*Recap:
"I'll not give my daughter to you!"…
… "Give us one moment with Rory, will you, Lorelei Gilmore?"
Chapter 3: Always
Tristan's POV
I can't believe it. I won't believe it. Rory's my little sister, she won't leave. She can't leave!
I ran to my room, slamming the door. I wanted not to. I almost convinced myself that it was all a lie before I heard the footsteps of my parents outside. My parents walked into the room adjacent to mine, Rory's room. I could hear her gasp as she heard Mom and Dad entering her room. I could hear her say "Mom" when she realized that Mom was crying. I could hear our parents sit her down on her bed and tell her the story of her life. Over here on my bed, I could catch bits and pieces of their conversation.
"You were adopted, Rory," I heard my father's deep, baritone voice. "Your biological mother has asked to get you back."
I could imagine Rory's pained and surprised look in my mind. I could imagine all her pain and anguish as she found out she wasn't my real sister. I could feel her shattered heart because I felt the same feeling in mine. I could hear her cry out "You're lying!" and her pitter-patter of footsteps scrambling down the stairs and out the front door. I watched her run, trying to escape reality, and I started to run, too.
Rory's POV
I couldn't believe my ears! How could I have been adopted? No, no, no. My parents were lying to me for the first time. They're lying!
I could hear the words "Your lying!" escape my mouth and I began to run. I needed fresh air. I wanted to escape this lie. I would not believe it. I ran as hard as I could down the stairs and out the front door. I knew where I would run. The sky was covered with gray clouds and raindrops fell from the sky.
Is the sun crying for me?
I arrived at the extended roof of the warehouse where my brother and I would always stay when it rained. It was a place to think. I ran under the roof, sitting, and let the tears I had held back fall.
Tristan's POVI knew where she would be when she ran: the old factory with the extended roof. We always went there to escape the rain after school. It was raining now. The sky was mourning for her.
When I arrived at the old factory, I saw her. She was under the extended roof, crouched in a fetal position. There was no sound except the drops of the rain plummeting to the earth. I walked under the roof, getting closer and closer to her.
"So it's true, Tristan. We're not siblings after all." Her voice shattered the silence.
"No…but that doesn't matter. I'll always be here for you. Always." I watched her as she slowly lifted her head, looking at me with those starry eyes.
"Do you think we would still have met if I wasn't adopted?" she asked, voice quivering.
"Of course! Fate would bring us together." I replied, watching her swallow and accept her situation. She was always so strong. "Let's go home."
She slowly nodded her head and took my outstretched hand. Together, we went home to face a new and unfamiliar tomorrow.
***One day later***
Tristan's POV
I spent today thinking about her through all my classes. Even though now she was with her birth mother, she had not transferred schools. Apparently Lorelei Gilmore had decided to stay nearby. I knew I would see her after class, because I had to seek her to tell her of my news. We were moving to France; Mother, Father, and I. They had decided it last night, after she left. Mom couldn't stand to be so near Rory and yet not be able to call her "daughter." Mother looked half crazed, wrinkles and gray hair suddenly appearing in a matter of one night.
I waited for the last bell to ring and rushed to Rory's last class after it did. I looked around for her slim figure, but did not spot it. However, I did find one of her friends.
"Where's Rory?" I asked her frightened friend.
"Rory? She was kind of spacing out in class today, so Ms. Maleski gave her a detention after school."
"Oh." I said. I walked into the room, seeing her at the white board, covering it with the words "I will pay attention in class." She was almost finished. I walked up to her and gazed at her still form for a moment.
Rory's POV
I knew that my brother, no, Tristan had come in the room and that he was standing beside me. He was the one who always knew my feelings, and me and always comforted me. I knew he was miserable and angry at the revelations of yesterday. I tried to be strong for him. I tried to put up my best façade and smile, but I couldn't. I tried so hard to hold back the tears, but now in the face of the one I love most, I couldn't. I let the tears fall. I could feel him sink into the depths of his misery as he watched me cry.
"Rory…" he started. I didn't want to talk to him. I was afraid that all my anguish would spill out uncontrollably if he did.
"Don't talk to me! We're not even siblings anymore. There's no reason for you to talk to me!" I cried out. I saw his eyes widen at first and then brighten at an idea.
"Let's pretend we're meeting for the first time," he said with a sad smile, "Hello there, my name is Tristan DuGrey and I'd like to become friends with you. By the way, did I mention how beautiful you were?"
A slow smile spread across my face and I watched one spread on his too. A sun burst through the stormy clouds. But then, he grew serious again and I knew something was wrong.
