Title: Lies My Mother Told Me
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for characters of my own creation.
Summary: "Ryan Mars. Although on my birth certificate is says Ryan Elizabeth Mars Echolls. Hello, Daddy." Ryan Mars, at seventeen, has just found her father, and found that her mother has been lying to her, her whole life.
She hadn't seen him in weeks. It was the night her and Duncan split for the last and final time. The break up was monumental. There was yelling and crying and screaming. But most of all there was an enormous epiphany. For the second time Veronica had gotten upset that Logan was all over some girl and Duncan finally caught on.
"Why does it bother you so much?" He asked as she walked away from the grope fest Logan was displaying for all eyes to see at the drunken beach party of the week.
"Because he's my…" Veronica didn't realize how much her emotions had gotten a hold of her. She stared at Duncan half-wishing he didn't know what she was going to say and half wishing that he did.
"He's your what?" Duncan knew, he didn't need to ask, but in a masochistic way he wanted to hear it. "Come on, Veronica, he's your what!"
"I was going to say that he's," Veronica looked down at the sand knowing that there was no way around it, "that he's my boyfriend."
"But he's not is he?" Duncan asked almost begging. "Do you want him to be?"
Veronica looked up. Duncan had tears in his eyes. "Duncan, please, don't do this. Not here."
"Then where Veronica!" Duncan was yelling now. "Back at the hotel, where once your done breaking up with me, you can go fuck him in my bed!"
Veronica was speechless. Duncan had never risen his voice to her. Even when Logan smashed her lamp in her apartment she hadn't been as frightened as she is now.
"Come on Veronica! Isn't that right! Why don't you go fuck him right now!" Duncan had grabbed Veronica by her arms and threw her in Logan's general direction. "Go!" Duncan shouted at her.
Logan had come out of no where. His fist flew at Duncan's face. He had hit him right in the nose. Veronica had heard it crack. Duncan fell to the sand and stained it with his blood. Veronica could hear this light chuckle come from Duncan. "Like mother, like daughter, right?" Duncan stood up and walked to his car.
Logan looked down at Veronica, who had now crumpled her self into a ball, sobbing. Logan kneeled down in front of her. "Ronnie?" Logan tentatively brought a hand to brush her hair out of her face. At that immediate touch Veronica launched herself into Logan's arms. "Shh, it's okay." He whispered as he held her.
When Veronica's sobs had settled, Logan pulled her back to look at her. "He didn't hurt you did he?" Veronica shook her head. "Okay, come on. Let's get you home."
Veronica didn't remember much of the ride home. She remembered that she kissed Logan on her couch and then she remembered waking up and he was gone. He hadn't been at school in weeks. Neither had Duncan but she didn't really want to see him. Veronica had looked all over Neptune. She called his cell phone until the voice mail was full, she had alarms on all of his credit cards, but the only thing used was his bankcard to take out twenty thousand three weeks ago. Logan was smart, he knew that she would be looking for him and he didn't want to be found. Until a week ago during fifth period English when she got a text from his cell phone. "Meet me at the Neptune Boardwalk 11am on Saturday our spot".
'Our spot' was a bench at the very end of the boardwalk. No one ever went down there except Logan and Veronica. In the summer when they were dating they would meet there when Veronica had a lunch break from work. It was where Logan had given her the teddy bear.
Veronica looked at her watch for what must have been the twentieth time. 11:02 it read. Veronica was usually patient when it came to clients and waiting for the money shot, but this had to do with her heart and possibly the rest of her life. Veronica stood up and walked to the railing of the boardwalk and looked into the ocean. She could remember a time when Logan had once tried to teach her how to surf.
Veronica lay there on her red and white striped beach towel trying to get some sun, when a sudden shadow came over her. She smiled to herself, her eyes still closed.
"What's the craziest thing you've done lately?" The shadow asked lying next to her.
"Letting you put tanning oil on my back." Veronica said with out hesitation as she rolled over to face her boyfriend.
Logan shook his head. "No that's not crazy enough."
"Well what would qualify as 'crazy enough'?"
Logan leaned in a whispered to her, "Let me teach you to surf."
Veronica threw her head back and laughed out loud. "Me? Surf? Now who's crazy?"
Logan stood up and stuck out his hand to help her up. "Come on. It'll be fun. Trust me." He knew that those particular two words could get her to do anything he wanted. But then again it worked for him too.
The surf lesson hadn't gotten too far, because they found out early that they couldn't keep their hands off each other. Veronica smiled into the ocean, watching the ghosts of her and Logan swim to the surface, lips still locked from their under water make out session.
Veronica was still reminiscing when two strong arms leaned against the railing locking her in. "What's the craziest thing you've done lately?" the body behind her asked.
