Anne with an E The Next Chapter

Broken pieces

Anne burst out the front door breathlessly, she couldn't be sure. The light stopped & she walked tentatively towards it thinking she had imagined it. But it moved again and she ran, and then barreled forward, a giant flood of tears bursting through the gates.  Gilbert put the lantern down and rushed forward, the two crashing into each others arms with Anne grabbing at him, unsure if he was truly there with her. She fell to her knees and cried as he tried to hold her up out of the wet mud. The rain beat down on them as he cradled her head while she cried and sobbed, saying "Matthew might die, he might not make it, he's gone to Dr.
Ward's ". 

She let it all out then, like she'd been holding it all behind a wall. She felt her pain in  wrenching sobs, while Gilbert held her tight. He felt emotional suddenly, remembering his own pain when his father died. It hurt him to think of Anne, his best friend, his light in the dark, so devastated and broken.

Gilbert gathered and up and helped her into the dry house. There was a chill in the air and he went right away to start the fire while Diana greeted him and asked him how he knew.

"Ms. Stacey sent a telegram this morning asking me to come home urgently.  With exams over, I just packed up sooner and left without a word. I grabbed the first train in. I'll square things up in the morning".

Diana helped Anne into some dry clothing while Gilbert prepared her some tea. She drifted slowly into the parlor and Gilbert asked her if she would prefer to go to bed but she said she wanted to be near Matthew and she felt closest to him in there. He went to her room and gathered some pillows and the coverlet for Anne to use in the parlor. A lone candle flickered in the room and Anne silently wept. "I'm sorry for reacting that way, I'm so embarrassed" she said.

"Anne, Matthew is like a father to you. He loved you first when no one else would. It's natural for you to feel this way. This type of loss and fear is different than how you felt with your parents.  I knew how much this would hurt, that's why I came right away" he said.

"Should  you go to Charlottetown to help Dr. Ward?" Anne asked.

"No he has a new apprentice from Halifax, I think I'd be of better use here". He knew he could be of great use to Dr. Ward but he felt the likelihood of Matthew surviving the night was minimal and he thought it best to stay close to Anne and she could feel that coming through him without a single word spoken. 

He sat next to her, stretching his leg out on the sofa and letting her fall into his chest, holding her tight. They were all tired from a day of travels but she was exhausted from the afternoon of emotions. She let out a deep breath that felt like she'd been holding forever. He told her to rest, she would need her strength tomorrow. She closed her burning eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Diana moved into the parlor after finishing the dishes and cleaning up the kitchen. She found Gilbert helping Anne down onto the sofa and covering her with a blanket.

"Are you going home now?" she whispered.

"I'm not leaving her, in case the news is bad" he said and placed a small decorative cushion on the floor with a quilt and laid down on the floor near Anne. She stirred and whimpered a little and he held her hand while laying himself down on the floor.

Diana blew out the candle and shut the house down for the night. "Goodnight Gilbert. Thank you for coming".

"Goodnight Diana, thanks for taking care of her today."

Before she went up to Anne's old room, she took a small tray of tea, warm soup and bread with her and crept up the stairs slowly. She noticed the faintest amount of light under the door to the west gable room. Diana set the tray down on a dresser and stood in front of the door thinking about maybe just leaving it there by the door, when she heard sniffling and a low murmur. She knocked tentatively but received no answer so she slowly opened the door and saw Jerry's pale, tear streaked face staring back at her from the wash stand.