˚* ੈ✩‧₊ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒕 ⋆ 𝒇𝒊𝒏

forty-one

the classroom gasped, horrified as the boys scream rang out. everything seemed to be in slow motion as prissy, jane, and autumn rushed to billy's aide. prissy and jane sat on both sides of their brother, holding his hands as autumn cradled his head. cole backed away, mortified by his actions as gilbert rushed beside autumn to look at the injury. billy held his ear tightly, wailing and screaming in pain. the girl's stomach knotted, anger bubbling up inside of her. she stroked billy's cheeks, calming him as gilbert begins to wrap his ear. "billy, look at me. look at me billy andrews." she said through her teeth, looking up to cole for a split second before he ran off again. miss stacey let out class, leaving to go fetch mrs. andrews. "billy, darling, i need you to look at me." she said, calming herself. the boy was hyperventilating, shaking with anxiety and pain. he looked up at the girl, red faced with tears in his eyes. "take a deep breath for me, okay? we're going to stand you up. is that okay?" she questions, earning a nod from him. prissy and jane stand up, helping him up with them.

they walked back to the andrews home, gilbert helping the boy stabilize his walks. autumn's thoughts ran in circles around her head, wondering what had just happened. coles sudden outburst of anger was shocking, never had she seen him so aggressive. silently, she pulled jane aside. "i'm going to look for cole, i'll be back soon. please keep him safe for me." she says, earning a nod and sad smile from her friend. just as quick as everything happened, the girl was gone. she could hear billy's wailing and questions from miles away. alone, autumn walked through the forest in search of her closest friend. she passed green gables, she passed the blythe residence. there was no sight of the boy. in the distance, however, she saw two figures standing on the cliff where land meets the sea. one was much shorter than the other, both staring out into the ocean. quickly noticing the pair, autumn runs towards their direction. going up the cliff was a struggle, her chest heaved and it hurt to breathe in. "cole!" she called out, racing towards her friend. "what happened?" she said, reaching both him and anne. cole's face was red, tear stained. he couldn't look at her. "i hate him, autumn. i wish him the worst in life." he said, staring out into the ocean. anne turned to face the girl. "if i were a witch, i'd curse him badly. the worst curse possible." she said flatly. autumn was confused, but felt compelled to push harder. "what did he do?"

///

she was shocked, surely it couldn't be true. all of coles beautiful clay structures, anne shirley-cuthbert's adorable little shack. ruined. left behind were the remnants. shattered clay, bodies without heads, slabs of wood broken. autumn's bright blue eyes scanned the area. every single bit was destroyed. "y-you don't know if it was him, cole." she stuttered, shaking her head. "billy's different now. he wouldn't hurt a fly." cole sighs sadly, looking at all of his ruined art. He debates on whether he should speak or not. "when i walked in the classroom, i heard billy talking about it. he was telling everyone with that stupid smile on his face, autumn. and i know i shouldn't have attacked him. it was a moment of rage, i swear. i truly didn't mean to burn billy, and i'm going to apologize." autumn's breath hitched. she remembered the suddenly flustered, guilty-faced billy from the night before. a knot formed in her stomach, she felt like throwing up. she resented herself for falling for him. the effect he had on her blocked all of her senses. autumn's heart burned of hurt.

cole blinked once, and the girl was gone. her footsteps sounded heavy in the distance. autumn ran. her chest heaved once again, cramps forming in her left side. her heart was on fire, the flames burning up into her throat. she ran until the all too familiar house came into view. it was almost dusk, the sun's last kisses fading behind the thick forestry. autumn ran right into the home, and to billy's room. prissy and jane laughed at something billy had said, who laid in bed with his head all wrapped up in gauze. she stopped at the doorway, smiles beaming from all siblings once her presence was noticed.

"tell me it's not true."

her voice was quiet, cracking from the tears brimming her eyes. billy was confused, as were the girls. all stared at her with curiosity. "please, billy. please tell me it wasn't you." she whimpered, her legs shaking. billy looked at her, his eyebrows knitted together. the girl's heart raced, building up the courage to step into the room. she walked to his bed, taking his hand in hers. "it wasn't you. please, please tell me you didn't do it." tears threatened to spill from her eyes, but she kept them. "please tell me you didn't destroy anne's shack. and cole's clay sculptures." she whispered, locking eyes with the boy. he was the first to look away, staring out the window. autumn's heart dropped, her stomach hurt. she quickly pulled her hand  from his and backing away from him. "how could you?" she yells out, tears flooding down her face. "that was all they had, billy! cole's art is all he has! anne's shack is hers! that's their property!" she screamed, billy not daring to look at her. this angered her more. "for pete's sake, billy. look at me! look at me!" she grabbed his face, forcing it her way. their eyes meet, both filled with tears. autumn whimpered a small cry as she looked into his eyes. "autumn..." billy sighed, small cries escaping his mouth. he hated this, showing weakness. boys don't cry. he thought back to the night, how his thoughts raced.

billy ran through the forest with both jeffrey and kyle, chasing that damned fox. he wasn't going to kill it, he made a promise. rather, one of the other boys would have to do it. "c'mon, bill. you've got the best aim. you'd probably hit right in the center of the head if you tried! don't let some girl tell you what to do." jeff said, patting his friend on the shoulder. billy rolled his eyes, beginning to get annoyed with the boy. they continued to follow the fox, kyle being ahead of both boys to chase it. they soon came upon the boy, who stared out into the distance with a smirk. confused, they jog towards him until the scene was in their view. clay sculptures scattered around the area, figures in numerous poses. he stared in awe, the vision reminding him of autumn. he noticed one that sat upon a rock, what seemed to be a pencil and notebook in hand. it had hair, unlike the other sculptures. the artwork reminded him of autumn. immediately, images flash in his mind of the girl. her smile, her laugh, the way she looked when focused. he smiled, placing a hand on the figure. the fox was nowhere in sight. "lets go, boys. it's getting late." he said, removing his hand from the sculpture. doing so caused the artwork to wobble and fall off the rock, shattering into a million pieces. jeffrey and kyle burst out laughing, starting to kick and hit the other sculptures.

"i-it was an accident..." billy trailed off. autumn's eyes hardened, shaking her head in shock. "yeah, of course it was. everything is always an accident for you." she said angrily, more tears welling in her eyes. billy couldn't speak, slight tears falling down his face. the room was filled with silence. prissy and jane has left, leaving the two alone. billy couldn't bring himself to look at autumn, who kept her arms folded as she stared at him waiting for a response. "autumn, please..." he starts. she let out a small whimper, covering her mouth before more occur. "must you destroy every thing you touch, billy?" she yells angrily, throwing her hands in the air. he stayed quiet again. "still, you have nothing to say?" her voice squeaked, breaking at the end. finally he looked at her, his eyes red and puffy. autumns heart pings, wanting to comfort him and tell him it's okay. on the other hand, she was furious. how could she love someone so much yet be so so furious to the point you could hate them. "i'm sorry." his voice was low and raspy, hushed from the tears. "billy, please don't." autumn says, looking away from the boy. sniffles filled the room.

what was she to do? end what they had because of his reckless actions? or stay with the hopes that somehow he would change?

it was a decision she had to make.

///

and that's it! i'll leave the ending to your imagination. thank you all so much for reading and supporting this story. i love you all.

xxx,
sof