Chapter 13: Surveying the Damage
For Logan, it all seemed to happen in slow motion. One moment Veronica was hugging Duncan and the next there was a crash; Mac fell to the floor, and Dick screamed her name as broken glass shards hit all of them. Duncan shielded Veronica with his body, but Logan could see blood on her arms. He was the farthest from the window and was basically fine. Dick ignored the piece of glass sticking in his arm and ran to Mac. Logan saw Veronica get up. She was okay; he could finally breathe again.
"Mac!" Veronica shouted as she flanked the other side of Mac. Dick had her head in his lap. "Wallace, call 911!"
Wallace headed to the phone as they heard more glass shatter. Duncan jumped up in fear. "Oh my God! Lily!" He ran to the room to check on her.
They all gathered around Mac, who slowly opened her eyes. "Ow! Ow! My head! What happened? I feel like something hit me!" she said.
Dick was so relieved to see her eyes open. "Something did hit you. Someone threw a brick through the window," Dick revealed. "You decided to stop it with your head. Are you okay?" he asked, his concern obvious.
Mac tried to sit up and winced in pain. "I think so," she said.
"Don't move, Mac," Veronica ordered. "The ambulance is on the way." She looked up to see Duncan come back in the room. "Is Lily okay? What was that crash?"
"Yes, Lily's fine. Her window wasn't broken. I went through the house and didn't see any other windows broken. It must be from outside." Duncan and Wallace headed outside to investigate.
Logan went to the sink and wet some dish towels. He handed one to Dick and then went over to Veronica. "Hey, you're bleeding. Let me help you there." Veronica looked at her arms and saw some cuts. All of a sudden, she could feel the pain. Logan took her hand and helped her up. Then he walked her over to the couch so that he could check her out.
Suddenly, the front door flew open, and Sheriff Mars rushed through the doors with his gun in his hand. He took in the scene in an instant. Immediately, he rushed to his daughter's side. "Veronica, are you alright? What's happened here?" Logan and Veronica began to fill her dad in as the paramedics came into the house. One of them began checking Mac's pulse while the other noticed the piece of glass sticking out of Dick's arm.
"I'm fine!" Dick insisted. "She's the one you need to worry about!" he informed the paramedic.
"Sir, just let me see how deep the piece of glass is in your arm. If it's not in too deep, I'll just pull it out and slap a Band-Aid on you," the medic said.
Dick gave him a minute to check. He doesn't even feel it when the man pulled the shard of glass out. All he noticed was how pale Mac was and the pain that filled her eyes. Mac kept saying she was fine, but Dick didn't believe her. The paramedic told her with a head injury it was always safest to get it check out. Mac was protesting. "Don't argue, Mac. You're going to the hospital!" Dick insisted, his voice raising.
Veronica looked up when she heard Dick and stopped her narration. "Is Mac okay?" she asked in concern. Dick told her that Mac was trying to say she didn't need to go to the hospital, and Dick thought she was being crazy. Mac looked at her roommate with pleading eyes. Veronica was the only one who could understand her abhorrence and distrust of hospitals.
Veronica immediately understood why Mac was so upset but told her, "Mac, Dick is right. You've got to get your head checked. You may have a concussion. It'll be okay. I'll go with you." Veronica started to get up to go toward her when her dad stopped her. He told her that although he knew she wanted to be with her friend, he needed her to stay until he got all the details on what happened tonight.
"I'm going to go with her," Dick insisted. The paramedics lifted Mac onto their gurney and Dick followed them out of the house. Before he went through the door, Dick assured Veronica he would call her as soon as the doctor told him something.
Wallace and Duncan came in. "Gory Sorokin is a dead man!" Duncan yelled, enraged.
"Now, son, calm down! Don't go issuing threats like that. It never leads to anything good," Keith told him.
Wallace said, "Sir, every one of our cars' windows has been busted out. Not every single window, but each car parked outside has at least one window broken."
As the Sherriff followed Wallace outside to investigate, Duncan looked at Logan. "You and I have to talk. Sorokin is dead! He has gone too far! Lily could've been in here!" Just the thought of that made Duncan so angry he couldn't speak.
Logan, too, was extremely angry. He knew exactly how Duncan felt. "I'm with you, dude. This is my house he's violated. My house! We'll get him!" Logan assured Duncan. After Weevil and the PCHers burned his house down in high school, he vowed to never care about a place enough to allow someone to hurt him with it. If you got too attached to things, it hurt more when they were taken from you. However, after spending so long in the hotel, he couldn't help but love his and Dick's beach house, especially with all the fun times they all had had here since moving in.
"Wait just one minute, guys! No one is doing anything without me!" Veronica insisted. "As soon as I finish talking to my dad, you're going to tell me about anything you have planned!"
