AN: Well the end is finally in sight, not quite there yet though. There's still plenty of angst and drama to be explored! Thank you so much to everyone who is persisting with his story, ye shall be rewarded in the coming chapters. Anyway, as promised, the next chapter!
Disclaimer: I don't own GG - Duh!
Rory and Tristan couldn't say how long they'd been stopped on the side of the road, perhaps minutes, maybe hours. Neither of them had said anything yet, they were still too…were they shocked?
"We need music," Tristan said, "Road-trip tunes"Rory laughed and leaned over to switch on the radio.
"I guess you're sick of my CDs by now?"
"Kind of, yeah" He admitted.
She twiddled with the knobs until she'd gotten a local radio station. They were only an hour or so out of Hartford and it was already dark. The end of Ingram Hill's "Will I ever make it home?" was playing and the pair laughed ruefully.
"And that was Ingram Hill with 'Will I ever make it home?' from the 'Thirteen going on Thirty' Soundtrack. Now here's Alys Francis with the news"
"Oh turn it off," Tristan whined.
Rory
looked at him in horror.
"I am going to be a journalist one
day, I have to immerse myself in the news," She admonished d he
waved his hand as if shutting her up.
"Fine, fine,"
"…and in breaking news, Hartford Police have announced that they have arrested a suspect in the so-called 'Society Murder' of seventeen-year-old Hartford school-girl Elizabeth Belmont. The teenager disappeared from her dormitory at Chilton Academy a month ago, her body was found the next day on the school-grounds. Detectives investigating the case announced today that they have taken into custody…"
Rory didn't know when the car had stopped moving. A suspect, they'd arrested somebody…the newsreader didn't say who, the police mustn't have released a name yet. She turned to Tristan who was staring blindly out of the window. Music had filled the car again, the news bulletin over, they were surrounded by Papa Roach's Scars. Slowly she touched his shoulder but he jerked away from her, threw open the car door and climbed out. She swiveled to watch him. They were parked on the side of the road, half on the grass that bordered it. He stumbled towards the woods that skirted them. She scrambled out.
"Tristan!" She cried. He didn't stop. "Tris!" Trying not to lose her footing on the slippery embankment she hurried after him. He stood, with his back t her, on the edge of the woods, at the bottom of the embankment. His shoulders squared as he watched the trees whisper gently to one another in the dusk.
"Tristan," She whispered, pulling on his jumper sleeve.
"It's over," He said. "Over, can you believe it?"
"Half," She replied.
He finally turned to face her, his face impassive but then he broke out into the most beautiful smile Rory had seen on him since that day in the coffee shop.
"It's over!" He laughed and she laughed too before she threw herself into his arms. He caught her easily and wrapped his arms around her waist, bringing her to his height and gently kissed her lips.
"Are you alright down there?" A loud voice called from the road and a flashlight was shone on them. Rory shielded her eyes and turned to look. Flashing blue and red lights dizzied her for a moment and Tristan let her down. He took her hand protectively.
"Yeah, we're fine," he called back.
"You'd better come back up on the road!" The police officer called out.
The two set up the embankment, Tristan supporting Rory with his arm around her waist.
"Tristan DuGrey? Lorelai Gilmore-Hayden?" The police officer asked when they got up to the road. His partner was standing near Rory's car, looking in it with another flashlight. The teenagers laughed uncertainly and nodded.
"Well haven't you had us busy, the entire Connecticut police force has been looking for you two," The officer said sternly.
"We're sorry officer," said Rory timidly, "We didn't mean to worry anyone…" She trailed off.
"You'd better save that for your mother,"
"We're on our way home now," Tristan explained.
"Not anymore, we're under orders to bring you straight to the Hartford PD"
Louise and Jay were sitting on the edge of the couch in his living room watching for the latest news about the arrest. They had been told as they left school that police had a suspect in custody. Louise had come back to Hartford with Jay and had spent the entire time in tears about her treatment of Tristan. Now Jay held her hand as they listened with baited breath. But it was just the same old story, they had a suspect in custody, no name, no picture, no denials, no refutations. Lorelai leaned against the doorway with Christopher standing next to her. He, like his wife, was showing signs of wear and tear after a week without Rory.
Jay watched them out of the corner of his eye, and as worried as he have been about Rory, he couldn't help being angry with her that she'd done this to them. When the phone rang it was Christopher who went to answer it. It was only a minute or so later when he appeared back at the doorway with Lorelai's coat in one hand and trying to pull his on wit the other.
"What is it Chris?" She asked,
"Rory," He mumbled, his wallet and keys in his mouth.
"What? Is she okay?"
"At the police
department" He mumbled back, finally struggling into his coat he
stuffed his keys and wallet into the pockets. "you two," He said,
pointing at Jay and Louise, "wait here, we're going to get
her."
"We'll come with you dad," Jay said.
"No,"
"Let him come Chris," Lorelai begged and Chris sighed.
"Fine, come, let's take the whole neighbourhood! Louise, that includes you!" Louise jumped to attention and she and Jay followed his parents out to the car.
