Heart Attack • Shirbert

• 54 • regrets, reassurances, and revelations

'Growing up is strange,

Get too close, push away,

Thinking you would do the same.'

--

The next morning, Anne was greeted with a headache and a wave of regret.

Slowly her memories of the night before creeped back into her mind.

What have I done?

Anne looked over at Diana, who was sleeping peacefully with a smile on her face. She hadn't told Diana anything about what happened before they went back to the Barry home. She merely walked over to her bosom friend with a plastered fake smile and claimed to be bone tired.

The moment Diana opened her eyes, "Good mor-"

"Gilbert told me he loved me and I didn't say anything back and I think I've messed up and I don't know what to do Diana what do I do?" Anne's words came out all together in a rush.

Diana rubbed her eyes. Despite just waking up, she wasn't surprised at Anne's intensity.

She sat up, "Hold on, and let's clarify that statement."

"I'm not sure what there is to clarify!"

Anne couldn't believe she waited hours for Diana to wake up just to need clarification.

Diana sighed, "Gilbert once more has clearly stated he loves you, correct?"

Anne crossed her arms, "Yes."

"What did he say after?"

Anne could recall every tiny detail of that moment, from the smell of the fire to the feeling of his hand on her arm to the desperate look in his eyes.

"He asked me to tell him if I loved him too." Anne admitted, looking away from her bosom friend.

Mostly because she knew Diana would hate what happened next.

Diana tried to reign in her own excitement. She wished upon every daisy petal she had ever tossed into the wind that Anne finally responded with a 'yes' and confessed how she felt.

But, knowing the hysteria she woke up to, she knew the response to her question would disappoint her, no matter what it was.

"I didn't answer."

"You what?"

Anne could feel Diana's anger starting to seep through her, "I kept trying to tell him that my loving him should not impact his future."

"But you didn't answer if you love him?" Diana refused to let Anne avoid her direct question.

"I didn't. I didn't say yes or no."

At this point, Diana had it.

She picked up a pillow from behind her and whacked Anne with it repeatedly, "Anne Shirley-Cuthbert how dare you not respond when he finally directly asked you the question you've been waiting for since, oh I don't know, you met him?"

Anne protected her face until Diana stopped her attack, smiling just a bit. Despite the serious nature of the moment, she appreciated her friend and her unusual tactics.

"Well not since I met him."

Diana let out a final whack, "Anne!"

Anne blocked it and captured the pillow weapon, "How was I supposed to answer in that moment? I was drunk and overwhelmed and we were so close to each other-"

"What do you mean close?" Diana leaned forward, increasingly intrigued.

Anne recounted the entire incident to Diana. Maybe it would scandalize her in her friend's eyes a bit, but at this point, she might as well know the full story.