Gilbert noticed.
"Will they be angry with you for missing school?" He guessed.
"Look, maybe...maybe you were on your way to school and you started to feel sick and I came upon you and offered to walk you back home. You'll be sick. They can't stop you from being sick, right? Would that do?"
Anne looked down. "But my wrist..."
Gilbert pursed his lips. "Ok. Instead of being sick, I came upon you and found that you'd fallen. You tripped over a branch and hurt your arm. So I'm walking you home."
Anne nodded slowly. Maybe that would do.
But- no, no, they might make her go to the doctor.
What if the doctor would guess the other thing that happened to her- what if he could just tell, somehow?
That would be awful.
And there was still the question of what to do with her clothes.
Anne felt two tears roll down her cheeks. She felt like she was trapped in a nightmare all over again.
She didn't want to go into the woods again, but somehow, now, it felt as if the woods were the middle ground between home and school, and she couldn't seem to go one way or another.
She briefly considered staying hidden in the woods until school was over. Then she could walk home as usual and Marilla and Matthew would not know she hadn't been in school all day.
But she might risk running into Billy, if she did that.
Well, maybe she didn't have to stay in the woods until school was over. Maybe she could stay for most of the day, and then once school was soon to be over, she'd get out of the woods then and find somewhere else to hide. That way she'd be able to avoid Billy as he came through the woods on his way home. But what if she misjudged the time and ran into him?
"Well, I'm with you to the end. Which way shall we go?" Gilbert asked.
Anne looked at him. She put her face in her hands.
Gilbert came toward her. "Hey, it's gonna be okay. You just need to get somewhere safe and then you'll feel better."
Anne wasn't crying, but she felt sure she'd start soon.
She turned and walked back into the woods.
YOU ARE READING
In the Woods When First We Met
FanfictionGilbert is there for Anne when she needs someone the most. Billy did far more damage than seen in the episode. Anne goes through my own journey of healing after a trauma. Serious issues. (Skip chapters 3-4 to make it less scary to read; if you skip...
