Gilmore Girls: Wish Upon a Snow

Chapter 13

Dusty beams of light streamed through the gaps in Lorelei's blinds. Never an early riser, she rolled over to face the window, squeezing her pillow to her chest. Glancing over her shoulder at Luke's side of the bed, tension seized in her stomach at the emptiness of her marital bed. Lorelei felt bile crawling up her throat as she jerked out of bed to the bathroom.
Blinking under the unflattering light of the vanity, Lorelei wiped a telltale smudge of bedtime laziness from under her eye. It did nothing but smear stubborn mascara across her cheek. Sighing, she brushed her teeth quickly to try to rid her dry mouth of the acrid taste of vomit. Kneeling down, she rummaged through the cabinet under the sink in search of makeup remover. Reaching towards the back, she knocked a domino line of products on to the bathroom floor with a clatter.
She bit back a torrent of insults at the products she failed to organize. Stacking everything back and vowing to organize at a later date, she reached for an object that had skittered towards the toilet.
Grasping it, it rustled. Lorelei dragged it towards where she was sitting and realized it was a pregnancy test. How old was this thing? The edges of the wrapper were slightly torn. It had definitely been pushed around in that cabinet for awhile. She tossed it in the side trashcan and stood up, twisting her hair into a bun on top of her head. Wiping yesterday's grime from under her eyes, Lorelei felt a wave of sadness wash over her. Luke had a history of blowing off steam incommunicado, but it had been a long time since he had done something like this. She couldn't help but think of all the insecurities she had felt when they first started dating. Brushing the stubborn baby hairs from her forehead that refused to grow, Lorelei washed her face. She took a small pleasure in the swirl of the bubbles as they raced down the drain. Dabbing at her face with a towel, she zeroed in on a gray hair right by her ear.
"Shit!" She proclaimed. She plucked the hair with a swift yank, bringing the tiniest tear to the corner of her left eye.
She glanced at her tired face in the mirror and proclaimed herself ready for the day. She snapped off the light and went back into her bedroom to get dressed.
- -
Jess rolled over in bed, his back aching from a bad night of sleep. Sunlight highlighted the tones of the wood. The grain seemed to point him directly out of the door and back to Philadelphia. He sat up, rubbing his eyes. Running his hands through his hair, he checked his phone.

RORY TEXT MESSAGE (2)

Jess felt a small leap in his stomach. He debated opening the texts. The previous day had been rough and he needed a shower and a few minutes to process everything. He connected the phone to the charger. Tugging off his shirt, he made his way to the bathroom for a shower.
Stepping out of the shower, Jess stared at the condensation clinging to the wall. The room seemed to be sweating. He, too, felt the first pinpricks of sweat at the back of his neck.
Wrapping a towel around his waist, he padded back towards the bed in search of his phone.

WHERE DO YOU THINK HE WENT?

He scrolled to the next message.

JESS?

His fingers hovered over the keypad. He bit his lip and debated. Deciding against a response, he dug through his bag for a shirt and briefs. He pulled on his pants from the previous day, the belt still looped loosely through them. He buckled them and sat at the edge of the bed, pulling on his socks and shoes half-heartedly. The quicker he dressed, the quicker he had to go out and face people he just did not have answers for. He felt the cool chink of dread knot in his stomach. Taking a breath, he glanced down at the wood of the floors again. Jess quickly threw what little belongings he had back into his bag. Throwing it over his shoulder, he slipped silently down the stairs, through the crowd in the diner and out to his car. Cesar had planned on opening today anyway. It seemed no one was frantic yet. He tossed his bag into the passenger seat and took off back to Philadelphia without a backwards glance.