Chapter 29
Dick stumbled into his room after they got home, and Veronica could hear him snoring within seconds. Veronica on the other hand, decided to take her time going to bed, suddenly afraid of what her dreams would bear tonight. She changed into one of Logan's shirts and a pair of shorts, then took her time getting her make-up off and brushing her hair. She created a file on her laptop and started putting together all the information she had about the sorority and the rapes. By 2 am she was completely exhausted, barely able to keep her eyes open. She crawled into bed, pulled the covers to her neck and closed her eyes. Veronica was assaulted by her own memories. She dreamed of Cassidy, felt his hands on her, heard his voice, and she couldn't wake up. He wouldn't leave. She pushed and shoved and screamed, and then she heard Logan calling her name. He was behind the door that Cassidy had locked, trying to open it. She tried to yell back to him, but Cassidy's mouth was on hers.
"Stop! Let me go!" she screamed. "Logan! Logan help me!" Her skin was burning, she couldn't get him away from her. He was everywhere.
"And Dick still thinks I'm a virgin." The words were repeated over and over, his face floating in front of her, repeating the words from the roof that night. And then she was on the roof, a gun pointed at her head.
"You wanna call your dad? Say good-bye before I press send, go ahead. I'll give you a minute." Veronica relived the moment of calling her dad, praying to every god there was that he would pick up. And then she saw the plane blow up. The flames, the smoke.
"Ronnie! Ronnie, wake up!" Someone was shaking her, but she was stuck in the dream.
"Veronica!" The voice sounded panicked, the shaking was far more frantic.
She could hear herself screaming, but Cassidy still filled her mind. He was everywhere. His voice floated around her, impossible to escape.
Veronica jolted up, gasping, still half screaming, definitely crying and soaking wet. At least her hair was. Dick stood over her with an empty glass in hand. Veronica jumped out of bed, still sobbing, and pushed Dick out of the way. She ran into the bathroom and dry heaved, wishing that she had something in her stomach to throw up. Finally she sat back, leaning against the bathtub, rocking back and forth.
"Ronnie, are you okay?" Dick asked quietly, creeping into the bathroom. She wanted to stare at him in shock, but couldn't bring herself to lift her head. She was the farthest thing from okay, that was obvious just by looking at her- sitting on the bathroom floor, sobbing, rocking back and forth, shaking.
"What do I do?" he asked, kneeling down a couple feet away from her. "Just tell me what to do. What do you need?" Veronica shook her head, unable to say anything. Trying to remember how to breath, but only remembering Cassidy's voice. The feeling of his hands on her, even though it was a feeling she didn't actually remember. She couldn't breathe. She wanted her Dad. Her Dad was gone, she would never see him again. She needed Logan. Dick was freaking out almost as much as Veronica was, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw him holding her cellphone to his ear.
"Logan," she gasped, still sobbing.
"I know. I'm calling him right now." Dick assured her, patting her arm awkwardly. The phone went to voice mail three times, as Dick wracked his brain for who else to call. Wallace! Wallace was doing the experiment with Logan. He quickly found the number and dialled. Veronica was getting worse, the images in her head getting more vivid. This was the worst panic attack she had ever had. She started screaming again.
"Don't touch me!" she screamed over and over, making Dick jump back a few feet.
"It's okay, Ronnie. It's just me. I'm not touching you. It's okay." The panic in Dick's voice was the farthest thing from helping.
"What's up, V?" Wallace answered the phone sounding groggy.
"Wallace! Thank God! It's Dick Casablancas."
"Why do you have Veronica's phone?" Wallace asked, and then he heard screaming in the background. "What's going on?"
"Look, Veronica's freaking out, and I couldn't get hold of Logan and you gotta put him on the phone cause I don't know what to do."
"Give her the phone." Wallace instructed.
Dick stepped back over to Veronica, holding the phone out.
"Ronnie, it's Wallace. Talk to Wallace."
Veronica shook her head. She couldn't talk to Wallace, she only wanted Logan. She had to talk to Logan.
