NOTES: Who am I kidding - 6 months between updates - I have no excuse. Hope it's been worth the wait. I would promise to update sooner, but I know you won't believe it until you see it. So remember to "subscribe", so you get first notice when I get my act together again.
Shout out to Irma66 for her good Beta-love on this chapter.
Veronica's head bumped against Logan's shoulder and a loud snort dropped from her mouth. Sitting up straight, she shook her head, momentarily dazed.
"Hey, you should sleep until we get home. It's been a long day for you."
Logan smiled at her in the back seat of the police cruiser. He was right – it had been a long day – but she would be damned if she let her father know it. Mercifully, Deputy Sacks was on duty to pick them up on her first day back and she hoped he just took her falling asleep in the back seat as a somewhat natural thing and not report it to her dad.
Their long day started with Keith dropping them off at school – causing a wave of silence to wash over the quad as they made their way to their lockers. All eyes were firmly fixed on the two teens and while Veronica tried to stand tall under the heavy gaze of the entire student body, her stomach turned and twisted at the attention. Every teacher cast that mournful pitying glance at her when she took her seat and stopped class to check on her every time she coughed – probably worried she would expire right there in their class. At lunch, there were comments and whispers, however much of the chatter faded when Lilly stood up from her seat with the Pep Squad girls and came to sit with them. The queen of the school had cast her protection over them, temporarily at least, and Veronica was happy for a few moments of peace. By the time her afternoon classes rolled around, she could feel herself becoming groggy, and instead of sitting idly during Phys-ed, she raided the vending machine for a caffeinated soda in the hopes it would get her through the rest of the day. When they eventually slipped into the back seat of Deputy Sacks' vehicle, Veronica had to admit that it felt like slipping into her bed, and she easily gave in to the gently rocking of the vehicle.
"No…I'm fine now. Just a cat nap is all I needed." She rubbed her eyes groggily, smiling back at Deputy Sacks' mustachioed reflection in the rear-view mirror.
"You two know that person on your steps?" Sacks muttered as they pulled past the house, coasting into the driveway and coming to a stop.
Glancing outside, Veronica frowned at the figure standing on their front porch. The boy pulled off his black hoodie, revealing a dark mop of hair – his long bangs covering his eyes and he tossed his head back, showing off his rich-sepia skin. Shoving his hands in his hoodie pockets, he dropped his eyes down towards his black high-tops and rubbed the soles against the edge of one step, as if cleaning off mud that wasn't there before glancing again at the car, his thick eyelashes obstructing her view of his eyes.
"No. Never seen him before," Logan said, gathering his book bag in his lap.
Deputy Sacks pursed his lips in consternation. "This better be good…" Turning off the engine, he came around to open Veronica's door and she quickly scrambled out, intrigued at who this new visitor could be.
"Hi!" She waved at the boy, and he tossed back a half-hearted wave back.
"Hey. You Veronica?"
Nodding, she walked through the gate – noticing a black BMX bike with peeling paint leaning up against the inside of the fence – proceeding straight up to the boy.
"Yeah! That's me. But the question is…who are you?"
Pointing to himself, the boy finally grinned. "Me? I'm Eli Navarro – my grandma, Letty Navarro, sent me over here with a package for you and Richey Rich."
"You callin' me Richie Rich?" Logan hopped over the fence near the car, walking across the lawn, leaving Deputy Sacks on the other side.
"If the Gold Card fits…" Licking his lips, Eli smirked at Logan, obviously tickled that his taunt managed to irk the other boy exactly as planned.
Rolling her eyes, Veronica crossed her arms, trying to ignore the cocky snipping between the two boys. "Mrs. Navarro sent us something? What is it?"
With a sweep of his hand, Eli pointed towards the covered basket on the porch by the door. "She said you liked her chicken enchiladas, so she made some for you. She has a bit of time on her hands right now since, you know, where she worked burned down."
"You mean my home?" Logan shot back, coming to stand near Veronica.
Eli shifted from foot to foot, and it seemed to Veronica that, for a moment, he regretted his choice of words.
"That was really nice of her. Thank you so much for delivering it to us. Couldn't have been easy on a bike," Veronica said, trying to defuse the situation.
"Eh…it was okay. I'm pretty skilled on that thing."
