Saturday, July 20
Hunter felt numb. As he pleaded and tried to defend his actions to Arabella, he was nearly bursting with emotion. Sadness. Regret. Anger. Frustration. Desperation. But as soon as the door to the Aphrodite cabin clattered shut, he felt numb. How could she not believe him? Of all the people in camp, how could she not believe him? He turned and walked back toward his cabin, passing the campfire. He didn't much care to sit down and try to salvage the night. He had been so close and now that he had gotten that close, he hated being so far away. He hated not having her there as a friend at least.
He noticed Jake looking at him and he was about to get up, but Hunter shook his head. He didn't want to talk to Jake. He didn't hugely want to talk to anyone. He just wanted to sleep. He wanted to climb into bed and lie face down and fall asleep and never have to wake up. He could live in a world in his dreams where he was happy. Where she believed him and he was kissing her good night and looking forward to waking up the next day. A dream where he wasn't alone. A dream where he could wake up and then walk over to the Aphrodite Cabin. He would knock on the door and as soon as Arabella would open the door, his heart would speed up and his cheeks would get red just from realizing how lucky he was to be with such a kind and smart and beautiful girl.
Instead, he was alone. He was walking back to his cabin with nothing. No kiss good night. Not even his jacket. Now Jake was going to try and cheer him up tomorrow. The sad thing was that Hunter didn't want to be cheered up. Hunter didn't want some temporary relief from the emotional pain by hearing a joke or being told a story. He didn't want a few moments of false emotion attempting to cover up what was actually going on. He wanted it to be gone. He wanted the emotional pain to be gone.
He walked into his cabin and made a beeline toward his bed, laying down and staring up at the ceiling. He couldn't help but think about the night, replaying it in his head. How good it felt to have her leaning into him. How she smelled when he put his arms around her. How she fidgeted through her thinking face. How she bit her lip. How she leaned closer to him. How he almost kissed her. How he explained. How she didn't believe him. How betrayed she looked. How he tried to convince her. How he pleaded for her to believe him. How she left him.
The more he replayed his night, the angrier he felt. How could she not believe him? She used Hunter's shield and she knew it. She thought he was Ethan during Capture the Flag last week. She heard him explain every detail. He knew everything. It was him and she hadn't believed him. Now, she'd never find the guy who saved her. She'd give Brett, the biggest douche in camp, a chance. She believed him. Ethan. She gave him a chance. Someone she considered a friend. He got a chance. He got the best chance and probably the best eight months of his life.
What did Hunter do? What had Hunter done to deserve such presumption? Had he not proven himself as different enough from the other guys in camp? Had he not given enough evidence to show his direct involvement in saving her those three times in Capture the flag. He lifted up his shirt sleeve and ran his finger along the scar from the cut she had bandaged last year. It served as a memory and now all he wanted to do was slice it open again. Then maybe she'd care enough.
Maybe she just enjoyed breaking hearts. Brett had tried to break her heart but maybe she broke his first. Ethan might have actually loved her, but she broke that off before he could too. Jake liked her. Maybe she was only friends with him to break his heart later. Maybe Hunter had assumed that she was different from the rest of Aphrodite cabin, now he knew that he was wrong. She's a heart breaker. That's what children of Aphrodite do. That's all they can do.
Sunday, July 21
Hunter didn't sleep last night. He had curled up into a ball once people had started to come in from the campfire and pretended to be asleep, so that he could avoid any conversations. Hours passed and he still found himself hugging his knees to his chest, laying on his side, hoping that he would fall asleep so that he could dream that nothing was wrong, but nothing happened. He didn't sleep. When the sun shot through the windows, he decided to get up. He didn't care if it was too early. He didn't want to be there. He needed to be somewhere else.
He stood up out of bed silently, reaching into his trunk and retrieving his clothes. He changed and went to grab his jacket when he remembered that Arabella had it from last night. That meant he would have to talk to her again. Hunter closed his eyes and took a deep breath at the thought, his fists clenching tightly. He didn't want to talk to her. He hated her. She was everything about Aphrodite cabin that he hated.
He headed out the door, sword in hand, shield on his back. He took a deep breath of the morning air as he stepped off the porch, headed for the mess hall. He knew that Summer was almost over and he was grateful. If the camp was empty then that meant he wouldn't have to deal with so many people who would see how badly he was hurting and try and help him. He didn't want their pity. He didn't want their help.
He walked into the mess hall and sat down at his table, a tray of food in front of him. He stared at it and wondered what it taste like. He only wondered because as he stared at his first food in several hours, he wasn't hungry at all. He could have anticipated it, but he was hoping to maybe avoid it.
Hunter stood, leaving his food on the table, and then headed back outside just as Jake was walking up.
"Oh, my gods, Hunter." Jake said, putting a hand on Hunter's shoulder. Hunter looked at him but didn't say anything. "When I saw your bed was empty, I thought the worst, but then I thought the best and now it turns out to be just average." He said with a small laugh. Hunter started walked toward the arena and Jake followed. "Look, man, we should talk about this, because...Because it probably hurts like Hades and I'm your friend." Hunter just kept walking, but he was becoming annoyed with Jake. Was it not obvious that Hunter didn't want to talk about it? "Come on, man. Let's just--"
"Fuck off, Jake! I'm not going to talk about it!" Hunter said before running toward the arena, leaving Jake behind. "Idiot..."