CHAPTER 15: The Whole Story

"Logan? What's going on? Why is she upset?"

"She's seen the articles about me. She thinks that I left you guys. She thinks that I didn't want her, Ace..."

There was nothing that Rory could do or say before Logan left.

Instead, she just stood there, completely surprised as he left without another word; taking his devastation over how the day had turned out along with him.

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Once Rory returns inside, she immediately heads for her destination.

She knows that there are things that she needs to do and she knows that there are things that she needs to say.

For as long as she has tried to skate around the issue and be selective what history she tells her daughter, Rory knows that she has to face the music.

It isn't fair to her daughter or to Logan anymore...

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As she reaches Elle's room and stands in the doorway, the sight before her breaks Rory's heart. All it takes is one glimpse of seeing her daughter curled up on her bed, arms wrapped around herself, holding herself, in tears, to utterly crush Rory's heart.

"Oh, Elle..." Rory sighs rushing over to the bed to be by her daughter's side. She embraces her and gently tries to manoeuvre her so that they are hugging each other instead of Elle just hugging herself.

Even after being comforted by her mother, it takes Elle a few minutes for her tears to dry up as Rory holds her daughter, comfortingly stroking her hair.

"Why didn't he want me?" Elle eventually croaks.

It breaks Rory's heart and it brings a deluge of memories back with it. She can remember being heartbroken, being held by her own mother and crying over the same boy not wanting her. However, both she and her daughter were seeking Logan Huntzberger's want in very different ways.

"He does, Elle. He really does."

"Now he does" she sniffles. "Why didn't he want me when I was a baby?"

Rory's brow scrunches up. Now she makes more sense of how Logan mentioned that Elle thought he didn't want her or them... But, she never once mentioned that to her daughter. She never once tried to frame Logan as the bad guy.

"What do you mean, sweetheart?"

"On the internet, I saw the articles about what Logan did when he got in trouble just before I was born. I didn't really understand all the wording and I didn't understand everything that it said he did. But, after I saw that, I remembered about a movie that I watched with glam-ma a while ago. There was that woman who had a baby even though her husband didn't want her to have the baby... He did all those awful things to make it harder for her and to stop her having the baby."

Rory nods. "I think I remember that one. She went through a real phase of obsessing over that one, didn't she? But, honey, it's just a movie. What does that have to do with Logan?"

"I thought about that movie when I saw the news articles about Logan. He broke up with you and he did all those bad things because you had me and he didn't want me... didn't he?"

That's why Elle had gone all Elsa-the-Ice-Queen on Logan today.

Rory sighs, tightening her grasp and embrace on her daughter after hearing what conclusion she has reached. Even though it is the wrong conclusion, the weight of it would be enormous for a nine-year-old to shoulder and carry; believing that she been unwanted.

"Oh Elleigh... No, no that's not what happened sweetheart. The day that you went to New York to see him, that was the day that Logan found out that he has a daughter... That we have a beautiful, incredible daughter... He never knew about you before that day."

For as long as Logan has been brought back into their world and for as long as she's had to explain the past, Rory has been dodging the whole story.

She thought that she's been trying to protect her daughter from concepts that she thought are bigger than her. But, really, Rory realises that she's been protecting herself from her own decisions that she's made and regretted. However, after hearing the conclusion that her child has jumped to because she doesn't have the full story only reinforces the fact that she needs to face the music and the truth.

Only then might Elle be able to push past both of her parent's different mistakes and flaws and only then might all three of them be able to come to terms with the past, make peace with that and focus on the future.

"What do you mean? Why didn't he know about me?"

"Listen, Elle. I have never lied to you about it, sweetheart, but there's more about the past that I need to tell you to give you the full truth."

Rory sighs as Elle just intensifies her gaze on her mother, waiting for her to continue speaking and waiting for the rest of the story.

With one final deep breath, Rory takes the plunge into the deep end, ready to tell Elle the blanks in the story.

"Okay... Well, you know that Logan and I dated during college. We really, really loved each other, but it was only when I graduated when we faced a problem that we couldn't overcome."

"What was it?" Elle asks in little more than a whisper.

Rory sighs and remembers back to that day, remembering the question that Logan had asked her, remembering the answer that she had given him and remembering the weight of always wondering whether or not she had given him the wrong answer that day.