She got up to go find her dad so that she could finish the report. Seeing Logan and Duncan so angry was making her anxious. She didn't think she'd ever seen Duncan so mad before, and she knew from experience that Logan was unpredictable when he got like this.
Outside she found her dad and Wallace looking at the damage. Her dad's deputies were writing down license plates. "Oh, no!" Wallace said. "I just remembered that Darrel has that police scanner you gave him for Christmas a few years ago, Keith. He loves listening to it as he goes to bed. I had better head over to my mom's and fill her in before she starts freaking out!" Wallace headed to his car. Luckily, the windows broken on his car were on the passenger side.
Veronica and her dad headed back into the house. She wasn't looking forward to finishing the report. Veronica didn't like reminding her dad about the video. She managed to keep it from him until after she left for Virginia. However, once he got back on the force, someone eventually brought it to his attention. That hadn't been a pleasant phone call.
"So, who wants to give their statement first? How about you, Logan, since it's your house. I got what you said earlier about the brick and the window crashes you heard. Anything you want to add?" Logan told him the story again. "Duncan, you mentioned Sorokin earlier. I'm assuming you're referring to Gory Sorokin, the man Logan had an altercation with last May over the video of Veronica he posted?" the Sheriff asked. Duncan said yes and told him about his first meeting with Sorokin at the party a few weeks ago and the events that followed. "So he actually threatened to kill you and Veronica?" he asked Logan.
"Yes. But I doubt a chicken shit piece of crap, who resorts to throwing bricks, has the guts," Logan said, disgustedly.
"Well, unfortunately, it's the chickens that often resort to using long range rifles. If he doesn't feel he can beat either of you in a man to man confrontation, who knows the lengths he may go to? I'm going to have one of the deputies pick him up for questioning. I want you guys to stay out of this and let me and the boys handle it." He looked at his daughter. "I mean it, Veronica. Stay out of this!" He gave her a hug and headed out.
After he walked out the door, Veronica said, "Well, I'm going to have Mac cancel all his credit cards! Then I'm going to find out who is girlfriend is and all his friends. He wants to include all my friends in his vendetta, I'll do the same! I'm going to call Dick and see how Mac's doing."
While she's dialing, Duncan said quietly to Logan, "We'll meet up later when Veronica's not around. She's not going to like where we take this, and it's better that she not know. I've got to get Lily home, so I'll catch you later."
"Yes, I agree. I know after tonight, Dick will want in on this, too," Logan said, thinking about his suspicions regarding what happened a few days ago between Dick and Mac. "He was pretty upset that Mac got hurt tonight. I'll tell Veronica you said good-bye."
When Wallace finally made it to his mom's, he found her by the phone. Sure enough, as soon as she saw him, she rushed to hug him. She told him that Darrel had heard Logan's name mentioned over the police scanner. She was about to call Keith since Wallace hadn't been answering his phone. She had called Piz, and he had said that Wallace was at Logan's. "When he told me that, my heart stopped! I am so glad you're okay! What happened?" Wallace gave her the cliff note version, leaving out the threats Gory had made to kill Logan and Veronica. While he's talking to his mom, his brother came in and heard the story.
Wallace noticed his mom's face finally when she went into the kitchen. The light was brighter in there. "Mom, what in the world happened to you?" She didn't answer. He headed toward her and put his hand on her face so that he could examine it more closely. It was clear that her face had some bruises that were fading. He looked at his brother, who gave him a sullen, angry look. "Darrel, what's been going on here? What happened to her?"
"Like you care!" Darrel exclaimed with anger.
"What? How could you say that? Of course, I care! What happened?" He looked at Darrel who said nothing but looked at their mom. "Tell me now! Mom? One of you better start talking! Just because I've been busy with class does not mean I'm not a part of this family."
"I'm fine, honey. It's nothing for you to worry about. I just had a little accident," Alicia remarked to him.
"Oh, you accidentally ran into Roger's fist?" Darrel said to his mother, his voice dripping with scorn.
"What? That man put his hands on you? Are you kidding? Why didn't you call me?" Wallace demanded in shock, looking at both of them.
"I did call you once, and you never called me back!" Darrel exclaimed.
"I didn't get any message. If you left it with Piz, he probably didn't bother writing it down. He's not been himself since Veronica and him broke up. Start talking. When did this happen?" Wallace demanded.
"It was nothing, Wallace. Roger and I had a disagreement. I got in his face over something, and he lost his temper," Alicia explained.
"Yea, like that was the first time you let him manhandle you!" Darrel accused her with a sneer.
"Okay, that's it! I'm calling the Sherriff. You don't want to give me the details, Mom, you can give it to him!" Wallace exclaimed, picking up the phone. His mother tried to tell him not to make the call, but Wallace ignored her. He knew that not only was Keith the best man who could help her with this, but Keith would be extremely angry with Wallace if something else happened and he never knew what had been going on in the first place. Not to mention, Wallace would never forgive himself if his mother got hurt again. Just because he couldn't be here all the time didn't mean he didn't care or want to protect his family. He had known that the man was no good.
