┍━━━━ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ━━━━┑

chapter forty four

|it is what brings you to world|

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ben called out for sebastian as soon as they got inside. he was holding a string with a crab in it, "just wait till you see what we got you for supper. thought you could teach us to make crab callaloo."

"he would be happy to see that, he might thought it as a little taste from home," gilbert said as the brothers let out a small chuckle.

"i ought that we can help him too with the fence he keeps complaining about," ben said.

suddenly, ben noticed that bash's jacket that was from their father was in the table and a piece of paper. ben quickly took the paper as he read it. then, he looked at his brother.

"he's not coming back."

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m

illie and anne ran faster to the clubhouse as they saw it wasn't a clubhouse anymore. instead, it was an enormous mess. the woods were scattered and the papers, their stories were wrecked. also, cole's clay was broken. it seems like something, of someone, tried to destroy it on purpose.

millie's tears slowly rolling down to her cheeks as the cuthbert sisters both walked slowly to the scattered woods.

they both notice that someone was coming, they looked around and see cole running.

"cole!" millie called as cole seems to froze to saw the clubhouse, specifically his artworks broken.

the boy turned his attention to anne, "you sold me out! i trusted you!"

"what are you talking about?" anne asked while crying.

millie stayed silent as he reached to cole, but was stopped by him.

"you brought the teacher here!" cole shouted as he turned to millie, "do you know about this?"

when millie didn't answer he repeated the questions, this time, he got louder, "do you know about this?!"

millie looked down as she nods her head, "i-i'm sorry, c-cole---"

"you told her about me! are you that desperate to be liked?! you, millie! you didn't even bother to stop your sister! she even put you in shame by making your secret out!" cole yelled to the both of them as the sisters just absorbed his words, "she told my parents i'm not in school!"

"we were just trying to help," anne reasoned.

"well, you both ruined my life!" cole yelled, "they'll never let me leave the farm now, not even for school! it's over! i have nothing!"

"cole, s-stop now," millie said.

cole turned to her again, "why are you sticking up for her?! she even let you down!"

millie wiped her tears harshly using the back of her hands as she spoke, "because she is my sister! i will stick up to her no matter what, and that... was a family must do," she firmly stated.

cole stayed silent for a moment before he asked, "who would do this? do you both know who did this?"

they both shook their heads as they muttered, "no."

"who else did you show?" cole asked to anne.

"no one! i don't... i don't know," anne asked as she let out a sob. millie immediately reached to her as she hugged her sister.

cole looked around and notice something, he held a green scarf in his hands. they all shared a look as millie knew who destroyed their clubhouse.

"cole," millie silently warned her friend. cole ignored her as he started to run away. millie and anne both shared a look before following their friend, cole.

they followed the boy as cole goes inside of the schoolhouse.

millie and anne both hurrying inside as they saw cole pushed billy andrews near the furnace.

"cole!" millie immediately cried out as billy andrews let out a scream. millie reached for the shocked cole as she hugged him.

billy andrews continued to scream as he was laying on prissy's lap. he took out his hand off to his ear and let out the bloody ear that just burned from the furnace.

"cole," millie called to her friend, once again. the boy pushed millie that the blonde head stumble upon the ground, luckily ben catches her.

"cole! cole!" anne called cole but the boy ignored them all as he continued to run away, far from the schoolhouse, far from all of them.

"are you alright?" ben immediately asked the girl. millie just stared at him for a second she pushes herself up.

"yes. yes. i am, t-thank you," millie quickly said as the older blythe just stared at her with a concerned look.

they both turned their attention to billy andrews, who was still screaming in pain as gilbert put a cloth that diana gave to him onto billy's bloody ear.

"everyone? students, gather your things, and be on your way. class is dismissed for today," miss stacy announced.

millie immediately run outside of the schoolhouse as she looked for cole. she found him onto the cliff.

"i'm sorry. cole, i'm so, so sorry," millie began. she couldn't find words than apologize to her friend.

"everything i care about... is gone," cole muttered, "no sculpting, no school... i don't... i don't think there's a place for me here... i don't think there's any place for me in this world."

millie immediately hugged cole as they stayed silent for a while. until millie spoke up.

"it's not what the world holds for you, it is what you bring to it," millie said to cole, "and you bring so much, cole. we'll figure it out. i promise, cole."

cole stayed silent but still immersing millie's words to her. they stayed silent as they both looked at the scenery in front of them.