NOTE: I don't own these Gilmore Girls characters but I do love the show so much.
A/N: You guys are the best. I love how the reviews keep coming. It's making me get a warm and squishy feeling. I love that feeling. Keep it up, OK? Now on with the story.
CHAPTER 7
Rosa awoke the following Monday morning to the sound of birds chirping outside her window. She peeked out of one of her brown eyes before opening the other. The sun glowed through her thin pink curtains, making her bedroom shine.
Rosa slipped on her bathrobe before going downstairs. Her nose quickly caught the scent of chocolate chip pancakes, her favorite breakfast. Shane stood over the stove, flipping the pancakes and smiled when she saw Rosa take a seat at the table.
"Good morning, honey," Shane greeted brightly. "Did you sleep OK?"
"Morning, Mommy," Rosa returned the greeting. "I had a dream about a monster."
"What kind of monster?" Rosa's dad asked, entering the kitchen.
Rosa smiled proudly as she said, "The cookie monster."
Shane and her husband shared a laugh at that.
"Here you go," Shane said, sitting a stack of pancakes in front of Rosa.
"Thanks," Rosa smiled.
"Oh, that reminds me," Mr. Brookes said, reaching into the inside pocket of his coat. "I saw this in the book store near my job and I thought you'd like it." He handed her a book; the Secret Garden.
Rosa grinned wildly. "Thanks, Daddy!" she exclaimed.
"Eat up, honey," Shane said to Rosa. "You'll be late for school."
Rosa nodded, sitting her book aside. She picked up the nearby fork and began to tear into her pancakes. All of a sudden Rosa's plate slipped off the table, smashing to bits on the floor. Rosa panicked and looked around at her parents.
"I'm sorry," she apologized.
Her father smiled as he said, "Oh, now look what you've done, you silly thing." From out of nowhere Mr. Brookes vanished; as if he were being rubbed out with an eraser.
"Daddy!" Rosa cried.
"You made him leave." Rosa looked up at her mother, who now had a storming look on her face. "You made him leave!" she exclaimed again. "It's all your fault. Everything is your fault."
"I didn't mean it," Rosa pleaded.
Shane got closer and closer on Rosa and kept chanting, "It's your fault."
**********End Dream**********
Rosa released a gasp as she awoke that Sunday night after the game, her heart beating wildly. Before she could knock the sleep from her eyes Rosa heard what sounded like screaming coming from outside her door. She tipped out of bed and peeked out of the door.
"Why didn't you tell me you had a stupid kid?" a man snapped at Shane.
"You didn't ask," Shane snapped back.
"I ain't raising nobody's kid."
"Who asked you to?"
"I'm out of here," the man said.
"I didn't ask for the kid," Shane called after him, her voice now a plea. "Don't leave. Please."
"Call me when you drop that kid off at an orphanage." The front door slammed, making Rosa jump.
She closed her door quietly, stepping back from it, knowing her mother would come in at any second to blame her for the man leaving. That's how it was; Shane met a man, he found out about Rosa, and then left her mother. It never failed. Rosa knew the reason her mother was so unhappy was because of her. She just knew it there could be no other reason. Rosa hated herself for it, more than anything.
Jess wondered into the library of the school that Monday afternoon. He glanced up and down the fiction section, not really seeing anything worthwhile. It was the same in the non-fiction, science fiction, and other reading sections.
Feeling boredom for the books, Jess's eyes glanced over at Rosa, who sat on the small couch in the library, her nose in a thin paperback book. He walked over and sat on the arm of the couch, Rosa clearly not noticing him.
"So you gonna take Sammy Sosa's job next?" Rosa looked up, startled by Jess's presence. "You can swing better than he can."
Rosa smiled sweetly. "Thanks, Coach Jess."
"No problem," Jess shrugged. "You played a good game. I just wish you could've gone out with us."
