All I've Ever Wanted and More

26. In the Slumps

I didn't look at her, but instead kept my eyes straight forward. "Hunter, can we please talk?" She asked softly turning her head toward me. "Ariana, not now." I said in the same tone she did. "Hear me out." She pleaded but I didn't want to give in. I finally turned to her and we again, made awkward eye contact. "Listen, we can be friends. I don't want to talk about last night, at least not right now. I need time, and obviously you do too to think about you and Shane's relationship." I said as it hurt deep down inside.

I looked away because I couldn't bare to look at her any longer. "No, you have it all wrong. What you saw, was all wrong." She said a little louder now. She could talk all she wanted, but I wasn't going to listen. I really meant it when I didn't want to talk about it yet. "Ari, I really cannot talk about it now." I said sternly making her get the idea.

She let out a deep breath through her nose, and I knew she wasn't going to speak anymore of it. "How was your day?" She said managing to make small conversation. Totally oblivious to her question, I asked my own. "Wait, how did you know I was here?" I asked turning my head to her. "Tyler told me. And then I walked down the beach and I noticed it was you, so I stopped." She said looking down and then back at me.

Those eyes, those beautiful dark brown eyes. Usually guys love the blue eyes or green, but brown was perfect for me, because she had them.

I nodded my head at her response. Of course Tyler did that. "What are you doing here?" She asked me. I guess it was only fair since I pretty much asked her the same question. "Trying to get over you." I responded flatly, but soon regretted it when I realized I just voiced my thoughts. We were both instantly quiet, and I'm sure she didn't want to hear that.

"Get- getting over me?" She asked stuttering a slight bit. Crap, why did I say that, she wasn't supposed to know that. I laid down on the sand placing my hands over my face so that maybe there was a chance I could just disappear. I removed my hands and laid them down on my stomach. I took a big gulp and then spoke up, "Um, yeah. I don't know what else I'm supposed to do. It's not that easy you know, maybe for you but not me."

She was silent for a second. She gave me a face that was so unreadable. This was the first time I had no idea what she was thinking. "Hunter I have to go, I need to go help my mom with dinner." She said getting up. I looked at my phone to check the time and it was 10:30. She was going to have dinner at 10:30? Yeah I don't think so.

Ariana wiped the sand off of her butt and the back of her legs while she stood up. "It's 10:30..." I said standing up as well. She started to walk off, but I grabbed her wrist and stopped her dead in her tracks. As much as I wanted to pull her in for a kiss and tell her that I loved her, I didn't. She looked at me with big eyes probably hoping I was going to take her back.

"Oh um.. Tell your mom I said hi." And then I released my grip from her. Disappointment struck across her face almost instantly. "Yeah okay I will." She said looking down and walking away. I watched her as she left. I then felt sick again just watching her leave. I think I was having Ariana withdrawal. On her walk away from me, she didn't look back, not once.

Why were breakups so hard? Especially when your girlfriend is like everywhere at once. When I couldn't see her anymore, I walked back toward the party and tried to find Tyler. I asked around but nobody knew where he was. With a shrug of my shoulders, I texted him and decided to walk home.

***

"Would you like to come with me?" I asked Bella as I poured myself cereal. I had been at the vet all morning doing all these medical things for Maddie, and now I finally got to come home and eat. "Where is it that you're going again?" She asked me flipping a page in her magazine. I rolled my eyes at her but she didn't notice. "Well thanks for listening. But I'm going out today with my guitar and singing for free in front of people. Remember what Ariana and I used to do?" I said and then she looked up.