As soon as Odette walked through the back doors of the bakery she collapsed on the floor, unable to make her way up to the stairs that led to her apartment.
The moment she'd heard Rory Gilmores name mentioned, she'd completely broken down. She hadn't heard that name mentioned at all in the last two years. Alright, she'd seen Rorys book in a few bookstores around town and occasionally someone had sat in the cafe area of the bakery reading it, but there had been no indication that anyone knew who Rory was.
She'd tried to justify her mania by reasoning that Amelie was still on the other side of the Atlantic and that she'd probably never see her again, let alone come into contact with Rory. But for some reason, just hearing that name spoken aloud had sent her right back to that night. The night she'd found out that Logan had cheated on her. She went right back to feeling the way that she had when she'd lost her baby - angry and desperate to get back at the world. To get back at her.
When Odette had spilt the wine and broken down on the floor crying, Maddie had scooped both her and Daniel up, both literally and emotionally. She'd found them both clean clothes, Daniel some from the twins wardrobe and her some from Maddies. Odette looked down at the floral dress she was wearing now. It clearly was not her style and it made her feel exactly the imposter that she was.
How she'd found a friend as good and loyal as Maddie, she'd never know. Maddie had been in just the right place at the right time, at the time Odette needed a friend most.
Even tonight, when Odette had made her excuses and told her friend that she felt ill and needed to leave, Maddie had offered to keep the clearly traumatised Daniel for the night. It hadn't taken long for Odette to agree to this, she knew she needed to be on her own right now.
At this very moment, even the thought of walking up a flight of stairs was too much. But she desperately tried to scramble up to her apartment. All she wanted to do was curl up in bed for days on end.
Clambering on her hands and knees, Odette tried to climb the stairs, stopping every few seconds to cry out in anger. When she reached the top of the stairs, still on her knees, she crambled around in her handbag to find her keys. That was the last thing she remembered. The next thing she knew it was 5am and she was waking up freezing cold on her settee, with an empty bottle of whiskey in her hand.