C H A P T E R T W E L V E
A   Good   Sister

On the way home, Delia found herself smiling to herself like an idiot. She could still feel Laurie's lips pressed against hers and the more she thought about it, the more she lingered in the past.

     She had her index and middle fingers grazing her lips but once she realized what she was doing, she slapped her hand down to her thigh. She tried to talk to the coachman as well, he didn't seem interested in her at all.

     Delia felt nostalgic when she remembered Samuel, the kind coachman with family issues, he was a kind fellow and she wishes nothing but the best for him.

     For most of the ride, Delia fiddled with her gifts, analyzing every inch and millimetre of an object before obsessing over something new she found out and moving onto the next thing.

     Maybe that was the epitome of insanity but her thoughts kept her alive, she ate, she slept and she seemed to be doing alright. When she finally made it back home to New Hampshire, she thanked the gods she was finally let out of that damn carriage. The coachman gave Delia a conflicted look, expecting a tip which he got, a penny.

     "For not talking to me," Delia commented before taking her things and hopping off the vehicle.

     While she was still in the carriage she packed as many of her gifts into her luggage as possible but the guitar was of course something she had to hold in her hand. The notebooks, card and surprisingly the shoes fit.

     She did have to take Meg's shoes out of their box to be able to put it inside her suitcase. The box was just an inconvenience, she thought and sadly it had to go. She threw the box in the garbage and walked to the front door of her home. This time, she was definitely not lost.

     Knock knock knock.

     The screaming of her sisters reached her ears and she smiled sadly at the familiar sound. "Coming!" Her mother yelled as she ran to the door while scowling at her two daughters.

     "Hello, Mother." Delia greeted her with a wave and her mother in return placed her hand on Delia's cheek, stroking her cheekbone gently.

     "You're finally home, I hope your aunt and uncle didn't cause you too much trouble—"

     "Delia! Where's your husband?" Charlotte ran to the door, seeing Delia stand there with no one besides herself.

     "There's no such thing as marrying in nearly two months, Charlotte." Delia sighed, bringing her things inside.

     "Oh my god, who bought you that thing?" Harriet screamed her question aloud, she was talking about the guitar.

     "Well, my friend," Delia answered, shutting the front door behind her.

     "Are they a man?" Charlotte raised an eyebrow at Delia, a curious but innocent look on her face. Delia had to bite her lip and think about her answer for that one.

     "Yes... yes they are." She grinned as she looked down at her sister.

     "Now, not another question from both of you, I have to head up to my room," Delia said, walking up the tiny stairs and into her quaint room.

     She had a smaller room than her two sisters, Mother thought it would stop them from attacking Delia, which it did, somewhat.

     Delia set her suitcase down on her freshly made bed and rested her guitar beside it. Finally taking off her bonnet and set it aside on her empty, wooden vanity.

     When she looked in the mirror, her eyes immediately turned to the necklace around her neck but she stopped herself from going back to the heaven she was in, she would go insane if she thought about it again.

     "Who bought you that?" Harriet leaned against the door frame, looking at the necklace through the mirror.

     "Harriet, I said no more questions." Delia reminded her little sister but Harriet shook her head.

     "It was a boy, wasn't it? It was a nice boy, you like him, that's why you had a ditzy smile on your face."

     "Harriet, I said no more questions, run along." Harriet tried to ignore the blush that was ever so visible on her sister's cheeks. Sure she felt happy for her sister but, she couldn't deny the jealousy burning bright inside of her.

     "I want to meet him," Harriet said, walking into Delia's room and sitting on her bed.

     "That dream of yours is unlikely." Delia frowned, taking a brush and brushing her tangled hair.

     "Why? I'm sure if he cared enough for you he'll come to visit you."

     "You've become wiser since I last saw you." Delia complimented her sister and Harriet smiled.

     "Mother says if I behave well, she would let me go on a trip just like you." Harriet laid herself down on Delia's bed with a smile, stars in her eyes as she thought about her dream trip.

    "What do you want to do during the trip?" Delia walked over from her chair in front of her old vanity, laying down next to her starstruck sister.

     "Well, what did you do during your trip?" Harriet questioned, looking at her sister. She admired Delia, truly, she was always pretty and perfect unlike her.

     Their mother says Harriet is a troublemaker like her twin sister which makes her somewhat of a bad guy but she's just trying to live out her childhood.

     "I made friends, went to a ball... had a sleepover, sneaked out of my room at night, got into trouble..." Delia could've gone on about all the things she did but she decided to stop after the getting into trouble one. It was her fault, she frowned, and that it was.

     "Sounds fun," Harriet commented, staring up at the ceiling. "It was..."

     "Good, I want you to be happy, even though I'm jealous of you most of the time. You're my sister." Harriet wore a warm smile and offered her arms to Delia as they hugged each other tightly.

     "Never thought I'd say you're a good sister." Delia laughed while Harriet in favour kicked her sister's shin.