"Cool." Veronica bit her lip, her sluggish brain finally putting two and two together. "Wait a minute – are you the grandson who's coming to Neptune High next year? Mrs. Navarro said you would be in our grade."
Rubbing the back of his neck, Eli nodded. "Yeah. I guess I am. This mean we're going to be best friends now?"
"Not mine," Logan snarled.
Pressing her lips together, Veronica sucked in a deep breath through her nose, trying to keep from tearing a strip off Logan. "Don't mind him – he's tired and cranky. Why don't you come in and have a soda before you go? It must be a long ride back to your neighborhood."
Wiping his nose with the back of his hoodie sleeve, Eli nodded, stepping back from them, his eye fixed on Logan, completely ignoring Veronica's invitation.
"You know, bolillo, you and I are a lot alike. Maybe you shouldn't write me off so quick like."
Logan jerked back in shock, his brow lowering as he eyed the stranger. "What do you mean by that?"
Chuckling, Eli scratched his cheek and smiled. "My dad's an ass-hole too. Except he eventually took off and left us alone. I read about what your old man did to you and well, I get it, you know. That's why my Grandmother sent me here, to tell you, I get it…I know. And trust me, once he's gone, you'll be happy."
Silence fell between the youth and Logan's cheek twitched; his head bowed for a moment as he took in Eli's words.
"Well, you said it – now go."
"Logan…"
Deputy Sacks approached the trio, walking between the boys to diffuse the situation, keys in hand. "Look, it's been a long day for everyone. I think you should be moving on, Navarro."
Turning his back to them, Sacks opened the front door, disappearing quickly to disarm the alarm, leaving them all on the porch. With only a final look of disdain, Logan followed him inside, slamming the door behind him.
Biting her lip, Veronica adjusted her backpack awkwardly trying to fill the silence between her and Eli before he shook his head and turned to descend the steps towards his bike. Following him, Veronica gathered herself, trying to find the words.
"Hey…uh…thanks again for the food. It was really kind of you to come out all this way, Eli."
"Weevil," he shot back, straddling his bike. "My friends call me Weevil."
"Weevil? Like the bug?" Veronica cringed.
Chuckling, he backed his bike up, maneuvering it out the gate. "Yeah. Like a pest you just can't get rid of. My dad used to call me that – gorgojo – because I just didn't know when to quit."
"Cool. I'm kinda like that too." Veronica smiled and he paused, laughing at her on the other side of the fence.
"Well then, gorgojo, I'll be seeing you around."
With a quick nod, he pulled away, riding a few yards before jumping off the curb and heading down the street, seemingly without care of any cars that may or may not be coming down the way. As she watched him disappear, Veronica let out an exhausted sigh. She was so overwhelmed with her own physical condition, she had almost forgotten to check in with Logan about his emotional state, and by the looks of the exchange she just witnessed, he was far from okay. Turning, she jogged up the steps and scooped up the basket of food, making her way into the house to put the delicious meal away for dinner.
It was all Veronica could do to muster up enough self-control to save a plate of the enchiladas for her father. Logan merely picked at his food, continuing his sullen mood straight through dinner, and when he excused himself to take a shower, she eagerly cleaned his plate, grateful for any leftovers. Sacks had forced them both to get their homework done before they ate, and as such, they now had the entire evening free. Her dad had called briefly to say he hoped to get home by eight o'clock and mentioned that he hoped they would both be in bed by then, at least trying to wind down from their day. But Veronica hoped to stay up, wanting so much to know how his investigation was going into nailing Aaron to the wall.
Today had been a long day, and she needed to relax. She knew that Logan needed to as well – and so she started to concoct a plan for them to get some much needed relaxation and spend some quality time together, alone. Deputy Sacks had retired to the dining room to work on a stack of reports he brought with him that needed work and Veronica knew it was a small opportunity to try and sneak in some time with Logan. What did he care, anyway? His job was to make sure no one tried to break in and hurt them. Just so long as they were actually, physically, inside where he could protect them, what harm was it to hang out?
After changing into her cozy pink flannel sleep shorts and oversized matching shirt, she knocked quietly on Logan's door, waiting patiently for it to open. When it did, Logan stared back with puffy, sad eyes and expressionless face, in his sweat shorts and Led Zeppelin t-shirt, and she wondered if he had been crying in the shower.
