A/N: I'd like to apologize for killing off Jess. I needed the angst! LOL…Again, sorry Jess lovers. Don't get me wrong—I love Jess too, but this story screamed angst and that's what I live for. =) Happy reading!

TitleSecrets & Lies (Chapter 7Truth)

by KiNGz-Fan-16

Disclaimer: As much as I hate to admit it, I don't own Gilmore Girls, nor do I have the intention of. The show belongs to Amy Sherman-Palladino, although I have to say, Gilmore Girls is the best show!!!

Rating: PG…I think. Oy with the poodles already, I'm not good with ratings!

Summary: Rory was there on the night of Jess's death, but when she thinks back to that night, her mind is a blur. She then goes on a search to find the guy who killed Jess, but she discovers shocking news that leads her to rethink everything…

*~*

"R-C," Cheryl said simply.

"So you know Mariano's dead," R-C said. He smiled and zeroed in on Rory. "Shame, isn't it?" he asked mockingly.

"It was you," Rory whispered. "You really hated him that much?"

R-C looked genuinely taken aback. "Me? I don't kill."

"What?" Rory asked. "B-but—"

"Now," R-C interrupted. "I don't deny being there the night he did die though."

"You killed him," Rory stated. "It's a simple as that. You killed him."

R-C shook his head. "You're really blind aren't you?"

Cheryl looked at R-C. "You've always had a grudge against Jess. You said you were there when Jess died."

"Oh, and I was." R-C took a step towards the counter. "I was there. But it wasn't me who killed that punk." He turned to Rory and said straightforwardly, "You did."

"What are you talking about," Rory asked slowly. "I remember the night clearly. You had the gun to my head. Jess lunged at you and knocked you down. Then…the gun…It fell to the floor and you grabbed it—"

"Creating a lie for yourself, aren't you?" R-C demanded. "Think about it. What do you really remember? You remember the gun falling to the floor."

"I remember the gunshot," Rory recalled. "Jess falling down dead. And you—Running out the door."

"The gun fell to the floor and then you remember a gunshot." R-C grinned a half-grin.

"You shot the gun!" Rory exclaimed. "Who else was there?!"

"Think," R-C suggested as Rory closed her eyes and tried to recall that night. "Think hard…"

***

"Rory!" Jess called. He was pinned against the wall.

Rory got up from the ground and grabbed the gun that was lying abandoned on the floor. Aiming it carefully she pulled the trigger, just as the stranger pulled away and out the door…

***

Rory's eyes flew open immediately and Cheryl and R-C saw that there were tears flooding her shocked and alarmed orbs. "No," she whispered.

R-C leaned forward. "You pulled the trigger," he said quietly. "You killed Jess. You—"

Tears fell silently down her cheeks as she pushed her way past R-C, out the door, and onto the busy streets of New York.