Will You?

“Just let me brush out my hair and I’ll be ready to go.” Anne said, sitting down at the vanity. John sat in the wicker chair by the window, his legs crossed, his chin leaning on his fist. He was staring out the window, a troubled expression on his face.

“What’s wrong, John?” Anne asked, combing through her dark curls. John sighed heavily, letting his hand drop to his lap.

“I have tried so hard,” he said, looking at her reflection in the mirror. “to pretend like everything is alright. I’ve tried to be happy, even if only for you.” His posh English accent was becoming thicker, as it always did when he was upset. The pain in his voice was reflected in his blue eyes. His brows knit and formed a crease in his forehead.

Anne’s smile slowly fell and her hands, raised, pulling the brush through her hair, froze in their place against her scalp.

“But you’re too thin, Anne, too pale.” John finished. The weight of the silver brush in Anne’s hand suddenly felt as if it were twenty pounds. She set it almost soundlessly on the wooden vanity and wrung her hands, twisting them around in her lap. Her wide, fearful eyes were locked onto the grain of the dark wood, refusing to look up at him. “John, I’m fine-”

“Anne, don’t even try to hide it from me. Don’t lie to me like that.” interrupted John, chuckling bitterly. “I can see you trembling all the way over here.” His pale blue eyes filled with tears as the words left his lips. Anne breathed slowly and evenly, twisting her engagement ring around her left ring finger nervously. The ring he’d given her two months ago before he’d been forced to leave for Paris again- and this time without her. It had been his grandmother and was older than the two of them put together.

“You’re ill, my darling.” The words tasted like vinegar, but he didn’t regret saying them.

He recalled the hopefulness he’d felt on the train coming to New Orleans. He’d so looked forward to hearing her slight Southern accent once more, to listen to her sing in her lovely French. He’d dreamt of her while he was away, of returning to a healthy girl. A girl with a healthy glow about her, the once so bright stars in her eyes still shining bright, her appetite back.

That hopefulness was crushed by horror when she ran to him at the train station, calling out his name. He still wasn’t sure the tears he’d wept were those of joy to be with her again or those of a pain to deep to explain at her condition.

And, in a way, she still was that bewitching belle he’d first met so long ago. She was every bit as beautiful as she was then. But she was much, much thinner and so frighteningly pale now. Her eyes were still as dark and haunting as before, but they were somehow ever so slightly duller.

“You’re always cold,” John went on. “and you tire so easily, though you hide it quite well.”

Anne looked down at her hands, wishing she could leap through the mirror like Alice and never come back. The pain in his voice was almost tangible. It hung heavy in the room, making the faint sunlight seem more like the heat from a hot fire poker on her skin. She heard without looking the wicker moan under his grasp as his strong, gentle hands clutched the arm rests. She was shaking almost violently now. John half-repressed a sob.

“I’ll be alright, John.” said Anne, tears welling up in her eyes.

“Will you? Will you, Anne?” His voice was soft, gentle, despite the grim meaning in his words. “Do you know how many nights I laid awake, staring up at the ceiling, wondering, hoping, praying that you were still alive? There was not a day when I didn’t thank God for allowing us to know each other and for every day we spent together. I love you, Anne, more than you could ever know.”

“I love you, John.” Was all Anne could say- the words simply wouldn’t come. She wanted to say so much, but her throat was closed up.

Author's Note

So, I just had a random idea for this while coming home from church today. No idea where it came from. It's set in the Depression Era South and I picture Tom Hiddleston as Captain Nichols as John. As you can tell, I'm obsessed with Tom Hiddleston. While I'm thinking about it- is the book "The Red Necklace" any good? I want to read it, but I know nothing about it. Anway, thanks for reading!

Reviews

[CrimsonDecorum]

Tom Hiddleston must read this. HE MUST. Anyway, brilliant, I love it.