Believe
Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Not even the computer I wrote it on.
Summary: Post 'The Real Paul Anka'. Rory figures things out.
Feedback: Reviews are fun. Like a barrel of monkeys. Why anyone would put monkeys in a barrel…I don't know, but it's supposedly a lot of fun.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Hey, your girlfriend's back." Matthew says, nudging Jess as he walks past him.
"What?" Jess looks up from his computer, frowning when he sees the only person in the office is the guy that was talking to Chris about hanging some art.
He saves his file then stands up to walk to the door. He stops short at the window when he sees a familiar silver car parked out front. He squints a little to see through the downpour outside. Rory's sitting inside gesturing animatedly to herself. After a couple minutes she gets out of the car and walks to the door. Then back to the car. Then back to the door. Then back to the car.
A couple years ago he would have laughed. Not anymore. Not after yesterday.
Finally, on her fifth trip back to the car, she shakes her head and walks determinedly to the door, pushing it open without hesitation.
She freezes when she sees him standing a couple steps away. "Hi."
He looks her up and down. From her smudged make up, to the t-shirt he somehow knows she stole from her mother, to the bottom of her jeans, where a steady drip of water is quickly creating a puddle on the floor. He doesn't say anything.
She does. "I don't feel right." Her eyes well up with tears.
He wishes he could stop caring. "What happened?"
"Everything is wrong." He hates that his heart breaks when the tears start to fall. "And I don't know how to fix it."
He wants to tell her that he told her how to fix it. That he spelled every word out to her, and that it's not his problem anymore because she didn't listen. He also wants to pull her into his arms and just hold her until she stops crying. He's not strong enough to do either.
"You were right. Everything you said was right. This isn't me. I'm not the girl who drops out of school and steals a boat and stops talking to her mom and stays with a guy who cheats on her just because he says he loves me." The change in tense doesn't go unnoticed. "I don't want to be like this, Jess. I hate who I am." The last sentence comes out as a whisper and it makes him want to cry.
He looks out the window again and sees something he didn't notice before. He shifts his gaze back to her for a second before stepping around her and running outside.
He doesn't notice that she followed him until he hears her voice through the rain. "I was wrong."
He tears his eyes away from the sight before him to face her. "What did you do?"
She looks at the pile of suitcases in the backseat of her car. "I left."
He doesn't understand. "Why are you here?"
"I told you why."
"Yesterday you said you fixed everything except him. If you left, then what do you need me for?"
"I need to fix me. And I don't know how to do that. Things have been so screwed up for so long and I don't know what to do anymore." He sees the tears come again, mixing with the rain on her cheeks. "I messed up. And everyday hurts so much. I don't know what to do."
His resolve, which was shaky since she walked through the door, suddenly shatters. He closes the distance between them and wraps his arms around her body, letting her sob into his chest. "Shh. It's okay. You're gonna be okay."
Her grip on him tightens. He runs his hand over her hair. "I'm not going anywhere, Ror."
She doesn't loosen her grip, but he feels her relax. "I'm not going anywhere. I promise."
She believes him.
It is what it is…you and me.