~Hunter's POV~

I knew if anyone would figure out where I was and what I selected as my security password for people who came looking for me would be Treyden, the guy was the only one I'd told that my favorite place in the world was Archi City, downtown. It was a dark place, known for being calm and perfect for seeing the stars in the night sky. It was also the only district with about fifteen bar and motel combination buildings. I also knew Trey would guess my code; I'd mentioned to him once or twice that Alpha Dragons, our unit made up of Theo, Andrew, Trey, and myself, were my best friends. Sure, I loved Heather, Fisher, the twins, and even Shane as my friends, Shane being my cousin but still a friend. But I couldn't call them my best friends, they hadn't been there for me like Trey, Andrew, and Theo had been.

Saturday night was supposed to be the happiest day of my life. I was going to propose to her, ask her to be my wife like we'd always planned but instead; that day turned into the worst one ever learning that Audrey was pregnant with our child and chose to have an abortion because she got scared and didn't talk to me. I could understand the fears she had but if she had come and spoke to me, I could have put them to rest for her and things would have been alright. The rest of her having an abortion was that she had decided not to tell anyone and act like it never happened. However, it didn't go that way. The second half of what made it horrible is that I discovered Audrey was never on birth control until after the pregnancy termination, she lied about it so we could have sex that first time when we were caught up at the moment and didn't want to stop.

I knew drinking wouldn't take away the pain, but it dulled it for a short time, enough for me to be able to think. When I first found out what happened through Peyton who apparently said it without knowing I didn't know; I was confused, but after talking to Audrey directly, the disbelief, shock, anger, sadness, and pain kicked in. Odin knows I should have left her on the spot and I didn't. Instead, I said she needed to leave me alone, and we were on a break until I figured things out. I couldn't make a decision that could affect the rest of my life without giving it some serious thought first.

I could have forgiven her lying about the birth control; I could have even forgiven her not telling me she was pregnant right away. But Audrey having an abortion because she didn't talk to me? Sadly, I could not forgive that. Our relationship was supposed to be built on so many foundations and knowing what she did; I'm able to see how many of those aspects that she ignored and chose not to honor. I knew that I had to break up with Audrey on the sole basis that I couldn't trust her anymore.

I had to break up with her. Audrey and I both had choices to make regarding our lives. And it was heartbreaking to know that she and I couldn't share a life together because she made her choice to kill the plans we had, and I made the decision that I can't be with someone who I couldn't trust due to lack of communication and lies. Today was Friday, the 24th of August and I had given my word Audrey would hear from me before she went back to school. This was going to suck, but it had to be done.

First, though, I was going to get Treyden and the guys over because I needed that support. Also, I was going to let my family be there. So, this morning I talked to Dad to let him know I was having Audrey and a few others over but I let him know that it was between Audrey and me, Dad understood that meant all I needed was them there for support, and they would learn what happened. I wasn't going to be an asshole; I had to call her. Bringing up her contact ID, I pushed the phone icon, and the call started while I waited for a pickup. By the fourth ring in, it connected. "Hello?"

And here we go. "Audrey, it's Hunter," I replied.

It went silent on her end for a moment. "Hu-Hunter. I'm so...glad you're okay. Caitlyn called me Sunday morning and said you...never went home Saturday. I've been so worried," she responded nervously.

"I wanted to be alone, so I went to the city for two days until Trey, and the others found me at Dragoon's Bar & Inn. Anyway, I told you I'd let you know when I made my decision, and I have," I stated. "I want you to come over tonight around 5:45 pm,"

"O-Okay. I'll be there. I-I love you," Audrey said softly. I closed my eyes and lowered the phone, "Hunter? Did you he-" she started, but I just ended the call. I couldn't say it back to her even if I did love her back. I knew this was going to be hard, to let her go but I had too. It would be better for both of us. Did I hate Audrey? No. Could I forgive her with time and maybe be friends as we once were? Probably. Could I trust her again? In due course. Could I continue a relationship with her? Right now, no. There is too much pain to still be with her knowing what I do. Perhaps another time when it didn't sting this much, and trust was regained, there could be a chance of getting back together and starting over, but for the time being, things had to end.

