Baker - G. BLYTHE

|39|

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

WITHIN A DAY CHARLOTTE DECIDED THAT IT WAS THE PERFECT TIME TO VISIT COLE IN CHARLOTTETOWN. She hadn't been in a few months with all that was going on and now she had the perfect reason to leave. Her mother wouldn't be against her getting out of Avonlea for a day, since even without knowing the true reason she could tell that something was wrong with her daughter. She just needed a break from worrying about running into Anne and Gilbert together and she desperately wanted to see Cole. So she begged her brother to chaperone her on the train, well it didn't take much begging as Rían desperately wanted to see Edward again. So the two siblings hopped on the next train (after sending an urgent letter to check if they were okay with it) to Charlottetown with happiness in their hearts.

The train ride was spent in almost silence, only talking when either of them had a random comment that would have them both in stitches for minutes after. Charlotte sat in the seat closest to the window, watching as the world passed her by. With each roll of the hills, clack of the track beneath and breath of what felt like cleaner air, she grew to finally feel relaxed. The ever-growing tension in her shoulders left, the looming sense of disappointment along with it. Today wouldn't be about Gilbert or anything to do with all those feelings swarming in her broken heart, no today would be about herself and Cole.

Charlotte bid her Brother goodbye as they stepped off the train and immediately began searching for Cole. She saw his cap before everything else and quickly ran towards the boy with a huge smile etched on her cheeks (after the misery of the past few days it felt do foreign but she welcomed it with open arms.) "Cole!" she yelled in an attempt to grab his attention, he currently faced the other way and was looking for her in the complete wrong direction. Once he turned the grin became mirrored on his face and Charlotte leapt into his arms, they hugged so painfully tight that it became unbearable after a few minutes but neither broke the contact. A hug between the two artists was very much overdue. "I swear you get taller every time I see you," she laughed after they had finally parted, it seemed to her that Cole had gotten at least a couple of inches taller maybe more.

"And you get even more gorgeous every time I see you," he replied happily, Cole used the hand they still had clasped together to twirl her around in the middle of the platform. People were staring at this point but neither gave it two seconds thought, they clearly just lived a more exciting life than the others on the platform.

With a slight breeze hitting her face, Charlotte felt free. Free from all the judgement of Avonlea, free from the heartbreak and free from all that was expected from her. She wrapped her arm around Cole's and they both walked through Charlottetown, catching up and avoiding the glares once they began to laugh. They walked all the way to Miss Barry's, they had a small discussion with the lovely woman before heading upstairs to Cole's room. 

Charlotte lay on his bed with her head resting on a pillow, her eyes felt heavy with tiredness from the journey but she didn't fall asleep because of their discussion. They are talking about every event in their lives that had passed that were too big for letters. Some of the things had them laughing and some had both of them in shock. The topic eventually turned to one which Charlotte had tried so desperately to avoid. The topic of the situation with Gilbert Blythe. "Have you talked to him since?" he asked after she finished the entire long story. 

"Once or twice maybe, I went over to watch Delphine while Bash worked on the farm and left just as he walked in. It's just hard to speak to him now that I-" Charlotte trailed off, the flow of words just seemed to stop completely. Like her brain didn't want to admit the fact to her mouth, it was a difficult thing to figure out. 

"Realise that you have a major crush on him?" Cole finished for her knowing that she wasn't in any space to say the words herself. 

She sighed as she put her head down on the pillow, "Yeah."