     "I should get unpacking, all my things can't stay in a suitcase." And with that, Harriet grinned at her sister before walking out and down the stairs of their humble abode. And then Delia felt lonely once again.

     There was no Jo for her to talk to, no Amy or Meg nor Beth. Not even Laurie... god, stop thinking about him, Delia furrowed her eyebrows, getting frustrated at her thoughts.

     As she was unpacking her things and filling her bedroom with her clothes and accessories, her hands were sweating at an alarming rate while she put away her things into the places they belong to.

     Delia cast her eyes upon the notebooks, she stacked them up on her vanity, the blue shoes got placed into her wardrobe while the guitar strings were sat in a drawer. Amy's painting was stuck to the wall with a nail from an old painting that was hung up. The guitar sat still on her bed, she didn't have a place to put it so she left it there.

     When she was finished, Delia's whole back was covered in sweat and she felt anxious for an odd reason. She was homesick, though this was her home. She missed Concord dearly, more than anyone could ever imagine, 2 months passed by too quickly.

     A thought popped into her head though, maybe sitting by the window looking out into the rolling hills of grass would ease the sickening pain that existed only in her head.

     The boys from the time before were playing outside again, they looked older, they matured well in the last months. Their hair had grown out just an inch but Delia noticed it. They were playing tag that day, they must've gotten bored of swords play, she thought.

     Suddenly, one of the boys glanced up and saw a peep of her. He had to squint his eyes because of the glare of the glass window.

     "Arry! There's a princess stuck up there!" The young boy mentioned to the others, the eldest looked at his friend, shaking his head and saying,

     "There's no such thing as princesses, Yves."

     "I see her too, she's got a pretty necklace as well!" Cried another boy in excitement.

     "That's enough playing for today boys, let's get you all home." The oldest boy, Arry gathered all 4 of the younger ones together as he began to walk them back in their direction.

     Arry turned to face Delia's window, he wanted a glance at the so-called "princess". There was a sly grin that appeared on his face as he waved at the girl behind the window. Delia waved back as she got a good description of Arry.

     He was tall, scrawny and had brown, close to black hair and it seemed to be styled messily. His emerald green eyes seemed unsettling to Delia, the green didn't match him to her but she just smiled as she heard her mother call her name, signalling for her to go downstairs and eat her meal.

     "How're you feeling so far, my love?" Mother asked her oldest daughter, Delia assumed she might've looked like a mess because Charlotte frowned at her face.

     Delia's dark eye circles were enhanced and very prominent, while unpacking her things, her hair must've gone wild and well, she was sweating and looked extremely uncomfortable.

     "I'm alright, I'm just trying to let go the attachment I have to Concord." She replied, Charlotte looked at her funny and just sighed, taking a spoon full of her porridge.

     "Gee, I wonder why you're having such a difficult time with it." Charlotte made an unappreciated comment which caused both Harriet and their mother to call her out for. Delia felt pleased but the anxiety in her was creeping up on her like usual.

     The porridge in her mouth tasted like nothing and it seemed to her it had a bitter aftertaste. She felt as if she didn't belong with her family, she felt like the outcast.

     "I'm heading up to my bedroom," Delia said, standing up and taking her plate to the kitchen counter.

     "Are you not hungry, Del? I could make you whatever you'd like." Mother offered but Delia just shook her head with a grim expression.

     "I just don't have the taste today."

     "Whatever you need, dear." The whole family was quiet, something didn't feel right. Nothing felt right. Maybe writing a letter would help, Delia thought, taking a pen from a drawer and starting a letter that was to be sent to Concord. Delia tried not to make it sappy but her trying didn't stop the emotion of sadness that was being written into words.

     She wrote things like, "Miss you all dearly," and "My heart is aching, I wish I were still there." She didn't even bother to read over the final paper, she just took an envelope and placed it on the window frame, hoping she would remember to mail it tomorrow.

     Delia didn't realize how lonely she had been there, she didn't have many friends or even any that visited her regularly, she longed to be one of those boys, they had the company of each other. She used to be like them before she was swept back here.

     It was nice to have a friend, even one would do, she just wanted something to accompany her and her emotions. While she sat on her bed, she felt the need to curl up into a ball and hold back the tears of loneliness. Her hands were shaking and her head hurt awfully bad.

     Why was she like this? When she'd think of the embarrassing or heart aching moments in her life, she wanted to throw herself at her wall and hope that would somehow change the past. It wouldn't, she knew it but it was so tempting to try.

     Arry seemed like a good person, she and he were approximately the same age, maybe she'd catch up and catch him in a conversation one day. When that thought came to her mind, god she felt like hell.

     Delia felt like she was betraying Laurie. She could have multiple friends that were males, why did she feel guilty? Maybe it was because she didn't want another boy to steal another part of her heart.

A U T H O R ' S   N O T E

I'm actually quite fond of this chapter. I love when Harriet and Delia are together, I don't know why
lol. They're a cool sister duo I guess.

Let me know if you have thoughts or questions
about this chapter! :) love you guys!! <3