Touch of Hellfire (Original Version)

☕️109☕️

A month later

My wound is nearly healed! Yay!

It was closed up and the stitches come out on Monday and the scar is thin but with the stitches, it looks like there's a caterpillar resting on the side of my head.

"Can one of you punch me in the stomach?" Mom asked us as we went to Friday Night Dinner. "Enough to cause internal bleeding."

"No I cannot," Rory told her. "In the face?"

"No!"

"I've always wanted a scar," Mom pouted and I cleared my throat loudly. "Insensitive?" Mom wondered.

"Let me think..yes!" I grumbled.

"But they're gonna ask me about Luke," Mom sighed. "Then we'll talk about my head being healed, there's no cut, no more blood, no more peroxide just a faint line highlighted by string," I said.

A child answered the door when Rory knocked on the door. Mom looked confused as hell when she took our coats for us.

"Lorelai, Rory, Heather, this is Charlotte Courtwright," Grandma did the introductions. "Charlotte, this is Lorelai Gilmore, Rory Gilmore and Heather Gilmore, my granddaughters and daughter."

"It's nice to meet you," she said. Next thing I knew, Charlotte was making the drinks. "Okay, child labour," I muttered to Rory, who giggled. "Heather, how is that contusion of yours?" Grandpa asked me.

My hair was covering it now so I brushed it aside to show them. "I'm getting my stitches out on Monday so it's back to normal," I said.

"Maybe you can go on that road trip after all, since you're out of recovery," Mom pointed out. I shrugged. "Maybe."

***

Grandma was teaching Charlotte table manners, Rory sat beside her while I sat beside Mom. I'll spare you guys, I'm pretty sure you know about table manners.

"Did you ever have a cotillion?" Charlotte asked me and Rory. "We had a coming-out party," Rory told her.

"So, no more dizzy spells?" Grandpa asked me. "No, I can drive again and do what I usually do," I told him. "Getting drunk at clubs," Mom joked.

"And a part time job?" Grandma wondered. "I still work in New York," I told her. "And Jess, how is he?" Grandma asked me. "He's good," I answered her.

"Jess is Heather's boyfriend," Grandma told Charlotte. "And Lorelai?" Grandpa asked her.

Mom decided to rip the band-aid off. "Luke and I split up."

"Oh that's too bad," Grandma muttered and turned back to Charlotte, which shocked us.

"Seriously?!" Mom exclaimed. "Lorelai, we expressed our sympathy, what more do you want?" Grandma asked her. "You never liked him," Mom grumbled.

A fight broke out but I just had my soup. As did Rory.

***

I walked downstairs the next morning to see Mom staring at her Pop Tarts. "Do I like these?" she asked me.

"Huh?"

"The absence of reaction was worse than the freak out," she mumbled. "What if I don't like something I like because my mother doesn't like it?"

"You lost me," I said.

"Pop Tarts," Mom sighed. "You ate them all!" I grumbled. "Gimme."

Me and Rory had an early appointment at Luke's so the two of us were on our way there. "So what will be left after the stitches are pulled out?" she asked me.

"Eighteen tiny bloody dots on my head," I told her. We walked into Luke's and he was stunned to see us. He wasn't wearing the blue hat he always wore.

Rory ordered us coffee and muffins and Lane came over to us. "Did you tell her?" she asked Rory. "Tell me what?" I wondered. "I'm pregnant," she broke the news to me.

"What?!" I had a silent freak out. "Sex is bad," she pouted. "How's sex for you?"

"Good, weird at first," I explained. "How did Zack react?"

"Didn't tell him," Lane admitted. "Dude, he's the husband, you have to tell him!"

"If you were pregnant, how long would you wait to tell Jess?"

"After I clean the pregnancy test," I admitted. They looked at me. "I'm not pregnant," I told them. "When was the last time you two had sex?" Lane asked me. "Dude!" I exclaimed. "If you must know it was before I went to Costa Rica and cracked my skull open."

***

"Wow, they really are dots," Tessa poked my head. "Does it hurt?"

"Stop it!" I scolded her, pushing her arm away. "You're lucky it doesn't hurt."

We ended up reading books about sex and childbirth sitting on the floor of the bookstore with Rory and Lane. "Okay, ew, I'm done," Tessa put the book down.

"Heather? Help?" Rory showed me the book. "If I wanted to talk dirty to Jess, I'd say it to his face, not on the phone," I told her.

"You did that freshman year," Tessa giggled and I kicked her. "What about this?" Rory started reading it aloud. "'Our hands groped frantically for the burning flesh' what about that?"

"That's good if you're writing a sex scene in a book," I told her. "I'm not sure, long distance is hard, look at Heather and Jess!"

"We got back together," I pointed out. "After two years," Lane pointed out and I stuck my tongue out at her. "Screw it," Rory muttered and pressed send. "Oh God," she shuddered. Her phone started to ring and she answered it. "Hello?"

"That was quick," Tessa giggled. "Oh hi Dad, I'm just reading. Yeah she got her stitches out, what are you doing?" Rory talked on the phone. "Yeah we'd love to, seven works, see you tomorrow."

She hung up. "We're going to dinner tomorrow with Dad."

"I dare you to send something from that book to Jess," Tessa giggled. "Fine, what the hell," I muttered and I looked in the book and typed out something and pressed send.

The Core Four, causing shenanigans, just like old times. My phone went off and it was from Jess.

Your timing is flawless, turning me on during a meeting, they asked me if I was okay and I said stomach cramps. You're evil and you will pay

I couldn't stop laughing. "What did he say?" Tessa asked me. "Not telling you," I cackled.

Tessa grabbed my phone from me and hooted with laughter. "It worked."

***

"Who chooses key lime pie over brownies?" I asked Dad. "Thanks for dinner."

Mom came in and we felt the awkward tension. "We're gonna take Paul Anka out," Rory said and we left to walk him. "Did you end up paying?" Rory asked me.

"Yes, yes I did," I laughed. "I want details," Rory insisted. "Haha, no way," I rolled my eyes. "Go back to sexting Logan."

"He didn't reply."

"He did, look in the corner."

She blushed profusely once she saw the text. "Holy..."

I started laughing my ass off.