"Keith, I need you to come to my mom's immediately," he said, when Keith answered the phone.
Naturally, Keith didn't hesitate, "I'm on my way."
Alicia was upset that Wallace called Keith. She doesn't want to face Keith looking like this. "I wish you hadn't called him, Wallace. I don't want him involved in my life like this," she said.
"Well, if you hadn't kept so much from Keith to begin with you may still be with him instead of wasting time on losers!" Wallace reminded her angrily. His mom flinched at his remark, and he felt instantly guilty. "I'm sorry, Mom. I'm just upset. I should've been here for you. I never liked the look of that guy to begin with." He went over to hug her. It wasn't not long before there was a knock at the door. Darrel went to open it.
Keith came in and as soon as he saw Alicia, he knew something serious has happened. He took Alicia's hand and gently guided her into the living room. He soon had her spilling out all the details. He talked softly to her. She began to cry, "I'm so embarrassed that you got called about this." Keith put his arms around her, assuring her that there was no need for her embarrassment. Alicia was the only woman since Lianne that he'd ever loved. It burned him to think some man dared to hurt her. "Don't worry, Alicia, I'm going to take care of this. You don't need to be embarrassed or to worry. I need to talk to Wallace for a moment." He got up and indicated that Wallace should talk to him in the next room.
"Wallace, I doubt I can get your mom to pressure charges against this man. Have you ever witnessed anything?" Wallace told Keith no and filled him in on his impressions of the guy and why he moved out to begin with. "Keith, I knew the guy was a loser, but I had no idea he was violent. I would never have moved out if I thought that!" Wallace exclaimed, feeling guilty.
"Don't feel guilty, Wallace. In most cases, the violence would've occurred if you'd still lived here or not. Abusers normally wait to abuse when there's no one around who can stand up to them. He would've done it when you were in class or at practice. I'm going to talk your mom into filing for a restraining order that I will personally deliver to the man. I'll make sure he knows that the relationship is over, and he'd better not come around. She'll never have to see him again," Keith assured Wallace. Wallace was relieved. He told Keith, "You watch out for my mom, and I'll head back to campus and watch out for your daughter. Don't worry, I won't let her do anything too crazy!"
Keith laughed, "You do that! Although to be honest, I'm more worried about what Logan or Duncan may do. Keep your eyes on them. Don't let them cross the line."
Wallace agreed. He then told his mom goodbye, knowing that Keith could use some time alone with her. He secretly hoped that this ugly incident would bring the Sherriff back in his mom's life on a regular basis. As strange as it had been for him and Veronica, at least he knew his mom was always being treated the way she deserved when she had been with Keith.
At the hospital, Dick finished giving Veronica an update on Mac. The doctors didn't think it was necessary to keep her overnight. They ran a CAT scan and everything looked normal. Dick told Veronica that he was hopeful that she'd be released in a few hours. They wanted her to stay for observation for a few hours at least. He assured Veronica that he was okay staying with her and that Mac would need her when he brought her home. Dick would call when they were heading out.
Dick hung up the phone, relieved that he managed to convince Veronica not to come. He needed to be alone with Mac right now. He wanted her to himself; he needed to assure himself that she was okay. Seeing her hurt had so upset him. Not since his brother died had he been so shaken. He headed back into the cubicle area of the ER where she was. "Well, Mackie, I told Ronnie the good news. She's going to be waiting at your room to take care of you when you get back home. I told her we'd call when they release you," he told her as he sat in the chair by her bed. He picked up her hand. "How do you feel?"
"I'm okay. The pain medicine they gave me is some good stuff. I'm exhausted," Mac replied wearily.
"Well, you can't sleep. The doctor said you gotta stay awake while you're here in case you have a slight concussion," Dick told her.
"Thanks, Dick, for coming with me to the hospital and being here," Mac said, looking shyly up at him. She could tell he'd been really worried and upset. Although she wasn't used to this kind of attention, she was a bit flattered by it.
"Of course, I'm here. Where else would I be? When you fell, it scared me to death! I'm so relieved you're okay. I'm not sure what I would do if something happened to you," he said to her, looking at her in all seriousness. He couldn't resist and leaned over and gently kissed her. He meant to give her a quick kiss on the lips, but when his lips touched hers he couldn't help himself. Mac lifted her hand and put it behind his neck, giving him permission to deepen the kiss. The nurse came in, and he finally allowed himself to pull away. He grinned when he saw Mac's face flushed. "That's one way to put some color back in your cheeks!" he teased her.
When the nurse left, Mac admonished, "Dick, you need to stop doing that!"
