𝕄𝕪 𝕃𝕠𝕧𝕖, 𝕄𝕪 𝕃𝕚𝕗𝕖 - Theodore Laurence ✅

8

Catherine blows out a puff of air as she glances over her shoulder, her sister, Amy carefully watches her sister from the window in the building, worry is clear on her face. The weather had been unseasonably cold and wet, and the streets tonight were treacherous; it seemed. Amy sat in the warmth of the house while there outside stood her elder sister, drowning herself in the drizzling cold rain.

"She's slowly turning to a disgrace like she was before!" Aunt March yelled cursively as she plonks herself before Amy and her now fiancé, Fred. "She's ruining our name and our future, and you sit there and do nothing."

Amy simply shrugged, as much as she loved her aunt, she sometimes doesn't see the limit and kept pushing people, especially Catherine. The old lady is fortunate, Catherine was the type to hold her tongue and accept everything.

Fred glances between the two women, seeing the demure frustration in his fiance's eyes, he spoke up about the tension between them. "Maybe you could get Laurie to talk to her," he said, "She listens closely to him, in fact, it's the same in the other way, likewise."

Aunt March frowned at this as if she had come to a realization. "It's that Laurie boy!" Amy let out a small whine, which made Fred shrink in response, seeing that he wasn't helping the situation at all. Amy merely smiled at him, telling him her anger wasn't directed at him, "Aunt-"

"Whenever that boy is around, she's as reckless as to that Jo! More even!" Amy chooses to look away, seeing she can no longer handle the old woman. When her eyes land on the window outside, she Laurie, guiding a confused Catherine by her hand behind a closed building. A small smile is evident on Laurie's face when she spots Amy, placing a finger on his lips, signaling her to keep quiet.

"I don't know, Aunt March," Amy giggled, motioning him to quickly run off with Catherine, "I think it's only him that brings her out of those shells. It's only him that makes her feel safe."

●・○・●・○・●

Catherine sighs out, her mind clouded with so many things. It aches when negative thoughts keep appearing, from her marriage with Wayne, and Beth's seemingly unending health struggles. Everything just keeps hitting her downhill, and she has nowhere to turn. She feels weak like she is unable to move on her own.

"A penny for your thoughts?" Catherine showed no reaction, and the voice that used to give her butterflies when she was younger now makes her heart leap in joy and pain. When she turned to look behind her, Laurie was standing there with an umbrella over them both. He chuckled as he said, "It's raining cats."

"and dogs too. If that's any indication." He looked over the building, then back to Catherine, "It's just getting worse." Catherine looked at him, a slight frown appearing on her lips, "You're right,"

Laurie has always been aware of her struggles and attempts to maintain her calm demeanor; she didn't have to say anything for him to realize she needed someone to lay down her burdens. "You can't keep on like this, you know that, right?" He asked a slight smile on his face, with his hand still holding the umbrella over them. "All this will end as soon as you move on. You'll see."

Catherine glanced up, and the skies are slowly brightening up, "You're right," turning her body to give her attention to Laurie, "But it's not as easy as saying, everything isn't going as planned."

Once Laurie was sure, the rain has cooled down, he carefully closed up the umbrella, glancing at the girl before him, "Everything doesn't have to go as planned. Sometimes, things just get all messed up. It happens." He added, "And when it does, and you can't control them, just remember that I am here, to help you."