Romantical

~|six|~

Gilbert

"Its about your family...about Mathew his heart is giving way t-they don't think he had much time left, the doctor came here as quick as he could to tell you, I'm so sorry Anne." Her face went pale and I felt my hand fly up to my mouth. The Cuthberts had always been like a second family to me, especially after my father passed. 

My father.

Oh no. 

I remember how hard it was for me when my father passed, how heartbroken I was, but Anne knew those feelings all to well, the loneliness of being an orphan the horrible gut wrenching feeling you get, of sadness and anger and indescribable dread when your father is ripped away from you by death. Anne faced it once, just as I had, but she could possibly be facing it again if Mathew perished. Anne shot up out of her seat fear in her eyes her seat smashing violently into Billy and Josie's desk "Hey!" Josie said and Ms. Stacy quickly shot her a "not the time look" before glancing over to see Anne already halfway out of the room. I got up to as Anne opened the door and ran out not taking anything with her or closing the door behind her, all eyes were on me now but I didn't care. "Miss I-" 

"Go Gilbert, make sure she doesn't do anything illogical please!" Ms Stacy said as I turned and flew out the door but made sure to take the two Notice Board papers. Then I screamed "Anne!" after her. She didn't turn around or even glance at me, just kept running, her braid swinging and barley hanging on as she raced down the path to Green Gables. "Anne!" I screamed again darting to her side and grabbing her hand. "Come on it'll be ok let's go." I said trying to make my voice soothing for her as I could see tears pricking her eyes. 

When we got through the gate of Green Gables Marilla Cuthbert stood on the porch straining to see Anne and I clutching each other's wrists now, barreling down the hill towards her. Anne was crying, but she wouldn't show me, or make a sound. I tugged Anne up the stairs of the porch and she left my wrist flinging herself through the door and up the stairs, I guessed she went up to Mathew. I turned to Marilla and she gave me a weak smile "Thank you Gilbert, I think Anne would rather prefer if you stay with her during this...difficult time." 

"I think I would prefer it as well, just as a comfort to me, when my father was sick, it didn't make me feel any better being essentially alone in that house all day. And um Marilla..if I may ask when did the doctor say he..." I said trailing off looking sheepishly into her worried eyes, she stumbled over her words "T-two days...at most..but he could..at any second." I understood giving her a look of worry but when she shook her head and went inside I figured I better go find Anne. 

I stumbled up the stairs and looked inside the only open door, Anne was sitting in a chair staring at something, I slipped inside the room and shut the door quietly, stunned, I saw a frail and sickly Mathew lying in bed deathly still, only shaky movements of his chest rising and falling told me he was actually still alive. I sat next to Anne and she turned to me and then back to Mathew.

Her eyes never left him after that, as the sun went lower and lower in the sky as Anne and I watched the delicate man's breathing, it looked like you could blow on him and he would just turn to dust. As the sun went down Marilla came in with two plates of food for us I ate mine and I tried to make Anne eat hers.

She said she wasn't hungry.

I could see straight through that lie but decided to leave it alone. Hours past and the colors of sunset filled the sky along with faint starts. I was so tired but I forced myself to stay awake, and I sat beside her, she sat beside me. Soon, I could feel me eyelids getting heavy and and it was making me even more exhausted trying to stay awake. I felt Anne grip my wrist and say "Gilbert..go to sleep I'll be ok I promise." Her voice was barley as whisper contradictory to earlier  that morning. Had that only been a few hours ago? It felt like years now. The last thing I registered before slipping into the darkness was Anne giving my hand a squeeze.

I woke up to screaming. I looked out the small window and saw Marilla talking to a man outside she was holding a lantern to see in the night, the light illuminated her tired face and she was definitely not screaming. My still sleep filled eyes panned over to  the red head leaning over an old man shaking and screaming "MATHEW MATHEW!" My doctor instincts kicked in and I grabbed Anne gently taking her away from the body, that's when I realized Mathew's chest was no longer moving. My eyes grew wide as I cupped my ear to his nose to see if I could  feel breathing. Nothing. I checked his pulse in his neck and wrist. Nothing and Nothing. I finally bent down to his still chest, desperate to find a tiny heartbeat. Nothing 

Mathew Cuthbert was gone.