Hello everyone! I'm sorry I had to keep you waiting, but here it is: chapter 11! There will be six more chapters, which I hope to upload before the end of the month. But I can't make any promises, because although all the chapters have been planned and outlined, I haven't written them yet. Again, thank you so much for your follows, favorites and reviews, it's really lovely to see:)


XI.

'Veronica?'

'Hmm?' she rolled over from her stomach onto her back, so that she was facing the ceiling. Sunlight peeped in from underneath the curtains and she wondered what time it was. Normally, she got up at about nine or nine thirty, and asked her mother to wake her if she slept past ten, but that rarely happened anyway. She was a morning person and actually didn't mind waking up early, which her dad often joked about. 'I'm starting to wonder if you just skipped puberty, honey!' he would say, and then go on about the time when he was young and wouldn't get out of bed before one o'clock in the afternoon.

Her mom knocked on the door and repeated her call. This time, she gave a more coherent answer, and her mom opened the door, carrying a tray with buttered toast and a glass of juice. 'Honey, I'm sorry to wake you but I think it's time to wake up now. I brought you breakfast, if you're hungry.'

'What time is it?'

The look on her mother's face was a bit too guilty for her taste. 'Mom?'

'Half past… twelve.'

'What?'

'I thought it might be good for you to catch up some sleep. You looked so tired last night.'

She groaned and hurled the sheets off of her. First of all, she needed a long, hot shower. Her stomach growled in protest.

'Don't get out of bed yet!' her mother protested. 'Just lie down and enjoy your breakfast, it's not like you have anything important today. It would be nice if you'd just enjoyed your holidays, sweetie.'

She wanted to object, but changed her mind and sank back into her cushions. 'Thanks mum. I am hungry.'

Lianne smiled and set the tray down on her bedside table. 'I guess I'll see you downstairs in a bit.'

After finishing her breakfast she got out of bed. She shot a quick look at her reflection in the mirror, and decided that sleeping in hadn't helped much; she still looked like shit.

Well, isn't this nice?

Truth be told, she'd had little sleep these last couple of days. The test results would come in today, and she was torn between damning her DNA and just accepting Keith Mars as her father, and giving in to her curiosity by just opening that letter. She'd gone through a lot of trouble already, and it would be good to at least clear up this muddy business. On the other hand, she was afraid that it might affect her relationship with both her parents and the Kane siblings, and she didn't know to what extent.

Now she had to make up her mind. Would she drive over to San Diego to get the letter, or would she stay her and try to ignore the nagging doubt on her mind?

She decided against the latter option. She might as well get the test results; she'd paid for them already, and she didn't actually have to do anything with them. She could always throw the letter away or shred it to a thousand pieces, but she would at least have the possibility to know about her true parentage.

If anything, it would buy her a little more time.

San Diego it was. Now she only had to come up with a viable excuse to tell her mum. Thankfully, lying became more and more easy for her these last couple of months.

'I'm spending the day at Lilly's!' she cried as she came into the kitchen after freshening up. She snatched an apple off the fruit tray and gave her mother a small peck on the cheek before running out the backdoor.

'Veronica!' She pretended not to hear her mother shouting after her and with a quick wave she jumped into her car. Normally, she'd call Lilly to secure her alibi, but this time she relied on her mother's reluctance to call at the Kane's. Her dad wouldn't be home until at least six that evening, so she had a good six hours left to drive to San Diego, get her results and drive back home.

The drive to San Diego wasn't a very eventful one, since the roads were very quiet on a summer day during lunchtime. She could probably avoid the work traffic around six as well, if she got to the city fast enough. It wasn't as hot today as it had been the rest of the week and the sky was grey and cloudy. This meant there weren't a lot of beachgoers either and California's coast made quite a dreary and cheerless appearance. Still, a couple of surfers were chasing the waves as usual.

When Veronica arrived at the post office, she felt quite relieved to see a different employee at the counter than last time. That woman probably wouldn't even recognize her, but still… maybe she would look more closely this time, maybe she'd see that this Lilly Kane wasn't who she said she was.

This time, she showed her ID to a girl who looked even younger than she was, and whose hands trembled when she handed over the envelope with a small, nervous smile. 'I believe this is it,' she said, 'Sorry it took so long. It's my first day, you see, I'm still a bit slow.'

Veronica gave her a sympathetic smile as she tucked the envelop in her backpack. I could've said my name was Paris Hilton and this girl probably wouldn't even notice. 'No problem, really.I think you're doing fine.'

The girl looked a bit more relaxed and wished her a good day with a not quite so gloomy voice as before. Veronica resisted the urge to giggle and thanked her before walking back to the parking lot where her car was waiting for her.

She threw her backpack on the passenger's seat and decided not to think about the results along the way. She turned on the radio and tuned in on a top 40 station, hoping for songs she could sing along to – preferably very loud and very melodramatic.

She'd just put the car in reverse when a Whitney Houston song began to play.

'Well, that certainly fits my mood,' she said out loud.

It was also the last thing that crossed her mind before a minivan slammed into the back of her car and her head hit the steering wheel. With Whitney wailing in the background, her world faded to black.