Veronica turned in his arms. "I fell in love with Logan Echolls." She said staring into his chocolate brown eyes.
Logan's arms engulfed Veronica's petite form as soon as her words fell from her mouth. Their lips tangled in a fight of desperation, dominance and above all love. Her fingers tangled in his hair as he pulled her body closer to his. If it was possible they had melded into one being in that very instance. The whole world had disappeared from the background. All they could feel or see or want at that moment was each other. Veronica knew right then that she would never forget that kiss.
And she didn't. Eighteen years later and that kiss still replays in her mind. That kiss played as she watched Logan and her daughter, their daughter, walk into the banquet room at the Neptune Grand. Ryan had spotted her mother first and started walking toward her. Veronica stood up from the table and embraced her daughter. "I'm so sorry baby." She whispered.
Ryan nodded. "I know mom."
Logan stuffed his hands in his pockets as he watched the scene unfold. Veronica noticed and let go of her daughter. She walked up to Logan and threw her arms around him. Logan was caught off guard but not for long. He soon wrapped his arms around Veronica's waist. Veronica buried her face in the crook of his neck. "What's the craziest thing you've done lately?" Veronica whispered. She could feel Logan tighten his grip.
"I fell in love." He answered only loud enough that Veronica could hear.
"Ah hem." Ryan cleared her throat. "Could we eat before you guys conceive another child please."
"Ryan." Veronica warned. Logan just chuckled and sat down opposite of Veronica.
A waiter in all black and white walked up to their table, with a note pad in hand. "Can I get you anything?" he asked looking around the table.
"Yes, Todd," Ryan said reading his nametag. "I would like an orange juice and a cup of coffee, a ham and cheese omelet, the hash browns, bacon, and the silver dollar pancakes with whip cream and extra syrup. Oh and can you put a cherry on that?"
Todd was furiously writing down everything that Ryan said, and nodding at every interval.
"Oh and is the fruit buffet open?"
"Yes miss." Todd answered. Ryan smiled up at him with appreciation. "What about you ma'am?" Todd asked Veronica.
"The same only with oatmeal instead of pancakes." Veronica said handing over her menu.
"Sir?" Todd asked Logan.
"A coffee, scrambled eggs, and toast." Logan answered. Todd picked up all the menus and left. Logan looked at both Veronica and Ryan with a light hearted chuckle.
"What?" Veronica asked incredulously.
"I just think it's funny that's all." Logan said clasping his hand behind his head.
"What's funny?" Ryan asked looking from her father to her mother.
Veronica finally got it. "In high school Logan would always make fun of how much I ate. Apparently you caught the eating gene."
Ryan began to pout; "I don't eat that much." She said playing with her napkin.
Veronica smiled at the normalcy of the whole conversation but she needed to know if it was going to last. "Ryan, why don't you go get some fruit." Ryan got the hint and left the table as quickly as she could.
"Why didn't you just tell her she had to go to the bathroom, it would have been less obvious." Logan observed, sarcasm dripping off of every syllable.
Veronica nodded. "I just wanted to know… if you were okay. With this whole thing." She said gesturing her hand to the now empty chair next to her.
"You got some brass balls." Logan leaned across the table. "The only reason I'm in the same room with you right now is for that girl," he punctuated the sentence by pointing over to Ryan. "She deserves it."
"Logan, you have to understand why I did what I did." Veronica pleaded.
"I know why you left but that in no fucking way justifies you taking my child away from me."
"You say she deserves this? Did she deserve a drunk father?" Veronica asked in a furious hiss.
"You goddamn know that I would have stopped drinking if I knew you were pregnant. You didn't give me a chance." Logan hissed back.
"Oh please."
"You don't know a damn thing about me." Logan pointed his finger at her, his emotions getting the best of him. "When you left something in me broke. You have no fucking clue what happened to me to make me who I am right now."
"And who the hell is that?" Veronica asked leaning back in her chair arms crossed.
"My father." Ryan interrupted. "You know, mom, you're amazing. All this time you told me he left, and now your actually trying to make it come true." Ryan slammed down her plate of fruit on the table and turned on her heel.
"Ryan-" Veronica stood about to chase after her mother.
"No, you know how much it fucked up my life not having a dad! Do you know what it felt like to have Uncle Wallace come with me to Daddy-Daughter day at school! Do you know what it's like to have a daddy complex!" Ryan shouted at her mother
"Ryan, please, calm down." Veronica begged.
"Fuck you! Just because you grew up with one parent doesn't mean that you get to condemn me to the same fate as you." With that Ryan walked out of the banquet hall to leave a distraught mother in tears.
Logan looked after his daughter and then up at the woman he loved for so long. He realized then that something in her broke too.