Chapter Fifty-Four
When they pulled up in front of Truncheon, Cynthia came tearing out of the building and ran for the car, wrenching Rory's door open.
"There is something very wrong with you!" She scolded, then pulled Rory out of the car and into a hug.
"Leave her alone, Cynthia," Jess frowned.
"No! Someone has to shake some sense into her!"
"I'm fine," Rory tried to reassure her friend.
"Jess ran out of the house at three in the morning for no good reason, then?" Cynthia crossed her arms. "He overreacted," Rory shrugged.
"No I didn't," Jess shook his head, joining them.
"Pick a side, Jess!" Rory snapped at him. "Either I'm a mess and Cynthia should be shaking some sense into me, or you're both overreacting and I'm fine. You can't have it both ways."
"Sure I can," Jess ignored her outburst. "Now come on, it's freezing out here."
Rory rolled her eyes and headed for the door, leaving Jess and Cynthia to follow her.
"Okay, only one of us can be mad at her," Jess muttered as they walked.
"Fine, I call dibs," Cynthia glared at him. "You be the nice one, I'll be the one that tells her how stupid she is for not calling."
"How about you be the one that keeps their mouth shut?" Jess snapped.
"Excuse me?" Cynthia stopped and grabbed his arm.
"She doesn't need you yelling at her," Jess stood his ground. "When she woke up today, I spent an hour sitting on the bathroom floor with her while she literally fell apart in my arms, over and over again. I don't care how many times she says she's fine, you didn't see her. I've never seen her so scared before and yelling at her isn't going to help anything, so back off for a while, okay?"
Cynthia glared at him, her lips pulled into a tight, angry line and he could tell that she was biting her cheek to keep from screaming at him, but after a minute she nodded.
"Fine."
"Thank you."
"Would you two stop whispering about me and get inside," Rory suddenly called from the doorway.
"The world doesn't revolve around you, you know!" Cynthia shot back.
"Usually I would believe that, but in the last twenty-four hours everyone seems to have forgotten that," Rory pointed out.
"Rory!" Matt ran over as they walked inside. "What are you doing here? I thought Jess was going to New Haven this weekend."
"He did, and then he dragged me back here," she put on a smile and hugged him.
"Sweet!" Matt beamed. "We've missed you around here. How is everything? How's your Grandfather?"
"He's good," Rory continued smiling, though Jess couldn't help but notice that it didn't seem as sincere anymore. "He's home and recovering, driving my grandmother nuts."
"That's great, we were all really worried."
Rory nodded, then turned and made her way to the stairs without another word, leaving Matt very confused.
"Okay, good talk," Matt frowned and looked to Jess for an explanation. "Is she mad at me?"
"She's just having an off day," Jess shook his head.
"Oh, okay," Matt nodded. "As long as it's not just me."
"It definitely isn't," Jess assured him.
"Yeah, she yelled at him outside a minute ago," Cynthia agreed.
"What's going on?"
"She's been having a hard time since Richard's heart attack," Jess tried to explain. "I guess it's gotten worse in the last couple weeks, and in the last day or so it reached a tipping point."
"Is she going to be okay?" Matt asked, glancing worriedly between Jess and Cynthia- who looked like she was having a hard time keeping her mouth shut.
"She just needs some time," Jess nodded. "That day messed her up more than she's willing to admit."
"It would mess anyone up, watching their grandfather have a heart attack," Cynthia shrugged.
"It wasn't just that," Jess sighed.
"What are you talking about?" Cynthia turned to face him.
"Look, you can't tell her I told you," Jess rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "But when he had the heart attack, she had to give him CPR and then they lost him for a minute on the way into the hospital."
"Oh my God!" Cynthia gasped. "No wonder she's having a hard time!"
"Exactly," Jess nodded.
"Well, whatever we can do, just let us know," Matt offered.
"Thanks. I'll talk to you guys later," Jess clapped him on the back and headed for the staircase, following Rory upstairs.
When he got into the apartment he found her curled up in their bed, her clothes discarded and replaced by one of his t-shirts, talking to her mother on the phone.
"No, everything is fine," she was saying. "Jess just convinced me that I could do with a break from school... I know that's what you've been telling me, but you're a lot less convincing than he is... I'm not being dirty!"
Jess snorted and dropped onto the bed beside her, knowing very well the direction their conversation had just taken.
"Mom, I've got to go. I was just calling to check in... Yes I know I saw you yesterday... Whatever, I'm hanging up now. Bye!" Rory chuckled and ended the call, then carefully set her phone on the bedside table.
"Everything good?" Jess asked.