(5:45 pm)

~Normal POV~

Hunter stayed in his room until 5:30 pm when Salvatore alerted him that Treyden, Andrew, and Theo had arrived. Caitlyn was there, but Viola still working and wasn't due home until 7 pm or so. Now, it was just waiting on Audrey. Hunter didn't know how he was going to word things, he hoped it came to him, and he didn't end up giving in when he saw her crying after the breakup. Finally, a car pulled into the driveway as Audrey got out and made her way to the living room door.

"She's coming towards the door, you okay?" Treyden asked. Hunter forced a nod.

"Do you want me to get it?" Salvatore inquired.

"No, it's okay. I'll do it," Hunter said, and then there was a knock as he got to his feet and moved to the door with a deep breath, then opened it.

"Hi," Audrey greeted lightly.

"Hey. Come inside, and you can head straight to my room," Hunter told her. Audrey nodded to him and walked inside the house while trying her best not to look at anyone until she reached the hallway then moved down it into Hunter's room. This is how Hunter planned it, they were going to talk in his room, but the door would be open, and the others could hear, they would find out what happened but instructed not to say anything or engage Audrey when she left the house after the talk. When Hunter entered the room, he closed the door only slightly and faced her. It wasn't hard to miss the nervousness resting his soon to be ex-girlfriend's eyes. "Have a seat," Hunter offered gently.

"N-No, it's okay. I'll stand," Audrey replied.

Hunter sighed a bit. "I've had a lot of time to think about things. What you did wasn't something small, it was enormous and affected life. If...you had been raped, Odin forbids it ever happens or had cheated on me, I could have forgiven that. But I can't overlook that you aborted that baby and never told me you were pregnant, then tried to pretend like it never happened when the pregnancy you terminated was our baby."

In the living room, being that it was close enough for them to hear what was being said, Theo, Andrew, Caitlyn, and Sal had heard it and gasped with wide eyes as Treyden only looked away. "Audrey was pregnant with Hunter's baby and had an abortion!?" Caitlyn whispered harshly, still in shock. "When was this!"

"Ssh and you'll find out. I don't know either, but I was aware of what she did," Treyden replied quietly.

"Hunter, please...I'm sorry. I-I know what I did was wrong and you have every right to hate me, leave me even but please don't. I-I just got scared and didn't...know what do. I couldn't contact you," Audrey tried.

"I understand your fears, Audrey. I'm the army, I was deployed, and Thor knows how many times I got hurt. And then the times I had no signal or was too busy to call. I know it wasn't easy to talk on the phone or Skype, but you knew how to e-mail me, and I checked that every day even if I didn't reply. When all this happened, the only messages I got were when you said you were home from the doctor in November or the brief times I e-mailed you to say I was busy and would call when I had the chance. You only said okay, nothing more than that," Hunter explained.

"Because I didn't...think it was a conversation for e-mail, babe. Please, please don't be upset with me? I'll do anything to prove I'm sorry, just...give me another chance?" Audrey asked trying to hold back tears.

"You're right; it wasn't a conversation for e-mail, Audrey. My point is that you never gave me a notification that said we needed to talk about some serious from your doctor's appointment. You never asked me to please find a way to contact you because it was important. The day you went to the doctor because you didn't feel good, you knew you were pregnant and-" Hunter started.

"I told you why I didn't tell you, Hunter. I wanted...to get all the facts first," Audrey interrupted.

