It only took her father 6 hours to make it to the police station. By then, Lorelai had already filled out her paperwork on her complaint form and then filled out her needed pages on getting her custody changed over to her father. The captain didn't want to hold up the father and daughter, nor did he want to risk letting Lorelai return back to that house, so he put a few calls in to a judge who agreed to review the case and send over the new notice, allowing Chris to take his daughter with him back to California. The father and daughter talked about what had happened last night, and Chris Green couldn't believe that his little girl defended herself that well. He calmed her down, letting her know that she wouldn't be in trouble for stabbing the man, that she did what she needed to do in terms of self defense. The case was quickly shut down in favor of the girl and her father, to the relief of everyone.
"What about all of my things? They are still at the house and I don't want to go back there alone." Lorelai looked over at the female officer, the same one that helped her off the roof. She had remained by Lorelai the entire night, helping the young girl with the paper work.
"I am more than willing to go with you two. We will make sure that no one is there to bother you while you pack." Chris nodded a thanks to the officer before she went over to a few of her coworkers disguising how they wanted to handle the situation.
"Lets go get a few boxes from the store while they talk things out, huh?" Lorelai got up, following her father to the parking lot where the rental car was parked. By now, the sun was overhead, causing Lorelai to blink in surprise at the brightly lit surroundings. She knew that it was going to be light out, but it still shocked her none-the-less. "If you want some food, just let me know and we will stop instantly." The car ride was rather silent, Chris not really knowing how to handle the situation, seeing how the last time he saw his daughter she was still just a child. But Lorelai didn't mind the quiet, she actually longed for the peace and stillness, and along with that she found her fathers awkwardness to be quite funny.
After buying a few cardboard boxes, bubble wrap, and tape, the father-daughter duo taking the ride to Mary Greens new house, Lorelai guiding her father through the streets. By the time they arrived, the police had already cleared the house of Lorelai's mother and stepfather, the female officer waiting patiently on the front porch. Taking a deep breath, Lorelai got out of the car, helping her father carry in the packing materials. She led her father and the officer up to her room, pulling out suitcases and setting up the boxes before they began to pack.
Lorelai didn't have many things, at least not many things that she couldn't bear to part with. She had minimal clothing, enough so that her clothes and shoes all fit into the one large suitcase. A lot of her outfits consisted of vintage clothes that she picked up over the years at thrift shops; her mother used to joke around, saying that Lorelai was an old soul that belong to a different period of time. Putting the small amount of makeup that she owned in the suitcase as well, she zipped it shut before finally pulling objects off of the walls. The only things she truly wanted were her photographs that she took over the years, along with a few cross stitches that she had made and framed.
Overall, packing only took them about 3 hours, most of it consisted of her father throwing bubble wrap at her, causing a small pop battle to ensure. After that was all done, they brought the boxes to a post office, labeling the boxes with Chris Greens address and paying for overnight shipping, that way Lorelai would be able to set up her room quickly.
By nightfall, Lorelai found herself standing in a little convenience store in the airport, waiting in line to buy a soda and some chips to snack on while waiting for the plane to her new, or rather old, home. The past days events washed over her, making her feel tired and worn out. While she was glad to be moving back in with her father, she really didn't want this to be the way. She was going to miss her mother, no matter how much she had changed over the years, even after she did nothing to help Lorelai, she didn't blame the woman, seeing how far under her stepfathers thumb she was. Smiling at the lady at the register, Lorelai paid for her items before walking back to her father, handing over the change before settling next to him, eating a few chips at a time. She wasn't necessarily hungry, but she knew that she would regret not eating all day later on, so she figured a salty snack would be enough to hold her over until her appetite came back to her.
Glancing over, she saw that her father was working on something, reading papers and marking up the sides. "Whats that?" Startled, Chris looked over at his daughter, removing the reading glasses that were perched on his nose. He held up one of the packets for her to grab, letting her flip through it.
"Its some of my students work. A few of them wrote these essays to be published and I have to decide what needs to be edited for them before we go to a convention." Realization crossed over his features and he frowned, looking off in the distance. "The convention which is in two weeks. You know, I'm sure they will understand if I don't go, my assistant can take my place." Lorelai looked up at her father, disappointment clear on his face. She didn't feel all to comfortable being alone in an area that she hasn't been to in years, but at the same time, she didn't want to hinder her father. Handing the essay back to her father, Lorelai laughed, shaking her head.
"Oh you are going to that convention! I'm old enough to stay by myself for what, a week?" Her father put his glasses back on his face, looking over at some of his notes.
"More like 2 or 3 weeks. No, it's alright, i'll just stay back on this one." Lorelai held a pointed finger up at her father, smiling lightly. That was a really long time to be alone, but that wasn't a bad thing, at least it didn't have to be. And besides, it wasn't her fathers fault that he was thrown into this situation and she didn't want him to have to change anything for her sake.
"You better not! I won't take no as an answer mister, you are going to that convention and you will like it!" Her father threw up his hands mockingly, causing Lorelai to laugh.
"Yes Ma'am." The rest of their wait was in silence as her father went over the essays that he had. Lorelai took the opportunity to look around at all of the people that were waiting for their flights. Lorelai liked to people watch, she enjoyed viewing people when they thought that no one was paying attention. While she knew it was a little strange, she privately enjoyed seeing peoples true faces and actions, their masks dropped and walls down. Plus at an airport, there was bound to be interesting people to watch.
