If Eli had thought saving Veronica from the bus crash would bring them together, he was mistaken. If possible the crash had caused an even further rift in their relationship. Half the PCHers were happy to hear she had survived, while the others blamed her (and some even blamed Eli) for Cervando's death. No one on the bus had survived, besides Veronica the only ones to survive the crash were the 09ers who had chosen a limo over the bus. Apparently, Veronica had been invited to ride in the limo by Duncan, but turned him down. Meg Manning took her spot, and apparently Duncan and Meg were the IT couple again.

"They hate me." She said one day, as they were sitting on his front stoop, almost a week after the crash. It had been a rough week, and Veronica had been pulling away, from him and from everyone, so he was surprised when he had come home from work to find her in his kitchen talking to his abuela. He had no idea what they were, some days he felt like she was his again and then others it was clear she wasn't.

"Who?" He asked softly, sitting behind her on the steps, a leg on both side of her as she leaned back against him.

"Everyone." She shrugged, "They think I should have died on that bus."

"Well, it wasn't your time to go yet." He said holding her tighter, not wanting to think of what would have happened if she hadn't gotten off the bus with him.

"What if it was?" She murmured and he stiffened.

"What do you mean by that?" He nearly demanded.

She shrugged again, "Sometimes I think I get lucky too often…first Aaron now this…" He didn't know what to say, it was true she was lucky. "It wasn't an accident."

Eli arched an eyebrow, "Suicide usually isn't—" he started to say.

"The bus driver didn't kill himself." She told him.

"And you know this because?" This was the first time he had heard this theory, everyone knew that the bus driver drove off the cliff taking all the kids out with him. Murder-Suicide plain and simple.

"Because he was planning to run away with his mistress after work that day." She revealed and he wondered where that fact had come from, at his confused look she elaborated, "His daughter hired me to prove he didn't kill himself. Insurance doesn't pay if—"

He nodded, remembering when Ophelia's father had killed himself, voiding the 25,000 dollar life insurance policy. Leaving Ophelia and her mother with no one and nothing. That had been before Julio's father came in to the picture, who cleared them out of everything else they had. To Eli, suicide was the coward's way out. "So what do you think happened?"

"There was an explosion." At his skeptical look she went into detail how she had listened to a voice mail from one of the victims, where you can hear a BOOM before the crash had even happened. "All the 09ers were safe and sound on the limo because they thought the bus smelled, once they were off whoever made the explosion caused the crash…"

"So you think it was what?" He asked, trying to wrap his head around her theories, "An 09er conspiracy to reduce the 02er population?" She shrugged obviously not wanting to voice another theory, "Just because the 09ers got into a limo doesn't mean they weren't supposed to be on the bus too. How would whoever know they would be off and the poor kids on?" It just didn't add up.

"Someone nailed a dead rat to the bottom of a seat." She said blandly, "Anyone with a nose and the means were getting off the bus." A rat? That was a signature threat. When someone is accused of snitching or any punishable offense in the eyes of the MC, in the PCH they wake up to a dead rat nailed to the door. It was a message: that you were next.

"Who told you that?" He asked, "Are you sure?"

"My dad found it," she told him, "I'm positive, why?"

"Cervando." He murmured. "He was in deep with the Fitzpatricks."

"You're in bed with the Fitzpatricks!" She nearly shouted, getting up and turning to stare down on him.

"Now did I say that?" He asked, looking around to make sure no one was listening, "Cervando ripped them off. For 3,000."

"You think they—"

"It's not really their style," He admitted, "They're more likely to take care of business in a dark alley with a baseball bat. You'd have to really piss them off for them to do something with that much collateral damage." But what other reason would there be?

Veronica seemed deep in thought, and then she paled. "Of course…"

"Of course what?" He demanded, when she didn't respond.

"It was for me."

"What?!" He nearly barked, standing, "What are you talking about."

"The Fitzpatricks, they—" She stopped talking, eyes widening as she stared at him, like she just realized who she was talking to or what she was saying.

"They what?" He snapped, "What do you know of the Fitzpatricks?"

"Nothing." She said quickly, "Nothing, I got to go."

She bolted like someone was chasing her, and he finally got a sentence out as she reached her car, "V! Come back here!" She ignored him, climbing into her car and speeding away.

He stood there astonished, not sure what to make of the string of events. He was about to turn inside when his phone vibrated. Hoping it was Veronica with an explanation, he answered "Yeah?"

"I've got some information for you." The voice was unfamiliar and he didn't recognize the number.

"Who is this?" He demanded.

"The bus wasn't an accident." Eli froze, letting whoever continue, "Curly Moran blew up the bus."

"Why?" He found himself asking.

"Because Aaron Echolls told him to kill your girlfriend." The line went dead and Eli couldn't move. Veronica had been right, the crash was for her. Aaron fucking Echolls was trying to kill Veronica again. And he had someone named Curly Moran to track down.