Lorelai walked the rest of the way home, deep in thought about all of the events that had happened tonight. She knew Emily would reprimand her for taking off the way she did. She hadn't stayed to see them off like she had been expected to. Frankly, she didn't care. She planned on confronting her mother about this as soon as she got the chance.

She thought of the things Chris has said tonight. Anger began to build inside her again. She knew that having both Luke and Christopher together wasn't going to be all fun and games, but she hadn't expected things to go so amiss. She just didn't understand why Chris would go and decimate her relationship. He knew how happy she was with Luke. She'd told him countless times. The night she went to comfort him after the loss of his father, the subject of Luke had been brought up. It was a brief discussion, but she had let him know that things with him felt right. She'd never been as happy with another person as she was with Luke. She let him know just how much she cared about him. So why would he do this to her?

If he really cared, he would have let her be. He wouldn't have intervened, meddling with her mind. He told her that night that he was happy for her, that all he wanted was to see her happy. She was very content with her life right now, yet apparently that wasn't enough for Chris. It didn't seem fair to her. She had never come between Chris and his previous girlfriends. Sure, there had been a time when Chris was with Sherry that the two of them had done things that they shouldn't have. To her, that was different. Chris had told her that he was ending it with Sherry. Lorelai would have never done that had she'd known what the outcome would have been. She regretted it and knew that despite what Chris told her, she still shouldn't have gotten involved with him.

She would never understand how one minute Chris could be good, caring, and mature and then the next minute he was juvenile, antagonistic, and egocentric. It seemed like when things were finally the way Lorelai wanted them, Chris came into the picture. He always showed up at the times he was most unwanted. He always chose the worst times to screw things up.

The night was still and quiet with a light breeze blowing. Her hair was swept away from her face, tossing in the light wind. The crisp air stung her eyes and nose as she walked along the deserted streets of Stars Hollow.

She began to shiver in the cold and picked up her pace. She looked forward to getting home so she could take a nice, hot bubble bath. Once she reached the front porch, she dug through her purse for her keys. She pulled them out and stuck it in the keyhole, turning it to the right and unlocking the door. She pushed it open and walked inside, the warmth of the house welcoming her. She left the door unlocked in case Luke came back while she was still in the bath.

She set her keys and purse on the inn table to her right and then hung her coat up on the coat rack. She made her way upstairs and walked into her room. She began picking up some of the mess surrounding her bed, throwing some dirty clothes into the laundry basket sitting on a wicker chair in the upper righthand corner of her bedroom. Making her way to the bathroom, she stripped off her clothing and turned on the warm water. She poured in bubble bath mix, the scent of vanilla nougat filling the air, and walked away, grabbing her robe that was hanging on the door and putting it on. She tied it closed and walked back downstairs with the laundry basket.

She walked through the kitchen and out the back door. She let out a stifled shriek once she felt the freezing ground beneath her bare feet. She quickly opened the washing machines lid and threw in the clothes, adding in some detergent and turning it on before she ran back inside seeking warmth.

She closed the door and decided to make some coffee to warm her up while the tub filled. She took out a filter and opened a can of coffee, spooning coffee grains into it. She snapped the lid back onto the coffee can and put the filter in the coffee maker. She filled it with water and turned it on. Steam began to billow out and the sweet smell of brewing coffee reached her nostrils. She inhaled deeply and then opened the cupboard, grabbing a mug down from one of the shelves.

Once the coffee was made, she turned the coffee maker off and poured the dark liquid into her mug. Holding it carefully in her hands so she wouldn't spill any and burn herself, she walked back upstairs and into the bathroom. She set the coffee beside her on the sink counter and turned the water on. She grabbed a rag hanging on the wall and ran it under the water while adding some soap. She scrubbed the makeup off of her face and rinsed the soapy bubbles off by splashing some water on her face. She blindly reached out and twisted the knob, turning off the water. She wiped her face and then took a long sip of the coffee.

She set the cup back down and walked over to the bathtub. She shut off the water and untied her robe, letting it slide off her shoulders and fall to the ground. She slipped into the steamy water and sunk down into it, closing her eyes and she felt all the tension in her body leave. Her muscles began to relax and all the worries she had left her mind. She enjoyed the silence and let her mind drift into a soothing state.

Her peaceful thoughts were interrupted by a loud knocking from downstairs. Assuming it was Luke, she shouted loud enough for him to hear, "Come on in. The door's unlocked."

She heard the click of the door as it opened and closed and then the shuffle of feet as they made their way inside.

"I'm upstairs taking a bath," she said. "You can come up and join me if you want."

The stairs creaked, giving her notice that he was coming up. She wondered why he hadn't said anything yet. It was a little odd that he was so quiet.

He's probably just tired from the day. she thought.

"You ok?" she asked. "You're pretty quiet there, Melinda."

She heard breathing coming from the doorway and she opened her eyes. She immediately sat up and covered herself, her eyes wide.

"Chris! What the hell are you doing here?" she asked, alarmed.

xox

A/N: Ok, um, very short chapter this time. I couldn't say a lot in here because I gotta keep you all interested somehow. Anyway, I don't think I'll be updating anymore today because at this rate, I'll have the entire fic completed before night comes. Shoutouts to Noah for being the only one who's commented on this fic. lol Much love.