Chapter 2: make-up, skirts, sunglasses
Slamming the door shut, she leaned herself against it as she took a shaky breath in and slowly let it out, calming herself down. She knew Tristan was only concerned for her but she couldn't take it…She heard the drivers side door click and slowly being pulled open before being shut closed again. She heard him slowly, walk around his car until he came to stand in front of her.
"Rory" she heard him say softly
She shook her head, not looking up at him and crossed her arms in front of her. She knew if she looked at him, she'd have to tell him the truth. And she saw how he reacted when he found out he accidentally left those marks on her, she couldn't even imagine how he'd react if he really knew…
"Rory" he repeated louder this time, trying to get her to look at him
"Not now Tristan" she said quietly hating how her voice shook
He sighed knowing he wasn't going to get her to talk and hesitantly wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her forward against him. Sighing, she gave in and took a deep breath, ignoring how her heart seemed to melt at his actions.
Pulling back a few minutes later she smiled sadly up at him, furrowing her eyebrows when he didn't return the smile
"What is this?" he asked, bringing his hand up and stroking the small bruise that was left on her cheek.
Rory immediately stiffened and noticed some of her make up had rubbed off on his white shirt "What?" she asked shakily
"Rory" He stated firmly "what is this? You never wear make up"
"Well I decided to wear it" she said defiantly
"You lied to me" he responded with a shake of his head, dropping his arm and take a step back
"Tristan…" Rory tried
He shook his head "You told me it was on accident. But that's not true is it?" he stated more than asked
"No" Rory whispered
"Get in the car" he stated, walking around to the driver's side and getting in himself
"Where are we going?" she asked softly, knowing he was upset
"I don't know yet" he muttered
"Loo-"
"No!" he interrupted "I thought we were friends." He said afterwards
"We are" She exclaimed
"Then why did you lie?" he demanded
"Because I knew you would have killed him Tristan" she pleaded "I knew you would have gone crazy"
"So" he said not denying anything "that doesn't mean you lie to me. God Rory! You know I can't stand being lied to"
"I know" She confirmed "But what was I supposed to do Tristan? I mean you wouldn't leave it alone"
"Yeah" he scoffed "And I'm damn glad I didn't"
"Well now you know. and we're not seeing each other anymore so it doesn't matter"
"Like hell it doesn't!" he shouted making Rory flinch "I should have noticed" he said to himself, quieter
"Don't do that" Rory said softly "Don't blame yourself. This had nothing to do with you" she placed a comforting hand on his arm, hoping he wouldn't shrug it off
Looking down at the contact she made he sighed "You should have told me" he said, taking the hand that was on his arm in his
"I haven't told anyone" she admitted
"I know" He said "But you need to tell your mom"
"You already said that" she countered
"That was before I found out he was abusing you!" he exclaimed, not sugar coating anything
"Its not ab-"
"It is" he interrupted "You may want to believe he was stressed or had good intentions or whatever but it all boils down to abuse"
"You seem to know a lot about this" She said quietly
Tristan closed his eyes and sighed "Yeah well…I've been through it" he said making Rory's head snap up in his direction and fix him with a surprised stare
"What?" she whispered
"My step mom…when I was younger."
"But I thought your parents-"
"Yeah they got back together a few years after their divorce" he said quietly "I don't really want to talk about it"
"I'm sorry"
"I'm not looking for sympathy Rory" he sighed "I just…wish someone would trust me enough to tell me the truth once in a while"
"Tristan…" she shook her head as she breathed his name out softly "I trust you. Otherwise I wouldn't have told you the little bit that I did. Its just hard for me…everyone sees me as this strong independent woman, and I know you do too. I hate disappointing people. If they found out I let this happen…" she choked
"This isn't your fault. Maybe for letting it get this far, but you're human" he said honestly "You cant live up to everyone's expectations, just live up to your own and you'll be fine"
"When did Tristan Dugrey get so deep" she chuckled sadly, wiping some stray tears away
"Why did you tell me?" he asked after a few minutes of silence
"Because I knew you wouldn't judge me" she said softly "…I know we've only been friends for a little while…but you're one of the few people I can share anything with" she admitted
Letting out a breathy laugh, he smiled at her "Good to know. And likewise Mary"
"how am I going to tell my mom?" she asked, looking down at herself "She's gonna kill him"
"Not if I get there first" he scoffed "Its your mom Rory, she'll understand. You two are close…closer than anyone I've ever seen…closer than normal"
"That's why it's so hard" she whispered "She's going to be devastated, devastated that I didn't tell her when it was going on."
"That's something you have to live with. It's hard…but it'll only get harder as time goes on. You have to tell her eventually"
"I know"
"Then let's go" he said "You want to get some coffee first?" he asked knowingly
"Shut up" She huffed
"Where?"
"Joe's" She sighed "Best next to Lukes"
"Not so well huh?" he said sympathetically as he watched her struggle with her emotions while climbing into his car.
"I cant…I cant" she sobbed, shaking her head violently. She banged her head once on the dashboard and Tristan instantly stopped her with an arm around her shoulders.
"Shhh Rory calm down" he whispered
"She hates me…she hates me. I'm weak, I'm stupid" she chanted through her sobs, rocking herself back and forth in her seat.
He shook his head, climbing over the console into the passenger seat after lifting her a little. "Shh" he shushed, holding her head to his chest as he situated them so they were more comfortable, with her partially on his lap. "She just needs time Rory"
Heaving on her sobs, she wasn't able to answer him. He was afraid she was going to pass out if she kept this up…pulling her back from his chest, he waited until she opened her eyes, tears slipping out of them onto her already damp cheeks "look at me" he said firmly
She looked up at him, so much vulnerability showing in her eyes that it made him want to torture that bastard until he could find a way to take it all back. "She loves you" he said strongly "It's too much for her right now Ror, she will come around though. Now can you calm down please?"