"Me, too," Rosa agreed dreamily. "But it was my fault I couldn't go," she quickly added. "Mommy wanted me to do something at home."
"Uh huh," Jess nodded. "She seemed really mad, though."
"Not to me," Rosa whispered, turning back to her book.
"So what're you reading?" Jess asked her.
"Nothing," Rosa replied vaguely. "It's about a princess."
"Is it good?"
"It's just a dumb baby book," Rosa complained, sitting the thin book aside. "It's boring."
Jess looked at her, amazed. Rosa was only six-years-old yet she always had a book with her; books that kids twice her age wouldn't be seen reading. Then there was Rosa's imagination, which was awfully wild.
"Oh, hey," Jess said, a memory hitting him. "Since you couldn't go out with us I..." he trailed off awkwardly as he handed her something. "I, uh, got you this." Rosa took a book from him. She skimmed the cover, seeing that it was the book, A Little Princess. It had the same author as the Secret Garden. "It was right by the pizza place," Jess added. Rosa starred at him strangely. "What? What is it?"
"Nothing," Rosa quickly shook her head. "Thanks, Coach Jess."
"No problem," Jess shrugged. "Anyway, while we're on the whole pizza thing, I thought I smelled some in the cafeteria. You up for it?"
Rosa thought about it then nodded with a light smile. "Sounds like fun."
Jess also nodded, "Thanks, Coach Jess."
"No problem," Jess shrugged. "Anyway, while we're on the whole pizza thing, I thought I smelled some in the cafeteria. You up for it?"
Rosa thought about it then nodded with a light smile. "Sounds like fun."
Jess also nodded, leading the way out of the library.
Rosa hugged her new book tightly as though it was the biggest bag of candy she had ever gotten.
Jess entered his apartment at nearly seven o'clock that evening. Usually he would have been exhausted from the day but his team hadn't had a practice so he wasn't as tired.
After making a quick dinner and devouring it Jess saw that the time had changed to eight thirty. He thought about calling it an early night when his phone went off. Jess read the number on his cell phone and quickly recognized the caller.
"Rory," he whispered.
Jess wanted to answer it hurriedly but did not want it to seem like he was waiting on a call from her. He waited what felt like forever to answer the ringing phone.
"Hello?" he greeted casually.
"Jess?" Rory's sweet voice returned the greeting on the other end.
"Unless you know some other guy who lives in LA with this exact same cell number then yeah, it's Jess."
"I see you're still witty."
"I'm witty now? What is witty?"
"Hang on," Rory said.
"No."
"No, what?"
"You're going to go look in that jumbo dictionary of yours just to find the exact definition of witty."
"I was not," Rory argued.
"Then where were you going?"
"Um... biscotti break?" Rory replied in a suggesting voice.
"Right. So, anyway, how have you been?" Jess asked her.
"Good," Rory answered simply. "My mom's good, Luke is good, and we're all just really... good."
"You bored?"
"I am not bored," Rory assured him. "But what about you? What's going on? How's the teaching?"
"Watching little kids run around? It's OK I guess," Jess replied. "We won our first game. That reminds me. You won't believe it."
"What?"
"One of the girls on my team's mother is Shane."
"Shane?" Rory questioned quizzically. "That's interesting."
"What's with that tone in your voice?"
"Nothing. It's just that I can't believe Shane went to LA after she got pregnant."
"You knew she was pregnant?"
"According to Lane she got pregnant right before you left; then she just disappeared."
"What about her husband?" Jess asked now curious.
"Husband?" Rory repeated. "What husband? No one knows who the father is." Jess suddenly turned into stone silence. "You know what's funny? For a minute we all though the father was you but the only way for someone to actually get pregnant is to—" Rory suddenly heard a click then the dial tone. "Hello? Jess? Are you there?"
Jess sat completely frozen, holding his cell phone in his right hand. The weight of the world suddenly fell down on him with a booming crash.
A/N: Next up more fun and angst. Please review!