Emily Under The Weather

Chapter 3-Sue arrives

The second Sue had received Austin's letter, her heart began to ache. The words on the page were grim to say the least. Austin for once did not talk about his love for her, but instead addressed how much he cared for Emily and how he knew she cared for her as well. At first Sue was confused to hear Austin talk about Emily, but then in the middle of the letter he delivered the horrid news. Emily was ill and the doctor did not expect her to survive the night. Emily was dying and by the time Sue was reading the letter she knew that if what the doctor said had come to pass, then her sweet Emily was already gone. Sue had sat down on her bed in Boston and held the letter to her chest as if it would will the words to bear good news instead. Unfortunately things such as that only exist in fairy tales and the letter still read the same. Emily was dying and most likely already dead. Sue couldn't stand the thought and although she was no stranger to death she refused to believe that Emily was gone. She would continue to deny it until she reached the Dickinson household and heard the news in person. Sue didn't hesitate packing her things to leave. She needed to go home, because she realized now that she couldn't lose Emily. Emily was all she really had left in the world and without her, she felt as though it didn't matter that she existed at all. Emily was the only one who truly loved her and so she couldn't be gone. She just couldn't be.

Austin was sitting near the front door, head in hands. He didn't want his little sister to die. His fun, sweet, poetic sister. She was odd and she never let their Shakespeare club read Hamlet, but she was his sister. She couldn't die. Last night Austin barely slept because all he could think about was Emily drawing her last breath in the night. Now, after seeing how much more sick she was, and knowing that there was still no hope according to the town physician, Austin wished that her death wasn't being so drawn out. If Emily's time had come, she deserved it to be swift and not long and painful. She had already been sick for over a week. Austin saw how her head hurt her that morning and he wondered if she'd been hiding the pain she'd been in all week. Was it simply that she no longer had the strength to hide how bad she felt? He had cried. He hadn't expected to cry until she was really gone, but they thought she had died in the night and now that he knew how much pain it would cause him... the idea of losing her hurt even worse. Austin was too focused on his own thoughts to notice Ben coming from upstairs and then returning to the study. The only thing that brought him from his thoughts was the sound of a pained young woman. A woman he loved.

Sue walked into the Dickinson household and was instantly off put by the quiet. Usually Lavinia would be trying to play the piano or her harp. Either that or Maggie would be trying to talk up a storm in the kitchen. Mrs Dickinson would be ordering her two girls and Maggie around with little success with Emily. But none of that could be heard as the house seemed silent. The type of silence that follows loss and death. Sue could hardly get a good breath in her lungs as she was terrified of what she may learn in the next few moments. She glanced around and saw Austin sitting on a chair looking like an emotional mess, which was extremely unusual for him. It made Sue more uneasy. She didn't want to walk up to him and ask why he looked so upset. Sue wanted to turn around, go out the door, back to Boston and lie to herself that Emily was perfectly fine. She wanted to do that, but she knew she couldn't.

"Austin," Sue tested her voice and it came out as frightened as she expected it. "Is Emily-" Sue couldn't finish the phrase, not when she'd asked that question so many times with her family's names in the spot of Emily's. Austin lifted his head and smiled as he recognized Sue. Still even with his joy at seeing her again, there was something sad lingering in his eyes.

"Oh, Sue," Austin breathed out, almost relieved. "It's so good to see you." He pulled her into a hug, but Sue just stood there. She couldn't think of anything else, or anyone else until she knew what happened with Emily.