Chapter Six
After parting ways with Cliff at the courthouse, Veronica retrieved her dad's Taurus and headed back to the hospital. As she drove along the coast line, she wished her LeBaron hadn't been wrecked. It was a beautiful day for a drive in a convertible, which is what she needed right now. The sun on her face, the scenery whipping by, hearing nothing but the wind. She needed not to think. Especially not about Logan. She bit her lip to keep from crying, then shook her head and gave a sniffle. Logan had every right to be happy about his father being released.
'Jail bait adulterer child beating father,' she thought bitterly. 'But hey, can't choose your parents, right?' She felt a stab of pity for Logan - stuck with Aaron and Trina. His only family now.
Logan projected a macho tough guy image, but he'd let her see beneath that. In their most intimate moments he'd let her see him. She felt a sudden flash of heat and turned the air conditioning up a notch, clearing her throat and putting both hands on the steering wheel. 'Concentrate on the road,' she told herself sternly.
She finally pulled into the hospital parking lot and headed up to her father's room. She was glad when she saw a deputy she didn't recognize posted outside her father's room. She really couldn't deal with anymore ex-boyfriends right now. When she introduced herself and showed her I.D., the deputy opened the door for her and let her in. She entered the room and caught Alicia Fennel feeding her father tidbits of hamburger. When they saw Veronica, Alicia dropped a morsel of food into her father's lap, which sent them both into a fit of giggles.
"Hi, Mrs. Fennel," Veronica said, giving a little wave.
"Hi, Veronica," Alicia replied, trying but failing to compose herself. She sneaked a glance at Keith and they both started laughing all over again. Veronica was getting third wheel deja vu.
"Um, I can come back later," she offered. Alicia put her hands up.
"No, no, stay. I need to get back to work anyway." She stood and planted a quick kiss on Keith's cheek, then paused to run a finger from his temple to behind his ear. The look that passed between them was enough to make Veronica blush and stare at the floor.
Veronica wasn't sure how to feel. Obviously, her father cared about Alicia Fennel and vice versa, but Veronica couldn't help but have an itty bitty snippet of resentment towards them. Granted, Lianne Mars was no prize catch, but she was still Mom. She raised her head when she felt a hand on her arm.
"Wallace is bringing your work from school," Alicia said. "He'll be over at your apartment this afternoon."
"Thanks." Alicia nodded, then gave a last wave over her shoulder to Keith and left the room. Keith gave a deep sigh and looked longingly at the door.
"I can't wait 'til I am all better," he said lewdly. Veronica gave an exaggerated shutter as she approached the bed.
"Hey, Daddy-O, T.M.I. I know we're a close father-daughter duo and all, but don't feel obligated to share everything with me." Keith laughed.
"Okay, I'll try to censor myself in the future." They shared a smile before Veronica turned serious.
"Sheriff Lamb pulled me out of court this morning," she told him. Her father looked sad and nodded.
"Yeah, Don mentioned that when he came by." They were silent for a moment.
"So what did you decide?" Veronica dared ask, afraid to know the answer.
"I asked him to offer Lianne a deal - I don't press charges and she agrees to a divorce. No settlement, no alimony . . . I'll leave custody and visitation details up to you. She is your mother, if you want to see her, you should." Veronica thought it over, picking at the hospital blanket. She finally shook her head.
"I don't think so." She paused. "Maybe she started out wanting to protect me, but since then - Dad, she stole from us! She - " Keith placed his hand over her own.
"Honey, I won't make excuses for her, but she's had a hard year. Maybe harder than either of us can appreciate or understand." He sighed. "Why don't we just leave it for now?" Veronica shrugged petulantly and pulled her hand away, crossing her arms over her chest. Keith sighed, then grinned suddenly as a thought came to him. "Hey, I still have an apple pie. Mickey D's, your favorite. Wanna split it?" Veronica shrugged again, but Keith could tell she was about to give in. She placed her hands on her hips and looked directly at him, a serious glint in her eye.
"Me filling, you crust?" she asked, her tone leaving no room for argument. Keith appeared to think it over. He finally sighed and held up his hands in surrender.
"You drive a hard bargain. Agreed." Veronica grinned and lifted the pie out of the bag.
While Trina was deep in conversation with Katie, Logan was lounging in one of the chairs lining the hallway of the courthouse. Trina and Katie finally said their good-byes. As Trina walked over to where he was sitting, Katie quirked a perfectly arched eyebrow and gave him a predatory half smile.
'Self-serving smug bitch,' Logan mentally broadcast as he returned her smile with a toothy grin. Trina noticed the exchange and bestowed her own smile on Logan.
"Now isn't that nice? I knew you two could get along if you tried," she enthused as she punched him playfully on the shoulder. "Let's go get Dad." Logan jumped from the chair and raised his arms in a sign of victory.
"Goodie!" Trina frowned at him, but didn't comment. Reporters still loomed outside and just before Trina reached the front door, she quickly checked her make-up, trying out different happy and elated expressions in the compact mirror. It was all Logan could do not to pound his head against the wall again. "Hey, sis, tick-tock, Dad's waiting."
"Oh, right," she said, quickly dropping the compact in her purse and fluffing her hair. Logan gallantly offered his arm and she graciously accepted. They walked into the crowd, where the questions immediately started up again. Trina inched her way to the limo as she responded to a question or made a statement. Some reporters attempted to speak to Logan, but he ignored them for the most part. He was starting to get a little bored though.
