Lorelai collapsed onto the couch. Everything had fallen apart. Rory had gone. Luke had gone. She wasn't speaking to Emily and Richard. She was alone.
They'd all finally deserted her. Luke had reached the end of his temper with the whole Christopher situation. Rory didn't want to disappoint her any more. She sat there for about ten minutes and cried her eyes out. She'd waited too long for Chris, hadn't she? Her eyes felt puffy and red, she sat up and tried to stop crying.
She was shaking. The door opened.
"Rory?" She said in a wavery voice.
"It's me."
"Chris? Lorelai ran into his arms. "Oh my God Chris, everything's falling apart.
Everyone's gone."
"Shh, I'm here." He held her tightly.
"The whole town is talking."
"I'm sure they are."
"God, I can never go out there again."
Her scene with Luke must've shaken up the whole town.
"Rory will come around," Chris promised.
"No she won't. She's ashamed of me. And she's scared I'm disappointed in her."
"Well, show you her you aren't."
"She has to come home sometime, Lor."
"Rory's a mature adult. She can choose never to see me again."
"That's not going to happen and you know it. You two have too strong a bond."
"We'll see." She stopped crying and Chris offered to make her a cup of tea. Her face had gone pale.
Someone else knocked on the door.
"Sookie?"
"Oh Lorelai I'm so sorry about everything." Sookie gave her a hug.
"They'll come around. You'll see." Lorelai shrugged. She hated herself right now.
Lorelai had sheltered Rory too much, maybe. Now her daughter wanted nothing to do with her.
"Oh Chris," Sookie said, as he came back from the kitchen.
"Am I interrupting something?"
"No it's okay. I want both of you to stay, thanks."
Chris sat opposite her.
"I can stay here for awhile if you like. I don't think you should be alone."
"I want to get out of stars hollow I want to sell this place." Sookie looked shocked.
"Lor – you can't."
"I want to leave. What's the point if Rory isn't here? I'll go and live with Chris and Gi – gi for awhile till I sort it out. And I don't want to bump into Luke all the time
I don't want to be part of small town talk any more. It's about time I left. I'm sorry, Sookie."
Sookie looked crushed.
"What about your job?"
"You take over. Hire someone else. I won't be coming back."
"You're making a huge mistake Lorelai."
"No, I'm not. I'm doing what I should have done when Rory left for college."
The two women hugged crying.
"I understand," Sookie said. "I don't like it, but I want you to be happy Lorelai."
Lorelai sighed. "Thanks. Anyway, who wants to help me start packing?"
"I need to get back to the inn and finalize a few things now you're leaving," Sookie said. "But I'll come by tomorrow and help." Lorelai nodded.
"Bye Sookie thanks."
"I'll stay here and help," Christopher offered. "We have a lot to get through."
He put his arm around her shoulder, they went upstairs together to pack.