✔️Hazy [anne with an e]

| FORGIVENESS IS THE STRONGEST FORM OF BRAVERY

chapter nine: forgiveness is the strongest form of bravery

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IT FELT LIKE the world had flown off of its axis the second her nickname had left his lips. Her lungs felt empty of oxygen as she looked up at the face which she had thought she'd never have the chance to see again. He looked the same, except for a slightly red nose from the cold air. Curled brown hair, hazel eyes which looked more green at the moment, and a surprised look drawn over his face.

"Gilbert.", the word tumbled from her mouth as she continued to look at him.

A smile broke out on her brother's face as he stared at her. They had only been apart for a few days, but to Gilbert, it had seemed like an eternity. Most importantly, her eyes looked brighter than when he had left her. She had been able to find happiness without him; he wasn't sure how he felt about that. His eyes drifted to the tears still fresh on her face and he reached to cup her cheek with his hand. Lifting her up by her fingertips, Gilbert glanced around her features, looking at the cut she had sustained by being heaved at the ground. 

"What happened to you?", his voice was saturated with worry, a hint of anger drifting in his tone.

Caroline's eyes widened as she remembered the task Jerry had given her, "Anne. Gilbert, have you seen Anne?"

He furrowed his brows for a moment, then glanced behind him, motioning to the window of a small restaurant, "Yes, yes, she's gathering her things. Now, Care, what happened?"

She dodged his question, and his arm as she took off into the building, startling Anne with the loud sound of the door hitting the wall at how hard she yanked it open. The red-head gasped as she looked upon Caroline's split lip and cheek, grabbing her coat and speed walking over to her. Caroline looked into Anne's eyes, her blue ones coated in a recently tear-stained glaze.

"Jerry and I, we were coming back from the auction and the-these two men jumped us, ", she heard the bell ring as Gilbert stepped into the restaurant again, "He told me to go find you, Anne."

Anne's eye contact never broke as she nodded, taking in what Caroline had said, slowly. She assumed her brother had the 'thinking look' on his face, also trying to figure out what exactly happened. The only thing Caroline regretted was not being able to see the faces of the men who had attacked them. Now, they could be anywhere. Even two feet away from her. She heard the shout of a man, one she could make out as saying 'stay out of the way, kid', from outside and her head swiveled to the left, looking out the window. Jerry was limping across the sidewalk, gazing in each window any time he passed a shop. Anne must have seen him too, as she ran out of the building, followed by Caroline and then Gilbert, who still had no clue what was happening.