Who Lies Beneath

Disclaimer: I own nothing, so therefore don't sue me. Gilmore girls belongs to ASP and the WB.

Summary: LL. "There's only one thing that can stop me." She told her best friend... She's made many mistake before, but which one's the mistake this time? The wedding, or the night before?

Authors Note: We're back for chapter 3! Sorry the update took so long, it's been taking me forever to write the story. But we finally have it for you guys. First off, thanks again sooo much for the reviews! You guys are incredible and it means so much to us when we get reviews! So thanks to all the people both here on fanfiction and those of you on fanforum! And second, chapter 3 is a little bit shorter than your average chapter but the next chapter will change that:) Enjoy the chapter and please review!


Chapter 3: U-Turn

It wasn't a completely stupid idea to wear sunglasses to bed; after all…it would be one less annoying way to wake up in the morning. Lorelai squinted her eyes and inhaled the smell of coffee flowing threw the house. She sat in bed, trying to wake herself up but it was near impossible at this ungodly hour. The only trick into getting her up would be the coffee, but in this condition, getting the coffee would mean getting out of the bed and getting out of the bed would mean getting up and risking being cold until she can grab her robe and slippers.

But she had things to do and people to see and being cold for 30 seconds ended up not being all that bad. She hobbled down the stairs, eyes still half way closed as she walked into the kitchen.

"Good, you're up." He handed her a cup of coffee and gave her a quick kiss. "I was going to get you up myself but I figured the coffee would wake you."

"Mmm," she mumbled taking the first sip, "it's never failed so far."

"And as long are you're alive, it probably never will." He said, smart-mouthing her.

"I always knew you had a sarcastic side. Now it was just a matter of when it'd actually come up."

He smiled and sat down at the table with her. "So do you have to leave early?" He asked.

"If by early you mean within the next hour, then yes. It's going to be a long day; we have a wedding tomorrow so we'll probably be up late setting it up."

"Oh is this the wedding that your parents are going too?"

"Yeah, they'll be there. So you know what that means…I've got to make sure it's perfect."

"Yes, for your parents, not the bride and groom."

"Right."

"Well as long as we've gotten that straightened out." He got up from his seat and put his cup in the sink. "So listen, I've got to leave a little earlier today. I've got some things coming in."

He took out a thermos and filled it to the top with coffee. "This is for you before you leave." He said pointing to the thermos sitting on the counter.

She smiled, looking around at everything. The house, the thermos sitting on the counter looking so shiny like it wants to be touched (dirty!), the beautiful man standing right next to it. She sighed, all this is mine. She smiled and stood up before walking over to him and kissing him soundly on his lips.

"I'm happy about all of this, Luke." She said pulling away from his lips.

"What? The fact that you willingly drink decaf coffee? Cause to be honest; I thought you'd never live to that rule."

"Not just that, silly," she hit him on his stomach, "just, everything. You, me…it," she grabbed Luke's hands and placed them on her stomach, "I'm just glad we turned out like this. So…I don't know, so positive." She was smiling like a giddy little girl on Christmas.

"I'm glad too, Lorelai. For a long time, I thought we'd never…happen."

"Blasphemy!" She winked and gave him a quick kiss. "Just…thought I'd let you know how I'm feeling these days."

"Well thanks for sharing." He said honestly.

"And thanks for caring." She giggled quietly before resting her head on his shoulder, inhaling the scent of him. "I made a rhyme!"

He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her in to a complete hug. "Goodbye crazy lady." He said rolling his eyes before kissing her on top of her head.

"Bye babe."

She smiled to herself as she watched him walk out the back door. She rested her hands on her stomach, looked down, and sighed happily.


"Mom wake up!" Rory shook her mother furiously until Lorelai opened her eyes.

"What?" Lorelai asked, finally opening her eyes.

"You've got to take me to school! I'm going to be late."

