𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐝𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥 (𝐆𝐢𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐁𝐥𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐞)

xxvii.

"Eleanor? Are you ready to go?" Alvin yelled from outside. 

"Just a minute!" Eleanor yelled back as she shoved the remaining stuff from her dresser into her suitcase. 

Bash was quick to take it outside to Gilbert as he was loading up the carriage, all of her and Gilbert's bags were packed neatly like a game of jenga.

Eleanor took one last look at the empty room in front of her, although all of the furniture remained, all of the decorations that made it the room she so loved, were packed neatly in a cardboard box. 

"Eleanor?" Alvin's voice made the girl jump as she spun around, nearly toppling over. 

"Hm?" she hummed in response as she busied herself with making sure her dress was laying flat on her corset, combing through her hair with her fingers (and them getting stuck in her curls), and pushing up her long eyelashes with her finger. 

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked in a serious sort of tone. 

She stopped fidgeting and look at the boy before her. He had grown since she had last seen him, he had a small stubble growing on his chin and a thick head of hair that was neatly swooped back with grease. 

Ever since she had gone to live with Gilbert, he was now forced to take care of the family. He would cook, clean, and took care of Harvey's on most days. 

All of this forced him to mature within a few days, a lot faster than he would of hoped. 

Although he was only a few years older than Eleanor, he always seemed to be less mature than her. But that was expected, since he was a "boy" and all. But she had grown to love seeing this mature side of her brother, and she had truly missed spending time with him as the seasons passed. 

It had been nearly a year since the two had spoke. 

Alvin had finally made his way to college, studying at a nearby college just a few towns down from Avonlea. He was studying to become a therapist, though he truly loved writing. Mother didn't seem to find that being an author was a good aspiration to have for a man. 

But Eleanor always read the stories that Alvin wrote, and she loved every single one of them. She was hoping that he would have told mother to stick it where the sun don't shine, but alas...he was much too obedient for that. 

Alvin stared at the girl as he waited for her answer, he was unsure of why Eleanor had decided to do what she was about to do. But all the same, he supported her the way she supported him growing up. 

"I'm sure." she smiled, her smile seemed to say a thousand words that made Alvin smile. 

Even if it seemed difficult, he knew that if anyone would be able to do it. Eleanor Parks would be the one to achieve it. 

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The carriage creaked and groaned under the weight of the luggage and boxes that carried all of Gilbert and Eleanor's things. 

Twigs and leaves crunched underneath the large wheels as the group sat in silence. 

Gilbert, Eleanor, Alvin, Bash, and Delphine were all huddled together in the front seat that was truly meant for only two to three people. 

Eleanor was sitting on Gilbert's lap, Delphine was sitting on Bash's, and Alvin was shoved in the middle, holding the reigns that rested upon the neck of Eleanor's horse. 

They were all headed to the Parks residents, as much as Eleanor hated to admit it, she missed her family. 

Alvin was telling her all about how grown up Harvey was, how he was about to start preschool, and how he was finally running and writing on his own.