Baker - G. BLYTHE

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-ˋˏ *.·:·. [ONE WEEK LATER] .·:·.* ˎˊ-

WITH HER BROTHER HOME, DECORATING THE HOUSE WAS SOMETHING VERY HIGH ON THEIR TO-DO LIST. So naturally, the entire house was decorated weeks before Christmas, in the main room stood a tall tree from the forest with multiple decorations and a smaller one stood in the bakery. The usual smaller decorations were dotted around the house and bakery and Charlotte loved every minute of it (even when her brother chased her around with a gross, mushy part of q tree which fell off.) Three years was far too long to wait for a proper Christmas like this one but the waiting made it somewhat special for the two of them. 

The only time Charlotte left the house, other than her visits to Gilberts, was to go to the pantomime practice. This was so she could spend as long as possible with her brother before he went back to Ireland, something neither wanted to give much thought. 

Charlotte and Cole stood up on ladders, painting the border for the stage in almost silence as Mrs Lynde had requested it. They would whisper about paint choices, different ideas for specific spaces on the painting or just about things they wanted to talk about. The current topic of discussion being how Mr Phillips would look atrocious in his costume, something which very much amused them both. When they weren't talking Charlotte fell into such a state of focus that Cole often had to poke her arm with his paintbrush to bring her out of it. 

A sharp, loud sound of wood against wood bought her back from her focus as she painted. Cole tried desperately to balance himself on the rocking ladder but failed, he ended up landing on the stage and then rolled onto the floor with sharp screams of pain each time his body connected with the floor. Charlotte hit the ground before she even noticed the ladder she stood on was rocking back and forth. Charlotte landed on the stage, on her side and thankfully didn't roll any further. Still, the impact was enough to cause her to let out a pained groan. Her entire left side felt like it was being licked with burning flames, the pain got so bad that she felt tears brimming in her eyes. 

Gilbert heard the commotion and quickly ran out from behind the curtain, his heart stopped when he noticed Charlotte lying on her back with a pained look on her face as she clutched her left side. He immediately went to her aid, trying to get her to open her eyes as he looked for any visible breaks in her arm. Charlotte opened her eyes, looked into the hazel eyes above her then turned her head to Cole who clutched a wrist which was clearly very broken. 

"Cole," she spoke through gritted teeth directly to Gilbert, he knitted his eyebrows in concern and confusion. Charlotte took a deep, painful inhale then continued, "Help Cole, I'm fine Gil," She pleaded knowing that Gilbert would be able to help him, even though there wasn't much that could be done apart from calling the doctor. Gilbert shook his head, not wanting to leave his clearly very injured best friend all alone on the floor and in great pain. She didn't care about the stabbing pain in her side, a purple aching bruise would definitely form on her arm and side but that didn't matter. Cole had more damage done to him than she did, an aching arm and side was nothing compared to a wrist that was not facing the correct direction. "Please Gil." 

 "Lottie if you think I'd leave you right now then you must have a head injury," he joked, secretly checking her gaze to see if there were any signs of a head injury as it was a possibility. He couldn't see anything but would certainly get her checked by the doctor just in case. Charlotte, despite all the pain she was feeling let out a small laugh at the joke, jokes were the perfect distraction from the pain and they were much welcomed. By now there was a crowd around Cole as Mrs Lynde had created panic amongst the students, Charlotte was thankful for this as she didn't want everyone to crowd around her as she lay on the floor and Cole needed help from everyone more than she did. 

 Gilbert sat on the floor, having folded his sweater vest up into a makeshift pillow for her to rest her head on and the two waited for her to be able to sit back up again, it took around five minutes before the stabbing pain turned into a dull ache and she managed to sit up with winces that worried Gilbert. He walked her all the way home after checking with the doctor that there was nothing to worry about, he did offer to get a carriage but she deemed it unnecessary and trudged on home even though her head was spinning in pain. 

Gilbert returning Charlotte home injured and almost in tears was not something that went down very well, if Rían had been there it would have been far worse. Mother rushed to her daughter, practically pushing Gilbert out from under her arm so she could sit in one of the chairs in the bakery. Mother checked her daughter over, ordering Gilbert to go and get her something to drink from the kitchen. Charlotte felt she was overly fussed over, it wasn't that big of a deal in her opinion. After Mother had made sure she was okay, she profusely apologized to Gilbert for snapping at him and he of course forgave her instantly as he knew that she was just concerned for her daughter. Charlotte was made to stay in bed after that, Gilbert helped her up the stairs and into her bedroom as there were a growing number of customers in the bakery that needed seeing to. He only left when she fell asleep and even then walking out of the door was a great difficulty. He hated seeing her in pain, he hated that he couldn't do anything to make it any easier. 

-ˋˏ *.·:·. [FOUR DAYS LATER] .·:·.* ˎˊ-

CHARLOTTE TOOK A FEW DAYS TO GET OUT OF BED WITHOUT IT CAUSING HER PAIN. Her side resembled that of a rotten apple, dark and bruised. Every moment shot pain through her body so it took a while for her to be able to walk around the house. Her brother helped her to get around, even though she told him it was very much unnecessary. He stayed in her room most nights, to be there in case she needed him during the night. He read to her, had discussions that distracted her from the pain and stopped any friends from coming to visit (per Charlotte's request as she didn't want anyone to see her in such pain, anyone apart from Gilbert.)

Once it no longer pained her to walk, Charlotte walked into the hall to finish the painting alone so there was no risk of the ladder being knocked by someone again. She saw Cole standing still, staring longingly at the unfinished painting which caused him such sorrow. "You won't be able to finish it alone," Cole sighed once Charlotte stopped next to him, she followed his gaze to the splatter of out of place red paint from the accident. Looking at the ladder along had her head spinning but the panting had to be finished, so she would just have to brave it. 

"Cole," she whispered softly as she placed her hand on his not injured arm. He turned his head slightly to look at her. "I can finish it, I'll just have to work quicker and maybe come up on my own at night or something," she reasoned trying to make him feel somewhat better, she had no clue what would be good enough to break his saddened mood. 

"I want to help you, I really want to be able to draw again," Cole replied sadly, gazing back up at the unfinished painting. The painting reminded him that his art couldn't see the light of day anymore, that his hand would no longer even be able to hold a pencil. 

"And you will, once your wrist heals fully," Charlotte smiled feeling hopeful that it was true, sure his wrist wasn't going to be the exact same ever again but the ability to draw would never leave. 

"I don't know Char, what if I can't?" he responded in a woeful whisper. The idea of not being able to draw was one that he focused all his attention on so naturally, he was quite upset for the majority of the time. Charlotte at that, wanted nothing more than to hug him but with his injured arm, it would cause him pain instead of comfort. 

"Then we can find something else that you enjoy just as much, art isn't just about drawings and paintings Cole," she replied softly. He turned his head to look at her with a raised eyebrow, not believing a word so Charlotte spent the next ten or so minutes trying to convince him that it would be okay eventually. 

Soon after this discussion came to a halt, the majority of the girls and Moody offered their help to finish the painting. Both Cole and Charlotte kept both feet on the ground as they gave instructions on the correct techniques and the right colours to use.  The work was completed quickly and to a standard that pleased the two artists, they had both never been more grateful for such good friends. Friends that would listen and take their advice to create something beautiful.