Gilmore Girls: Wish Upon a Snow

Chapter 10

As Jess walked back towards Luke's, he felt unsettled. He was so filled with joy at the thought that what he wanted was finally coming to fruition- but he couldn't help but feel sad about the way that it was happening. He could not shake the feeling that Rory was only going to be with him because she had no other option. Jess hated playing second fiddle to Logan. As much as he loved Rory, he knew her too well. She could not play the games that she had played with other men in her life, as Jess knew exactly what she was thinking and when. He hated who she had been with Logan. She was more than a little selfish, entitled, and had lost the spark within her to be better and to do better. He never thought that she would feel content with being the other woman. Luke had told him about a guy named Paul that she had dated for a couple of years. Luke said he had come and stayed at Lorelei's house not too long ago. Rory had apparently strung him along the entire time and cheated on him multiple times. What had happened to Rory to whittle her down so far? 
Jess wondered what he could do to fix Rory. He firmly believed that Chilton had ruined her life. It wasn't until she had become so embroiled in the world of the elite- her grandparents' world, that she began to neglect the feelings of others. She seemed to embody the very thing that she and her mother claimed to abhor- a spoiled brat. Here was an Ivy League-educated woman with no steady job who found herself too good for gossipy websites and an excellent teaching job at her Alma mater.  What happened to any job is better than no job? He felt fear creeping into his bones. What if she wouldn't ever find her path? Would  she ever love him or did she just love the idea of him? He slipped his hands into his pockets, wishing away his thoughts.
Jess looked around at the town. It was such a time capsule. Hardly anything had changed in the time that he had known and reluctantly loved it. He half expected a teenaged Jess and Rory to stumble out from the wall by Doose's, cheeks pink from a kiss.
As he pulled open the door to the diner, he smiled at Stars Hollow High. He could only hope that his child had a better reputation there than he did.
The diner was closed, and most of the lights were off. Jess glanced behind him at the door he had just entered, suddenly surprised to have found it unlocked. He heard a strange thumping sound coming from somewhere in the back of the diner. He quickly checked the kitchen. It was unusually clean, the lights were off, and it was ready for opening the next day.
Jess ran upstairs to check the apartment.
It too was very clean. He quickly walked around, looking intently. He didn't quite know what he was looking for, exactly. He still felt a little off.
He took off back down the stairs and scanned the restrooms. Empty.
Finally, Jess ran into the storage room, concern rising in a flush from his chest to his cheeks.
The door to the storage room was ajar. He paused before entering the room. Jess tried to reason with himself. Why was he so worried?
Bristling slightly, Jess stepped over the threshold.
The room was illuminated by a few gloomy bulbs. There were no covers over the bulbs, so the light cast distorted and harsh halos in pools on the cold floor.
There was a partially opened box in the middle of the floor. On top of the box sat a dark blue baseball cap and a pen.
Its presence sent an ominous pang of dread through Jess' stomach.
Why hadn't he realized he was looking for Luke?
Jess walked quickly to the phone. Dialing clumsily, Jess waited for an answer.
"Hello, handsome. I love you more than pizza," her voice twinkled out, a happy lilt evident.
Jess cleared his throat. "Lorelei?" He asked.
"Who is this?" Lorelei asked, a sharpness in her tone that wasn't there before.
"Is Luke at the house with you?" Jess asked, clearing his throat again.
"No, he isn't. Why?" Lorelei asked, her voice filling the phone.
"This is Jess," he said, "no reason. I was looking for him is all, but I haven't looked very hard, to be honest. I have to go."
Jess hung up the phone.