"Let me finish," Hunter said as Audrey nodded to Hunter for him to continue. "I know you wanted to get all the facts, but if I had a heads up that you'd missed your period for two months and took a home test that came up positive and were at the doctors to confirm things, I wouldn't have freaked out in a panic. I would have told you to get the information and let me know right away so I could find a minute to call. Don't say it's impossible for me to do because if you recall, I went two hours late for a mission when Heather thought you were pregnant and I made time to call and see if that was true. Again, my point is that I just figured you were sick and would let me know how bad but you didn't,"

Audrey tried to argue, but unfortunately, Hunter was right. Audrey could have made more effort to let him know something was up, and she didn't. "You found out you were ten weeks pregnant at that appointment and for three weeks, I didn't get any messages from you about us needed to talk. Instead, in those three weeks, I got messages from Shane, Heather, Fisher, the twins, and even Caitlyn saying that something seemed off about you. Heather is the one who thought you were pregnant so I made time to call and see if that was true and when I did, I apparently called hours too late because that was the day you missed school and had the abortion done." Hunter continued calmly.

"Not following, that didn't give us a time frame?" Andrew mentioned murmured.

"Do the math bro. Audrey was ten weeks pregnant when she went to the doctors that day and had an abortion three weeks following that when she was thirteen weeks along, basically three months into the pregnancy. That means she got pregnant when Hunter was home on leave because she would have missed her October period a few days after we got called back to Iraq. The first missed period would have put her at two weeks because doctors count back from the last period received which for Audrey would have been likely the week before we came home. Audrey ovulated two weeks after that, so probably the week of September 25th," Theo informed, but they were still listening in.

Also at this time, was when there was a knock on the door and Sal went to answer it. Opening the door, standing there was Shane, Fisher, Heather, the twins, Eddie, and Drew. Sal motioned for them to come in quietly and take a seat, they got the hint that Audrey and Hunter were talking and if they stayed quiet, they would be able to hear them talking.

"Hunter, I'm sorry. Please forgive me; I was just so afraid of...you not wanting the baby given you were deployed, I was scared of you dying on tour, and either one of those landed me raising the child alone. I was having...horrible nightmares about finding you were dead or walking away saying you didn't want to be a father. That's...why Peyton had the abortion too, her boyfriend had left her saying he wasn't ready. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..." Audrey pleaded.

"Wait, what's going on!?" Heather exclaimed quietly.

"Audrey, I don't know how you expect me to forgive this. Okay? You got pregnant with our child and had an abortion three weeks later because you couldn't contact me, then to top it off, you hid it and pretended that nothing happened. And add on the fact you lied to me about being on birth control in the first place for over a year!" Hunter stated firmly.

"Just...forgive me, and we can go back to being happy together, have the future we planned..." Audrey reached for his hand, but Hunter pulled back not realizing he ended up in the hallway where they could see him.

"How can we have that future when you stopped it as it was starting? What did we always plan? High School, careers, marriage, a family. You were pregnant with the child that would have begun our family and terminated the pregnancy out of fear because you didn't tell me what was going on," Hunter remarked.

"I tried, you were too busy, and I was running out of time on a decision," Audrey whimpered.

"Running out of time? The limit on abortion is twenty weeks, Audrey! That's five months along, and you did it at three because you knew the process after thirteen weeks was up to three days long and you didn't want to get caught! And the worst part is the day that I asked if you were pregnant was the day you had the abortion and tried to act like everything was all right," Hunter stated.

"What did you want me to say, Hunter?... Audrey cried a little.

"I wanted you to tell me the truth! You know, like as soon as you friggin knew you were, in November when you took the home test. You could have told me when I was on the phone that day. I'm sorry that while I was fighting in a war those three weeks after your appointment, I couldn't call. You've seen how dangerous and busy it gets and I don't have time just to get out my phone and call you. Also, that depended on the signal. But you had a way to contact me, e-mail and chose not to! I didn't think there was a problem because you didn't say there was one, so I went about doing my job as I'm expected to," Hunter's eyes narrowed a bit.

Audrey looked down sadly. "You said you couldn't forgive me when this started. I know I was wrong to do what I did, you're right, I should have tried harder and not let fear take over. So what are we now, still on a break or can we...move past it and into the future we planned, the one you promised we could have when you came home?"

