Okay, this is a really, really short chapter. My intention was to make it longer, but I really, really want to move on to the next chapter, which I'm very enthusiastic about, still I didn't want to skip this chapter altogether, since I do think it's a rather important one even though it's short.
I promise you that the next chapter will be longer, the longest one so far by the looks of it... and in my humble opinion, the best one so far!
Rory's still sitting out on the porch steps. She has stopped crying but the feeling of guilt for hurting Logan hasn't gone away. This would have been their wedding night; their first night together as a married couple.
She's thankful when she hears the sound of someone opening the door and stepping out on the porch, she doesn't want to think about what this night was initially supposed to be.
She glances over her shoulder to see who had come out to…to what? Cheer her up? Keep her company? She's a bit surprised to see that the person that has come out and is now sitting down next to her is her father. She'd expected her mother to be the first one out.
Chris doesn't say anything to begin with. Instead he takes a long look at her before he stares out into the night and starts talking.
"He'll feel better. It'll take time, but he'll feel better eventually."
She sighs.
"I hope so, I hate seeing him like that. I hate seeing him like that, knowing I caused it."
Her father looks at her again and nods reassuring.
"I know he will. I've been in his shoes."
"Wha..." She doesn't even have time to finish that one word before it hits her. "Mum and Luke."'
He nods again, his voice is sad when he continues.
"Yeah. And believe me when I say that the hard part was not knowing your mother still loved Luke."
"How do you mean?"
"The hardest part was before I realized she did. I felt something wasn't right, somewhere deep inside I knew I was her second choice, and I thought I could live with it. But I couldn't. No one can be happy knowing they're second choice. No one wants to be a consolation prize. You did the right thing with Logan."
She wants to believe him, she wants to believe she did the right thing, but Logan had looked so sad, so dejected.
"But if I hadn't told him Logan would never have known about Jess."
Chris shakes his head.
"Trust me on this kid, you spared him years of wondering where your mind's at late at night when your eyes drift off, years of being afraid to ask where your mind's at out of fear that the answer might break his heart."
His voice is sad but he manages to give her a smile. She smiles back. He has never talked to her like this before, never opened his heart like this. It feels good that they're able to have this kind of heartfelt conversation. Crazy as it might sound, maybe it wasn't until now, when all hope of a future between him and her mother was gone that they could have these kind of conversations.
"Thanks for sharing this with me. I know it must be hard for you, being reminded like this."
"Don't worry about it. I just want you to know you don't have to feel bad, cause in the long run, you did the right thing here." He puts his arm around her shoulders and she leans in towards him and for a long time they just sit there, staring out into the night before them.