"Hey, so I was wondering if you wanted to watch a movie?"
He shrugged in a non-committal sort of way, avoiding her eyes. "I dunno…"
"Come on. We can watch one of my dad's DVDs. How about 'The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly' again? I know you love that one. We can make popcorn…I can pull out my old My Little Pony comforter and we can cuddle up underneath it, if you get my drift." Veronica wiggled her eyebrows at him playfully, hoping he got the gist of what she was implying.
"What about Deputy Sacks?" His eyes finally met hers, frowning at her plan.
"Pft. He won't care. As far as he knows, we're just two kids, watching movies, just as long as he doesn't see anything…" Her voice dropped as she glanced down the stairs towards the living room. "Come on…just you…and me…and a thick, well-covering blanket…"
"I dunno about this –" Logan shuffled back and forth on the balls of his feet. "Your dad said only hand holding and no 'visiting' each other. I mean, if we get caught, I literally have no other place but the hospital or a prison cell to go to."
"Caught at what? He said we were allowed to watch movies together; all I'm saying is we both deserve a little cuddling while we do it, that's all," she whispered.
His face twisted as he thought, his eyes rolling as he finally acquiesced. "Fine. You win. Let's go watch a movie."
"Great!" Veronica clapped her hands with glee. "I'll meet you downstairs!"
Hurrying back to her room, Veronica kicked her dirty clothes out of her way on the floor as she traveled towards her closet, opening the door and dropping to her knees to fish the cozy old blanket from the back. Grabbing one edge, she pulled it out and gave it a shake, the subtle scent of lavender dryer sheets still noticeable, even though she hadn't used it in years. Veronica brought it up to her nose, allowing herself to remember what it was like when her mom would tuck her in with the still-warm blanket, fresh from the dryer, on chilly rainy nights. But when her stomach tightened with sadness, she abandoned the memory, giving her head a quick shake as she stood, proceeding back down the stairs to meet Logan.
When she arrived, he was already crouched in front of the TV, feeding the DVD into the player. Skipping over to the couch, she dropped herself down in the middle, tossing the blanket over her lap so it stretched long across herself and the cushions. Logan rose and came around the coffee table to meet her and she pulled back a section, allowing him to join her. With a small sigh of resolve, he slipped underneath, grabbing the remote before settling, his arms stretched along the back. She immediately scooted over and cuddled next to him, wrapping her arms around his waist under the blanket, her fingers catching bare skin under his shirt, and he tensed.
"Sacks is just in the other room," Logan hissed, pressing play and dropping the remote on the couch.
The video began and she shuffled a bit, her hand dropping into his lap and he gasped as she accidentally made contact with his crotch.
"Sorry. Didn't mean that," she muttered, feeling the heat rise in her cheeks as she moved her hand down to his thigh under the covers.
As the opening theme began to play, Logan exhaled loudly, dropping his hand down off the couch and coming to land on her hip, now hidden by the covers. He gave it a squeeze and she relaxed, dropping her head against his shoulder. Yes, her dad told her there would only be hand holding, and yes, they weren't supposed to kiss, but just the small physical contact made her feel more alive than she had felt in days.
For a time, they stayed this way, just happy for the small bit of connection, hidden from the crazy world around them, enthralled with the story of the Man with No Name, seeking vengeance as he roamed the desert. It wasn't until about half an hour in that Veronica got restless and allowed her hand to move ever so slightly up Logan's inner thigh, causing him to gasp. Realizing she was getting a reaction from him, she began tracing little circles on his skin, slowly, methodically until she felt his hand begin to slide around her hip, sneaking just under the edge of her shorts and grasping her upper thigh. She closed her eyes, relishing the warmth that spread through her as he mimicked her movements on his thigh. She was so wrapped up in the sensation that she didn't hear Sacks approach until he cleared his throat, causing her to look up at him, a different heat rushing through her.
"Hey! What are you crazy kids up to?"
"Uh…just a movie…" she stammered, trying to hold it together to make it seem like nothing was happening under the covers that shouldn't be happening under the covers.
"Oh! Hey! My favorite!" Sacks proclaimed. "Just a second…"
He disappeared into the kitchen for a second, allowing them to shift their hands back to each other's waists, but neither made the move to leave the warmth of the covers. When Sacks came back, he was carrying a big bag of chips and three cans of soda, a giant grin spread across his face. Walking up to Veronica, he jerked his head.