Hunter closed his eyes taking a breath. "The thing is, Audrey, I had every intention of keeping my promise to marry you up until I learned from your friend last week in the park that you were pregnant and had an abortion that I never knew about,"

"W-What do you mean; the intention of keeping your promise until you learned the truth?" Audrey asked now, nervous of the answer.

Hunter moved into the living room where his coat hung in the closet as Audrey came in following him. Hunter pulled something out of the pocket and kept it at his side before looking at her with serious but pain-filled eyes. Finally, Hunter lifted his hand, palm up revealing the sky blue velvet covered ring box and the tears Audrey had been trying not to let go of began falling down her cheeks. Hunter opened the box revealing a beautiful engagement ring; a white gold band with three small diamond on either side of two larger aquamarine stones and then a center white diamond between the two soft blue aquamarine ones. "The date I planned last Saturday, everything we did was to lead up to me giving you this and asking you to marry me at the restaurant,"

The room was silent, dead silent. No one had known Hunter planned to propose to Audrey last week and apparently after learning the truth; he decided not to offer at all because what Audrey did hurt him badly. Treyden, Theo, Andrew, Caitlyn, Harry, Viola, and Sal knew how much pain Hunter was in given the fact that they found Hunter drunk at the bar when he'd been missing for two days.

"For three years; I've given you my trust, loyalty, and love. I've always been honest and open with you about anything, but you couldn't do the same for me," Hunter's voice held little tone to it and hid a lot of sadness as he closed the box and put it in his pocket. "Audrey, how can I stay with someone who lied, broke my trust, and didn't talk to me? I can't because I don't trust you anymore,"

"Hunter, please. Please don't leave. Y-You can trust me. I'll never lie or keep secrets again, I swear, and we'll have the most...talkative relationship in the universe. Just please give me another chance to prove it to you. I'll never hurt you again, I swear it on my life," Audrey tried as she wrapped her arms around his waist and held on tightly while burying her face in his chest crying. Hunter fought lifting his arms and returning the hug, the others in the room could see that Hunter looked like he was fighting back crying too. Hunter raised his head to the ceiling and closed his eyes.

"Audrey, I can't trust anything you say. You had...so many chances to tell me and you didn't," Hunter said before he gave and hugged her back. "Listen to me, okay?" he said before pulling from the hug and Audrey sniffled hard before wiping her eyes. "Gods know how much I love you, alright? You saw my proof of how much I care, how much you mean to me, and how badly I wanted a future with you. But you need to understand how much you hurt me with what you decided to do in your fearful assumptions. That pain is the reason we cannot be together anymore,"

"B-But why? Can't we...stay together and I'll...give you whatever space you need to heal," Audrey asked with a cracked tone.

"It's not about that, Audrey. It's about the fact you...aborted the baby we made together. Okay? How are we supposed to get married and have a family if you...terminated the pregnancy of the family we'd already begun? It hurts me to know you didn't trust the promise I made to you with this," Hunter lifted her hand with the promise ring on it. "I promised you we'd do everything we planned when I got home. You...getting pregnant with our child should have been a good indicator that I'd be overjoyed to become a father. Starting our lives together early, nothing would have been better for me. This ring should have reminded you that I wouldn't have left your side over pregnancy and it hurts you didn't trust in that. It hurts you didn't talk to me, that you hid things and lied to me. All that, I can't be with you and heal at the same time,"

"So...we're over then? As in I'll never see you again?" Audrey wiped her eyes once more.

"Audrey, you were my best friend before you were my girlfriend. Okay? And with some time apart, not in a relationship together, we could get back to that. It was us...being friends where we fell in love, where the trust and communication started that formed a romantic relationship. I need to time to heal from all this, and I can't do it by being with you. All I'm going to think about is what you did because you didn't trust or communicate with me. And all you're going to think about is how much you regret your choice that hurt me. So, it's best for both of us to break up and go about our lives separately. Who knows, maybe if we get back to being friends; you can earn back my trust and manage to prove the things you said before, then there's a chance we get back together if the feelings are still mutual. But all we'll do at this point is fight if we stay together," Hunter explained.

