Prologue
She was sitting in the passenger seat, flipping through the tracks on the CD that her mom was playing.
"Wait, go back!" her mom said as she skipped a track. Rory pressed the back button and listened.
"Seriously?"
"Uh, Ye-ah!" Lorelai insisted. Rory looked at her in disbelief.
"This is probably the worst song on the whole CD."
"Which is why it's the most fun to listen to, cause we can make fun of it."
"Blasphemer." Rory muttered.
"Why thank you," Lorelai bowed her head in acknowledgement. Rory laughed. "Ugh has that dude ever played a guitar before?"
"They probably just keep him on the band to attract the ladies," Rory offered.
"Yeah well, they're repulsing everyone else."
And then, it all happened so fast. A drunk driver ran a red, creating a flash and a bang that can be compared to the Big Bang in the way that it changed the course of the world. Rory saw the glare of the headlights blaring in her face, heard her mother yell out her name, and then all was lost in a confusion of loud noises, flashing lights, and then utter darkness.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Stupid alarm, Rory thought. I thought I set it to go off with music. That was the whole point of getting a clock radio. She then became aware of a throbbing pain somewhere above her left eye. She also felt something on her arm, something heavy. She opened her eyes slowly, as the throbbing pain grew worse. She had watched enough stupid medical movies with her mom to recognize that she was in a hospital bed. She glanced down at her right arm to notice it was in a heavy white cast. There were flowers and balloons in one corner, brightening up the ugly green hospital shades. And then she saw Luke. He was dozing in a chair next to all the flowers, a teddy bear wearing a "Get Well" shirt dangling from his hand.
She reached with her good hand to her head and felt a mess of bandages. Even her good hand bore the unmistakable mark of bad scratches. She sat up with a jolt as the memory of everything that had happened rushed back. She felt the tug of the oxygen tube being strained, and the consistent beeping of her heart monitor fell out of pattern for a moment. In his light sleep Luke heard her shift and opened his eyes grogilly. When he saw she was awake however, all trace of sleepiness left his eyes.
"Rory!" he said, standing up. "How are you feeling?"
She only looked back confused. Luke shifted uncomfortably.
"Um, Rory," he cleared his throat. "Do you remember what happened?"
She nodded slowly, reliving the flashes of light and the screaming silence.
"Where's my mom?" she managed to choke out. From the look on his face, she knew this was the exact question he wanted to avoid. Automatically her mind jumped to the worst.
"No, she's not-" Luke stopped her when he saw where she was going.
"No, she's not," he reassured her. "But she's not doing so great kid." Rory nodded.
"How bad?"
Luke took a deap breath.
"She's in a coma."
"A coma," Rory repeated numbly. "That's not so good is it?"
"It's too early to tell," Luke said hopefully.
"Yeah," Rory echoed, "it might be ok." She closed her eyes and rested her head back on the pillow. Luke watched her doze peacefully. He hated himself for lying to her. But he couldn't bring himself to break her heart with the truth. But the doctors were 95% sure that Lorelai wasn't waking up.
A week later, Rory had guessed the truth from all the somber faces around her. Her grandparents had been by a lot, but her grandmother could hardly look at her without bursting into tears. Luke stayed by her side every second, leaving for quick five-minute meals in the cafeteria after making her promise him that she would send someone to get him if she needed anything.
"Great news," he told her, after about a week, "Doctor Marcus thinks you'll be ready to go home soon."
Rory tried to be happy, but there was no joy in going home without Lorelai.
"Where will I be going?" she asked. Luke adjusted his baseball cap.
"You're grandparents," he told her. Rory moaned.
"Don't make me go there," she pleaded. He raised his arms hopelessly.
"What can I do?" he said. She didn't seem to hear him, just looked at him with beseeching eyes.
"Let me go with you, I'll do anything. I don't want to go there." She used her final weapon. "My mom wouldn't want me to go there."
Something in Luke's expression changed. His eyes were suddenly brighter.
"Ok," he told her. "Ok." Just then the door to her hospital room opened, and her grandparents trooped in.
"Rory!" they greeted her, dumping yet another porcelain doll on her windowsill. "Doctor Marcus just told us the wonderful news! We have Gertude getting your room ready as we speak. Do you prefer Salmon or Peach?" her grandmother chattered excitedly. "I need to know which linen to order. Oh, this is going to be so exciting, it will be like having a daughter again! Don't worry about a thing dear. I have everything prepared for you at home. I even have an appointment with Mr. Yulugi, our party planner, for your welcome party, and on Tuesday you have an appointment with the dress maker." Richard stepped outside as his cell phone rang. "So Rory," her grandmother went on, unexhausted unlike the patient in the bed. "I also took the liberty of registering you in Chilton. It's a fantastic school, and all the children nearby go there. You'll have so many wonderful friends!" She gestured to the windowsill. "That doll is from the Humfrods. They have a lovely daughter Elise, although her taste in dolls does need some brushing up," she muttered as an afterthought. "That fuchsia is absolutely ghastly."
"Emily?" her grandfather interrupted, poking his head in the door. "It's Mr. Yulugi. He wants to know whether to do light blue or baby blue."
"What?" Emily was incredulous. "I clearly said light blue. What's next, macaroni instead of pasta?" she went out of the room, grabbing the phone out of her husband's hand.
"Luke," Rory whispered meekly. Luke was staring at the door behind which Emily's voice rose, his mouth hanging slightly open. Then he glanced back at Rory, and her panicked eyes. He nodded at her, took a deep breath, and followed his worst fears out the door.
He returned alone ten minutes later. Rory looked at him hopefully.
"You're going to live with me." He told her. A wide smile crossed her face, making him laugh. "I'll hang a sheet up until I can build a wall, and I guess I should order a bed." Rory put her hands out to hug him, and he gently returned her affection. "There is a catch," he added timidly.
"What?" Rory asked darkly.
"You still have to go to Chilton." He quickly added, "But you know, I don't think that's such a bad thing. It's a great school, and maybe it will help you get into Harvard. A better education won't be so bad." He was stopped as Rory smiled.
"It's fine," she whispered, drifting back to sleep. "It's not so bad if I can stay with you."
Stay tuned for the first chapter... Read and Review!!