Rory nodded, hiccupping "Sorry" She whispered
"Come on, I'll take you to get something to eat" He said, letting her back into the passenger seat
"Yeah thanks. Uhm do you have any tissues?" she asked, her voice still a little hoarse
He reached back and pulled out a box from under his seat. "You alright?"
Rory nodded drying her tears "yeah, I'm fine"
"Pick another word" he mumbled while starting the engine.
Rory stared silently out the window, reminiscing the conversation she just had with her mother, her best friend. God…this was such a mess
"Hi mom" she said softly when she walked into the house
"So I'm thinking chicken nuggets for dinner today. What do you think?" Lorelai called from the kitchen "I mean, I know it's not terribly healthy, but since when have we eaten healthy anyway? Luke is poisoning me! Did you know he made me eat an apple today? I mean it was some turnover thing but still…apple" she ranted while taking some things out from the freezer.
"Mom" Rory interrupted
She turned around and gasped "Rory what happened!" She exclaimed running over to her with a bag of peas and gently touching it to her bruised cheek
"You should sit down"
"You didn't get into a bar fight or anything right" She joked uneasily
"Mom…I'm sorry" she whispered
"Rory?" Lorelai asked gently but scared out of her mind
"Dean" She whispered making Lorelai freeze
"This isn't the first time is it?" she asked quietly "All those times you wore long sleeves, you haven't worn a skirt in months…the sunglasses all day, the hats, the sudden use of make-up" she pieced it all together
"I'm so sorry" Rory cried
"Why didn't you tell me?" She demanded
"I was afraid. I didn't want you to see me as weak"
"Rory you always tell me…" she said with a sigh of frustration "I love you."
"I love you too" She choked
"I can't believe I didn't know" she said quietly "I can't believe you kept something so serious from me. I'm going to kill that little son of a bitch"
"Mom…"
"No! Don't Mom me" she exclaimed "You need to tell me these things sweetie! And you are definitely not stopping me from talking to his sorry ass, and afterwards we're filing a report!"
"Mom-"
"Room, now Rory" she said seriously needing to think about this for a bit.
Rory shook her head, tears blurring her vision as she ran out the front door and towards Tristan's car. She needed to get away; she didn't want to deal with the disappointment.
"Rory" she heard "Mary!"
Shaking her head she turned to Tristan who had a concerned look on his face "we're here" he said pointing at Lukes. "Whoa what's wrong? I thought you loved Lukes" he asked quickly at the terrified look on her face
He followed her gaze when she didn't reply and growled deep in his throat "Rory" he said sternly "Stop looking at him…"
"Let's just go Tristan" she pleaded
"I'll be right back" he mumbled unbuckling his seat belt, stopping when he felt a small hand restraining his
"Please?" She shook her head "Not now. Not here"
"I think it's too late for that" he said as calmly as he could. She looked over and noticed Dean was staring at them intently. He had such a livid look on his face it sent shivers up her spine. "Hey, he's not gonna touch you" Tristan whispered "Keep your seatbelt on, I'll go deal with this" he said when they noticed Dean walking towards them
"You'll be okay right?" he asked just as he was about to open the door
Rory nodded "Don't do anything stupid okay? He's not worth it"
"But you are" he said softly quickly stepping out of the car and slamming the door shut before the scumbag could come any closer. Before he reached him however, a flurry of red came running out of nowhere and smacked the tall beanstalk in the face.
"HOW DARE YOU TOUCH MY DAUGHTER!" Lorelai screamed after she had slapped him "I BETTER NOT SEE YOUR SORRY ASS HERE AGAIN!"
Dean looked shocked at the contact and angrily grabbed Lorelai by her arms before Tristan punched him, a loud crack echoing in the distance.
Rory watched in horror as everything unfolded before her. This was all her fault, why the hell did she have to be so stupid?
"Are you okay?" Tristan asked Lorelai, shaking his hand out
Lorelai nodded "yeah thanks" she said
"Great it's the accountant" he heard a chuckle from behind them.
He immediately snapped around to face him and shook his head "I wouldn't be so smug beanstalk, you should know you have a whole lot of shit coming at you from just about every direction"
Dean chuckled humorlessly "I should have known she'd run to you. She always does…but don't be fooled. Its only when she needs someone, only when she's using you" he said cruelly, earning him a punch in the gut from Tristan, causing him to double over
"Shut the fuck up Bean" he seethed "You won't touch her again. I can swear by that"
"She's not worth it, don't waste your time" he gasped out just as he was punched again, this time knocking him into the ground.
"Shut the fuck up" Tristan shouted "Just shut up!"
Lorelai shook her head and quickly ran over to Tristan, tugging on his arm "He's not worth it Tristan. Leave him…just let the police deal with him" she said "Come on…don't do anything you're going to regret later"
Tristan kicked him in the gut once more before walking back towards his car "You need a ride back home?" he asked Lorelai
Lorelei shook her head "I was going in to see Luke" she said quietly
"I'll have Rory home early" he promised
Lorelai shook her head "If she's talking to you…just make sure she's okay. Don't worry about having her home, just…fix her" she whispered
"I'm trying" he responded
A/N: Okay, so there it is. Any critiques/ideas/compliments are appreciated! Or just drop by and rant about something haha. Anyways, please please review! I hope you all like it!