"Logan, how do you feel about your father's release?" Logan stopped and clasped his hands behind his back, rocking back and forth on his heels.
"Well, gosh, it's so super swell," he said, like some hokey 50's sitcom star. "I mean, I'm just so excited I could pee myself." A few members of the press laughed, but most were shocked into silence. Trina's eyebrows went up to her hairline and she quickly stepped between Logan and the reporter.
"You'll have to excuse him, it's been a very traumatic day. He's . . . " she paused, searching for the right word. "Overwhelmed," she finally said. With that, she grabbed his arm and pulled him to the limo. Logan grinned.
Veronica fed her dad the last bit of crust, then balled up the paper sack and tossed it at the trash can where it circled the rim before succumbing to gravity.
"She shoots, she scores," Keith remarked. Veronica huffed on her nails and rubbed them on her shirt.
"Cheryl Swoops ain't got nothin' on me." They grinned at each other a moment. "Well, I should be getting home before Wallace drops by." Keith nodded and frowned.
"Hey, I didn't think to ask - what happened at the arraignment?" Veronica curled her fingers around the bed rails.
"Oh, yeah, that. Well, believe it or not, Aaron Echolls entered a plea of not guilty by reason of temporary insanity," she made some quote signs with her fingers. "Irresistible impulse. And to top it all off, he was granted bail. He's confined to his home and the courthouse, but he's free for now." Keith blew out a breath and shook his head.
"I can't believe it. I mean, I expected a not guilty plea, but bail?" Veronica shrugged.
"You should've heard his lawyer's arguments. Enough to bring tears to your eyes, all about how Trina and Logan need him so soon after their mother's death. And he's not a danger to the general populace - "
"Just us?" Keith interjected. Veronica gave him a brief grin.
"Apparently. And the judge agreed."
"Who is this lawyer?"
"Katie Campbell." Keith frowned.
"I know that name. Why do I know that name?"
"The baseball player?" Veronica prompted. "With the dead wife?"
"Oooh. Holy shit."
"Yeah, that's what I said." Veronica shrugged and kissed him on the forehead. "Such is our society today. Does it not sadden you?" she asked dramatically.
"It does," Keith agreed. Veronica gave him a little wave and backed toward the door.
"Love you," she told him.
"Love you more," he insisted. She smiled and left.
Trina chatted incessantly as they drove to the city jail to pick up their father. Logan stared out the window and let most of her prattle float in one ear and out the other. He couldn't stop seeing Veronica's face in the courtroom as he caught her eye. He was almost certain she was sharing his feelings at that moment - their mutual need and desire for each other. He didn't know how she could still want him though.
This morning he had refused her touch, walked out without a backward glance. And yesterday . . . he grimaced as he remembered their confrontation on the beach. He'd told her he wanted her dead. He hadn't meant it - well, maybe a little, but not really. He just wanted to hurt her, for her to feel some of the pain that he did. And he felt a lot of pain.
He always thought the term 'heart ache' was some lame thing dopey people dreamed up. But it was real. His heart actually ached when he thought of Veronica. And the ache turned severe when he considered that he might never touch or kiss or hold her again. That brought on images of their numerous make out sessions and he began to squirm uncomfortably in his seat.
"Hey," he said suddenly, depressing the intercom button as he spoke to the driver. "Can you turn the air up back here? It's hot." Trina frowned at him. Again. Well, she would be doing a lot more than frowning in the near future. "You were saying?" he asked. "About the party?" Trina brightened and started describing decorations and catering menus.
As he thought back to Lilly, he wondered why he'd never felt such pain for her. Even when he knew she was cheating on him, and not for the first time. He was hurt, but it was more of an angry hurt, an indignant hurt. Not a deep chilling weariness.
And that reminded him of Veronica's expression when he announced how happy he was about his father's release. She looked as if she'd been betrayed. She would understand after . . . after he did what he had to do. The limo pulled up to the jail and Logan made a move to get out, but Trina stopped him.
"Were you listening to anything I said? Katie's brining him out, we'll greet him here with all the cameras watching."
"Oh, that Katie, always thinking ahead."
"Yeah, she is, isn't she?" Trina replied in admiration. Rather than risk letting a sarcastic reply slip out, Logan pointed out the window.
"We'd better keep a look out." Trina nodded seriously and moved closer to the window. Logan rubbed his mouth to keep his smile from showing. The reporters suddenly gathered at the jailhouse's door as Aaron Echolls emerged, accompanied by Katie Campbell. As they came closer, Logan narrowed his eyes as he watched them together. Something about the way they moved, his hand on her waist, her lips to his ear as she whispered some bit of instruction, his smile and a glance in her direction. Logan's eyes widened in understanding. 'They're fucking,' he thought in astonishment. He looked over at his sister. "Trina, where did you meet Katie?"
"Oh, she's been at loads of Daddy's parties. Didn't you ever see her? She's kind of hard to miss, you know." Logan chuckled and shook his head.
"Guess Dad was monopolizing her time."
Author's Note: Dude, that came outta nowhere, just popped into my head. Adds a bit to the plot, don't you think? ;) Just in case anyone was confused: T.M.I.stands fortoo much information; Cheryl Swoops is a female basketball player in the WNBA; and . . . um, something else that was iffy, I forget. Well, anyway, I hope it was enjoyable. Until the next chapter . . .