"She won't take the phone. Man, you've gotta find Logan," Dick told him, putting the phone back to his ear. Wallace sighed and got to his feet, heading for the prisoner's cell.
"Where are you going?" Rafe, the guy who seemed to be in charge of the guards, asked him.
"I have to get Logan on the phone."
"He's a prisoner. He doesn't have phone privileges." Rafe said, pushing in front of him.
"Man, his wife is having a panic attack, and he's the only one who can calm her down. Now if you don't move out of my way I swear to God I will deck your sorry ass right here." Wallace said, shoving him out of the way.
"Hey!" Rafe chased after him, but Wallace was quicker.
"Logan!" he called, stepping into the "cell" and tossing him the phone.
"Hello?" Logan asked.
"Oh thank God!" Dick breathed, putting the phone on speaker. "Veronica, it's Logan. She's having a really hard time, man."
"Veronica?" Logan called, hearing her sobbing on the other end of the line. "Veronica what happened?" She shook her head, still sobbing.
"Dick?"
"I don't know. I woke up and she was screaming so I went to check on her and finally got her to wake up, and then she ran into the bathroom and she's been sitting on the floor, sobbing and screaming for about five minutes now."
"Veronica listen to me," Logan instructed her. "Are you listening?"
"Hm," Veronica gave a small gasp of acknowledgement.
"He's gone. Okay? He's dead. He can't hurt you anymore. He can't hurt anyone anymore. Everything is going to be okay."
As he spoke, Veronica's breathing began to slow from hyperventilating to gasping, and she stopped rocking back and forth.
"You're okay. You're safe. Nobody is going to hurt you. You're at home, and you're safe. Dick is with you, he's not going to let anything happen to you. Okay?"
Her breathing slowed even more, and her sobbing had been dialled down to plain old crying. She reached out a shaking hand and took the phone from Dick, taking it off speaker and putting it to her ear.
"Logan?"
"I'm right here, Bobcat." He promised, looking over to see Wallace fighting with Rafe.
"I can't get it out of my head!"
"I know. Try to think of something else. Do you remember our first kiss?"
Veronica was taken slightly aback by his question, it wasn't what she expecting.
"Of course I do."
"Tell me about it."
"You came to the Camelot, and punch out a federal agent, and then when I had finished talking to him you kissed me."
"Do you remember our second kiss?"
"In the back of the Xterra."
"Do you remember all the time we spent making out in the girls bathroom at school?"
"Yeah," a small smile escaped her lips, and she stopped crying, breathing a lot easier than she had bee before.
"Are you okay now?" Logan asked.
"I will be. I'm so-"
"I made Dick promise to call Wallace or me if anything happened, it won't effect the experiment. I explained some things to the Professor, it's fine." Logan assured her. "Don't say you're sorry. Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm sure. Thanks."
"I love you, Bobcat."
"I love you, too." Veronica promised.
"Call your doctor in the morning and book an appointment. Put Dick on for a minute." Veronica passed the phone to Dick, running her hands through her hair.
"Try to convince her to go back to sleep." Logan told him. "She's going to fight it tooth and nail. Don't let her go to any more sorority parties, I don't care if you have to lock her in a closet. I told her to book an appointment with her doctor, make sure she does. If she doesn't, the number is on the fridge, call and use my name."
"Logan, it's fine. I'll keep an eye out. Okay?"
"Thanks man. I owe you one."
"Not as many as I owe you," Dick told him, hanging up.
Dick put the phone down and looked up at Veronica, trying to decide what to do next.
"Do you need anything?" He finally asked sitting down beside Veronica, still keeping a relatively good distance so he didn't scare her.
"No," Veronica shook her head. "I'm fine. Go back to sleep."
"I'll sleep when I'm dead," Dick told her. "Do you wanna get up off the bathroom floor? Maybe relocate to the couch?"
Veronica nodded slowly, and went to push herself off the ground. Dick quickly got to his feet and offered her his hand, pulling her to her feet.
"Woah!" Dick reached out a hand to grab Veronica as she stumbled, but she jumped back. "Sorry, sorry!" Dick held his hands up. "It's okay. I'll stand over here."