"Yeah," she nodded. "Apparently Liz, TJ and the baby have moved into the apartment over the diner for a few days, something about moths."
"Awesome," Jess frowned. "In other words, we're going to have to perform some sort of cleansing ritual the next time we sleep there. You'd better start reading up on how they used to disinfect houses that were hit by the plague."
"You're in a very dramatic mood today," she observed. "Is there any particular reason, or are you just trying to keep things interesting?"
"Well I couldn't let you be the only one trying to spice up our lives," Jess shrugged.
"Hmm," Rory nodded.
"So... is there any particular reason you've decided to hole up in bed?"
"It looked comfy and I don't feel like wearing pants."
"Fair enough," Jess shrugged.
"Can you pass me my laptop? Just because you dragged me out of New Haven, doesn't mean I'm going to ignore my school work."
"Of course not," Jess rolled his eyes. "Because that would be utter madness."
He leaned over the side of the bed and grabbed Rory's computer bag, passing it over. "Want some lunch while you work?"
"I guess," she shrugged and pulled up the paper she was working on for Econ. "If you're having something."
"Any requests?"
She shook her head and pulled out a pair of headphones, plugging them into her laptop.
"Good talk," Jess rolled his eyes and left her to her work.
When he came back a few minutes later with sandwiches, Rory gave a short nod of thanks, but didn't look away from her work.
Jess knew that she was purposely ignoring him, but he decided to just let her be. She seemed fine, and he didn't see any reason to bother her, so he sat beside her with his own laptop and worked.
"You don't have to watch me, you know?" Rory spoke up after a while.
"I'm not watching you," Jess pointed out. "I'm just sitting beside you."
"It feels like you're watching me."
"You're paranoid," he shrugged. "I'm just sitting here, working."
"If you say so."
They fell back into silence until Rory's stomach started to growl and Jess noticed the time.
"Geez!" He saved his work and shut his laptop. "It's already 7."
"No wonder I'm starving," Rory frowned. "Did we even eat lunch?"
"I did," Jess glanced over at her bedside table. "Yours is sitting right there."
"Huh," Rory looked over at the plate. "How did that get there?"
"I put it there about 6 hours ago," Jess rolled his eyes. "Come on, let's go make some dinner."
Rory frowned at him, obviously confused by the statement.
"Okay, I'll make dinner and you can watch," he amended.
"That seems like a far better plan," she nodded.
"Come on," Jess chuckled and held out his hand.
While he made dinner, Rory sat on the counter watching, occasionally handing over ingredients or utensils, and singing along to the Clash CD that was playing on the stereo. She had to admit that it felt good to sit and watch him cook- it felt normal. They had spent so many nights like this when she had first come to Philly, and she had always found it comforting- like she was finally home. She was sure that was why Jess had decided to cook that night, instead of going out or ordering pizza, even though it was later that they usually ate.
"What?" Jess interrupted her thought process and she realized that she had been staring at him.
"Just thinking about how much I like you," she smiled.
"Oh, okay. Carry on," Jess shrugged and turned back to the stove, making her smile even wider.
When he finally finished dinner, they sat down on the couch and started flipping channels, arguing about what to watch for a few minutes before finally settling on a Buffy marathon.
Rory started getting tired around ten, but she was doing her best to ignore the feeling, trying to focus on the show. Jess had noticed, however, and was keeping a close eye on her. When he noticed her eyes starting to drift closed every once in a while, he turned off the TV and suggested they go to bed.
"I was watching that!" She complained.
"You've seen it before."
"And you point is?" Rory frowned up at him.
"You were falling asleep."
"I was not," she shook her head quickly. "I'm wide awake. I'm five by five."
"You're full of shit," Jess snorted. "Come on."
He got up and held out a hand, waiting for her to take it.
"I don't want to," she crossed her arms petulantly.
"Rory," Jess frowned.
"Jess," she copied him.
"Seriously?"
"Seriously."
Jess sighed dramatically, analyzed the situation, smirked and grabbed her arms before she had time to think, pulling her forward and then over his shoulder.
"Hey!" She screamed, caught completely off guard. "What the hell?!"
"You were being difficult," Jess shrugged. "This seemed like the simplest solution."
"Put me down," Rory attempted to wriggle her way down, but Jess held on tightly and started walking towards the bedroom.
"Jess!" She smacked his ass as hard as she could, but ended up hurting her hand more than him. "Ow!"
"Karma's a bitch, isn't it?" Jess chuckled.
"I hate you."
"You love me," Jess dropped her onto the bed, smirking.
