༶•┈┈⛧┈♛ ♛┈⛧┈┈•༶
" Dear Gilbert "
- Charlotte Wells
---
'WE'RE HERE TO SEE MS. BARRY."
The butler at the front door looked down at the three confused. "Who shall I say is calling?"
"Anne of Green Gables."
Footsteps sounded from behind the man. "For heavens sake, Rollings, these are my guests. Come in from the cold."
Charlotte looked around Josephine's house as she stepped inside. The entrance room itself was the size of her and Anne's shared room. Her and Jerry exchanged glances as the woman looked over at them.
"Dear me. What has happened to you two?" She questioned, glancing at the bruises and cuts on their faces. "Charlotte, it seems as though every time I see you, you've gotten yourself into something. Don't worry, we will get you both sorted out."
"That's very kind," Jerry thanked. "See you in the morning, I'll take after Belle."
"There's room at this inn, you won't be sleeping in the stable," Josephine told him. "I've prepared guest rooms for each of you. So run along, wash up, then join us for supper."
Josephine's house was unlike anything Charlotte had ever seen, having grown up nowhere anything as luxurious and grand. The food as well was unlike anything she had ever tasted.
"My, this is an extraordinary undertaking under perfectly dreadful circumstances," Josephine said as the four sat at her dining table. Only half of it was occupied. Charlotte didn't see the need to own one quite as large if it was never going to be fully used.
"It has been that," Anne replied.
"This city is rife with ruffians," Josephine shook her head. "It's a wonder anyone can walk down the streets alone anymore. You were both raised well to deal with it and push through."
Josephine was referring to the fact Charlotte and Jerry were mugged of their money and beaten up.
"You'll manage things at Green Gables, won't you?" Josephine directed to question towards Jerry, to which he didn't respond. "What did I say?"
"We can't keep Jerry on," Anne informed the woman. "He was getting the last of his wages as a part of the sales from the horse."
"But how will you run the farm?"
"I can help around with the work," Charlotte answered. "But Marilla is more interested in saving it right now."
"You must let me help," Josephine insisted.
"Miss Barry your so kind, but I can't accept," Anne said.
"What nonsense, this is no time to stand on pride."
"The Cuthbert's will not accept charity, and so, as a Cuthbert, neither can I."
Josephine raised an eyebrow at Anne's comment.
—
Green Gables was saved, almost.
The Cuthbert's still needed more money, to which Anne had an idea and, as per usual, dragged Charlotte along with her.
The two spend most afternoons cleaning the houses of neighbors for extra wages, Anne dealing with the inside, Charlotte the outside. Anne dusted, washed dishes, cleaned floors. Charlotte helped, along with the jobs she did. Painting the exterior of the houses, chopping wood for fires, and general yard work. Which she enjoyed more than cleaning inside. Charlotte hated being cooped up inside a house.
The two girls pulled through, and made enough wages for Green Gables to function well, along with selling the crops the Cuthbert's grew.
Christmas season had rolled around quickly, the roads of Avonlea soon being filled with carolers and people decorating their houses in lights.
Charlotte sat alone in her room, a stack of crumpled papers in front of her. She picked at her nails, staring at the scrawny handwriting scribbled along the scrunched balls. Each one was dedicated to the same person, and each time she crushed it and threw it at the wall.
She wanted to write to Gilbert, something told her in her gut she wanted to. But she couldn't find the right words. Even if she did find them, she had no idea where the boy was. She didn't know if he was still at the dock, or on a boat right now. She hadn't seen him in weeks, since she ran towards him on the streets while she was sprinting from thieves.
She grabbed her pen, attempting to write something on the pages. Even if they were not to be sent, they would still be with her, and when the time came, he could see them. If that time ever came.
Dear Gilbert,
I hope this letter finds you well, even if I don't know where you are, or even if you will see this at all. I don't know if you're still working at the docks, but if you are, I can imagine the pressure the job could come with, but I know you wouldn't let it get to you. Hopefully.
Things are the same here in Avonlea, nothing much happens. Nothing has happened. If your seeing this in December, Happy early, late, or regular Christmas. Most of the girls are waiting for your arrival, come back to Avonlea when it suits for a visit.
Or come back with the mind to stay.
Or just come back
- Charlotte.
She groaned at the letter, it was the only good one in the pile, and it wasn't even good. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a doorbell, and Anne yelling at her to open it. People were down stairs, someone over for dinner Charlotte didn't want to meet. She sat in her room instead, having eaten earlier.
Charlotte rolled her eyes, dragging herself up off the floor and sluggishly moving down the stairs. She made it down the stairs, Anne walking up behind her.
Charlotte glanced at the girl. "If your here why do I need to open it?"
"Because," Anne replied. "You're more likable than me."
"Ain't that a fat lie," Charlotte scoffed, swinging the door open and glancing towards the man.
While Anne's face turned into a expression of happiness, Charlotte's face dropped, her gut knotting itself thousands of times in her stomach.
The man in front of her was recognizable from a distance away for Charlotte's eyes. The shock on his face confirmed her gut feeling.
Before her stood the man who chased her down the street, punched her in the gut. The ring on his left hand was the one that slit her cheek. And she assumed the man in Marilla's kitchen was the one who beat Jerry.
Anger filled her insides, these men weren't living in the same house as her, and if they did, she would subtly make it the worst experience of their lives, knowing she had a safety net that was Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert.
Charlotte slammed the door in the man's face, so hard the hinges shook. Her breath heaved as she stormed up the stairs, ignoring the look of concern she got from Anne. She didn't want to stay at Green Gables. Her safe place now invaded by the men who hurt her and her friend.
She had nowhere to go. She had only two friends. Anne and Jerry. She already lived with Anne, and she knew Jerry had no room. The only other person she would slightly count at her friend was Gilbert, and he was somewhere she had no clue. She locked herself in the bedroom, hating the feeling of being in the same house as these men.
She grabbed her pen and paper, scribbling words onto the page.
Gilbert,
I feel like I have nowhere to stay tonight, I feel that I am right now sitting in a house full of toxic gas. I feel like a can't breath.
If you were here, I'd ask to stay at yours, despite the fact it would destroy my dignity.
How come you're never here when I actually need you? How come you're never by my side when I actually want you there. Instead, you're hovering around my when I'm not in the mood to speak to anyone, or look at anyone.
You're so annoying for that.
- Charlotte.
---
15/12/2023
I had a dream about them last night, I'm not even joking I dreamed about them last night that's how much I love these two.