As Rory walked the short distance from the door of the diner to the counter, she could tell that a million pairs of eyes were staring at her. But somehow, she could also sense that they were all trying not to make eye contact with her.
By the time she got to the counter, Luke had already stepped out from behind it and rushed over to her. Rory suddenly realised why she was here. Her stepfather was the only person in this town, heck, the whole world that she could bare to be with right now.
Rory walked up to Luke and threw her arms around his waste. She buried her face in his chest and finally felt the tears she had been holding in for so long come falling out. Not one for emotional scenes, Rory could actually sense Lukes face turning bright red. She was almost able to laugh at this, but not quite.
Rory felt Lukes hand grab her by the wrist and guide her out back, away from the prying eyes of the town.
Once Luke had guided her upstairs, invited her to sit on a small couch in the flat he still kept and handed her a warm cup of coffee, Rory finally felt the tears dry up and became able to talk.
'I'm guessing mom called', Rory almost whispered. Luke walked around to the couch and sat beside her. Rory had to move up. There was hardly room for two of them on here.
'Yeah she did', he said. 'She told me everything that happened. I hope you don't mind but I just text her and told her you were here. Apparently her and Logan were going out of their minds. I told her to stay away a while though. I think we need to talk.' His eyes narrowed as he looked at Rory.
'Yeah I'm sorry' Rory said, looking down into her coffee cup, 'I didn't even know I was coming until I found myself here.'
'That's ok, but I think you gave the whole town a bit of a shock down there', Luke chuckled. Rory turned up the corner of her mouth in an almost smile. She loved how Luke always used humour to try and cheer her up.
'I know' Rory said, 'I know they all feel awkward at having me around town. That's why I haven't been here in a while.'
'Listen Rory', Luke said, looking directly at her. 'They all still love you just as much as they always did. I can tell by the way they talk about you. It's just.. and I hope you don't mind me saying that this is quite understandable, they don't know how to behave around you anymore.'
'I know, but I really miss them.' Rory burst into tears again. 'And I miss everything they represent. My carefree days growing up in Stars Hollow, before I knew it Luke.' She turned her body to look at him.
Luke reached for a tissue from his back pocket and handed it to Rory. 'Before you knew what?' he asked.
'How cruel the world is!' Rory said, between sobs.
'It's not all that cruel, Rory'. Luke tilted his head. 'You've just been dealt a bit of a rough hand these past couple of years. Now, you clearly came here for a reason and I don't wanna push you, but are you ready to talk about it yet?'
Rory nodded.
Luke motioned at her to start talking.
'It's just,' Rory sniffled. 'It's all so much to take in. I was just sort of coming to terms with Dylans dissapearence and I was trying to get back to some sort of a normal life. And then all this business with Amelie started. At first I thought we were getting him back. And even then, I couldn't admit it to Logan. But even then I was convinced something would go wrong and it did.' Rory paused to take a sip of her coffee, but Luke didn't say anything. He just looked at her, waiting for her to carry on. 'And then we were back to square one and we didn't know where he was. And I know this sounds kinda bad Luke, but I wish Amelie had never told us that Odette had been arrested because right now I have no clue what to feel. I'm not even sure if this is good news or bad news. At least we know he's in the states now, but really we still have no clue where he actually is or where the police would have taken him.'
Luke was silent. Rory could tell that the cogs were turning in his mind. After a couple of minutes, he finally broke the silence that lay between them. Luke reached into his pocket and brought out his cell phone.
'I have an idea' he said, 'why don't I call around Los Angeles Police Departments and Social Services. I'll see which vicinity LAX is in and try and see where Dylan has been taken to'.
Rory felt for the first time that day that she was finally able to smile. She knew Luke would find a way to try and make it better. And plus, she'd missed the coffee at Lukes.