"I don't appreciate being man-handled," she frowned.
Jess raised an eyebrow in challenge of this statement, forcing Rory to bite her lip to keep from giving him the satisfaction of a smile. "I don't like being man-handled like that," she corrected.
"If you say so," he shrugged. "I'll be back in a minute."
He turned and headed for the bathroom, leaving Rory alone to take in her surroundings.
She didn't know why she felt the need to assess her situation, she had been sleeping in this room for over a year, it was as much home to her as her room in Stars Hollow or the apartment she shared with Paris. She knew every inch of the room by heart, she could have drawn it from memory, but for some reason it was making her nervous- even anxious. In the last year, not much had changed in the room. The piles of books that lined the walls had grown, and the amount of papers covering the floor had deteriorated since Jess had finished his book, but everything else was the same, so she didn't know why she was pulling her knees up to her chest and trying to remember how to take deep breaths.
"You okay?" Jess walked back into the room and saw her curled into a ball, seemingly staring at the wall.
"I- I don't know," she admitted.
Jess frowned and rounded the bed, kneeling in front of her.
"What's wrong?" He asked, brushing some hair away from her face.
"I don't know."
"Are you worried about having another nightmare?"
"Maybe," she gave a small shrug. "I don't know."
Jess nodded and stroked his thumb over her cheek in an attempt to calm her. "Don't worry, I'm going to be right here the entire night."
Rory nodded, but didn't seem to relax at all.
"Is there something else bothering you?"
"I just feel... strange," Rory shook her head.
"Strange how?"
"Like something is different," she shrugged. "But nothing is."
Jess nodded, trying to understand what she meant.
"I don't know what's wrong," Rory huffed. "I just know something's not right."
"Okay," Jess nodded. "Well, what can I do to make it better?"
"I don't know," she shook her head angrily. "I don't even know what's wrong!"
She was getting frustrated with herself, angry tears had started pricking the corners of her eyes and her fists were clenched angrily.
"It's okay," Jess tried to comfort her.
"No it's not!" She cried, tears falling.
"Rory," Jess took her face in his hands, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Shh, you're okay."
"No I'm not!" She tried to pull away from him. "I'm scared of lying in my own bedroom for God's sakes! I'm being stupid and ridiculous."
"Shh," Jess shook his head. "That's not true at all. You're stressed and scared. There's nothing stupid or ridiculous about that."
Rory didn't seem to believe him, but at least she didn't argue.
"Move over," Jess poked her hip a couple times until she scooted towards the center of the bed, giving him room to lay down beside her. Once he was laying down, she moved back towards him and rested her head on his chest. When her tears stopped and her body relaxed, Jess looked down at her and smiled. "Feel better?"
"I missed this," she sighed.
"Me too," Jess ran a hand up and down her back.
They lay quietly for a few minutes, until Rory started to shiver and Jess forced her to get under the blankets.
"Go to sleep. I'll be right here."
Rory stared at him nervously for a few minutes, obviously forcing herself to keep her eyes open, then shook her head.
"I don't want to sleep."
"I'm right here," Jess repeated, rubbing calming circles over her hip in a calming motion.
Almost an hour passed before she finally relented and let herself drift off, Jess's arm wrapped tightly around her, keeping her safe.
When her nightmare woke her a few hours later, Rory made her usual dash to the bathroom to empty her stomach, but before she could close the door, Jess was behind her.
"Nice try," he pulled her hair back as she dropped to her knees, rubbing circles on her back. "You're okay. I've got you."
For once, Rory didn't even bother trying to push him away. Instead, she relished the comforting feeling of having someone there to take care of her. Maybe she really had been wrong to try and fight this on her own. It had been minutes since her last nightmare, but she already felt better knowing Jess was with her.
"You okay?" Jess asked when she finally leaned back against him.
Rory nodded, panting heavily.
"You want some water?"
She shook her head. "I just need a minute."
"Okay," Jess nodded and sat quietly with her for a few minutes, until she got up and made her way over to the sink to brush her teeth.
"Now what?" Jess asked when she was done, leaning against the door frame.
"What do you mean?"
"Do you want to try going back to sleep?" Jess asked. "Or do you want to do whatever it is you and Paris usually do?"
Rory bit her lip nervously, but she had to admit she didn't feel as terrified at the idea as she usually did.
"I think... I think I can go back to bed," she nodded. "I don't know about sleep, but bed sounds good."
"Okay," Jess nodded and held out his hand.
Rory took it, reluctantly, and followed him back to bed, curling into his side and listening to his heartbeat in her usual attempt to keep herself calm.
