The Other Gilmore

Birthday Nightmare (TW)

A/N

Hello, readers. Towards the end of this chapter, there will be a trigger warning for SA. For anyone who finds the topic triggering, please skip the last portion of this chapter. 

Thank you for your support of this book, and feel free to reach out if you need to talk. As a survivor, myself, I've always found comfort knowing that I'm not alone.

Love you all. <3

~~~~~

It was exactly 4:03 in the morning, and Lorelai dialed her youngest daughter's number, waking Frankie from her sleep.

"Happy birthday, little girl," Lorelai said with a smile.

Frankie grinned into the phone, happy that the tradition was still going, even though she was in a different state and Rory wasn't on the call with them.

"I can't believe how fast you're growing up."

"Really?" Frankie asked. "Feels slow."

"Mmh-mmh, trust me, it's fast. What do you think of your life so far?"

"I think it's pretty good."

"Any complaints?"

"I'd like to be a little taller."

"Alright, I'll work on that," Lorelai said with a nod.

"So, do I look older?" asked Frankie, even though Lorelai couldn't see her.

"Oh, yeah. You walk into Denny's before 5:00, you got yourself a discount."

"Good deal," she whispered, laying her head on her pillow.

"So you know what I think?"

"What?"

"I think you are a great, cool kid. And the best friend a girl could have."

"Back at ya."

"And it's so hard to believe, that at exactly this time many moons ago, I was lying in exactly this same position..."

"Oh, boy, here we go," muttered Frankie, a grin on her face.

Lorelai giggled. "...only I had a huge, fat stomach and big, fat ankles, and I was swearing like a sailor..."

Frankie closed her eyes, listening to her mother tell the story of the twin's birth, just as they had done every year. It was odd, not having Rory to share the moment with, and they both felt the absence greatly. Both Lorelai and Frankie wanted to have some semblance of normalcy, however, even with the rift. The milestone was too big to not celebrate.

"So," Lorelai said after finishing the story, "I'm going to Rory's birthday party tonight."

"Oh, yeah. I got an invitation for that."

"Am I gonna see you there?"

"No. Grandma's throwing it for Rory, not me. I don't want to go just to be second fiddle, you know?"

Lorelai chuckled and smiled sadly. "I get it, hon. You'll be missed, though."

"Thanks, mom."

"Any exciting plans for tonight, then?"

"Yeah. I'm going out with Kayla, Penny and Jacqueline. Kayla made a map and we're gonna bar hop since we're all 21 now."