Much to everyone's surprise, Audrey nodded to him and gave a soft smile even though she was crying. "You're right and I...won't make it harder for you. If I have to let you go to heal and have the chance to regain you through being friends again after some time passes, then I'll do it. Anything to prove I'm sorry and that I love you," Audrey told him.

"I appreciate that. And I expect the rest of you who will see her in school not to give her a hard time. I know everyone heard what happened and I accepted she got scared and made a wrong choice, but don't shun her away. In her defense, I could have checked in more after her appointment to make sure things were alright. My being deployed at the time was stressful for everyone so don't write her off and hate her. We both had a hand in what happened regardless of facts, and for the time being, it's just easier for us to break up and maybe get back together later on. Got it?" Hunter informed firmly to the others listening.

"Got it," they replied.

"Good," Hunter said then looked back at Audrey. "Come on, let's get your stuff from the bottom drawer in my room and then Shane will take you home because I already asked him if he wouldn't mind," he added while leading Audrey to his room. Fifteen minutes later, both of them returned and Shane got his keys ready and the door opened while waiting for Audrey. "Take care of yourself, okay?"

"I will and...until I retrieve you, I want you to hold on to this," Audrey said as she took off the promise ring and put it in his palm. "I don't expect you to wear it, but it's...my promise to you now, that I'll prove we can start all over as friends who become lovers," she said softly while closing his hand over it with a soft smile. "I love you, Hunter, and I always will no matter what,"

"I'm just gonna use the restroom before we leave. Wait in the car for me," Shane stated heading towards the bathroom.

"I...love you too," Hunter replied as he led her outside past the door and to Shane's car where she put her spare backpack full of clothes, deodorant, tampons, and small accessories that she'd kept at Hunter's house when they were dating. Audrey knew they were broken up, but there was a hope that after a lot of time passed and they started as friends again then maybe they could get back together.

"You'll let me know when...you want to try being friends again?" Audrey asked.

"I will, for now...I just need my space," Hunter replied, and she nodded as they noticed Shane coming towards the door.

"One more kiss? A-As a goodbye?" Audrey asked softly. Hunter knew he shouldn't. Gods he was aware that it was a horrible idea and yet, he couldn't deny her that one request. Hunter took a step towards her, cupped her cheek with his hand and wiped a falling tear away before leaning in close and pressing his lips to hers. Shane happened to see it and stopped dead in his tracks with wide eyes.

"What is it, Shane?" Renee asked, and Shane could only point as they hurried over and saw Hunter lip-locked with Audrey and pressing her against Shane's car, hands on her hips while her hands rested on his shoulders.

"Oh. My. God. Th-They're kissing..." Heather blinked.

"After he just broke up with her too," Caitlyn frowned. After a minute, Hunter pulled away slowly after a final kiss on her lips, and they could all tell he was fighting with himself just to retake everything and stay with her, continue the kissing. Audrey got in the car as Hunter took a few more steps away and Shane took the signal to move fast. Shane got into his vehicle and started it up, then backed away and drove off. Hunter took one hesitant step forward to chase after the car, but he stopped and looked at the ring in his palm then the tears formed in his eyes while remembering everything in quick flashbacks of their three years together, the last kiss they just shared.

That was all it took; Hunter hit his knees hard when the tears rolled down his face. Hunter brought a hand up to cover his eyes while he sat back on his butt with his knees up and just cried. Caitlyn, Sal, and Treyden didn't waste time; they quickly moved to comfort Hunter. The three of them knew it was probably that what Hunter did, break up with Audrey after planning to propose to her and learning she was pregnant and terminated the pregnancy, and just now kissing her was the hardest thing he'd ever done and would take a great deal of time to be okay again.