it was that did this must have been awful.
"Alright. Let's go play that thing then. If you ever want to stop just tell me." He said quietly before opening the door to the basement.