Butterflies~~ Shirbert

Chapter twenty-two: I'll take your apple now

Anne awoke the next morning with bags under her eyes.
Well, she didn't actually awake, considering she had never fully fallen asleep. Like she predicted she couldn't go back asleep after her nightmare.
But there was a difference this time.
She wasn't up just because of the bad memories.
In fact after she relayed everything to Gilbert, she felt light.
There was less of the usual burden of enclosing her old memories deep in herself.
With a sleepy heaviness in her step she trotted to her door and opened it with a slow movement of her wrist.
Her yawn was interrupted half way by a voice.
"Mornin."
Anne looked down and closed her mouth and attempted to rub the tired watery gleam from her eyes.
She looked up after a moment and low and behold.

Ocean meet's hazel.

She gave him a smile drenched in a sleep deprived way. Then in the same country accent that he used she said.
"Good mornin."
He laughed and smiled back wider.
"Did you go back to sleep last night."
Anne's head abruptly turned downstairs.
She put her hands on his chest and pushed him back into the spare room.
Gilbert was very confused to say the least. But even in pure confusion he didn't fail to notice how his body tingled as soon as she touched him.
~
Anne moved her hands from him then turned around and shut the door as quietly as possible as to not draw Marilla's attention from the kitchen.

She turned back and faced Gilbert with her hands on her hips.
"Marilla and Mathew can no nothing about this."
Um...what?
Gilbert was now even more confused.
"About what?"
Anne raised her voice slightly completely disregarding her efforts to not rouse Marilla's attention when she said.
"My nightmares."
Gilbert's eyebrows went up in realization now.
Minutes before it sounded as if she were hiding that they were sneaking around or something of the sort. Which they definitely weren't which was were his confusion rose from.
But now a new confusion came to him.
"Why do you not want them to know?"
Anne's eyebrows rose slightly as she pursed her lips.
"They will worry, I just- i don't know, they won't understand, I love them but they'll try to help and I don't see anyway they really could."
Gilbert understood that.
Bash and Mary had asked him questions about his family passing but his answers were always cut short. He didn't think anyone could understand what it feels like to be alone.
That was until he meant Anne.
But something else came to his mind,
she told him.
His thoughts cut short when Anne started to talk again.
"I've never told anyone about my nightmares, or really, anything about my past."

Gilbert's face turned genuine.

"Well, you can always, tell me, no matter what it is,
your not alone Anne, you've got me,"

he gave her a crooked smile.

"and you always will."

Anne gave him a small smile, her eyes filled with thankfulness.

he had no idea how much this meant to her.

"Thank you Gil."

Tears of appreciation brimmed in her eyes as she got lost in Gilberts, now also misty eyes.

Gilbert had an urge to reach out to her.

To hug her.

But he didn't

he stayed standing where he was and smiled genuinely her way, trying to convey somehow with his eyes, how much he cared for her, and how much he meant the words he said.

There was a heaviness in the air that gilbert managed to lift a bit as he said.

"Of course,
Carrots.''
(Play song:):)
He said carrots as if it were a question in a very hesitant voice. He knew he was being very brave by calling her that nickname.