Insert Picture Here (Part 2)
A/N: Thanks for all the support everyone. It means the world to me.
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Not long after, Lorelai gave birth to her first and only daughter, Lorelai "Rory" Leigh Gilmore. Christopher was the father by genetic coding and birth certificate, but hardly by action. Christopher's dreams for the future were full of green bills, posh sports cars, and wild adventures. Diapers, terrycloth ducks, plastic singing mobiles, and pureed baby food weren't on the agenda, and he didn't plan to pencil them in. He had space for elder Lorelai, but not the newborn. With an ounce of remorse, he abandoned them both.
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When he left, the last words he spoke to Lorelai were, "I love you." For a fleeting moment she wanted to return the statement, kiss him until the world made sense, and get married like everyone wanted and expected them to. Instead, she remained silent, for she knew that in Chris's mind, love was about picking up the pieces. If he really knew what it was, then nothing would have been broken in the first place. So, like a piece of light dandelion fluff in a summer wind, he was gone.
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The golden pendulum of the grandfather clock stopped its metronome and time stood still. Caterpillars refused to become butterflies, petals no longer detached themselves from their flowers, tadpoles didn't become frogs, and Lorelai was no longer the little girl in her memories. Lorelai knew that raising Rory would prove to be a strenuous task, but she wasn't prepared for what was yet to come. Everything about Lorelai screamed physical exertion and emotional exhaustion. Her disheveled clothing was stained with bodily fluids and patches of crusty milk stains were scattered on her sleeves. The circles under her eyes resembled painful bruises while her hair was tangled and haphazardly thrown into a ponytail. The balcony outside her room held painful memories for Lorelai, memories of things she didn't want to remember and definitely did not want to repeat.
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Occasionally, she would walk onto the cold concrete and stare at the senior girls taunting her with their flashy red convertibles, Bangles music, and trendy clothing. Lorelai wanted to catapult rocks at them because she was jealous of their normalcy. It frustrated her to no end, but Rory's wailing cries from the adjacent room reminded Lorelai that she shouldn't waste time wanting what she could never have.
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Living with Richard and Emily Gilmore was a fairytale enigma gone completely haywire. As much as she tried, Lorelai couldn't convince her parents that she was only one person with two hands. She was berated for failing to put up Rory's stroller, leaving toys strewn around the usually immaculate sitting area, and spilling liquefied strawberry cheesecake. Lorelai would kneel over to wipe up a spill and Emily would come running with a vacuum cleaner accompanied by a lecture on how irresponsible or hard-headed she was. Her father talked nothing but finances and considering that Lorelai had none to deal with, he didn't approve of her lifestyle. Stock quotes and words of 'Nasdaq' and 'Dow' meant nothing to her and that disappointed Richard to an extreme. Lorelai resented the fact that her parents never even gave the impression that they might care for her and Rory over the economy and the cleanliness of the house. Altercations would ensue over dinner as Rory shrieked from upstairs. The night-light was turned off and it was Lorelai's fault. Why wasn't she responsible enough to remember to turn it on? Lorelai would argue that it wasn't due to the night-light, but Emily refused to remove her blinders.
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Tears of frustration would line the cheekbones of her face as Lorelai stormed upstairs in a rage far from blind. Her anger would melt away when she met Rory's blue eyes that were identical to her own. She apologized to whoever happened to be listening for her fury and rocked Rory gently in her arms until she slept soundly. After laying her back into her crib, Lorelai would head over to her own room, stomach rumbling from the lack of dinner. She sat on her bed with her legs straight, hugged a pillow, and buried her head in it until she had to come up for air. She would cry if it weren't for the fact that the pain she felt choked her tear ducts along with her throat. Lightning crackled outside and it illuminated the foreground of the scene outside her window. A tree branch was struck down and created an earsplitting sound that reverberated through her head. The rain battered against her window and Lorelai realized that she needed to leave. So she did.
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A few nights later, Lorelai could be found in her room with one lamp on. She resembled a criminal being questioned underneath an interrogation lamp except for the fact that she was writing a letter. She was writing a letter to her own parents that lived within her very house. The letter contained words tainted with years of unresolved conflict and bitter resentment. She didn't think they made much sense, but they got her point across. When she finished, she wrapped Rory in a few fleece blankets and placed her in a basket serving as a makeshift cradle. She carried her downstairs along with an overly stuffed backpack while her mother and father got ready for an evening party. When she had transferred all of her possessions outside, Lorelai ran back upstairs to her room one last time. She surveyed the room and blinked. Sixteen years had been wasted away by internal conflict and it had all happened in this room. It was downright depressing. In one last act of rebellion, she tore a paper heart from her wall and ripped it into shreds. She watched as the pieces of construction paper spiraled to the floor, creating what looked like a puddle of blood. She flipped the light switch off and tiptoed downstairs. She could hear her Emily and Richard arguing over the party as she tossed the letter onto the table.
She didn't know if she should feel guilty or not, but regardless, she opened the door and finally flew away like she had wanted to all these years.