Saturday, July 20.
Everything had gotten so complicated so fast. Arabella thought for sure that if she could trust anyone in this camp, it was Hunter. Now she wasn't sure how to feel. She found it hard to believe that he was actually the one who had saved her last year so she was pretty sure that he was lying to her. The shield could have easily been in someone else's hands. Hunter probably let someone borrow it or something. Beyond that, she was mad at him. Even if he was the one who had saved her, why didn't he just tell her in the first place? If he had told her who he was on the very first night, it would have saved her all of this heart ache. Arabella wouldn't have had to deal with Brett or Ethan. Arabella had been happy, excited to get back to camp. She was looking forward to it and she was hoping for a good year. Then all of this happened and Arabella wasn't sure how to feel.
With a defeated sigh, Arabella tuned over so that she was laying on her side, with her head on her pillow, and she wrapped her arms around her soft teddy bear. She closed her eyes, wishing that she could just fall asleep and forget about everything that had happened. Maybe she would wake up and she would be in her bed in Manhattan with her arms around her puppy. Arabella took a small breath and it came out in a soft sob. Maybe she was overreacting, maybe she would feel stupid about this later on but as for right now, Arabella felt rather broken. She would have really loved to talk to her mom.
There was a rustling sound from outside of the cabin and in a bit of a panic, Arabella hurried to brush the tears off of her face. The last thing she wanted was for Brooke or someone like that to see her crying over a boy. Arabella kept her back to the door as she heard it creak open and someone step inside. "My gods, when are people going to learn how to make a fucking s'more?" A voice said. There was a pause before it said "Arabella?"
"Danny!" Arabella gasped when she realized that it was her brother and she sat up quickly, immediately feeling a total sense of relief. Danny was someone she could trust. Danny was someone who wasn't going to judge her for crying over a boy. Arabella looked over at him, her eyes locking with his and he let out a little sigh.
"What's wrong?" He asked her and he walked towards his bed, picking at a bit of marshmallow and chocolate on his shirt.
"I, uhm.." Arabella started but Daniel cut her off.
"Don't even try to deny that something is wrong. You're not getting off that easily" He told her, pulling off his shirt and quickly tugging on a new, clean one. Arabella glanced over at him with big, sad eyes. That was something that she usually loved but sometimes hated about Daniel; he always knew when something was wrong. She never had to say a single word to him. He just always knew. Daniel sat down on his bed and patted the spot next to him.
On slightly shaky legs, Arabella stood up and she walked over to his bed, almost collapsing on the spot beside him. She never told him anything about this. She never told him that Ethan had lied to her or that she had found Hunter's shield. Arabella had kept him in the dark, at arms length. All he knew was that she had broken up with Ethan. "Ethan lied to me" She started softly. "Ethan was never the guy who had saved me last year, he was never the guy who I was looking for and I'm pretty sure that he never loved me" Arabella sighed.
"Oh...sweetie" Daniel sighed, wrapping his arms around her and letting her rest her head on his shoulder. Arabella closed her eyes, a tear falling down her cheek.
"I was talking to Hunter today and he tried to tell me that he's the guy from last year and I just...I can't take it" Arabella told him in a small voice. She could feel Daniel's arms tighten around her a little bit when she mentioned Hunter but she didn't think about it.
"It wouldn't make sense for it to be him. Didn't Hunter win that game on the first night?" Daniel asked and Arabella nodded. "Exactly. How could be have saved you and won the game at the same time?"
"I know...I don't really believe him" Arabella muttered, brushing at her eyes with her sleeve. "It just...it hurts so much, you know? I really trusted him and I thought that he was different. But now I see that he's just like every other guy"
"You need...." Daniel said before letting go of Arabella and crawling to the end of his bed. He opened up his trunk and dug around for a moment before pulling out a large, clear bottle from the bottom. He moved back to the middle of the bed and he sat down in front of Arabella, holding out the bottle to her. "You need some liquid therapy"
"You can't be serious" Arabella said with a little chuckle, taking the bottle out of his hands and looking at the Grey Goose label.
