Chapter 15: Half-life
[Rory]
Rory woke up on the couch in the living room. The TV was buzzing. She remembered coming in from Hartford and then unpacking the groceries and then turning on Chicago (she was renting Catherine Zeta Jones films). I guess I feel asleep, Rory thought. She took out the movie and then popped in America's Sweethearts. But, Rory's brain was flashing to the past events with every scene in the movie.
"You dumped him. You rejected him. You picked someone else."
"I don't think we should see each other anymore."
"If that's what we should do."
"So, that night meant nothing to you?"
"I just need some time to think about things."
"I miss you and......well.......you think there's a chance that we can reconcile?"
"No. I can't."
"I just feel so bad for you, Dean! It's probably going to take you one hundred years to get over me!"
"Well, it'll take you one hundred seconds to get over me!"
"Whatever guy I go out with, he's already been with you and he would rather be with you than with me."
"I'm sorry for what I did. I feel really bad about it. We were friends in high school. I don't want things to be bad between us."
"You should've thought about that before you slept with my husband."
The words "slept with my husband" echoed in Rory's head. I gotta get out of here! Rory thought, grabbing a jacket.
Rory walked to her spot by the lake and sat down staring at the water. Her mind immediately flash back to the day she spent with Dean here. How much fun she had with him.
As much as she hated to admit it, she did love him and missed him terribly. Even though he said those things to her. They hurt her, but they were true. Dean had never spoken to her that way before, but then again, she'd never spoken to him that way before. She felt guilty for what she said.
She screwed up a long time ago by falling for Jess. And that lead to breaking up their marriage by sleeping with him, seducing him, and now getting cut out of his life for eternity. Maybe if she hadn't fallen for Jess, she would probably be married to him right now.
Rory laughed at that thought. Maybe not, she thought. But, they definitely would be together. A fat duck came floating across the lake. Rory remembered Dean pointing out the duck and how they laughed at its obesity.
But, that triggered another memory. The Dance Marathon. She didn't go after Dean. She could've, but she didn't and this was one of the results of not going after him. If she did go after him, she probably wouldn't be sitting here thinking about what could've been. She still loved him. Rory put her head in her hands and cried. Oh, Dean, she thought. I'm sorry I didn't go after you.
[Dean]
Dean sat at the kitchen table staring at the job listings. But, the words seemed jumbled up to him. He kept thinking about the past seven weeks and four years.
"Give your marriage another shot. I know if you both work together you'll be happier."
"I can't. When I said it was over I meant it. It wasn't a thing to say just to get you in bed."
"Lindsay, stay. I'll find another place to live."
"I don't want to stay. I have to get out of here. You keep the house. I'll let you know when I'm moving my stuff out."
"I don't even know if I'm over Noah! For all I know, I could've been trying to get back at him!"
"You're not over Noah?"
"I'm not sure."
"DON'T COME CRYING TO ME IF YOUR CAREER OR NEXT MARRIAGE TANKS!"
"DON'T COME CRYING TO ME IF YOUR MARRIAGE FAILS! AND DON'T EXPECT ME TO SLEEP WITH YOU!"
"I know what you said to Rory. You have a lot of nerve for talking to her that way."
"That's none of your business."
"When you apologize to Rory, you can come back. Until then, you're fired."
"I quit."
Dean threw the paper in the trashcan and rubbed his head, trying to block out the stupid flashbacks, but he couldn't. I should take a walk, Dean thought. He grabbed his coat off the back of his chair. As he stood up he stubbed his toe on the couch.
"OW!" Dean yelled, grabbing his toe. "SHIT!"
Now I'm swearing, Dean thought. That's just great. Dean went into the closet and pulled out his old bat and a mini punching bag and went into a little clearing by his house. He attached the bag to the tree and started whacking it. He couldn't use boxing gloves because.....well......he didn't have any.
Dean hit it once. That was for the damn table for getting in his way. He hit it again. That was for Luke for butting into his business. He hit it for a third time. That was for Rory just for existing.
After a million whacks, Dean dropped the bat and sat down on a nearby rock and rubbed his temples in an attempt to stop a headache that was starting to form. What was wrong with him? He was a normal guy until he cheated on his wife. Why did he do that?
Rory had basically said that Dean married Lindsay because he was on the rebound from her. He didn't realize it was true until four years ago. He honestly thought he loved Lindsay. But, who was he kidding? He was never over Rory. Instead he slept with her while he was still married.
If only he hadn't married Lindsay. Maybe he should've stayed single until he was sure that he was over Rory. Maybe he shouldn't have applied to South Connecticut State. Maybe he should've applied to NYU or something.
But, no. He had to stay here in case Rory changed her mind and wanted to be with him instead of Jess. I screwed up big time, Dean thought. What did dating and then marrying Lindsay lead to? It led to cheating on his wife and then yelling at the person he cheated on her with after sleeping with her three weeks before hand.
He felt bad for the way he spoke to her. Yeah, she'd never spoken to him like that before, but he'd never spoken to her like that before. He didn't mean to say that stuff about her and Jess. It just slipped out. He could cut her out of his life forever, but he would probably always love her. I'm sorry I screwed up, Rory, Dean thought, hoping that she could somehow hear his thoughts.
"Maybe, I need to see the daylight
to leave behind this half-life
don't you see I'm breaking down
Lately, something here don't feel right
this is just a half-life
is there really no escape?
No escape from time
of any kind?"- Duncan Sheik
To Be Continued.........
A/N: I love that song. I had to throw that in the story. Chapter 16 is coming soon and I will try hard not to wrote a chapter that will bore you out of your skull.