"Make room for me!"
Frowning up at him, Veronica scoffed. "What do you mean?"
"I mean between you two. Scootch over." Shaking his head, Sacks let out an exasperated sigh. "I let you both have your time together, but enough's enough. You don't think I know what's going on under that blanket? Now scoot over so I can sit between you two – there'll be no after-school-special-teenage-babies conceived on my watch."
Veronica closed her eyes against the sheer mortification that rippled through her. She heard Logan shuffle, pulling the blanket off her with him and when she opened her eyes again, he was at the other end of the couch, My Little Pony pooled on his lap. Taking it as an invitation, Sacks dropped himself between them and Veronica shuffled to her end of the couch, leaning her elbow on the arm, pouting.
"Oh, don't be like that, Veronica – I've known you since you were a child and I'm not about to see you do something dumb because of a boy. I'm saving you from yourself." Sacks placed the drinks and the chips on the coffee table, opening one of the cans for himself and sitting back on the couch. "If your dad caught you, he would flip out - I'm giving you two a fighting chance at survival."
Scowling across the couch at Logan – a high blush on his cheeks as he avoided everyone's gaze, grasping the blanket for dear life – Veronica huffed with annoyance, grabbing the chips off the table and ripping them open. She knew Sacks was right, but it still sucked. They weren't doing anything bad, just a little friendly touching between two people who were dating. From the stories she overheard in the girl's locker room, there were girls doing far worse with far more guys. And yes, her dad had warned her about the boundaries, but Logan needed cheering up – she needed cheering up. What was wrong with them feeling good for just a few minutes, in amongst the pain and tragedy around them.
She shoved a handful of chips in her mouth, chewing loudly as she watched Clint Eastwood ride onto the screen.
"Could you do that a little quieter, Veronica?" Sacks muttered, kicking his feet up on the coffee table and stretching his arms out on the back of the couch, making himself comfortable between the two uncomfortable teens. "This is the best part."
Pressing her lips together, Veronica nodded, silently fuming that her plan was a bust.
"Hello all," Keith called out from the front door. "Don't the three of you make quite the motley crew."
They had just finished convincing Sacks to let them watch one more movie when Keith came home. Stepping into the living room, he forced a small smile at the sight of them gathered together on the couch and he eased himself into his chair near them, letting out a deep sigh.
"Rough day, Daddy?"
Veronica slid to the edge of her seat, reaching over to put her hand on Keith's and he grasped her fingers in an affectionate squeeze.
"Yes. Very. But I have good news." His eyes travelling over to Logan, Keith pursed his lips, forming a tight, serious line. "Lynn is awake. Just happened about an hour ago."
"What?" Logan jumped off the couch, his blanket and a mountain of chip crumbs falling to the floor. "Why didn't anyone call me?"
Raising his palms to try and calm the boy, Keith nodded towards the seat. "Just relax, Logan and sit down. I have a lot to explain."
Lowering himself down, Logan frowned, deep lines forming across his face, making him look older, more mature than he was.
"At my request, Lynn's lawyer filed a restraining order against Aaron this morning. I pulled a few strings down at the courthouse and the judge granted it late this afternoon. It covers both you and Lynn and states that Aaron is not to come within 100 feet of you both and is not to try and contact either of you in any way. That being said, there are still people that Aaron is paying to monitor your mother, so after the order came in, we got the go-ahead to transfer Lynn from Neptune General to St. Theresa's Hospital, to keep her away from anyone Aaron may have influenced on staff. I was personally protecting her when she woke up about an hour ago – so only me and a select few know about it."
Nodding towards Deputy Sacks, Keith let go of Veronica's hand, balancing his elbows on knees as he leaned forward. "Jerry, would you feel comfortable sleeping on my couch tonight and watching Veronica?"
"Of course, sir. Whatever you need me to do, I'm here for you," Sacks replied in earnest.
"Good. Then Logan, I want you to go upstairs and get dressed – wear your hoodie so we can hide your face. I'll take you to spend a few hours with your mother, if you want. The first thing she did was ask about you."
Logan sat frozen, as if completely blindsided by what Keith was saying. It took a second before he nodded, glancing at Veronica before rising slowly. "All right. I'll get ready."
