Runaway: Part Five

The lonely globe in the corner of the ceiling began to flicker, emitting a dim light that barely even allowed her to observe the surroundings. Lorelai sat upon a stool at the bottom of the stairs with a blanket that smelled very much like it had been sitting next to a tub of discarded car oil for a few weeks. She cringed at the smell, but welcomed the warmth. Her arm began to ache again as the stabbing pains she experienced just a few minutes earlier returned. Whilst nursing her arm she jerked her eyes over what was in view. Half unpacked boxes and tall display shelves dominated the tiny store. Underneath the smell of dirty blanket, Lorelai could smell the pleasant scents of freshly cut wood sitting in a pile next to a small empty timber create.

After sitting there a minute more, Lorelai grew curious as to where Luke has disappeared. She slipped off the stool and took a glance up the staircase. There was a light pouring down from the hallway. It looked much warmer up stairs and a little more inviting. Lorelai quickly looked back into the dark store before she made her way up to the stairs. She could hear faint voices as she approached the door that was ajar. Before Lorelai even had the chance to hear what was happening inside, Luke opened the door completely and nearly did a repeat of what happened in the street.

Stopping himself, he said, "Oh, Lorelai- I was just coming down-"

"It's okay," she stated quickly, yet timidly, "I was just-"

He cut her off, "come inside, my Dad's on the phone."

"Oh." There was a look of confusion on her face as everything was happening so fast.

"Is your arm okay?"

"It's a little sore, but I'm okay." She forced a smile.

It looked like an office, nothing compared to her father's though, and it was cluttered very much like the store below. Luke's Dad glanced up from the telephone and quickly ended the conversation as Lorelai came into view.

"Dad this is Lorelai." He looked over at Lorelai and said, "This is my Dad."

Lorelai felt like rolling her eyes, but considering the circumstances she refrained from doing so and managed to utter a simple greeting, "Hi."

"Hello." He walked slowly around the table in which he was standing behind. Looking a little lost, he shook his head quickly and asked, "Are you okay, I mean when Luke came up here and told me what was happened I was a little distracted talking to that idiot from New York, but you're here, alright. I think I should call your parents, I mean they'd be worried right?" His voice was gruff.

"Ah, well- no, it's okay, I can call them later, don't worry, it's fine." Lorelai was quick to speak. She wasn't looking forward to talking with her parents.

He narrowed his eyes at Lorelai and looked at her skeptically. "Okay. Well, I was just about to close up for the night," he looked at Luke momentarily and motioned to the small hat rack near the door, "Grab her a jacket, that thing stinks, you don't give a girl a dirty blanket, come on your thirteen, you gotta start learning to be a man."

The only amusement Lorelai had experienced that evening was his Dad's last comment. She smiled small and took the blanket from around her shoulders still holding onto her arm.

Lorelai's nose began to twitch. There was an aroma in the air that drifted down to where she was sleeping. She furrowed her brow and rubbed her hand over her face before she remembered where she was. Her eyes fluttered open and she sat up quickly noticing her arm was still in a lot of pain. She contorted her face and got out of the bed. The wooden floor was surprisingly warm, and the sun was passing through a tree from outside and casting a shadow across the curtain opposite the bed. Lorelai took small steps around to where Luke was sleeping. He was curled up under a blue plaid blanket and his grumpy looking face was pushed into the chocolate brown pillow. She cocked her head to the side and smiled small at his unusual features. Lorelai tugged up at her fleecy pants and pulled the jacket she wore to bed around her further being careful not to bump her arm. She sniffed the air and her stomach began to rumble. It smelt like eggs and coffee- maybe some bacon also. Luke was still in a peaceful slumber and Lorelai wondered if she should wake him up, after all, he was sleeping on the floor. She took her right foot and nudged him in the back before taking a couple of quick steps back. She smiled a little as if it was some sort of game. He moved slightly and groaned. After a few moments it was obvious he had taken the nudge with little affect. She repeated her earlier motion however, used a little more force.

"I'm not going to school alright!" His voice came with a slur due to tiredness.

"Hey, Bucko. I'm not your Mom." Lorelai stated quietly and a little defensively.

"What?" Luke turned his head and squinted at the figure above him. "Who the . . . oh, hi."

"Morning, sorry 'bout the wakeup." She added.

"No, no, that's okay. Um, how's your arm?" Luke asked as he stood up and adjusted to the daylight as he pushed his fingers through his hair, probably feeling a little embarrassed.

"I don't know, no different I guess." She looked down at her elbow and moved her fingers on her troubled arm.

"Well, okay." He scratched at his hair again and then realized that she would probably be hungry.

"Are we goi-?" Lorelai started.

"Want something to eat?"

Lorelai smiled and said, "I thought you'd never ask."

Sorry about the lack of updates, I'm a busy, busy person these days and it's seldom that I actually get to work on my fics!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and its brevity! Let me know what you think!