"Dick, I'm sorry. You just startled me. I get... jumpy sometimes."
"I get it," Dick said, letting her walk out in front of him before following and sitting down on the couch across from her.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Dick asked
"Nope." Veronica picked up the TV remote and started flipping channels. Dick took this as his cue to shut up, but since she didn't ask him to leave, he figured he would nap on the couch while she avoided the situation.
"Dick, go to bed." She said, noticing him half asleep, about to fall off the couch.
"I'm fine." Dick mumbled, rolling over.
"Dick, don't make me drag your sorry ass in there myself." Veronica threatened, chucking a pillow at his head. "I don't need to be put on 24 hour watch."
"I'm just following Logan's instructions." Dick argued.
"No, Logan told you to get me to go to sleep. If you're so worried you can follow me around tomorrow. Go to sleep." Veronica glared at him, the same look that had warned him of impending injury for the last 6 years.
"Fine." Dick rolled off the couch, trudging to his room, leaving the door open just in case.
Once he was gone Veronica made herself a cup of coffee and grabbed some pop tarts, plopping herself back on the couch and putting on the movie channel, which was playing Frozen. She spent the rest of the night like that, curled up watching kids movies. When Dick woke up around 10, she had moved from watching movies to cooking. She had started with chocolate chip muffins, and was now making pancakes.
"What are you doing?" Dick asked, sitting down on one of the bar stools by the counter.
"Cooking. Here, eat these." She put a plate of pancakes in front of him, pulling syrup out of the fridge.
"Why?"
"Just eat them." Veronica said, turning back to the stove.
"You aren't trying to poison me, are you?" Dick asked, taking a bite tentatively.
"No, Dick. I'm not trying to poison you. Just eat the damn pancakes."
"You're gonna eat too, right?"
"Why do you think there are more in the pan?"
Dick fell silent, eating his pancakes quietly.
"These are really good!" Dick said.
"Why do you sound so surprised?" Veronica asked.
"I just remember you and Lily trying to cook dinner that one time and-"
"That fire was a fluke. The oil got too hot!" Veronica told him, turning back to the stove but smiled at the memory. Logan had made the same argument many times over, but Veronica always proved her worth as a good cook.
"Who do you think kept my Dad and I fed for the last two years?" Veronica asked him, bringing her plate of pancakes over to the breakfast bar. "We didn't have a maid like you."
"So what are we doing today?" Dick asked like the child he really was inside.
"I have a meeting at the paper in about an hour, and then I have to go to the sorority house-"
"Logan said not to let you go to any more parties." Dick interrupted.
"It's not a party, Dick. I'm going to talk to the House Mother and find a way to get into the locked room."
"Sounds like fun! Do I need to dig up my balaclava?"
"For what?"
"For breaking into the secret room."
"You're not coming."
"Come on, Ronnie!"
"Dick, if you are so desperate to keep an eye on me you can sit in the car and play a game or something while I get in and take pictures. That's the best I'll give you." Veronica said, holding up a hand to stop him from arguing. Dick spent the next twenty minutes sulking while Veronica finished eating and got ready to go meet with Nish.
Dick called through the door once, before returning to his room to sulk. When Veronica got out of the shower she found a message from Marjorie.
"Hey, Veronica. It's Marjorie, I just wanted to make sure you got home okay last night. Look, I know that it's not really my place, but you were really hammered last night and I think maybe you should think about cutting down your drinking. It's really not healthy to keep going the way you are now. That's just, you know, from someone who cares. Anyways, give me a call or text me when you get a minute, just so that I know you got home safe. Oh! And we're voting tonight at 7, I'll give you a call when we're done. Bye!"
Okay, that was weird. Why would she suggest cutting down on alcohol intake if her sorority wanted girls to strip in front of the Pi Sigs? It just didn't make sense. She kept thinking about it the whole drive to the paper, especially since Dick was still upset about not being allowed to join in the "Veronica Marsing".
"Hi, I'm here to see Nish." Veronica greeted the receptionist, who followed the routine of wheeling her chair over and screaming.