"Son, you don't have to do this," Keith replied, standing as well, but staying near Veronica. "I know you've been through a lot. I just thought that you would want to make sure she was okay."
"I do, I'm just…is she really going to be okay?" Tears flooded Logan's eyes and he looked away briefly, wiping them with the back of his hand. "Because if I go, and something happens to her while I'm there, I don't think I could handle it."
Veronica wanted to leap across Sacks and wrap her arms around her friend, but instead she stood next to her dad, holding her attention on Logan.
"I know sometimes when tragedy strikes, it's hard for us to accept that things are going to get better," Keith began softly. "But Logan, she's going to be all right – the doctors said so. You need to believe, for you and for her, that everything will be fine. I've taken care of Aaron for now, and once I have enough evidence, I'll have him for good."
Resting her hand gently on her father's arm, Veronica looked up at him. "Did she say anything about Aaron when she woke up?"
Meeting her gaze, Keith nodded slowly. "Yes. She was able to communicate with me that she thought Aaron orchestrated this whole thing. When she's stronger, I'll get more answers, but for now, I'm more concerned with playing this slowly and by the books."
Silence fell in the room and Veronica momentarily contemplated what it would take to put Aaron behind bars, for good. Releasing her father's arm, she refocused on Logan.
"Go and see your mom. I know you really want to, and maybe it'll make you feel slightly better about things," Veronica stated. "We can watch Ghostbusters tomorrow night."
"Okay. You win." With a tired sigh, Logan nodded his approval of this plan. "I'll be right back."
Logan headed straight upstairs, avoiding eye contact. When they were sure he was gone, Veronica looked up at her dad again, her eyes narrowing.
"What aren't you telling him?"
Keith crossed his arms and frowned at her. "What do you mean, Veronica?"
"What aren't you telling him? About the case?"
Looking up at the ceiling, Keith gave a small groan, as if trying to decide to corroborate what she was saying as the truth or not.
"It's a circus, Veronica. A full-on, three ring circus with dancing elephants, and trapeze swingers, and hungry lions." He sighed, shaking his head. "Aaron found out about the restraining order and showed up at the courthouse, saying that Logan is actually the one who set the fire. He said that the reason Logan had so many 'accidents' over the years is that he's a very, very troubled boy that often needed restraining because of his violent emotional fits and outbursts."
"That's crazy! How can he say that about his own son? Logan's not like that!" Veronica hissed, her arms flailing as she spoke. "He beat Logan for no reason and then he tried to kill us all! Logan had nothing to do with any of that!"
"Yes, I know. They're saying ridiculous lies about all of us – and they'll continue to – until this is over. We just have to build a thick skin to it all." Placing his hands on her shoulders, Keith lowered his eyes to hers. "But I also need you to watch Logan at school – he's in an emotional state right now and I don't want him to hand them the evidence they need to prove that he is unstable. Do you get what I'm saying, Veronica?"
"Keep him out of trouble," she replied, quietly.
"Yes. Now, I can't hold your hands at school, so you need to help me with this, all right?"
"I'm ready," Logan announced as he came down the stairs, now dressed in black jeans and a hoodie, as instructed.
Pausing, Keith arched his eyebrows in a way that told Veronica not to say anything else, and she closed her mouth, pressing her lips together to keep anymore words from coming out. He kissed her forehead and released her, walking around the chair to meet Logan at the bottom of the stairs.
"We'll see you tomorrow morning at breakfast, Veronica," Keith stated. "And Sacks, if you need anything, or if something suspicious happens, give me a call."
Giving Keith a small salute, Sacks nodded. "I will Sheriff Mars. Don't worry, Veronica will be safe with me."
Veronica's lip involuntarily trembled as she made eye contact with Logan, his sad brown eyes staring back at her. With a small wave of his hand, he turned away from her, focusing instead on Keith as her dad clasped him around the shoulders. Quietly, the two walked through the front door, and Sacks came around her to lock it from the inside, making sure it was secure.
She knew she was safe with Sacks – that wasn't the feeling in the pit of her stomach. Right now, her worry was for Logan and her father. She had seen what happened to people who got on Aaron's bad side and she prayed that her father's position would keep them all safe long enough to see Aaron's lies exposed and justice served.