Gilmore girls: The Next Generation (On Hold, Sorry)

Father

   1k reads!!!!!! I can't believe it you guys!!!! Thank you all so much, I had no idea so many people would want to read my book! Sorry for not updating sooner, but with the holidays, I got super busy. Anyway, thank you again! And Happy New Year!
   Nail biting. A bad habit, but one that I had developed over the years anyway. And it was that habit that plagued me now as I stared down one of my phones.
   "Well, are you going to call or just stand and stare at it?" Mom asked as she walked by. "It's not the mannequin challenge, you know." I made a face at her and hesitantly picked up the phone. I dialed each number one at a time. Slowly. Very slowly. My finger hovered over the send button as the familiar combination of numbers glowed on the screen. My way to reach Logan. I dropped my finger and heard the tone ringing. Panicking, I scrambled for the end button. Too late.
   "Hello?" Logan. Hearing his voice made my stomach churn. "Ace?" I still didn't answer. "Rory, you there? Everything okay?"
   "Yeah," I choked. My voice broke. I cleared my throat. "Yeah," I repeated in what I hoped was a casual tone.
   "What's wrong?" Okay, maybe not casual enough.
   "I, uh, well... I've got a- well, a thing to tell you..." I stammered. Definitely not good at this whole casual thing. Ugh. How was I going to approach this? Just say it directly? Or go into it slow? But how do I do that?
   "Hey," he said softly, and my breath hitched. And then I felt like I was going to throw up when I realized that he probably talked to his wife in the same voice. Wait, I think I really was going to be sick.
   I ran into the bathroom and heaved up what little food was in my stomach. I had dropped my phone along the way, and could hear Logan's voice crackling through the phone. Wiping my mouth and trying not to gag on the remnants of bile in my mouth, I retrieved the phone. After making my way slowly to the living room and examining the screen for cracks, I held the phone to my face again.
   "Rory! Are you okay?" Logan sounded genuinely worried, and a fresh wave of guilt washed over me.
   "Yeah, fine, fine," I muttered. He sighed in relief. "I just threw up, that's all."
   "You what? Rory, are you okay? Are you sick?" I shook my head, trying to shake some sense into it, but all that seemed to do was shake more sense out.
   "Logan, I'm... I'm pregnant," I blurted. Silence. Five seconds ticked by. "And it's yours." Ten seconds. "Logan, I... I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, I just- well, you had just gotten married, and I- I didn't know how, and- well, I didn't want to. I-I'm sorry, Logan, I just..." I was choking on tears now, hiccuping and trying not to let him hear me. I decided to stop rambling. He was still silent. "Logan?" I whispered. "You still there?"
   "Yeah, Ace, I'm here," he said. His voice was flat and void of emotion. "It's just a bit of a..." He took a breath. "A bit of a shock, you know?" I could just see him running a hand over his face. I knew his mannerisms so well. Too well. Then his next words made me freeze.
   "Odette's pregnant, too," he said quietly. "Rory?"
   I hadn't answered him, I realized. I was sitting on the couch. Was I sitting before? No, I think I was standing. My head pounded, and my vision blurred. I was the other woman. The home wrecker. What had I been thinking? My child was going to have a half-brother or sister the same age as them. All because I decided it was fine to cheat with Logan. He would have to tell Odette. Right? Of course he would, what was I thinking, he couldn't keep that a secret. And because of me, they would probably get a divorce, or at least have a mess of a marriage. I put my head in my hands.
   "Rory. We'll figure something out," I heard, but knowing the distance both literally and figuratively, I had never felt so far from someone in my entire life. I nodded, then remembering he couldn't see me, replied quietly with a "yeah".
   "How far are you?" He asked quietly.
   "Sixteen weeks," I murmured. "What about Odette?" I tried not to choke on her name.
"Ten." Focus on your breathing. That's what I had read in one of those pregnancy books. Of course, I doubt they had anticipated my situation, but still. Breathe in. Breathe out.
"Are you going to know the gender? Before their born?" In and out. Focus.
"No, we decided to be surprised. What... What about you?" Luke was walking by with his toolbox. He was wearing his tool belt, and his blue baseball cap. I barely remembered Luke and Mom talking about fixing the gutters outside. He stopped next to me.
"You okay?" He asked as he furrowed his brow. "You're really pale." I nodded with a thin smile and mouthed that I was fine. He just narrowed his eyes at me as he continued outside.
"I decided to know. When I can. I can tell you, if you want. Or you can be surprised, it's up to you."
"I think I'll be surprised, if it's okay," he replied.
"Yeah, yeah, of course," I said, squirming at the awkwardness between us. Even when we had first met, it was never like this. We had always been comfortable around each other. Just when I was pondering this, I heard a voice on Logan's end of the phone. I had never met Odette before, or even seen a photo or heard her voice, but I assumed that was her.
"Be right there," Logan called back. "Listen, Ace, I gotta go. Keep in touch, okay? Let me know what's going on." He took a deep breath. "I've gotta go tell Odette about all... This."
"Okay," I said weakly. "I will. Bye, Logan."
"Bye." And that was it. I dropped the phone and curled into a ball. At least it was over now. I had done it. It was all going to be okay now. But I knew as I clutched my legs and felt silent tears run down my face that it wasn't. It was far from all right, and that's how it would be for a long time to come.