Rory sat in an interview room on her own. She and Tristan had been split up when they'd arrived. The detective across from her sipped his coffee.
"And after your meeting with Mr. Bellevue, you just decided t come home?"
"I'd hardly call it a meeting," Rory mumbled, she didn't like Detective Corry.
"I'm sorry?"
"We didn't decide to come home, that was always the plan…can I leave now?" She felt like a little girl, she just wanted her mommy.
"Miss Gilmore-Hayden…I don't think you understand the trouble you're in…"
"And what trouble would that be?" Her father asked as he was ushered in by an affiliate of Mr. Jenkins' that Janlen had produced.
"Daddy!" Rory cried, flying into his arms.
"I trust that my daughter is allowed to be taken home?" Rory couldn't resist throwing a triumphant look at Detective Corry who scowled.
"For now, we'll be
in touch if we need any more information."
"You do that
detective," Chris snapped.
Chris led her out of the room and stopped, putting his hands on her shoulders and turning her to face him. He looked at her, as though looking for cuts or bruises, physical manifestations of her time away.
"I'm fine dad" She said quietly.
"Yes," He said simply, pulling her into a fierce hug.
"Baby!" Lorelai screamed as she barreled through the station to where Rory and Chris stood.
Rory had the breath crushed out of her when Lorelai hugged her. She looked past her mother to where Louise and Jay stood, their fingers intertwined. She smiled, yes, they were right together. How hadn't she seen that? Maybe they all would be okay.
She let herself be led, ensconced in her family, through the station. She glanced to her left as they passed a waiting room and made eye contact with Tristan who was accompanied only by his lawyer. She slowed down until she was standing in the doorway.
"Is he in a lot of trouble?" She quietly asked Lorelai who was hovering beside her.
"I don't know," Lorelai replied honestly.
"He looks so alone,"
Lorelai didn't say anything, she just put her hand on Rory's shoulder and squeezed it. Rory raised her right hand in a semi-wave and smiled softly. Tristan smiled back and she was led home.
Louise and Rory sat with Madeline an Paris in the common room of DuGrey building, the nightly news was playing in the background but hey all ignored it, each lost in their own thoughts as they tried to entertain a conversation.
"I mean, I'm only gone a few days and I come home to find my brother with a girlfriend," Rory joked, only h eyes betraying deeper thoughts.
Louise rolled her eyes.
"You're brother has a girlfriend?" She asked playfully, "Damn!"
Rory threw a cushion at her.
"Come on, with no icky details, tell me everything about you two"
"Aww, but the icky details are the best part" Madeline whined and Paris snorted. It was Sunday night, after Janlen's sizable donation to the school there had been no questions about Rory and Tristan starting back the next week.
Rory had spent the weekend with her family. They had gone out on Saturday, a real family day, a restaurant lunch, movies, shopping. It was as though everything had gone back to normal, but they were just playing at that. Rory knew how betrayed her mother felt, she saw it in Lorelai's eyes. She knew how let down her family felt. And despite the niggling guilt she could feel the resentment rising in her. Did they not trust her to make her own decisions? To make her own way? She found herself watching her mother with new eyes. She had always wondered if there was a time when you stopped seeing your parents as just that, started to see them as people instead. This was her time, to see parents as people. Lorelai, the carefree spirited girl. Rory had grown up with tales of the legendary Lorelai who had gone her own way throughout her life, never submitted to people. She remembered the pictures of her mother at high school, all big hair, mini-skirts, glo-mesh singlets. Rory had envied that girl somehow, been jealous of her. Unlike that Lorelai of long ago she was plain, predictable, safe, boring. She had wondered at times, if Lorelai wasn't disappointed with this safe daughter. Yet now that Rory was making her own decisions, not caring for once about tomorrow, about the next day, about ten years from now, Lorelai was aghast. When do you make that conscious decision to settle down? To fit into the ideas that people around you had of you? Maybe Rory didn't want that anymore.
She hadn't see Tristan, truth be told, had avoided him. It seemed as though everything that had happened during their time away was a dream, transient and now that they were back to a normal life she couldn't conjure the pictures as clearly, trying to grab hold of them was like reaching out into smoke. She couldn't explain it except to say that the craziness of their time away had bred those kisses, those touches. She wanted more, that she knew, but wen she looked into his eyes she didn't see her thoughts mirrored. He would pull away instead, draw back, back into a shell. She did that to him, made him pull away…and she couldn't condone that no matter what she herself wanted. She couldn't do it to him, wouldn't do it.
"Guys, guys!" Paris' voice was urgent, breaking though all their thoughts. They concentrated on the television.
"The Hartford Police Department has released Jimmy Vanson, their prime suspect in the murder of teen socialite Elizabeth Belmont. Mr. Vanson was arrested on Friday morning but released earlier this afternoon after an alibi was produced. Mr. Vanson, a vagrant, was believed to have been sited on the outskirts of Chilton Academy on the night that Miss Belmont was murdered but today a Hartford bar-tender confirmed that Mr. Vanson had been at the 'Elephant and Wheelbarrow' all evening until 4a.m….This puts the investigation into the murder back to the beginning and with no other leads Tom Nightingale reports that pressure is mounting to close this case…"
A journalist flicked up on the screen out the front of Chilton earlier that day. Rory gasped.