Lorelai shot up in bed and looked at the clock. She sighed disappointedly when she realized she had no where for herself to be. "Did you forget you live with Max?"

"Of course not."

"Well, last time I checked he works at that stupid school you go to."

"He had to leave early, remember?" Rory pulled the covers off from her mom.

Lorelai groaned before getting out of bed and putting on a sweatshirt. "Let's go."

"Aren't you going to get dressed?" Rory asked annoyed.

"What's the point? I'm coming back home and going straight back to sleep. It's not like I have anywhere else to go…" she sighed loudly and looked for her keys on the desk in their room.

x-x-x

Luckily the drive was much shorter with their new living conditions. With living so close to Chilton, there was no hour transmute there and back. Instead, it was only a 10 minute drive there and back and Lorelai liked it a lot more.

As soon as she got home, she walked straight back up the stairs and mumbled something before throwing herself in their bed. She wrapped the covers around her and lied on her stomach, staring at the clock.

This was getting boring…day after day, sleeping, eating, cleaning, and watching TV. She always thought it would be the dream day but not everyday and that's how it had been recently. Ever since the big move, Lorelai removed herself from the Independence Inn. Probably, and hopefully not forever but just for a few months while they got their life settled down. She was heartbroken to have to leave but knew it was something she had to do while she adjusted to living at Max's house in Hartford.

It certainly wasn't Stars Hollow, too. The very thought of saying to somebody 'I live in Hartford' made her stomach twist and turn. To be back and living in the same town she lived in before she left, before she ran away, wasn't a very homey feeling. Max knew Lorelai had to take sometime to adjust but lately it's like all she does is mope around the house alone, wishing she could be behind the front desk at the Inn bugging Michel or talking to Sookie in the kitchen as she messed around with yet another food concoction.

The past two weeks had been fine. They had finally gotten everything unpacked and organized most of their stuff. There were still small nicks and adjustments that needed to be made but they'd all get done in due time. She certainly wasn't superwoman and with that said, it explained why she couldn't get everything done so quickly. Moving had been a long, annoying process. She knew that when she removed the last item from her boxes that she wouldn't want to do this whole moving process again anytime soon at least.

But now with nothing left to unpack or organize, she didn't have much to do during the days. Luckily Rory got home close to 3:30 everyday, followed by Max who came home more towards the 5 o'clock hour. She knew that Rory was adjusting well. Sure she missed Dean and Lane, but she still often saw them. Lorelai on the other hand hadn't been back to Stars Hollow since the moving day. She hadn't seen anybody except for Sookie once but that was when she came to see the house a few days ago. She told her that they missed her over at the Inn and that Tobin's day time managing skills were just as annoying as the night time skills. They had hired a new night time manager to take over Tobin's spot while Tobin took over Lorelai's.

Sookie even admitted to Michel missing Lorelai. Sure most of the reason was probably because Tobin annoyed Michel more than anybody, but still the thought of Michel missing her easily made her smile. She hadn't asked Sookie or anybody for that matter about Luke. She hadn't spoken to him since their final goodbye on her porch. She wanted to call him so many times after reading the note. She kept it in her bottom drawer because not only did she not want Max or even Rory to find it, but also because knowing her, she would loose it if it wasn't somewhere safe.

What would she say? That was the number one question on her mind. Endless possibilities were at hands reach but she couldn't think of the correct one. She wasn't going to lie to herself either, just about every morning she woke up with him on her mind and almost every night, she fell asleep next to Max, thinking about him and their night spent together. How special it was to be with him, how great and loved he made her feel. Often times, she'd close her eyes and the image of them cuddling in bed flooded her mind. She recalled the way he made her feel which would probably always stay with her because after all, he was the only one that had ever made her feel like that.

x-x-x

"So what movie do you guys want to watch tonight?" Lorelai asked while sitting down next to Max on the couch.

"I'm looking to see what's on TV." Rory said flipping channels from the floor.

