Adeline (A Theodore Laurence Story)

20

"All right," she sighed, feeling slightly better. 

"Now that you have given up your dreams of painting, what are you going to do with your life?" Laurie asked. 

"Brush up on my other skills and become an ornament to society," Amy nodded, finishing putting away the art she put her heart into. 

"Here is where Fred Vaughn comes in, I suppose," Laurie smiled cheekily as Amy blushed. 

"Don't make fun. I really do admire him, even without his money. I think we could have a happy life together," Amy sighed, thinking of her potential fiance. 

"Well, in that case, you've made it further than I have," Laurie chuckled darkly, standing up from his spot. 

"Laurie-" 

"I don't really want to talk about it," He argued lightly, sticking his hands in his pockets. 

"I just... what happened? I was so sure that you were going to end up with Addy, and then this whole proposal happened... I don't understand," Amy sighed, pushing despite the boy's protests. 

"I... I thought that Addy would never be mine. She continued to push me to Jo and refused to allow us any moments of considering our future and I just thought... that her heart was not for me," Laurie walked toward Amy, his heart hurting as he finally spoke the words out loud. 

"Addy is... different. She doesn't know where she comes from and she struggles with feeling as if she does not belong. Even with us, she refused to believe that she was truly a part of the family. I think she was nervous that if she allowed herself to love you, then she would officially belong somewhere," Amy wiped her hands of dried paint as she carefully watched Laurie. 

"Either way, things have continued on their way. Addy has moved on and I need to accept that my life will not have her in it," he sighed, straightening up. 

"Well, I suppose that's true. I hear from her often and she is quite enjoying working for he family and taking care of others. She seems fulfilled and happy," Amy nodded, but every word stabbed Laurie in the chest. He had hoped she would not move on at all. 

"Well, that's wonderful to hear," Laurie smiled tightly as a carriage approached. 

"Oh, that's Fred! How do I look?" Amy fussed, pulling a warmer shawl over her shoulders. 

"You look beautiful, Amy," Laurie nodded, and Amy smiled warmly at the boy, forgiving him for his outburst. She knew he was a broken boy. 

------------------

Jo and Adeline sat on a blanket on the beach with Beth laying her body across them both. She was not recovering, though she wanted to get outdoors. Jo was reading a book as Adeline and Beth listened. 

"How great is that?" Jo smiled, finishing a chapter of George Eliot's 'The Mill on the Floss' while Beth smiled up at her. 

"It is wonderful," she sighed, content to be with her sisters. The silence that followed was comfortable, but Beth needed to ask what she had been thinking about. 

"Addy..." she dragged out, nervous to ask. 

"Yes, sweet girl?" Adeline brushed her hands over her calves, soothing the sick girl. 

"I'm sorry to bring it up, but... if Laurie returned, do you think you would speak to him?" She asked. Addy somehow knew the girl would ask about Laurie, so she was not surprised. 

"It depends. If he did not want to talk to me I certainly wouldn't force my presence upon him, but... if he wanted to I suppose it would nice to see him again," Addy watched the waves crash and was reminded of their day at the beach. 

"What if he... wanted to pursue you again?" Beth pushed, knowing that her sister would be more forgiving in her sick state. Addy sucked in a breath, not liking the answer that her heart was screaming at her. 

"I'm not sure," Adeline shook her head, looking to Beth and Jo who had their full attention on her. 

"Why not?" Jo asked as if it was the dumbest answer she had heard in her life. 

"I really... I mean, he proposed to you, Jo! That really broke my heart," Addy sighed, running her fingers through her hair that was blowing in the wind. 

"But he didn't really want me! He wanted you!" Jo protested, but Beth hushed her. 

"Laurie and I... we don't belong together. I wish it was different, but I cannot change our fate. Once I am sure that Marmee and Father and you are all settled and comfortable, I think... I think I need to try to go home," Addy did not know what going home looked like, as she wasn't sure if she could ever go home. But she knew she was not supposed to be a part of this story, so she had to try. 

"But this is your home!" Jo argued, sitting up straight and causing Beth to jolt in her lap. 

"It's not. I mean, I am so grateful to you all for taking me in like this, but I have to have a family that misses me," Adeline was getting upset thinking about her parents possibly thinking she was dead or missing for years. 

"You have a family right here, Adeline. We love you dearly, just as Laurie loves you dearly. You have so much for you here, why would you not stay?" Beth couldn't comprehend why Addy always felt like she needed to belong somewhere else when she had so many people begging her to belong here. 

"I... I guess you might be right," Addy sighed, not knowing what to think anymore. She tried to tell herself that Laurie and everyone else was not real, but she could not bring herself to; they were real to her. 

"Of course she is. You're a March," Jo grabbed onto Addy's shoulder, rubbing her fist into her dark locks and Addy fought back lightly. 

Perhaps Adeline really was a March, and she was here for a reason other than to "fix" the story. 

AN: this story is wild, sorry for how weird the idea is but I just thought it would be great lol