"Oh God," Madeline moaned.
"It just doesn't fucking end" Rory exclaimed.
The girls looked at her in shock. She stood up, angry, upset, confused all at once. She didn't know what to do.
"What we need is a nice cup of tea" Louise suggested and Paris snorted.
"You sound like your grandmother,"
Louise blushed.
"Well, that's what my grandmother says fixes everything,"
Rory laughed ruefully in the corner where she was staring out of the window.
"When will this be over?" She whispered mostly to herself.
Tristan was lying on the edge of Finn's bed tossing a football up into the air and catching it. Matt watched him from hi seat at the desk. Jay sat on his bed with a chemistry book open in his lap.
"Fuck this man, I hate chemistry"
"Well you're the one who decided on a whim to be an air force pilot, mate" Finn reminded him with a laugh. Tristan was silent. They'd just watched the news saying the homeless guy the cops had arrested had been released. Finn had tactfully turned it off afterwards and tried to turn the conversation to that weekend. The boys had re-formed a tentative bond over beer, cigarettes and joints that weekend, but Tristan found he just didn't care anymore. Didn't care if he had friends or not, didn't care about company, except for that of one person. It's strange, a few weeks ago he couldn't have been alone. It's strange what life events teach you.
He hadn't seen Rory since Friday night. He'd tried to call her cell a few times, too scared to call her home phone in case her parent's answered. He imagined he wasn't their favourite person at the moment. She hadn't answered. He remembered her framed in the doorway at the police station, her hair messed up and a streak of dirt on her cheek from their trip down the embankment. She'd looked so beautiful. She'd raised h hand and smiled gently and he couldn't help but smile back. He couldn't help remembering their time on the road together. What would happen now that life was somewhat back to normal? Would they drift apart? Was it just a few crazy weeks? She'd hated him before this, what was stopping her from falling back into that? How could he feel this so soon? But then, it wasn't the first time he was feeling it, he'd felt from the time he laid eyes on her, Liz had known it, so had Matt and Finn…maybe even Paris and Mads. It had been obvious hadn't it?
He sighed and stopped tossing the ball, climbing off the bed he crossed to Jay's desk, looking for a pen, his grandfather wanted him to write a letter to his parents in Europe to let them know he was alright. Good luck writing that with a straight face.
"Dude, where's a pen?" He asked Jay, sorting through the mess on the desk.
'Under the books"
Tristan lifted a stack of exercise books and dumped them on Matt's lap who jumped. Underneath was a wire tray with an assortment of crap in it ranging from pens to a stapler and bulldog clips. Something glimmered and caught his eyes, reaching into the mess he pulled it out, the memory washing over him.
He was so ridiculously nervous. Why? God, he'd given girls presents before, bought them jewelry before. He was painfully aware of the box in his pocket. Liz finally arrived."Sorry I was late baby, mom was having a problem with her acrylic nails"
"Of course," Tristan laughed and Liz laughed with him. Six months, perhaps not a milestone to most people, but to him, to them it was. He held her hand, they were sitting in restaurant in the centre of Hartford for an anniversary dinner and then onto a party at Finn's house. He wanted it to be perfect like the movies, they'd eat first, he'd be witty and charming, and then after dancing he'd surprise her. But he couldn't help himself. Instead he sort of threw the box on the table.
"Here's your present" He announced, relatively ineloquently. She'd laughed.
"You got me something?"
"Don't be coy," He admonished with a smile, "go on," he nudged the box towards her, "open it," She picked up the box and tore back the shimmery pink wrapping. Pausing to look up at him with her huge crystalline eyes she opened it. The necklace was dainty, just like the girl who would wear it. White gold, he knew she didn't wear anything else. The pendent made it unusual. The woman in the store had pointed out butterflies, fairies, diamonds and everything girly under the sun but Tristan knew what he wanted. He'd chosen a ring, a white gold band encrusted with three diamond chips. He had bought two and threaded one onto the chain, engraved with
DON'T FORGET I LOVE YOU…
She drew in her breath and looked up at him, her eyes wide, did that mean she liked it? He held up his right hand, there, on his ring finger was the matching ring.
"Oh Tris"
"Do you like it?" He hated how infantile he sounded, how childish.
She leaned across the table, the necklace now nestled around her throat.
"I'm not even going to dignify that with a
response," She said before she pulled him towards her by his tie,
kissing him gently. She'd worn it to the prty that night and never taken it off afterwards.
Tristan stared down at his hand.
"Uh Jay?"
"Yeah?" Jay asked distractedly.
"I don't want to jump t conclusions…" The other guys turned to look at him, "…but why do you have my murdered ex-girlfriend's necklace on your desk?"
AN: So how was that for a twist? And you all thought it was Matt! Ha! Well...maybe it is...doo doo doo doo (that's my rendition of that creed FBI-style music). Please R&R!