"Rory…" he said, as if he didn't know how to tell me something.
"What's wrong, Tristan?" I was confused and worried.
"…We're moving to France." He cast his eyes down, not wanting to see my reaction.
My breath froze in my throat and my heart stopped pounding for a second. I tried to absorb the information and say it was okay, but it wasn't. All I could muster out was an "oh." I did not want them to leave; I did not want to be left alone. Even though my birth mother had explained to me that she didn't know she had signed me away at birth, that she had disowned her family because of this, and of the hard struggle she had endured to find me, I still never considered her my mother. My only comfort was that I would still live nearby, still be able to see "Mom", "Dad", and "Brother" every day. But now that was gone. I was lost and lonely.
Tristan seemed to sense my loneliness and put his arms around me, trying to comfort me. I lifted my head to face him and asked, "Can we go to the beach?" The beach was a peaceful place, a place to think and also a place of great memories of the past. I just wanted to clear my head, and spend what could possibly be the last day of peace with the one I love most.
He nodded his head and we walked.
Tristan's POV
We arrived on the beach and I was overcome with the wonderful memories of the past. We had been so happy, laughing and playing tag as children. I wanted to enjoy what could possibly be the last day with her, so I took her hand and pulled her to the edge of the beach. We danced along the waves, on the line between wet water and dry sand. We laughed for the first time in the day, a moment of true elation.
"What do you want to be in your next life?" I asked Rory. She tucked a strand of her russet hair behind her year and pondered for a moment before answering,
"A tree."
"A tree?" I was baffled at her answer.
"Yes, a tree. A tree has roots and never has to leave the ones it loves. I want to be a tree in my next life." I looked at her, and I understood. After fooling around for a few moments, I picked up a branch and began drawing. After all, I was an art major. I started etching in the sand, a large portrait. Rory looked at me, confused, and then at the drawing.
"What is it?" she asked. I just smiled and kept drawing.
When I finished, she looked at the complete picture. I had drawn a picture of a sleeping girl, peaceful and carefree.
"Who is it?" she queried.
I replied, "You." She scrunched up her face, looked at me and exclaimed,
"Am I really that ugly?"
I stared at her. I didn't think it was that ugly.
"You don't like it?" I inquired. She shook her head. "Then I'll give you something you would like." I took her hand and lead her over to where my backpack was. I leaned over and pulled a package out of my bag and gave it to her. She unwrapped it slowly and found two porcelain cups. On one was an etching of her face, and on the other was one of mine.
"I meant to give it to you on your birthday, but I never got the chance. I think it's more appropriate now anyways." I explained, and saw her turn those cobalt eyes at me. "On one of them is you, on the other is me. I want you to keep them together, always, so that neither of them will ever be lonely." She looked at the two cups in her hands, then looked at me and smiled. She wrapped the cups again and put them in her backpack. When she turned her head to me again, her face was solemn.
"It's getting late. When should you be home?" she asked.
"Not for another half hour," I replied after eying my watch. An uncomfortable silence grew then, until she asked me a question again.
"Tristan, when are you leaving for France?" I couldn't answer that question. It was too soon and it would grieve her.
"When are you coming back?" I couldn't answer that question either, for the same reason as the last.
"Not for a long time, right?" she queried. She had guessed right. In fact, not even I knew when I would see her after today. Maybe never again.
"Will you forget me?" She was on the verge of crying again. "I'm so afraid that you'll forget me."
"Never." I said, looking her straight in the eyes. "I'll always remember you, because you're the best thing in my life."
She and I, reaching a mutual understanding, stayed on that beach for another half hour. After what seemed like just a blink of the eye, it was time for us to part. We gazed at each other for a few seconds, and then, turning our heads, headed our different ways. For the first time in our lives, we were alone.
***A Day Later…***
Rory's POV
When I got to school this morning, I looked around for Tristan at his locker. He always got to school before me, but for some reason, today he wasn't there. I waited there until homeroom began and then hurried back to my classroom, all the while wondering what happened to him. I listened to ten minutes of another group's gossip until the teacher cleared her throat and declared:
"Oh yes, I almost forgot. Tristan DuGrey has transferred to France today. He will no longer be going to this school."
The reality of her words hit me like a slap in the face and regardless of the consequences, I bolted out the door. When I arrived on the outside, I spotted the DuGrey car, rolling farther and farther away. Pulling air into my lungs, I started to run and tried to follow their car, hoping I would catch them.
To be continued…
A/N: Will Rory catch up with the DuGreys? Thanks for all your support, it's been my sustenance. For all your Jess lovers out there, R, T, &J will be appearing as adults soon!
