The brisk morning air fill my lungs as I throw back my shoulders. The balcony of the Neptune Grand Hotel suite isn't exactly home, but it's a close second. I know I enjoy my time here way more than I do anywhere else. Hot boyfriend, silky sheets, clean surroundings, and room service breakfast-what's not to like? I sigh in contentment. Then I chuckle. When is contentment a thing with Veronica Mars?
Quietly, I try to sneak back into the room. Logan isn't exactly a morning lark, and I like how he looks in his sleep, blissful and content. Oh hey, look, it's that word again.
I close the bedroom door carefully and turn around. I freeze. A naked female body is on top of Logan's, churning away with abandon. I force my eyes up to her face, knowing what to expect. It must be a dream; it must be a dream.
"Hey Veronica," the sleaziest voice in the world taunts me from the wicked face of Madison Sinclair. "How do you like your boyfriend now?"
My eyes sting. I lower my face. Wake up, Veronica, wake up. Please make this not real.
"Ronnie!" Logan's voice cut through my thoughts. I look up, trying to see through my tears and hear past the angry throbbing of my heart.
Madison's hand is now clutching a knife. The thrusts she makes on his body, so passionate a moment ago, now burn with fury as she buries the knife into his torso. She stabs him again, and again, and again. The blood drips over the sheets, the bed, and the floor. Somewhere along the way, Logan stopped calling and moving. Madison flings her head back again.
"How do you like your boyfriend now, Veronica?" Her face smirks. Then her face melts. It melts into another face. It turns almost-almost male. I step back. That's no Madison Sinclair. I scream.
"Logan!" Veronica found herself calling out as she jolted out of the nightmare. She felt a cold sensation run and drip down her left leg. She looked at the empty plastic cup, smashed by her fingers, lying haplessly on the tray table. Her eyes stung as she tried to wipe her calf with the single piece of flimsy airline napkin. Thank God she ordered water.
She rested her head against the side of the plane as she tried to shake the nightmare out of her system. Oh, who was she fooling? That nightmare was a permanent fixture by now. Ending it with Gory Sorokin's face was just the latest version. As much as she had tried to stop thinking, stop fearing, and stop imagining, her roommate had memorized Logan's name by the end of her internship. It's hard to forget what you hear every night.
It's not like he's my boyfriend. He never even called.
Veronica swallowed the sudden sourness on her tongue. She would deny immediately if anyone accused her of pining for Logan. But somewhere in her was a selfish, childish corner that wanted herself to star in his conscious and subconscious thoughts all summer just as he had in hers.
Poor Piz. I should never had dragged him into this. Lives ruined and bloodshed isn't exactly everyone's cup of tea. Whoah, wait, Veronica, is that pity I hear? You're getting soft, girl.
Veronica smiled. She had broken up with Piz the day after the brawl at the cafeteria. He took it well enough. His puppy dog sweetness had always been doomed in the world of Veronica Mars. Even Back-up was tougher than Piz. He deserved normalcy, not her. It's good that they both realized that reality at the same time.
Veronica's musings carried her in a daze all the way to the baggage claim. Her eyes followed the moving platform lazily, trying to spot her highly nondescript suitcase. After a dramatic freshman year and an exciting summer at the FBI, this homecoming seemed too uneventful and normal.
Call me paranoid or call me silly, but this isn't exactly what I call epic.
Veronica smirked to herself. Only a narcissist like Logan would use the word epic on his own life. But to be fair, he wasn't exactly referring only to himself.
Veronica sighed.
In spite of the front he created for himself, Logan wasn't a narcissist. He was more loyal to his weak mom, his undeserving sister, and his-well, his stubborn girlfriend-than anyone else could ever be. And perhaps it's exactly the denial of said stubborn girlfriend to accept his caring nature that had driven them apart again and again.
Veronica leaned back against the window, resuming the pose she held on the plane, as Mac drove her away from the airport. Lost in thought, Veronica probably emitted enough I-don't-want-to-talk vibe to keep Mac from uttering a single word.
Fifteen minutes later, they pulled up in front of a beautiful, modern beach house. It's neither big nor small, but half of the walls were made of glass, making the house look posh and luxurious. Veronica turned around.
"Thanks, Mac, if you hadn't told me, I would still be camping out at the lobby of the Neptune Grand."
"You're welcome, ma'am. It's not every day that I get to drive the love of my boss's life over to him. I'll ask for a bigger Christmas bonus this year."
Veronica smiled and thanked her again as she made her way out of the car. "You know where to bring my luggage. Tell my dad I'd take a cab home tonight and that he won't need to freak out."
Mac nodded, her eyes averted.
"Veronica!" she called out as the blond was about to walk away. "There's something you have to know about Logan."