Lorelai nodded her head and turned to Max. "Dinner was great."

"I knew you could eat something healthy every once in a while."

"I guess it doesn't hurt."

"Oh mom, look!" Rory flipped the channel and turned the volume up. "Remember this movie? We saw it like 2 years ago and endlessly mocked it since then!"

Lorelai turned to the TV and looked at it strangely before she noticed what movie it was.

"Is this…" She began.

"Killed Innocence." Rory quickly replied.

Lorelai rolled her eyes and sat back against the arm of the couch.

"Killed Innocence? What's this about?" Max asked suddenly interested.

Before Lorelai could get a word out, Rory was already tumbling with the description.

"It's about a woman who cheats on her husband with this complete stranger. She met him at a bar and they slept with each other that night though they weren't drunk. So from then on, they've been having this scandalous affair and it isn't until husband walks in on them doing the dirty deed that they call it quits."

Max laughed at how pathetic and twisted the movie sounded while Lorelai sat there growing more and more uncomfortable by the second. This was exactly the kind of movie she needed to make herself feel even worse than she has for the past month or more. At least he's not a stranger…she thought to herself.

"Sound's pretty crazy if you ask me."

"Oh it is. When we saw the ending, we sat there staring at the TV over a good 5 minutes trying to imagine an even worse ending than the one we got."

"How does it end?" Max asked, truly intrigued.

"The wife kills her husband to be with the other guy but it's too late because he's back with his ex-girlfriend."

Max stared at Rory dumbly. "Sounds like a horrible movie." He stated.

"It is. A perfect mockable movie too."

"Turn it up." He said.

Lorelai stubbornly faced the TV, playing uncomfortably with her hands. Every few seconds she'd move around in her seat, breaking one of her own movie rules. About 10 minutes into the movie, Max pulled Lorelai towards him and she rested her head on his shoulder as his arm was settled around her, pulling her into him.

She tried closing her eyes but it didn't help. She still heard the voices of the creepy characters and flinched when certain things were said.

'Sorry about my friend.' The main character—Kevin—said walking towards Claire.

'It's okay. People tend to get pretty rowdy here.'

'So, what do you say, let me buy you a drink?'

'I have a better idea.' Lorelai knew what was happening. She (being Claire) took a bottle of wine from behind the bar while nobody was looking and led him towards a room in the back. She almost asked Rory to turn the movie off. Besides the brief sexual scenes she didn't need her daughter to watch (though she had already seen it and many more explicit sexual scenes before) this movie here, with Max and her. Plus, Lorelai was very uncomfortable sitting there with the two of them.

She opened her eyes and watched the woman take the man into the back. She placed the wine down and walked up to him with a devil look in her eyes. She snaked her arms around his waist and kissed him hardly on his lips, pushing him against the wall. Lorelai shrieked in disgust, thinking about how different her time with him was from this. It wasn't in a banded room for one, two, I knew him longer than 8 minutes…try 8 years. And three, it was special and this is far from special. This is two lonely people who haven't gotten any action in a respectable (to them) time frame. She shook her head, trying to disregard any thoughts of Luke. He was the last person that should be on her mind (in any scenario, really) especially since Max was calmly rubbing his hand up and down her thigh as he watched the couple go at it. He pulled her closer to him once again and she closed her eyes.

Lorelai fell asleep and woke up in the middle of the movie. It was the scene where the husband, Will, found Claire and Kevin half way to naked on their couch.

"How could she do that to her husband?" Max asked out loud.

"I have no idea, and it's sad too cause they seemed so in love before anything started with Kevin." Rory said.

Lorelai closed her eyes, careful to make sure nobody knew she was awake. She figured that at some point in time, Max and or Rory had figured out she was sleeping. Cause Lorelai quiet during any movie was very unlikely.

"I mean, you've got to be a real—and excuse my language—bitch to do that too your husband after all that he's done for her so far. And you'd think coming close to being caught practically three times would have given her a clue to take it down a notch but apparently not."