Lorelai didn't even know that she fell asleep until her father shook her awake, all papers put away and luggages in tow. "We are going to miss our flight if you don't wake up pumpkin." Lorelai groaned at the nickname, rolling her eyes as she stretched out her back. She remembered her father calling her that growing up, and while she didn't mind the name when they were alone, in public it was sort of embarrassing. "Come on, you can sleep on the plane." Lorelai rose, taking a hold of her suitcase and allowing it to drag behind her as the went to the gate, giving the flight attendant their tickets before finally boarding the plane, settling into the cramped seats.
The flight passed by rather quickly, thanks to the book that Lorelai lost herself in, and the ride from the airport to Santa Carla was even shorter. Chris drove with the windows down, letting the sea air wash over Lorelai's face and tousle her hair back. The sign welcoming them to Santa Carla was worn out from the sun, though she could tell it was once brightly colored and cheerful looking. They passed by the lighthouse, followed by the boardwalk. "Surprisingly that place is still opened. Do you remember going when you were younger?" Lorelai smiled fondly as they passed by the shops and water, nodding her head. Faintly, she remembered her last night at the boardwalk, remembered talking to a boy that was slightly older than she was at the time. She found herself hoping that he might still live around here, having a familiar face would be nice, even though it was a few years since they last spoke. Only a few moments later, they were driving up through the woods that were just past the boardwalk, the dirt road causing the car to be bumpy, though it didn't last long. Chris stopped the car in front of a log cabin, one that was rather big and modern looking. "It may look a little different than what you remember. I had some updates done over the years." Lorelai got out of the car, grabbing her suitcase before approaching the house. "Did you need me to show you around again?" Lorelai shook her head, smiling faintly at the original front door.
"No, I think I remember my way. Is my room the same?" Her father nodded, unlocking the front door and letting his daughter walk in first, climbing the wooden steps up to the top floor. The inside was cozy, though the decorations consisted mainly of lamps, bookshelves filled to the brim with vintage spines facing out, and comfy chairs surrounding a glass table and sofa. Reaching the top floor, Lorelai looked left, seeing a door opened revealing a study of sorts; that used to be the master bedroom, but it appeared that her father couldn't stand sleeping in the room that he used to share with her mother. Turning right, she passed the bathroom that seemed unused before opening the door at the end of the hallway, letting out a small laugh. Her room was still the same as she remembered: walls painted a lilac shade, a desk next to the rather large bed, the large bay windows opened, a dresser settled next to the closed closet, and a bookcase set in the corner, filled with classics that her mother would read to her for bed.
"If you wanted, we can go out and buy things to redo your room?" Her father hesitated near the top of the stairs, avoiding the other room on the floor. Lorelai shook her head, smiling brightly at her father.
"No, everything looks perfect. Thanks though." Her father nodded, glancing down the stairs. "The rest of your things should be arriving shortly. I, uh, do have to go to the university though for a while, to give my students some feedback. But if you want, I can stay..." Lorelai shook her head, calling over her shoulder as she walked into the room.
"Dad, you're fine, go. I'm a big girl, I can handle unpacking myself." Taking a glance behind her, she shooed him with her hand, laughing. "Go!" Lorelai sat on her bed, closing her eyes and falling back onto her bed, listening to the distant waves crashing on the shore and the rocks of the cliffs. She took a moment to herself before sighing, moving to unpack her clothes. Halfway through unpacking her clothes, a knock sounded at the door, alerting Lorelai that the rest of her things had arrived.
By the time she finished with her suitcase and the boxes, the sun was already fading across the sky, a cool breeze blowing the lace curtains out towards her. Lorelai already set out her makeup on the top of the dresser and hung up all of her photos and cross stitches, leaving her with nothing to do. She sat in her bay window, staring out at the driveway. Lights lined the road, the soft glow getting brighter the darker it got. Squinting, she could faintly see that the lights went all the way down the dirt driveway, leading towards the main road. Deciding that she had nothing better to do, Lorelai threw on some new clothes consisting of an old guns and roses shirt and a pair of black jeans. She looked in the full length mirror, she rubbed at her face, skin paler then normal and worn out looking. Her hair fell in messy waves down to her back, and while it looked super messy, she didn't feel like ripping her hair out with a brush, just for the wind to mess it up again. So she decided with a little bit of eye shadow and lip gloss, just to make her appearance a little more presentable and a little less tired. Her freckles appeared darker on her pale skin, the darkest ones on her nose, dotting over her cheeks in a lighter tone before fading when they reached her cheekbones.
Making her way downstairs, she searched the tables and draws before finally finding a blank piece of paper and a pen. She would have thought finding something to write on would have been a piece of cake based on her father being a professor, but almost every sheet had some sort of note or writing on it. Scribbling a quick note on the paper she found, she placed it on the kitchen counter, putting a cup on one of the corners to make sure her father would see it and it wouldn't fly off onto the floor. She didn't know when her father was going to be home and she wanted to go explore the boardwalk, so to make sure he wouldn't worry, the note let him know where to find her and let him know that she had her phone on her, though it was almost dead.
As soon as she stepped outside, she shivered at a gust of wind that blew over her bare arms. Lorelai knew that tonight was a little colder than normal, but she enjoyed the cooler temperature, it made her skin vibrate and feel awaken again. She began her walk through the woods, sticking to the particularly brighter section of the road. She wasn't overly fond of the dark, not because she was scared of the particular darkness of it, but rather the idea of not being able to see what laid ahead of her. So with that, she stuck to the lights, even if it meant that her 5 minute walk would take 10 minutes instead to the boardwalk.