[Rory]
Rory woke up on the couch in the living room. The TV was buzzing. She remembered coming in from Hartford and then unpacking the groceries and then turning on Chicago (she was renting Catherine Zeta Jones films). I guess I feel asleep, Rory thought. She took out the movie and then popped in America's Sweethearts. But, Rory's brain was flashing to the past events with every scene in the movie.
"You dumped him. You rejected him. You picked someone else."
"I don't think we should see each other anymore."
"If that's what we should do."
"So, that night meant nothing to you?"
"I just need some time to think about things."
"I miss you and......well.......you think there's a chance that we can reconcile?"
"No. I can't."
"I just feel so bad for you, Dean! It's probably going to take you one hundred years to get over me!"
"Well, it'll take you one hundred seconds to get over me!"
"Whatever guy I go out with, he's already been with you and he would rather be with you than with me."
"I'm sorry for what I did. I feel really bad about it. We were friends in high school. I don't want things to be bad between us."
"You should've thought about that before you slept with my husband."
The words "slept with my husband" echoed in Rory's head. I gotta get out of here! Rory thought, grabbing a jacket.
Rory walked to her spot by the lake and sat down staring at the water. Her mind immediately flash back to the day she spent with Dean here. How much fun she had with him.
As much as she hated to admit it, she did love him and missed him terribly. Even though he said those things to her. They hurt her, but they were true. Dean had never spoken to her that way before, but then again, she'd never spoken to him that way before. She felt guilty for what she said.
She screwed up a long time ago by falling for Jess. And that lead to breaking up their marriage by sleeping with him, seducing him, and now getting cut out of his life for eternity. Maybe if she hadn't fallen for Jess, she would probably be married to him right now.
Rory laughed at that thought. Maybe not, she thought. But, they definitely would be together. A fat duck came floating across the lake. Rory remembered Dean pointing out the duck and how they laughed at its obesity.
But, that triggered another memory. The Dance Marathon. She didn't go after Dean. She could've, but she didn't and this was one of the results of not going after him. If she did go after him, she probably wouldn't be sitting here thinking about what could've been. She still loved him. Rory put her head in her hands and cried. Oh, Dean, she thought. I'm sorry I didn't go after you.
[Dean]
Dean sat at the kitchen table staring at the job listings. But, the words seemed jumbled up to him. He kept thinking about the past seven weeks and four years.
"Give your marriage another shot. I know if you both work together you'll be happier."
"I can't. When I said it was over I meant it. It wasn't a thing to say just to get you in bed."
"Lindsay, stay. I'll find another place to live."
"I don't want to stay. I have to get out of here. You keep the house. I'll let you know when I'm moving my stuff out."
"I don't even know if I'm over Noah! For all I know, I could've been trying to get back at him!"
"You're not over Noah?"
"I'm not sure."
"DON'T COME CRYING TO ME IF YOUR CAREER OR NEXT MARRIAGE TANKS!"
"DON'T COME CRYING TO ME IF YOUR MARRIAGE FAILS! AND DON'T EXPECT ME TO SLEEP WITH YOU!"
"I know what you said to Rory. You have a lot of nerve for talking to her that way."
"That's none of your business."
"When you apologize to Rory, you can come back. Until then, you're fired."
"I quit."
Dean threw the paper in the trashcan and rubbed his head, trying to block out the stupid flashbacks, but he couldn't. I should take a walk, Dean thought. He grabbed his coat off the back of his chair. As he stood up he stubbed his toe on the couch.
"OW!" Dean yelled, grabbing his toe. "SHIT!"
Now I'm swearing, Dean thought. That's just great. Dean went into the closet and pulled out his old bat and a mini punching bag and went into a little clearing by his house. He attached the bag to the tree and started whacking it. He couldn't use boxing gloves because.....well......he didn't have any.
Dean hit it once. That was for the damn table for getting in his way. He hit it again. That was for Luke for butting into his business. He hit it for a third time. That was for Rory just for existing.
After a million whacks, Dean dropped the bat and sat down on a nearby rock and rubbed his temples in an attempt to stop a headache that was starting to form. What was wrong with him? He was a normal guy until he cheated on his wife. Why did he do that?
Rory had basically said that Dean married Lindsay because he was on the rebound from her. He didn't realize it was true until four years ago. He honestly thought he loved Lindsay. But, who was he kidding? He was never over Rory. Instead he slept with her while he was still married.
If only he hadn't married Lindsay. Maybe he should've stayed single until he was sure that he was over Rory. Maybe he shouldn't have applied to South Connecticut State. Maybe he should've applied to NYU or something.
But, no. He had to stay here in case Rory changed her mind and wanted to be with him instead of Jess. I screwed up big time, Dean thought. What did dating and then marrying Lindsay lead to? It led to cheating on his wife and then yelling at the person he cheated on her with after sleeping with her three weeks before hand.
He felt bad for the way he spoke to her. Yeah, she'd never spoken to him like that before, but he'd never spoken to her like that before. He didn't mean to say that stuff about her and Jess. It just slipped out. He could cut her out of his life forever, but he would probably always love her. I'm sorry I screwed up, Rory, Dean thought, hoping that she could somehow hear his thoughts.
"Maybe, I need to see the daylight
to leave behind this half-life
don't you see I'm breaking down
Lately, something here don't feel right
this is just a half-life
is there really no escape?
No escape from time
of any kind?"- Duncan Sheik
To Be Continued.........
A/N: I love that song. I had to throw that in the story. Chapter 16 is coming soon and I will try hard not to wrote a chapter that will bore you out of your skull.