"Well that's what she gets for cheating." Rory said pointing to the TV during the part where the couple drastically separated away from each other.

In actuality, Lorelai fell back asleep until the last scene of the movie. It was the scene where Claire leaves Kevin's house after they've said their 'final goodbyes.' She watched the last scene play out; the music and color fade away very slowly.

She shifted her head up and looked around the room, pretending to be a bit more confused than she actually was.

"Oh good you're awake. I was going to wake you up."

"Yeah I must have fallen asleep."

"You're not the only one." He said pointing to Rory lying down on the ground with a pillow and blanket.

"Aw, let's leave her there. She looks comfortable."

"Alright." He grabbed her hand and lifted her from the couch. "You ready for bed?"

She glanced at the ending credits of the TV and grabbed the remote from the table, turning off the TV as quietly as possible. "Let's go."

They walked hand in hand up to their room, shutting the door behind them. "You missed one crazy movie." He took of his shirt and threw it on the floor.

Lorelai looked up from the end of the bed where she was firmly planted. She bit her lip and arched an eyebrow up at him. "What?"

"I was just saying how you missed the movie. It was crazy though, I wouldn't have assumed the woman to--"

Lorelai stood up and cut him off, grabbing him by his hands and pulling him down onto the bed with her, lips crashing into each others.

She physically could not listen to him talk about that. She didn't need to know what his verdict was on the woman who cheated on her husband, over and over again. Sure with Luke they only slept together (in her mind though, made love was a better way of putting it) once but they had secret rendezvous' all the time before she moved. She had every right to feel as guilty as she was at the moment.

She rolled on top of him and quickly stripped off the rest of his clothes. Max tried slowing her down, but she had a look of heat in her eye, a look he wasn't quite familiar with and really didn't know how to respond too.

"Hey, Lorelai--" She grabbed a hold of his hands, intertwining her fingers within his and held them above his head. She leaned down, pressing her forehead against his and kissed him hardly. He tried loosening his grip around her hands, not because it hurt but because she was being wild and he wasn't in the mood for wild…per say.

She collapsed her body on top of his, closing any possible space between them. All she needed right now was to be with him, to feel him, to be in his arms. They stayed like that for a few minutes, Max almost nervous to move. She finally got up long enough to take off the rest of her clothes before pouncing right back down on top of him. She kissed him with so much passion and energy it was almost shocking. It was a whole new experience and feeling, especially for her.

Her power against him was weakening. He took advantage of the time to gently flip her underneath him. He held her hands above her head like she did before though he held them much looser than she did. He took his lips away from hers and looked at her. Her eyes were tightly closed and she looked very stiff, squirming at his touch. He knew something was up but didn't know how to approach it. He had never seen this side of her before. She anxiously reached her head up to meet his lips but he insisted otherwise.

"Lorelai, open your eyes." He said softly, touching the side of her hair.

She kept her eyes closed for a few more moments. She could tell that he was staring at her and it made her uncomfortable. She opened her eyes and instantly regretted it. She felt so horrible. Here is this wonderful guy who doesn't deserve this kind of behavior from her. Here he is trying to make love to his wife while she's there trying to get his lips on hers so she didn't have to look at his face any longer. She felt too guilty to make any kind of eye contact with him.

She finally got the courage to look him in his eyes. She held eye contact with him for nearly a minute before she spoke. "I need you Max."

With that, she relaxed her body and anxiously awaited his mouth to cover hers again.

The actual process was just as weird and tense. Max thought she had cooled off and eased down a bit but she was—like he said before—different. She controlled everything. She made sure that he was enjoying it more than she was. She knew in the back of her mind, this was pity. She felt horrible for the guy and that was the only way she could make it a little bit better, as wrong as it sounded.

She collapsed on top of him and rested her head near his neck, both of them catching their breath. She kissed his neck softly, murmuring to him.