"Hey, look! I'm on the wall!" Dick cried, pointing at a white board that seemed to be used for layout. "They just can't get enough of me!"
"Who's your friend?" Nish asked, eyeing Dick in disgust.
"Lost puppy. Stay here," she turned to Dick before following Nish into the cubicles again.
Veronica relayed what had happened the day before, the tea and then the party where Marjorie had called the Safe Ride Home cart.
"Listen, it all sounds suspicious to me, Veronica, but you gotta find out what's behind the door with the camera." Nish said as they walked.
"Marjorie, the cool one-"
"Trust me, Veronica." Nish interrupted. "None of them are cool."
"She left me a voice mail checking in on me, suggesting I curtail my drinking. It just doesn't exactly sound like the advice she'd give if they were trying to get me to strip in front of the Pi Sigs." Veronica repeated her earlier suspicions, but Nish wasn't buying it.
"Four sources, Veronica. Something bad is happening in that basement!"
"Marjorie also said they were voting tonight at 7, that's when I'll make my move."
"Great." Nish smiled, happy that Veronica was still working on the story.
"They sent me home in a Safe Ride Home cart. If they sent Parker home the same way, maybe the driver knows something." Veronica continued, moving the subject back to why she was really here.
"Or maybe the driver took advantage of the situation," Nish hopped onto Veronica's train of thought. "I have a friend who volunteers at Take Back The Night." Nish told her, walking into her cubicle and picking up the phone. "Hey, it's Nish. Question. Do you guys keep records of who you take home?" Nish asked. "Thursday night, did you take home Parker..." She looked at Veronica, fishing for a name.
"Lee."
"Lee." Nish repeated. "She would have been picked up from a Theta Beta party... Do you have a name for the driver?" Nish asked, smiling and grabbing a pen. "Can you spell that? Thanks!" Nish hung up the phone and turned back to Veronica.
"Parker was picked up and taken home by Moe Slater. He's an-"
"RA in Venice Hall." Veronica finished, shocked at this development.
"You know him?" Nish asked.
"Ya, my friend lives there. We've run into each other a few times. Look, I'll come by tonight and let you know what I find in the Theta Beta house. Bye!" Veronica turned and manoeuvred her way through the cubicles.
"Ronnie!" Dick called when he saw her. "Have you met Sarah?" He motioned to the girl sitting at the receptionist's desk, who was staring lustfully up at him.
"He hasn't had his shots re-upped in a while." Veronica warned her, grabbing Dick's arm and pulling him outside.
"I'll call you!" Dick called behind him.
"I'll wait by the phone!" She giggled back.
"You'll be waiting a long time!" Veronica informed her before the glass door swung shut.
"What's the rush?" Dick demanded, jogging to catch up with her.
"I have someone to talk to," Veronica told him making a bee-line for Venice hall. She headed straight for Moe's room, Dick trailing behind, but getting distracted by a cute girl. Veronica shook her head and knocked on Moe's door.
"You wanna know the day you're least safe at Hearst?" Veronica asked when he opened the door. "Today. Why didn't you tell us you were the one who drove Parker home the night she was raped?" Veronica demanded. Moe was completely at a loss for words, but stepped aside to let Veronica in.
"If I understand correctly, you drove Parker home. She must have been totally out of it." Veronica continued, watching Moe pour water into a mug.
"She was," Moe agreed. "She was hammered."
"And you come in Wallace's room the next day dropping off rape safety rules and you don't mention you were the one who put her to bed."
"I didn't know Parker was the girl who got raped." Moe promised. "If I knew, I would have gone to the police or something. Biscotti?" He held out a plate to Veronica, who stared at him. How the hell did this boy's mind work? She had basically just accused him of rape, and he was offering her biscotti?
"No. And what exactly would you have told the police?"
"Whatever they asked. I didn't do anything wrong, Veronica. She was fine when we left."
"We?" Veronica asked, raising an eyebrow.
"There was another girl in the cart. She wasn't drunk or anything. She just took the cart so she didn't have to walk alone. Parker was so out of it, she helped me take her upstairs."
"What was her name?" Veronica demanded, pulling a notebook out of her bag.
