9 - Long Overdue, Like a Lost Library Book
Rory took a deep breath, the song lyrics still ringing in her ears. A moment passed by before she heard the door open behind her.
"What the hell was that?" Rory asked in a flat tone, somehow knowing that the person to her back was Marty.
"Martin Tielle's 'I'll Never Tear You Apart'," he answered.
"That's not what I meant, Marty," she replied, turning to him.
"It's just a song," he stated, though his voice told Rory that even he didn't believe that.
"Funny, it sounded more like you telling me how shitty of a person I was back then," she said.
"Tom-a-to, to-ma-to," he shrugged.
"And here I thought we were back to being friends," she sighed, disappointed.
"Friends?" Marty scoffed, incredulous. "When were we ever friends, Rory? I mean, really friends? At best, the two of us were acquintences."
"How can you say that?" Rory cried in disbelief. "You were one of my closest, dearest friends freshman year!"
"Really? Was I still one of your closest, dearest friends when you suddenly fell off the face of planet to go chasing after Logan and his merry band of losers?"
"Hey, I wasn't the one who disappeared!" She screamed, angry at how he was trying to pin everything on her. "That was you!"
"That's crap and you know it, Rory," he snapped, glaring down at her. "I was still there, I still showed up at your dorm room to study, to hang out with you, but a guy can only be stood up and ignored for so long before finally getting the hint!"
"What hint?"
"That I'd been replaced," he said through clenched teeth. "You took off for that crowd so damn fast, I was left choking on the cloud of dust hanging in your wake."
"There was no cloud of dust," she shook her head in denial. "I invited you over to watch 'Duck Soup', remember? Hell, I had to practically beg you to!"
"Yeah, and that night turned out to be loads of fun me, by the way," he scoffed again, rolling his eyes. "Because being talked down to by a bunch of silver spoon fed half-wits who never had to work for anything in their lives was my idea on a good time!"
"You were the one who said that it was fine if we joined them for dinner," she reminded.
"Only after you told Logan that you couldn't because you had this dead weight attached to you neck," he retorted, pointing at himself. "God, Rory, do you have any idea how small I felt when I heard the disappointment in your voice?"
"Why didn't you say something back then?"
"If I was such a good friend to you, Rory, I shouldn't have had to say anything," he pointed out. "You would've just known! Should've realized that's not how you treat your friends!"
"Oh, this is rich, coming from you," Rory cried, glaring at him. "Need I remind you of how you treated me when Lucy 'introduced' us? I'd think twice about making a speech on friendship, if I were you. Otherwise, you might end up sounding like a hypocrite!"
"I didn't do that because we weren't friends, Rory," he denied, returning the glare in kind. "I did that because, like a complete and utter jackass, I was still hung up on you! Thank God I'm over that!"
"Screw you, Marty!" Rory shouted, unable to think of a proper rejoinder for that. She spun on her heel and stormed away with as much righteous indignation as she could muster, fighting back tears the entire time.
"Well, screw you, too!" He shot back, making her flinch.
When Rory got home, she walked into the bedroom and dejectedly plopped on her bed. She stared up at the ceiling, thinking back on what had just happened, what Marty had said to her. He'd been harsh, but honest with her on his feelings with what had happened back then. Maybe that's why it hurt Rory so much to hear the words. He had never been that angry sounding towards her. The closest Marty had gotten to tonight's display was when she was complaining about Logan, and he called Rory annoying for being so naive. His words hurt back then, but they were nothing compared to what his present outburst had caused. It was taking all of her determination not to cry right now.
"Was I really that terrible back then?" Rory rasped at the ceiling, then pulled out her cellphone. She hit four on her speed dial, deciding that the person who picked up would give Rory the honest answer she needed to hear.
"This had better be good, Gilmore," an always annoyed voice groaned into the receiver.
"Marty bitched me out tonight," she blurted.
"So the puppy finally grew himself some teeth, huh?" Paris chuckled. "Good for him."
"Did I really treat him that badly?" Rory whispered.
"Look, Rory, I know how you hate it when people point out how much you changed after hooking up with Logan, but you really did," Paris answered, sounding close to exhaustion. "And not for the better, might I add. You began to ignore all your friends, your school work went down the crapper, and even the psychotic bond with your mother suffered because you got caught up with that little idiot and his cadre of morons."
"A simple 'yes' would've sufficed, Paris," she sighed, both relieved and annoyed at Paris being, well, Paris.
"Are we done, Rory? Because I start my rounds in about three or four hours and I get little to no sleep as it is," the blonde informed her.
"Yeah, good night, Doctor Geller," Rory said.
"G'night, Gilmore," Paris replied before the line went dead.
Rory hugged the phone against her chest, debating for a moment before finally hitting the second person on her speed dial. Not surprisingly, it went directly to his voicemail.
"It's Rory," she said after the beep. "Just calling to say that I'm sorry, Marty. I know I was a shitty friend to you back then, but I was still your friend. And I hope I still am. Call me when you're ready to talk, okay? Bye."
Now, I just have to wait and see, Rory thought, hoping that her apology would be accepted.
A special thanks to Takalotti, who unintentially co-wrote this chapter. Her off the cuff dialogue was so much better than any of the crap I could come up with on my own, so I decided to used it. Hope you don't mind, Taks! So props to you, the best Nudist author I know! Wait, that sounds kind of dirty if taken out of context, doesn't it? Anyhow, lots of love, Taks!