"I love you." She said quickly in between kisses.

"I love you too." He said kissing the top of her head.

She lifted her head up and held his face near hers, kissing him softly.

"So much." She whispered, kissing him again. "Really."

"I know Lorelai."

I know Lorelai. He didn't know though. Sure he knew she loved him, because after all she did, she just wasn't sure how much. She felt emotional pain for him. He didn't know, he didn't know anything and it was killing her. Keeping this huge lie from him, it was slowly killing her.

It came to the point of discomfort where she had to cry. She couldn't hold in her tears much longer. She had been trying to hide them from him for two weeks, but something about tonight—she couldn't keep them in any longer.

The second he saw tears stream down her face, he wrapped his arms around her small body and pulled her face down to his.

"What's the matter?" He asked concerned.

She bit her lip, trying so hard not to let more come down. This was horrible; she didn't know what to say. She had absolutely no explanations for this except the truth which could not be told right now.

Maybe staying quiet would be best after all.

She shook her head, unable to formulate words. She rolled off of him and turned away from him. He wrapped his body around hers and held her close to him, feeling her body move when she'd cry.

They stayed that way for almost thirty minutes. He didn't want to ask what it was and she didn't want to tell. So it remained that…that day, whatever it was that made Lorelai cry would never be brought up again.

x-x-x

Max left without waking her up the next morning. She awoke in the messy bed and to a note plastered to the side of her bedside table saying that he didn't want to wake her cause she looked like she was sleeping well.

Flashbacks of the night before sure woke her up. She couldn't believe she cried, like that, in front of him. She was ashamed and embarrassed (at the current moment) and he wasn't even there. She was embarrassed to be around herself though and that's what was uncomfortable.

She couldn't live this guilt any longer but didn't know how to cope with it without telling the truth. She could tell the truth, and one day she probably would. But she felt too guilty to tell him the truth right now which is why she needed to talk to somebody else first.

And she knew exactly who that was.

She looked at the clock, it was 8:15. She got up, changed her clothes and walked right out the door with just her keys and wallet. She got in the car and sped down her street into the familiar town she loved.

It still looked the same. Though she didn't expect much difference in only two weeks, seeing as how Stars Hollow probably looked the same 10 years ago. She parked in her special spot and climbed out of the door, walking furiously towards the diner.

She hadn't thought about what she was going to say. All she knew was it was going to be along the lines that what they did, that night, was a mistake.

She opened the diner and everybody turned to her when she walked in. Luckily nobody too important was there except for Taylor and Kirk who were in a heated argument about why Kirk can't be Taylor's sidekick.

She stood at the front of the diner, the bells still somewhat jingling. He was there and that's all she cared about. She held eye contact with him, both stiff faces, for quite some time. He held onto a plate and looked over her, noting really had changed.

From the second he walked in, he knew it wasn't going to be a pleasant visit.

She walked over to the counter and sat down right next to him. She put her purse down and smirked in his direction.

"Things still look the same." She said coldly.

"They don't normally change." He said when he finally grasped onto some words.

"Good, good, that's great." She said trying so hard to play cool though it wasn't working at all. He slid the plate down to the person on the other side of the counter and averted his eyes back to hers.

"So, I haven't seen you since…you left." He said trying to make small talk. He knew something was up but just wasn't sure when or how it would come up.

"I'm glad you noticed." She snapped.

"Well, of course I noticed…"

She stayed quiet, looking directly past him to the no cell phones sign. All of a sudden it intrigued her more than ever. Really, what's the problem with having cell phones?

"Luke, we have to talk." She said quietly, leaning up towards his face.

Their closeness almost made him uncomfortable. Her face was directly next to his and her eyes peered into his.

"Okay…" He said shakily.

"Luke, what happened…that night, with you and I…" she whispered, searching for the correct ending to that sentence.

