Heart Attack ? Shirbert

? 21 ? sanctuary, safety, and stories

When taking off her left sleeve, Anne flinched in pain because of her wrist, which Gilbert noticed worriedly.

"What happened to your wrist?" He reached out and took her left arm gently. Her wrist was swollen and almost purple, "It looks broken."

"I fell." Anne wasn't lying. She didn't mention she was pushed, but she did fall.

Gilbert examined her carefully, "We can go into Charlottetown tomorrow and Dr. Ward can bandage it for you."

"Tomorrow is Christmas." Anne pointed out dryly.

He nodded, completely forgetting everything except caring for Anne, "I'll see what I have."

Gilbert stood up, "Are you okay sitting here?"

Anne didn't look at him, "Yes."

He walked out of the room and ran immediately into, "Winifred! I thought you had gone."

Winifred gave him a teasing smile, "I heard you were preoccupied with something much more interesting than me. Is that the famous Anne in there?"

Gilbert became immensely nervous. He didn't want Winifred to feel bad, but he had to care for Anne. Nothing was more important to him in this moment than Anne.

"She is, but now is probably not the time to meet her." He scratched the back of his neck.

Her smile faded, but she nodded understandingly, "Well, I can't wait until I can."

Winifred decided to take her chances and kissed Gilbert's cheek, "Thank you for having me. It was truly lovely."

"Thank you for coming, Winnie." He responded honestly, "Now get home before your dad kills me."

She smiled as she followed Bash out into the night, "Tardiness is a sin, Blythe!" She yelled back.

Gilbert smiled to himself, but quickly remembered what he had come out here to do. He rummaged around in a few cabinets and found a few rolls of adhesive bandages and tape.

Meanwhile, Anne heard the entire conversation from the parlor. She was grateful she didn't have to meet the infamous Winnie, but now she was real. Before, she could have been a figment of everyone's imaginations. Now, Anne heard her voice, experienced her personality, and even glimpsed her kissing Gilbert on the cheek.

Anne was jealous.

Gilbert walked back in holding bandages, "Let me see your arm."

As Gilbert wrapped Anne's arm, both of them felt the undeniable tension in the room. There were so many things unspoken that were hanging in the air for them to grasp, especially,

"Do you want to tell me what happened?"

Anne wanted to tell him, and she knew she would, but right now she just felt numb, "I told you, I fell."

"Why did you fall?"

"I tripped."

"On what?"

"A branch."

Gilbert bit his lip trying to think. He knew there was more to the story, "Why were you crying?"

"I broke my wrist and it hurt." Anne was lying well but she was aware Gilbert didn't believe her.

"Why were you running?"

"I needed immediate medical attention."

"Why not go to Green Gables?"

"Marilla doesn't skip school to study with a doctor." Anne snapped.

They locked eyes and looked at each other tiredly. Neither one of them wanted to argue anymore. They both just wanted to at least be friends again.

"Can we please not argue." Gilbert pleaded.

Anne was on defense, "I didn't start it."

It felt like they were back to their old bickering. Both of them smiled at each other and, for one second, forgot about everything else.

But then Gilbert noticed Anne's arms, "So if you fell and broke your wrist, what happened to your arms?"

He scanned the rest of her body and stared at both of her wrists, "What are these little bruises? They look like finger prints."

He looked back up at her and saw the terror in her face. She was completely white and there was no life in her blue eyes, "Anne you can trust me, you know that."

"You have to promise not to do anything." She said quietly.

"I can't promise that."

He couldn't. Gilbert had a temper when it came to Anne.

As much as Anne wanted Billy to be punished for what he did, she didn't want it to be Gilbert's fault. She wasn't sure what an angry Gilbert looked like and she didn't want to see it.

"You have to. Please."

"Okay," Gilbert paused, "but you have to tell me everything, okay?"

Anne looked into his eyes, "Okay."