wondrous • gilbert blythe

chop chop

"And.... done!" Adelaide squealed as she cut the last piece of hair. She had only done a trim, but it brightened her mood. Her white-blonde hair now didn't touch her shoulders.

"It looks great." Gilbert says to her as he leans in the doorway of the bathroom. She smiles at him through the mirror and places the scissors on the counter before cleaning the hair into the trash bin.

The two of them walk back to the kitchen and she puts the scissors back into the drawer they came from. Before either can say a word, someone interrupts.

"Gilbert, is someone here?" A man comes stumbling out of a bedroom. He looked ill, but still managed to throw a friendly smile at Adelaide.

"Dad, you shouldn't be out of bed. Where is-" Gilbert starts and grabs onto his arm to support him.

"Who is this beautiful girl we have standing in our home?" Mr. Blythe asks.

"My name is Adelaide King, sir. I am a friend of your son, from school." Adelaide shakes his hand.

"King? I believe I knew your father. Charles King, is it?"

"Yes, sir." Adelaide responds.

"Oh, we were buddies back in school. How is he?"

"Well, uh, he passed away a year ago." Adelaide tells him with a frown on her face. Gilbert freezes and takes his eyes off of his father to look at her. She doesn't meet his eyes.

"I'm sorry to hear that, he was a great man." He coughs out, putting his hand on his chest.

A blonde woman comes into the kitchen and helps Gilbert bring his father back into his room. Adelaide assumed that she was his nurse.

Gilbert comes back out and doesn't say anything to her, just stares with a questioning gaze. She looks down, feeling her cheeks heat up. Her head pops back up as she remembers something.

"Oh, I'm going to be murdered! I was supposed to help my mother move our stuff." She panics and throws her boots on as quickly as possible. Adelaide puts a scarf around her neck to hide her hair from her mother and runs to the Blythe's front door.

"I'm sorry if I'm being rude Gilbert, but I must leave. Thank you for having me over, it really did make me feel better. Have a nice weekend!" Adelaide rushes out of the door and gives him a smile before running fast towards her house.

•••

"Adelaide Marie King, I expected you home ages ago!" Alice yells at her daughter when she slams the front door, breathing heavily.

"I truly am sorry, mother. I finally made an actual friend, and lost track of time." Adelaide tries to explain.

"That is no excuse. Go to your room immediately and start bringing boxes down. Mr. Monroe should be here soon with a carriage." Adelaide clenches her fist in anger. How dare her mother be so rude to her? Adelaide felt like she barely knew the woman anymore.

"No. I'm not a doll you can toss around. I respect you and you should respect me in return. I do everything to please you, and you never even acknowledge that I'm alive unless you need something done." Adelaide spit at her mother.

"What did you say to me?" Alice fumed.

"I will not bring down the bo-" Adelaide was cut off by the sharp pain of her mother slapping her across the face. Adelaide's hand flew up to cradle her cheek, and she looked wide eyed at Alice King.

"Adelaide, I didn't mean to..." Alice started, but tears ran down her daughters face as she ran past her, back out the front door. Adelaide passed Mr. Monroe, and didn't spare him a second glance as she tore by him.

She ran and ran, never once pausing. She didn't know where she was going, but she knew that she never wanted to go back. She wished to stay where she was, a green forest, to live out her days. It was perfect there, and the trees couldn't make fun of her or slap her across the face.

When she finally stopped, Adelaide found herself in front of the Cuthbert's home. She could see Anne talking to Jerry near the barn, and quickly backtracked her steps, not wanting her friend to see her in a state like this. But, it was too late. Anne had spotted her.

"Adelaide, hello! What brings you here?" Anne waved her over. Adelaide tried to wipe the tears from her face, but Anne could see right through her.

"Oh my, what happened to your cheek? Why have you been crying?" Anne exclaimed. Jerry noticed that they needed to have a private conversation, so he disappeared into the barn.

"I don't want to talk about it, I'm sorry, I do not know why I'm here. I need to leave." Adelaide stuttered out. Anne could tell that her mind wasn't in the right place at the moment.

"Let's have Marilla fix us some tea, and we can chat." Anne spoke to her friend soothingly. Adelaide nodded shyly and wiped a stray tear away before letting Anne lead her into the house.

Marilla made the girls tea, and didn't bother to question the bruise that was splayed out across the young blondes face. Adelaide explained everything that had happened to Anne, and Anne comforted her. She had been in homes where abuse was common, so she knew how Adelaide was feeling.

"I know she was not thinking straight, but I'm sick of her acting like I'm some maid that always needs to please her. I'm her daughter, for heavens sake!" Adelaide ranted to Anne, who nodded.

"She was wrong. If this ever happens again, we will need to tell an adult. It's not right." Anne said, and Adelaide agreed meekly.

Adelaide traveled home soon after, and let her mother know she was home by grabbing an apple from the kitchen. She slept in the barn that night, and the next morning she silently helped Alice and Mr. Monroe bring boxes over. She never spoke a word, which was becoming quite a normality for her.

For the first time in forever, Adelaide was excited to go to school on Monday.