And that's when it hit her that it wasn't a mistake. It was the furthest thing from a mistake that's ever dawned upon her. And there was no way she could sit there and blame him, the guy she spent the night of her life with. She couldn't point fingers because if there was anyone she should scream at, it would be herself. She's the one who dared him to kiss her, she's the one who led him to the bed, she's the one who said she wanted it.

"Excuse me sir?" A woman said from the end of the counter. They still stared at each other, Luke inwardly cursing the woman next to him.

"Yeah?" He asked finally dragging himself away from her.

"Can I have some more syrup?" She asked.

"Of course."

He walked to the back and grabbed a new bottle of syrup and returned it to the lady at the counter. He walked back to her and prompted their conversation.

"You were saying?" He said quietly.

"The house looks great." She said quickly. "We finally got everything together and…it really looks, just great."

Luke's mouth opened slightly, looking at her in a weird way.

"It was so nice of Max to get rid of all his junk to give us space for our junk. We needed it so badly." She said smiling. "It was so cute, the other day; we were talking about how Rory needed more space for her books so he cleared off two of his shelves and gave the space to her."

He stood there, staring at her dumbfound. What was she trying to do?

Make him jealous. She thought to herself. She didn't mean for there conversation to be like this. She really didn't. She just started and really couldn't stop.

"I love the new house." She stated. "It's very homey. I never thought I'd find another house to live in that had that…very homey effect on it but I did and I love it."

He had no words for her. He didn't want to speak to her or hear about this stuff at all. This wasn't how he expected seeing Lorelai would be. Not after how they ended. Then he quickly thought about the note he left in her box and if she ever found it.

"We're all just doing great, really. Rory loves it there, Max loves us being there, I love it there…it's all just really, really great."

"Well that's great." Luke said flatly.

"It is." She said smiling. "Coffee to go, please."

He turned around, thankful he didn't have to stare her in her eyes any longer. He poured her a cup and handed it to her.

"It's on me." He said before she could get money out of her purse.

"Thanks Luke. Take care, okay?" She turned around and walked right out the door.

That was horrible.

She sighed and walked back to her car.

x-x-x

"I thought I'd find you over here." Max said approaching Rory at her locker.

"Oh hey, what's up?" She asked.

"I'm actually going to leave now too. I wanted to know if you wanted a ride."

"That would be nice considering the fact we live together." Rory said closing her locker.

"Well then, off we go."

They walked out into the teacher's parking lot where Max's space was. They both climbed into the car and got adjusted before pulling out of the lot.

"So your day was good?" He asked.

"Not too bad, I turned in my paper for history."

"How did it end up looking?"

"I think she'll enjoy it."

"I'm sure she will. I read it before school and thought it was done perfectly."

"Thanks but you have to say that."

"Why do I have to say that?"

"Cause…you're my teacher and…my step-dad." She said oddly. She had never really called him that before but it had to come out sooner or later.

He smiled. "I can still admire your work, you know."

"I guess."

"You're mom does. She's not your teacher but, she's your mom."

"You're right."

They were both quiet for a few minutes before Max approached a topic.

"Hey Rory?"

"Yeah?"

"You know, I wouldn't be asking you these kinds of things because I don't even know how right I am about it but…have you noticed something, I don't know, different about your mother lately?

"Different how?" Rory asked.

"Just…she's not her usual self."

Rory thought about it for a moment. "I guess she has been acting a little different lately."

"I think she's still a little…I don't know, weirded out by the move I guess."

"You don't think she wants to live here?" Rory asked condescendingly.

"No, no, that's not what I think. I just think she misses Stars Hollow, and…her friends, and the Inn, that's all."

Rory looked over at Max and sighed. "I have no doubt in my mind she misses everything."

They stayed quiet for a while before Rory gasped in excitement. "I have an idea!"

"What?"

"Well, mom hasn't really seen anybody lately…and not a lot of people have seen the house yet…"

"Right…" Max said, prompting her to continue.