"At my graduation party, your dad asked me to marry him. By that time, I was already pregnant with you, but neither of us had any idea of that. We still loved each other very much, but, I said no to his proposal because I wanted to focus on other things and I didn't think I was ready, but he didn't want to just stay as boyfriend and girlfriend. So, we broke up."

Elle just nods, taking in her mom's explanation as Rory's continues speaking and explaining after the pause.

"By the time that I found out that I was having you, we were well and truly broken up. I didn't tell your dad at first because I took some time to think about everything and plan my life. Then, before I had a chance to tell him about you I saw the news articles that you've seen. Look, when we were together, your dad changed a lot and he became a much better person than he was when we were younger. So, I felt a bit disappointed that the article looked like he changed again... When he made the decision to do all of those silly things, it had nothing to do with you, Elle. If anything, I feel like it might be my fault, because we broke up."

Elle looks at her mother, taking in everything that she's telling her that pieces into her early life and her parents life around the time Rory was pregnant with her.

"So you never told him that I was born?"

Rory just shakes her head shamefully, looking down as she tightens her squeeze on Elle's shoulders.

"No I didn't. After that article, I decided a little bit longer to tell him. I didn't think he was ready to hear that then. There was one day when you were a few months old when I did try to tell him, but there was a misunderstanding and he just never found out that day. So, after that, it was just you and me. I was always happy just being raised by mom so I decided to do the same with you."

Elle just sits there blankly, listening to and processing everything that her mother is telling her. Then, Rory takes her daughter's hands in her own as she tries to enforce the seriousness of what she's about to tell her next.

"Now, there's one very important thing that I need you to know... I never raised you alone because I thought that your father was a bad person and it wasn't because I didn't respect him. I just thought that I was doing the right thing. So, I need you to forget about everything that you read about your dad in that article. That isn't him. That isn't the person he really is."

From where she is being held and as she cuddles her mother -their hands still clutched together- Elle just nods simply, without a word. Rory strokes her daughter's hair affectionately, as she fights the feeling of guilt.

"I'm sorry, Elleigh... I'm sorry that you didn't have your dad around. I always tried to do what I believed was the best thing for you and for us, but I'm only just realising that I think it was a bit selfish of me. I should have tried more and I should have tried more. I'm so sorry, baby."

There's a long pause and a long silence as her child processes everything. She thinks about her past, she thinks about what she thought she knew and she thinks about the truth before giving her mom an even tighter hug.

Rory just leans down and presses a kiss to her daughter's locks that are just as golden as her father's are.

... Finally, now they might all be able to move forward...

However, just when Rory thinks that things have settled and calmed down and just when she thinks that her daughter's wild speculating is in the past, she is taken for six by Elle all over again...

"Mom, you said that you and Logan loved each other when you broke up... So, do you still love my dad?"

Honestly, Rory can't answer Elle's question when she doesn't even know the answer to that question herself.

She hasn't let herself think of Logan like that.

She hasn't let herself look at him in that light.

She hasn't allowed herself to ponder over how time has been kind to him.

So as she looks to her daughter whose bright, blue orbs are gazing up to her own expectantly, Rory just lets out a nervous, little chuckle. She kisses her daughter's blonde hair before stroking it down affectionately.

"I think you need to get to sleep. You've had a big day."

With that, Rory just gets up from the bed and escapes both Elle's room and the question that her daughter has just posed to her as quickly as she can.

Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter. I'm so grateful for everyone who's following the journey! I'm sorry that this chapter wasn't up earlier in the week. I was hoping that it would be, but I've been sick and a bit too miserable to push myself to proofread and update. My apologies, but I'm so glad that it's here now!

Now that the truth is out there life will be able to settle down a little bit more for Logan, Rory and Elle. Plus, it makes way for Logan and Elle's relationship to grow. Not to mention, what about Rory and Logan? Is there any chance for them to have a second chance, like Elle asked? There's just SO much coming up and I just can't wait to share it all with you!

Next chapter: Pretty big one! Elleigh tries to make amends with Logan after the misunderstanding. The mistakes Logan made and the content of the articles that Elle found is revealed. And, Logan makes a life-changing decision.