Attachment Issues // Jess Mariano

CHAPTER 9:

"Each time you happen to me all over again." - Edith Wharton 

"Tell me the truth, kid, you like him, don't you?" Ty questions as he sets his keys down on the table on the way into the house, taking off his coat.

"Of course I like him, he's my friend." Delilah retorts, though she knows what he really means.

"You know what I'm asking, Delilah. Do you have feelings for Jess? I see the way you hug him, you walk to school with him every day. I've barely seen you two apart in the last few weeks."

"I don't know, Ty. I think I might really, really like him... but at the same time, things are going so well. I don't want to mess everything up and lose him, you know?"

"All good things come with change, kiddo. Now go to sleep, you've gotta wake up early tomorrow."

---

The next Friday morning, Delilah finds herself working in a completely empty diner, trying and failing to get the stack of plates she's maneuvering to stack correctly. Now, this isn't a problem she has with normal plates, but Lorelai had recently purchased a set of abstract wooden plates for the diner.

Her mother and sister had left only a few moments prior and she's starting to get annoyed at how slow Jess is getting ready. Finally, after several moments of annoyance, Jess stumbles down the stairs with something in hand. A small, wrapped box.

"Hey, come'on, we're gonna be late." She says, grabbing his arm as he walks over. She feels strange, remembering the week before when she had admitted to Ty that she had feelings for the boy, but she refuses to let it affect their relationship. Not even with Ty giving her small smiles when he hears her talking about him or sees them together. Jess looks nervous, for some reason, though she has no idea why as they weave their way through empty tables.

"Yeah, sorry... I got you something." He places the package in her hands, walking beside her out of the diner and out into the street.

"You didn't ha-"

"I know, but I wanted to. Just... open it when you get home, alright?"

"Yeah, yeah I'll do that."

"Good."

---

"But dad time is now linked to Sherrie time and that Sherrie seems awfully punctual." Delilah hears Lorelai say as she walks into the living room, finally ready to go meet her father's girlfriend. She would like to be spending this time with Ty, not seeing the point in talking to Sherrie, but the woman had insisted both twins come.

"That is so annoying." Rory agrees, handing her sister her purse as the younger twin riffles through her book.

"We'll have to learn to live with each other's deficiencies." Lorelai says as the phone begins to ring. I tune out from there, not wanting to hear any more of the pair's ramblings.

"Hey, can we come in?" Chris asks, opening the door. Delilah is up out of her seat immediately, stashing her copy of 'Alice in Wonderland' in her purse alongside Jess's present, which she still hasn't gotten the chance to open yet.

"Yeah, come on in! Hey!" Lorelai says, leading them into the living room where Delilah immediately engulfs her father in a hug.

"Well hello to you too, Lilah." He says, chuckling as he wraps his arms around the girl. She has a lot of his traits, really. They have the same curly hair and pointed, thin nose. She has her mother's pale grey eyes, though.

Sherrie can immediately see why the girl was sent away, though. Chris describes her as the problemed child of the pair, not knowing much about her other than what he'd learned at her debut. The only thing he really does know is that Delilah is hardly his daughter, having only met him once.