"Why don't we have a little party? It doesn't have to be huge but just big enough for everyone who wants to come and see the house to actually do so."

Max thought about the idea for a while. The thought of inviting everybody to see the house was a big deal, but he wanted to do something special for Lorelai since she had been a little more down about things lately. He figured it would be a good idea and a nice gesture; to invite everybody over to see the house and their new living arrangements.

"You're an excellent thinker, Rory."

"Thank you." She said smiling proudly. "I like to think I am!"

That night at dinner, they ran the idea past Lorelai who enjoyed it very much. She made sure that they surprised her with whom to invite, but to make sure that they do invite everybody. And by everybody, she meant everybody.

They had made plans for it to be next Friday. Max and Rory were in charge of everything and were both very excited to begin the planning.

x-x-x

Friday snuck up quicker than she imagined. She had spent the whole week arranging things to look presentable for the party.

She had been more excited than she figured. She didn't know who would actually show up but she was glad that they were doing this. She really needed to see everybody. And when she said everybody she even meant Taylor and Kirk because she missed the annoyance of their presence.

She really wanted Luke to come though. She wanted him to see her lifestyle, to understand what she was living in. She also wanted to see him so she could apologize perhaps. She wanted to talk to him sooner rather than later and hoped that wasn't too much too ask for.

Max and Rory told her they should expect people to arrive around 8. It was close to 7:30 when Lorelai was getting ready. Max and Rory were setting up tables and chairs along with food and drinks in the living room. Lorelai was too busy trying to think about which outfit he would like better on her. She picked the tight pair of jeans and a white low cut linen type shirt with a somewhat plunging neckline. She wore her new sandals, hair down and wavy with just the right amount of makeup. She looked at herself one last time in the mirror before going downstairs and waiting for the guest to arrive.

"This is so exciting!" She said walking down the stairs.

Max and Rory exchanged smiles while they noted how happy Lorelai seemed.

It was almost like she was back to normal.

x-x-x

People started arriving a little after 8, just like what was said. Sookie and Jackson were the first ones to come. They had brought some food for the party, and promised to be there before everybody else which happened to work in the long run.

The door was kept open for the first hour. People flooded in threw out the first hour of the night. A lot more people had showed up than she imagined. She made the rounds, saying hi to everybody she possibly could. She wore a cheerful smile the whole time, so happy to see everybody once again.

But there was one person missing and she was almost getting sick of waiting.


August Twelfth

They had exchanged vows; they had exchanged loving looks and touches during the ceremony. They were ready to say I do and start the party. They held hands loosely as they listened to the man talk about what it means to be married. She had a profile view of the crowd. She knew he wasn't going to come.

She should be punished to be standing there, about to say I do to her husband-to-be and be thinking about another man. Another man that she desperately wanted to see again but knew wasn't coming.

"I do." She heard him say.

He smiled at her and tightened his grip around her hand.

Suddenly, everything was swarming into reality. They was no turning back now, she was all in whether or not she wanted to be.

Unless…

"I do." Her voice was quiet and unfamiliar. Foreign to even her. She caressed the top of his hand with her thumb.

There was really no turning back now.

It was final.

It was complete.

He couldn't save her this time because simply, it was too late.

She'd still wait for him during the party, she knew that already.

She'd probably look for him every time she was dancing with somebody.

She'd probably look for him while they ate dinner and cut the cake, smudging it into each others face.

She'd probably look for him while she was leaving in Max's car to head back to their house to spend there first night together as a married couple.

And chances are, she'd think about him while she spent the night making love to her husband.


And right now, at this very moment, she knew that if he wasn't going to come—again—that she would have to go.

And that's exactly what she was going to do.

Go.

So she grabbed her keys and headed out the door when once again…

There was no turning back.


A/N 2: Oh, it's those cliffhangers you all know and love:) Leave us a review and let us know if you want more! ;) I hope the next chapter will be up quicker than this one because it's got lot's going on!