(There is only one...possibly two? Chapters left.)
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"Go to hell," Veronica hisses, and Aaron yanks harder on the roots of her hair, making a gasp of pain escape from her mouth.
"I'm going to ask you again, nicely," Aaron repeats, "Where are the tapes?"
"You'll never find them," she coughs, "I hid them somewhere you'll never guess. So there you fucking bastard."
(Maybe hitting her head makes her a little more aggressive. )
"So tell me Veronica," he snarls, shoving her forward so that her body collapses against the ground. She struggles to her feet, her head even dizzier than before. "Did you ever really love my son? Or was it all just a cover to find out who really killed Lily Kane?"
"I love Logan more than you ever did," Veronica spits, wiping red from her nose. She wasn't aware of when it started bleeding, but it didn't matter right now.
"Logan is my son."
"And you're a jackass," Veronica shrugs, "What else is there to say?"
"You little bitch," Aaron seems to be on the verge of losing it, and Veronica knows that she should back off, make sure he doesn't lose control on her. She can't help it though, because even through her muddled thoughts she can see Logan's scarred back and that isn't something she can just forget.
"So tell me," Veronica says, backing up. "Why did you sleep with Lily Kane? Why did you hurt Logan even more than you already have?" she's angrier than she's ever been in her entire life, filling her to the brim with a fiery passion.
"I have never done anything but love Logan," Aaron says, and the sick part is – Veronica can hear that he really thinks that. He really believes that he's done nothing to hurt his son. He believes that the scars on his son's body mean nothing – and it makes her want to vomit and hit him all at once.
She settles for the latter, lunging forward with her fist outstretched, her knuckles slamming into his jaw. Her Dad taught her how to throw a punch long ago, and despite her dizziness and foggy mind, it still manages to send him falling to the ground.
"Take that," she whispers, mostly to herself, and then turns, trying to run – to get away.
Aaron's hand shoots out and closes around her ankle, and she topples, falling forward and slamming against the ground.
"I'm going to kill you," he whispers, "I'm going to kill you right here and now."
Veronica considers screaming for help, but there's no one. She's going to die alone in this cold road by this cold forest, and then Logan would go after Aaron. He would die too. Maybe it's the last thought that motivates her, but she twists her ankle free of Aaron's grip and reaches for a rock just in sight.
Her fingers just manage to close around it, and she whips it back and slams it into Aaron Echolls face. He howls in pain as it connects with skin, and Veronica is stumbling to her feet once more, trying to get away.
"HELP ME!" she screams, "PLEASE! ANYONE!"
Aaron is stirring on the ground, her weakened strength doing nothing to really damage him.
"I'm really going to—" Aaron starts, and then was cut off by the sickening sound of someone punching him.
Veronica whirls around, and suddenly he's standing there, in his long sleeves and jeans. "Logan?"
"Veronica," he says, relief clear in his voice. "You're not-"
"Logan," she sobs, stepping forward with her arms outstretched. He gets to her quickly and wraps his arms around her, his eyes not leaving his Father's body as he gently rocks her back and forth.
"I called the police," he whispers, "They'll be here soon. I'm so sorry – I'm so sorry."
"Logan…?" Aaron suddenly mutters from the ground, trying to stand up. Unfortunately for him, multiple blows to the head made it very hard to do anything else, and it doesn't look like he's getting up anytime soon. "Son..?"
"Go to hell," Logan whispers, pressing his face against Veronica's hair all the sudden, and she can feel tears dripping into her hair.
"It's okay now," she whispers, even though she doesn't know that it's really going to be okay, "It's all going to be okay now."
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She falls asleep sometime between the hospital and the forest, and when she wakes up again, it's to the sight of her Father sleeping by her bedside.
"Dad?" she asks in a croaky sort of voice and his eyes fly open at once.
"Veronica," he breaths, leaning forward to envelop her in a hug. She presses her face into his shoulder, trying to not clutch at him like a lifeline. "You did it. You caught the killer."
"I did," she laughs weakly, "That'll be a great thing to put on my resume." He pulls back to look at her sternly.
"You aren't going to investigate any more murders are you?" he asks her seriously, "Because if Logan hadn't gotten there in time—"
"Logan," Veronica sat up, "Where's Logan?"
Keith looks defeated. "I don't know," he says, "No one can find him."
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No one can find him, and yet Veronica can when she finally get's released from the hospital – diagnosed with a concussion and told to 'take it easy' as well long list of other things to look for.
Her Father wasn't planning on letting her out of his sight, but she made that rather easy by pretending to go sleep and then sneaking out the window and calling Wallace to drive her to the beach. He was going to be pissed off when he woke up, but at this moment she couldn't really care less. Logan was missing – and she wasn't about to let him just be gone.
He's at Dog Beach, and in the back of her mind she wonders how long he's been sitting there, just staring at the waves with no one to voice his thoughts on.
"Hey," she says softly, kicking off her shoes and sitting next to him.
"I thought you weren't—" he begins, but she cuts him off.
"What are you doing here Logan?" she asks him.
"Watching the waves."
"You know," Veronica nudges him with her shoulder, "Maybe you could teach me how to surf."
"So are we just going to pretend like this never happened?" he asks her, and through his voice she can hear the start of tears.
"We can talk about this," Veronica shrugs, "I just didn't think you would want to."
"How can we not talk about this? My Dad tried to kill you."
"Let me get one thing straight Logan," she says, turning to him, "I don't care about what happened to me. It was terrible, but it doesn't matter. I'll get over it. You though, I'm worried about."
"Don't worry about me Veronica," he says, turning back to the ocean, "I'm not worth that."
"You're wrong," she whispers, "You're worth more than anything else. You got that Logan? I wouldn't have done this case – free of charge I might add – for just anyone. But I did it for you."
"Why?"
"Because you're just as fucked up as I am," she answers easily, "And we fit together that way. I don't want you to think anything that happened to Lily, you, or me, is your fault."
He looks at her, and his brown eyes are so very far away, but also so open and vulnerable.
"Then why?" he asks, "Why did it happen if it wasn't my fault?"
"That's just how the world works," she shrugs, "We don't always deserve what we get. But this right now Logan – finding this out about your Dad, seeing him in prison – this is your new start. This is your chance to heal."
"You really think so?"
"I know so," she nods, "And I know you might not believe me right now, so I'm going to do everything I can to prove that you're one of the good ones."
She leans in then, thinking that there's really nothing else that needs to be said, and kisses him. He hesitates at first, like he's nervous of hurting her, but he gently kisses her back.
She didn't realize she wasn't over what had happened to her until she met Logan, and realized that in order to get past it, she needed to find someone new. She needed to find someone who could make her smile and feel special again – like she hadn't in ages.
Logan was someone she had to help, because he had already helped her in so many ways.