"Teri Wells. She's an RA in Clark hall."
Veronica nodded, writing the name down and turning to leave.
"Veronica!" Moe called after her. "I didn't do anything. I would never take advantage of somebody like that." His voice made her believe his innocence, but her head knew to ignore that feeling. Instead of replying, she simply nodded and headed out to find Dick. When he wasn't in the hallway, she decided to just yell.
"DICK CASABLANCAS! IF YOU WANT A RIDE HOME I'M LEAVING NOW!" She screamed, causing a few people to stick their heads outside and glare at her.
"What? It's not good babysitting if you lose the baby." She explained, smiling sweetly at them. Veronica made it all the way to her car before she found Dick, in her back seat.
"Out!" She screamed, throwing the door open and smacking Dick over the head.
"Hey! Ronnie!" Dick argued as the girl underneath him wiggled out of the car in fear.
"My car is not your latest make-out zone!" Veronica screamed, pulling Dick out by the hair.
"You said it was your car!" the girl cried, sounding completely appalled.
"Leave. Do it now, before I turn on you." Veronica warned, glaring at the brunette in front of her.
"I would do what she says." Dick told the girl, giving her a small smile. "She's small but terrifying. I'll call you."
"You don't have my number," the girl told him.
"Ronnie here will find it for me!" Dick promised, throwing an arm around Veronica's neck.
"You need to remove your arm before I do it for you- permanently." Veronica growled, causing Dick to put his hand in the air and take a step back.
"Now get in the damn car. I have to go see the Theta Beta house mother."
"You need to loosen up, Ronnie. Have some fun-"
"Dick, shut up." Veronica ordered, turning up the radio and concentrating on driving. When they pulled up to the sorority house, Veronica ordered Dick to stay in the car.
"I'll be back in 5 minutes. 10, tops."
Dick gave a small nod, pulling out his phone and cracking a window.
"Hi, Veronica isn't it?" Karen answered the door.
"Ya. I was just hoping to talk to Marjorie," Veronica told her, looking upset.
"I'm sorry, you can't talk to any of the girls before the vote, but would you like to talk to me?"
"Um, sure." Veronica nodded, following Karen inside and up to her room.
"Can I get you a drink? I think there's some iced tea in the mini bar," Karen offered.
"That would be great, thanks!" Veronica smiled.
"Here you go, Veronica." Karen smiled, handing her a bottle of Snapple.
"Thanks. I'm just so embarrassed." Veronica told her. "I- I'm really not usually like that." She promised, pulling off the terrified Valley Girl routine perfectly.
"We all have our moments, Veronica." Karen said sympathetically. "Lord knows I have."
"I just know they're not going to invite me now!" Veronica sighed, looking as if she were on the verge of tears.
"They may surprise you. My girls are excellent judges of character," Karen reassured her.
"I really like it here, and Marjorie..." Veronica faded off, sounding like she was going to be missing Marjorie the most.
"You know, you can't talk to the girls before the vote, but I can." Karen smiled, getting up and leaving the room. Veronica took the time to look around. She headed straight for the desk, searching the drawers until she found a set of keys which she pocketed. Then she saw the computer screen. It was a video, showing the room from the party. Why would the camera to the door lead to the den mother's room? Veronica wondered.
"Veronica?" Karen asked, re-entering the room. Veronica quickly took the lid off her Snapple bottle and turned around.
"Just looking for the trash," she held up the lid.
"You can relax now." Karen offered, taking the bottle from her. "I don't think you have anything to worry about."
"Thanks!" Veronica smiled, letting out a sigh of relief. "I have to go, I left my dog in the car." Veronica made her way to the door.
"Thanks for helping me out."
"It was my pleasure, Veronica." Karen led her back down the stairs.
"So how did it go?" Dick asked, as Veronica climbed back into the car.
"I got 'em." Veronica pulled the keys out of her pocket, jingling them in the air.
"Logan called when you were gone," Dick told her. "Apparently Wallace snuck his phone to him, in case you needed to call again. He wants you to meet him at the student union at 6:30."