"Oh, I'm very serious" Daniel said with a nod. Arabella raised an eyebrow at him before looking back down at the bottle. Normally, she would have pushed it away and said no. She normally wouldn't be into it. But frankly, after the week that she had, Arabella wasn't about to turn down some liquid therapy any time soon.
"Oh...what the hell" Arabella muttered and she pulled the top off. She sighed a little bit before lifting the bottle to her lips and having a sip. Arabella made a little face when she felt the burning vodka slide down her throat and she passed the bottle over to Daniel, who quickly drank a shot.
"It just...it makes me so mad. I trusted Hunter. I thought that he was a good guy and then he had to go and do....this" Arabella said with a wave of her hand, adjusting herself a little bit so that she could fold her legs under her.
"I had a bad feeling about that guy from day one" Daniel said in a matter-of-fact voice. Arabella looked up at him then grabbed the bottle, taking another swig.
"Gods dammit! I'm a daughter of Aphrodite. Why do I have such shitty luck with love?" She huffed, drinking some more of the vodka. At this point, she could feel her cheeks warming up but she decided to ignore that fact. Daniel sighed, taking the bottle out of her hands and having a little sip.
"Maybe it's just not your time, hun. Maybe you'll leave camp this fall and you'll meet some really cute guy in the city. He'll be...he'll be an artist and you'll be his muse" He said, making Arabella giggle a little bit. "And you'll spend every day in his studio apartment and he'll draw you like one of his French girls!" Daniel finished, laughing. Giggling, Arabella took the bottle out of his hands.
"Oh...shut up" She muttered, smiling a little bit.
Sunday, July 21.
The sun was bright and warm, streaming through the window and falling on Arabella's bed. Her golden hair sparkled in the early morning sun and her breathing was deep and steady as she slept. But as the sun started to burn stronger, Arabella rustled in her sleep. She groaned, wishing that she could just lay in that bed forever. The heat from the sun was making her feel sick, though and the sounds from the outside of the cabin of people moving around were making her head pound. With a little sigh, Arabella slowly opened her eyes, squinting into the room.
Clearly, it was still very early in the morning as her sisters and brothers were still fast asleep. Arabella pushed herself into a sitting position, looking around her bed. Beside her was an empty Grey Goose bottle and a single shoe. Arabella ran her fingers through her hair, trying to remember what had happened the previous night but after the fourth or fifth drink of vodka, her memory was a little fuzzy. All she knew was that she needed to get out of the stuffy cabin and into the fresh air, maybe have an extra-long shower.
Arabella rolled out of bed, pulling off her shirt and slipping out of her shorts. She moved to the end of her bed and opened her trunk, searching around for a new pair of shorts and tank top. Once she was dressed, she was about to go to bed when her eyes landed on something under her bed. It looked like the sleeve of a sweater or something. Furrowing her brow, Arabella bent down and tugged on it, revealing a man's sweater that was much too big for her. She was confused for a moment before she realized who it belonged to.
It was Hunter's sweater. Trying not to get too emotional, Arabella held it close to her chest, closing her eyes. It still had his smell on it, like pine trees, soap and camp fire. Without thinking about it and before she could stop herself, Arabella pulled her sweater on, shoving her arms though the sleeves and pulling the zipper up. She bit her slip, slipping her hands into the pockets. It would have been nice to just have this sweater. To have gotten it after spending the night with Hunter and stealing his sweater while she kissed him good night. Arabella let out a little huff and she was just about to take the sweater off when she felt something in the pocket. Confused, Arabella pulled it out and looked down at whatever it was.
It was her watch. Her little pink Barbie watch that she had lost last year. The watch that had slid off her wrist and into the hand of whoever had saved her on that night. The watch that was now in Hunter's pocket.
He wasn't lying to her. Arabella could feel it in her heart and soul. How would he have the watch if he wasn't the guy who had saved her? Without missing a beat, Arabella slipped into a pair of shoes and she rushed out of the door.
She needed to find Hunter.