Betrayed!

Chapter Two

"Lorelai!"

Lorelai jerked her head up from the steering wheel. Christopher was leaning over, talking through the window of her Jeep.

"Come back inside. There's no sense in you sitting out here."

"I have to go. I told Rory to meet me at home. I have to be there if – when she shows up."

"Lor - -"

"No! I have to go, now!"

Lorelai started the engine, put it in 'drive' and took off, barely missing running over Christopher's foot.

When Lorelai pulled up in her driveway, it was empty. Rory wasn't there, yet, she hoped.

After a few seconds, Lorelai called Rory again, and again only got her voice mail.

"Hey. It's me again. I'm home. And I'll be here the rest of the day. Rory, please come home. We have to talk. I need for you to understand what – why . . . . Please, please just – just come home."

Lorelai killed the connection, then called The Dragonfly.

"Michel, it's me . . . I know I'm late, but I won't be in today . . . Because I feel like crap, that's why . . . Well, I'm sorry you're sorry, but I'm still not coming in . . . Yes, I AM contagious or something. Do you want to take a chance on catching what I have? . . . I thought not. Tell Sookie I'll be here if she needs me . . . No, Michel, only if it's an emergency . . .No . . . Goodbye, Michel."

Lorelai slowly got out of the Jeep and walked to the house, each step seemed harder than the last. As soon as she got inside, she pushed to button on the answering machine, but there were no messages.

She kicked off her shoes then climbed the stairs to her bedroom. She dropped down on the bed, making sure the phone was within reach. She looked around the room at all the work Luke had done, and had paid to be done.

"I should have gone with the purple wallpaper," she mumbled as her eyes closed and she fell asleep.

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Rory drove around for more than an hour, not knowing where to go. She didn't want to go back to the empty apartment. She almost went to Stars Hollow to talk to Lane, but with Zach there, it would be awkward trying to talk to her about something as sensitive as this. And she didn't want to risk running into her mother.

She even toyed with the idea of going to see Luke, to try to find out what kind of argument would make her mother . . . do what she did. But she was afraid that she would slip up and accidentally say the wrong thing. It was hard enough not to say anything about the toast her mother had made at Lane and Zach's wedding.

Then she thought about Emily and Richard. By now they would be on their way to the airport, probably JFK in New York, for their flight to Paris.

That was perfect!

If it wasn't too late, she could meet them there. And with their connections, she was sure they could get her on the plane, even if she had to ride coach, which she didn't mind. And after they reached Paris, in just a few more hours, including a trip through the Chunnel, and she and Logan would be together again!

Smiling for the first time since the previous night, Rory called her grandmother's cell phone.

"Hey, Grandma, it's me."

"Rory! This is a nice surprise. I thought you'd still be asleep."

"No, I was up early this morning. Because of Logan leaving."

"Oh, that's right, to London. Did he get off okay?"

"Yes he did. Look, the reason I'm calling, is that I was wondering if it would be possible for me to go to Paris with you and Grandpa, and then go to London to surprise Logan?"

"This is kind of sudden isn't it? Aren't there things you have to do there?"

"Not really. My slate is pretty clean."

"But what about your mother? After your separation last summer I would have thought that you two would want to spend this summer together."

"Well, you know, she and Luke, and April, are . . . you know. I don't want to get in the way or anything."

"Oh, I'm sure you'd never be in the way. But I really think you need to stay there, at least until things are straightened out."

"Straightened out? I don't understand. What needs straightening out?"

"Well, I didn't want to say anything, but things between your mother and Luke aren't going so well."

"They aren't? What do you mean? Is it because Dad was at dinner last night and Mom was there?"

"Oh no. This is something I discovered over a week ago. Well, I guess you should know. You DID know that your grandfather and I were looking at property around Stars Hollow?"

"Yeah, I knew that."

"Well, we were looking at buying a house for your mother and Luke. A bigger house, for a wedding present."

"Really? That's amazing."

"And we found one. Just the perfect house for them. It has four or five bedrooms. It's on three acres, with a pond and stables. Your mother always did like horses."

"I know."

"But when we were at the realtor's office, she started cyring and told me the wedding wasn't going to happen. Of course, I'm not one to pry . . . . "

"I know."

"Now, I'm not going to lie and say that if she and Luke never got married, that it would break my heart. I just don't think he's the rightman for her. But I don't want to see her unhappy, either. And I think Lorelai could use your support right now. She acted like everything was okay at dinner last night, but it's not, and I suspect it has something to do with his daughter. I'm sure she would appreciate knowing you were there for her."

"But maybe she and Luke need to work this out by themselves. I don't know what I could do."

"I think that just being there would be enough. And anyway, we're already on the plane, waiting to take off. So there's no way you could ever get here in time."

"Oh."

"I'll tell you what. Why don't you call me in a few days to let me know how things are going, and if you still want to come, we'll be more than happy to fly you straight to London. How does that sound?"

"It sounds – really great, Grandma, thanks. And thanks for the heads up about mom and Luke. I'll call you in a few days. You and Grandpa have a good trip."

"Thank you. Now you go see your mother. Goodbye."

" 'Bye."

Rory sat staring at the phone in her lap. She had so many mixed up feelings. She was still angry at her mother for what she did to Luke. But she was sosad that things hadn't gone like they should have. She thought they were happy, but after her mom's heartbreaking toast at Lane and Zach's wedding, maybe – maybe she should talk to her. But not right now.

"God!" Rory exclaimed. "Logan, why did you have to leave now? Just when I need you?"

Rory took a few deep breaths, then started her car and drove back to her apartment.

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