C H A P T E R   S E V E N T E E N
Emotions   Will   Fade

Delia was back in New Hampshire before she knew it. Harriet and Charlotte seemed to be satisfied with their trip and they stayed quiet during the ride home.

Delia would occasionally ask them how they were and how they thought the trip went. The two twins would reply with a "Good!" or "I loved it!" And then that would be the end of another conversation.

Harriet could see Delia was uncomfortable, it was clear to her that her sister was not okay. Delia was tapping her leg and always wiping sweat from her hands onto her dress. Charlotte seemed to catch on quickly to Delia's emotions as well.

Delia felt horrible, she felt as though she was forced to say, "I love you," back to Laurie, even though she didn't reciprocate those strong emotions.

Sure, she liked Laurie, she liked him in a romantic way. The way Laurie had acted made Delia shift in her seat just thinking about it. She had a feeling in her gut that something horrid would happen, something that would change her perspective on everything.

What was Laurie going to do? She wanted to know, she wished she had looked further into it. Maybe it was a mistake to leave him. What was going on in his mind?

* * * * *

One step out of the carriage and Delia saw Arry standing there next to the carriage awaiting her arrival.

"Missed me?" Delia grinned weakly, forcing a smile.

"I'm not sure... it did feel nice not having you here always pestering me." Arry teased her, getting a good look at Delia.

"God, I just remembered how much I hate your jokes." Delia sighed, rolling her eyes and holding back a smile.

"Hey, you put up with them." Arry chuckled.

"Hey! You two, move out of the way, we need to get past!" Charlotte yelled at Delia who had just realized she was standing on the step of the carriage this whole conversation with Arry. She quickly stepped off the carriage and thanked the coachman.

"Are you alright? There seems to be something wrong." Arry furrowed his eyebrows, gazing down at Delia. The girl shook her head, refusing to look up at her friend.

"How can you tell?" Delia mumbled, running to the back to help the coachman with the suitcases.

"There's a darkness in your eyes, you aren't as lively." Arry murmured a response, following Delia and offering his hand in carrying the luggage, which Delia agreed to.

"...I'll talk to you tomorrow, Arry." Delia quickly took off into her home, not giving Arry a second glance.

"Rest well, Delia."

* * * * *

Amy March was gone to Europe! She was long gone with the foul-mouthed, Aunt March. The two wore fur coats and everything. Amy seemed quite excited to go, though she must admit she'd miss her sisters. And she had been gone for only two weeks.

     Jo felt as though this were surreal. Amy was gone and so was Meg. It was just her and her Beth. Laurie was there to accompany the two remaining March sisters but Jo could tell something was off about him. Laurie seemed abnormal that day.

     "What is it, Teddy?" Jo questioned, the question rolled off her tongue before she could stop herself.

   The silence was the best Laurie could do as a response. He wanted to explode with anxiousness.

     "Teddy?" Jo asked, raising her volume of voice to reach Laurie who seemed to have his heads in the clouds.

     "Jo... would you care for a walk?" Laurie eventually mumbled.

     "Finally, you spoke! I was starting to think you became mute." Jo grinned, walking with Laurie outside, while Beth was in her room getting rest.

     "Needed to clear your mind?" Jo spouted another question, only to get a single nod as a reply from Laurie.

     "Okay, Laurie. Spit it out, I'm all ears."

     "I... don't know what you're talking about." Laurie anxiously spoke, stuttering while rubbing his arm.

     "I'm not one to judge, Teddy," Jo reassured Laurie, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Oh, you'll judge, Jo. You will, I just know it."

     "You won't know until you do it."

     "Fine, Jo. You want to know so badly, I'll tell you. I love you, I have loved you for so long, Jo." Laurie cried out loud. Jo's eyes were wide open, shocked and heart beating with confusion.

     "No... no, Laurie, this can't be, this cannot happen." Jo struggled for words to respond to Laurie. His words made her stumble back a few steps, feeling the need to step away from Laurie in fear he would do something.

     "I've loved you since the moment I saw you, Jo. I can't hide these feelings anymore. I was hopeful that these emotions would fade after time, but after I realized that that wasn't happening... well..." His eyes were getting watery, Laurie was holding back all the words he wanted to say. He wanted to explain everything but he bit his bottom lip and held his breath.

     "No, Theodore Laurence. These words of yours... they are detrimental. What about Delia? You cry to me about her!" Jo whimpered, barely able to speak at an audible tone. She felt as though everything she knew was a lie.

     "I love her, Jo. I do, I love her so. My heart beats for her." Laurie whimpered, feeling instant regret and guilt in his heart. His chest was hurting incredibly uncomfortably.

     "Then why are you doing this, Laurie?" Jo screamed at her childhood friend, hoping she could knock some sense into him.

     "I... I don't know, Jo." The saddest expression someone could imagine was on Laurie's face. His eyebrows were furrowed and his eyes were glossy like glass.

     "You already know I can't, Laurie. I don't think I'll ever love a man like you do a woman, I don't even think I'll ever get married like my sisters." Jo explained, feeling tears well up in her eyes.

     As Jo said these words, it felt as though time stopped working, no minutes were passing, no seconds. It was like she was in an abyss, just Jo with her words and Laurie.

     "Teddy, listen to me. You'll find a wonderful and perfect girl, and you'll forget all about me and this one day. Because you deserve better than someone who doesn't reciprocate your feelings, Laurie." Jo couldn't help but ramble on and on, hoping to make Laurie change his feelings that instant. Jo wasn't one to know that feelings never faded so quickly.

     Laurie felt deaf, all he could hear was the whistling of the wind blowing in his ears. Jo's voice was a sound that he couldn't seem to focus on. It sounded like she was just mumbling quietly or whispering from afar.

     "There are other girls out there, like Delia, that is so much more compatible with you than me. We'll kill each other, Laurie. I don't think we could ever be together, it would be like an explosive time bomb, waiting to break apart." By the time Jo stops pointing out all the reasons Laurie should not be with her, he's in tears.

     Jo felt horribly bad for him, the least she could do was comfort him.

     "She could barely even say, "I love you," back, Jo. She couldn't say it." Laurie wept, tears streaming down his face.

     Jo pulled her friend in, letting him cry on her shoulder. She could feel Laurie's tears soak into her beige jacket, the damp stains visible as she looked at it after the incident. The last thing Jo could recall from that moment was Laurie barely able to speak another word.

     He mumbled weakly to Jo for the last time, "What did I ever do wrong...?"

A U T H O R ' S   N O T E

I'm sorry but, I nearly cried writing that last scene with Jo and Laurie. I'm not very good at writing sad scenes so there's a lot of room for improvement.
This chapter is also all over the place.

I was deliberating whether or not I should make Laurie still have feelings for Jo but in the end, I thought that the love you feel towards someone doesn't fade so easily, it sticks along, even when
you don't want it to and this is what happened.

IM SORRY! IM A HORRIBLE HUMAN
BEING FOR DOING THIS.

Please stick along to the end though, I swear this story won't end in shambles! Thank you so much
for all the love on this story! Love y'all! <3