"Why? I like kissing you! I'm developing quite a taste for it!" he teased, giving her a flirtation look. "You know you can't resist me!"
"Well, I'll admit you do have your moments. Sometimes you are hard to resist. Like now when I'm weak and drugged up!" Mac joked. "But what are we doing, Dick? I thought we were friends? You've never indicated anything else until you kissed me a few days ago. If you recall, we weren't even on a date at the time but in the middle of an argument!" Mac reminded him, confused. Since they were going to be together for a few hours, she figured it was time they talked about it. She didn't like not understanding things.
"Well, I hadn't exactly planned on kissing you, but it seemed like the thing to do at the time. And wow! You really know how to rock a guy's world, Mackie!" he said, grinning.
Mac turned red again. He really knew how to make her blush, but she still laughed. "Dick, I can honestly say you are the first man to say that to me."
"Well, I hope I'm the last!" He grinned at her but continued in a serious tone, "I know we've become friends the past few months. You're probably the first real friendship I've ever had with a woman. Veronica and I skate around, but she's not exactly easy to be around, if you know what I mean? I never knew what it would be like being friends with a girl. At first, I did think because of my brother and that I'd treat you like you were my little sister and watch out for you. Regardless of what he did, I know he cared about you. Even though I told you otherwise back when I was all messed up over it, I know he did. He'd want me to watch out for you," Dick confessed.
Mac was both surprised and touched by his remarks. They never really discuss Cassidy. Not since that day on the beach when Dick had apologized for his treatment of them both. She wasn't sure what to say. But she ventured with, "I take it you aren't thinking of me as a sister anymore? At least I hope not!"
He smiled and said, "You know I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, I'll admit. It took me awhile to realize exactly why I hated seeing you talk to John. The thought of you actually going out with him made me crazy. I just knew I had to convince you otherwise. It still didn't dawn on me that I wanted you for myself. When we were at my place arguing, it was like a light came on. I was looking at you, and I knew."
"What did you know?" Mac asked, needing to hear him say it.
"I knew that I was crazy about you. I knew that you probably didn't feel the same way, but I was going to kiss you anyway. I thought it may be my only chance," Dick finished, looking at her intently. Mac had never seen him so serious.
For a moment, Mac and Dick just look at each other without saying a word. Finally, Mac said, "Dick, I don't know what to say. It's true I haven't really thought of you that way. When I started hanging out at the beach house, I mostly thought of you, Logan, and Wallace as my brothers. This is until that day I saw you in a towel. It was kind of hard after that to keep you in the brother category."
Dick grinned and said, "Yep, I know I'm pretty! It was only a matter of time. You're too smart not see it!"
Mac laughed at his posturing. She told him, "Yes, you're pretty, Dick. I just don't know if us as a couple is a good idea. I'm not sure I can see it. Can you really see yourself with me? Because you know, I'm not like some of the girls you've been with. Nor will I be one of many."
"I don't want any other girls, Mac. Haven't you noticed I haven't even dated anyone since Logan and I moved in to the beach house? I didn't realize the reason at the time, but these days you are the only female I ever want to be around."
"Really?" Mac asked, in surprise.
"How about we just go out on a date and see what happens? We don't need to rush into anything. Let's just spend some time together just the two of us and see how it goes," Dick offered.
"I think that's a good idea. Slow is good. I don't want to hurt you, Dick. I do care about you. You've become important to me. But to be honest, I haven't ever really thought of you as boyfriend material. However, I can handle a date, and we can see where it goes," Mac said, smiling up at him.
He was so happy to hear that, so he leaned over and kissed her again. This time he managed to restrain himself. He didn't want to rock the boat. She said yes. For now, that was enough. He looked at her and grinned.
After Veronica finished talking with Dick, she filled Logan in on what he said. She looked around and realized that they were all alone. She went into the kitchen to sit down at the kitchen table since there was glass all over the living room. Logan followed and sat down next to her.
"Are you okay?" he asked her.
She turned to face him, wondering if she had a right to say what she wanted to ask. "No, not really. I know you're upset with me right now but would mind holding me for a bit? I could really use a hug," she asked, looking up at him with those eyes of hers.
How could he say no? He didn't say anything. He just put his arms around her. Like so many other times, words weren't necessary between them.
Veronica didn't know really how long she sat there in his arms. It had been so long since he held her. So long since she felt safe and at peace. Finally, she pulled away and looked up at him. For once, he wasn't looking at her in anger or disgust. Neither was he looking at her in disinterest. She wished he would kiss her, but there was too much unsaid between them.
Logan looked at her and felt the hole inside of him begin to heal. He raised his hand and touched her cheek. "It'll be okay, Veronica. I'm here for you. Always." She smiled in response and put her head back down on his chest, not ready to end the moment. She knew there was a lot she needed to say to him, but she didn't want to break the peace between them. In this moment, she was content.