Prologue
Yale New Haven Hospital Emergency Room – Rory's Sophomore Year at Yale – October 2004
Lorelai Leigh Gilmore-Hayden felt a sterile breeze blow over her as she walked into the emergency room of the Yale New Haven Hospital. A white sign with a red arrow pointed straight for check-in. She headed in that direction, no thoughts running through her mind. Rory blinked to adjust to the florescent lighting. The ER seemed calm with a few individuals sitting in pale pink plastic chairs filling out paperwork or drinking coffee as they waited.
An older graying woman in navy blue scrubs looked up from her computer to assess the young woman nervously swaying in front of her desk.
"Hello, how may I help you?"
"I…" the brunette chewed her lip and glanced around the room. "I need to see a doctor."
The nurse wanted to ask more questions, but the terrified look in the girl's eyes made her stop. She grabbed a clipboard and pen and handed it over to Rory. "Here's some intake paperwork. Fill it out for me and I'll get you back with a doctor as soon as I can."
Rory attempted to take the clipboard from the nurse, but her hands were shaking to the point she couldn't latch on and the clipboard clattered back onto the desk. She felt a tightening in her chest as she closed her eyes. She re-opened them to look at the older woman, who was now making her way around the desk to stand beside Rory.
"Sweetie, let's get you back to an exam room and we'll get someone to help you. Sound good?" The nurse noted the young woman's beautiful ice blue ballgown stained with dirt and blood and sporting a few small rips at the base.
Rory could only nod in response, but when the woman put a hand on her back, she jumped and pulled away.
"I'm sorry," The nurse, who Rory could now see was named Leah from her name tag, pulled her hand away. "We're just going to go to the hallway to the right and go into Exam Room C."
Leah quickly spoke to the other nurse manning the desk and then began to walk ahead down the grey hallway with pink railings. Rory re-adjusted her small evening purse on her shoulder and slowly followed.
Exam Room C was about the size of Rory's dorm room with a tan exam table in the center of the room. Leah flipped a card on the door as she motioned Rory inside. Rory sat down on the table, clutching in her bag in her lap.
"Can I ask you what you what your name is?" Leah hoped she could build rapport with the scared young woman in front of her.
"Lorelai Gilmore-Hayden, but you can call me Rory."
"Rory," Leah smiled softly. "What a great name. My daughter's name is Alexis, but we call her Lexi. She's probably a bit older than you, she actually just graduated from Yale in the Spring."
Rory looked into the green eyes of the nurse Leah and saw a mother's concern. She couldn't imagine what her mother would say when she found out. If she found…
"I go to Yale. I'm only a sophomore though."
Leah pulled out the intake clipboard, grabbed a nearby chair and sat directly across from Rory. "Sophomore year of college. That can be a rough time…" Leah trailed off as she looked at Rory closely and began to see the bruising beginning to form on her arms, neck and face. Rory's lip had a split and dried blood on it. There was also a laceration near her hairline with dried blood.
"Rory, I want you to know this is a safe space. No one is going to hurt you or do anything you aren't ready for. What is said in this room is confidential, so other than the medical staff on your case, no one will be told anything you don't want." Leah took a breath and watched Rory stare at her with tears welling up in her bright blue eyes.
"Can you tell me why you came in today?"
Rory's tears started to fall down her cheeks as she told her story…