When You Need Me I Will Be There
Chapter 10
The next morning Rory woke feeling sick to he stomach. She wasn't sure if it was morning sickness or the knowledge that she'd have to face Nathan today and tell him he was going to be a father. She guessed that it was a combination of both. She knew the sooner she faced it, the less painful it would be. Then, she would know if she was on her own to raise this child or if Nathan would live up to his responsibility and help her raise this child. She thought she knew the answer, but she was hoping against hope it wasn't true.
It wasn't that she wanted Nathan back romantically. She just wanted him in his child's life. So, she went on about getting ready for school and her future. After she was ready, she headed downstairs and was greeted by her father.
"Hey sweetheart. How are you this morning?"
"As good as can be expected I guess."
"Do you want anything for breakfast?"
"No, not right now. Anything I eat comes right back up."
"Okay."
"Dad, I'm just gonna head to school because the sooner I find Nathan and tell him, the better."
"Okay honey, call me if you need anything at all."
"I will, love you."
"Love you, too."
Rory, then headed out to her car, but wasn't ready to face the day ahead of her. She arrived at school fifteen minutes later; when she walked in she was greeted by the sight of Nathan and Haley up against his locker making out. It wouldn't have been so bad if his locker wasn't just down from hers and if it didn't remind her of the heartbreak he caused her. She was glad when she saw Brooke walking toward her. Brooke saw the look of agony across Rory's face, so she walked up to her quickly.
"Hey Rory, you okay?"
"I'm fine, I'm just disgusted."
Brooke nodded in agreement. "Let's get away from this, it's the last thing you need right now."
"Brooke, he needs to know before I lose my nerve."
"Rory, listen to me, you don't want to cause a scene right?"
"Yeah, I guess not."
"Haley is around right now; wait and find him when he's alone and tell him then."
"Okay."
Rory looked back at Nathan once more time and then, headed off with Brooke in the other direction.
Nathan saw them walk off. He was planning on talking to Rory when he saw her enter school this morning, but then Haley came up and kissed him. He was dating her now; he had dumped Rory for her. But, he saw the flash of pain come across her face and that made him feel so guilty. Before he could talk to her, she was gone. He was also confused about the conversation Lucas and he had at the Rivercourt last night. He needed to find out what that was about.
Meanwhile, Rory and Brooke had meet up with Lucas and they were talking.
"Hey buddy."
"Hi Luke."
"How did it go when you told you dad?"
"He was understanding... surprisingly enough."
"I'm glad. I told you you'd have nothing to worry about."
"You were right. I was just so scared."
"I know. You don't have to tell me so."
Brooke was standing there watching their interaction and realized that there were sparks between them even if they hadn't noticed yet. Her mind was coming up with a plan to get them together. Just then, the first bell rang to signal the start of the school day. So Rory said goodbye to Lucas and Brooke and headed off to her first class, which she was now dreading because it was U.S. Government with Nathan and Haley.
She entered the classroom as just as the final bell rang. She noticed Haley giving her this evil look while Nathan looked like he wanted to talk. Rory decided to ignore them and headed to her seat. The hour went painfully slow for her; she just wanted to get away from them and back to people that cared about her. As Rory was packing up her things after class, Nathan approached her and tapped her on the shoulder. Rory turned and faced him.
"Rory can we talk?"
"I have nothing to talk to you about."
"I beg to differ. Lucas came to see me last night and let into me about you and I want to know what he was talking about."
Rory noticed the whole classroom had the attention on them. "Fine, but not here somewhere more private."
Rory turned and left the classroom as Nathan followed and the rest of the room was left to speculate about what was going on including Haley. Rory finally stopped at an old tree in the courtyard that she use to eat lunch at and turned to Nathan.
"Finally, some privacy."
"Rory, what's going on, just tell me?"
"I don't think you have the right to know, but everyone else thinks you do."
"Okay, so I know your take on the topic, will you just tell me already."
"What did Lucas say exactly?"
"The gist was that I left you when you needed me most."
"Well, at least he didn't betray me."
"Okay, I deserved that."
"Yes, you did."
Then, Rory took a deep breath and told him. "I'm pregnant Nathan with your child."
Nathan just looked at her in shock, turned, and walked away without saying anything. Rory just looked on after him with tears running down her face. Then, she collapsed against the tree and pulled her legs into herself and cried.