Part 7

He had once thought that all the cheesy romantic teenage dramas that he was forced to sit through by the girls he had dated long ago were overly dramatic and exaggerated. There were always these episodes in which a character would spend the entire night sitting on a bus stop, a 24-hour diner or the beach—to ponder life's inexplicable complications. It was a stupid idea, yet Logan found himself cold and stiff from sitting too long, watching the sun rise from his position on the sand.

Logan did not really know why it should bother him so much. He had made a decision long ago, and he was going to live with it. It was his choice and not Veronica's. His brain searched for logic that he could not provide. All his mind could come up at that hour without any food or coffee in him was the image of Veronica Mars standing outside the Gant home in a shirt that Logan had once seen Casey sweat in during a basketball game.

iLogan smirked at the sight of a bare bottom peeking from under his sweater as Veronica rummaged inside the refrigerator. He walked up to her and placed his hands on her hips. Veronica turned her head to him and smiled. "Good morning, sleepyhead," she greeted.

"What a lovely sight to wake up to," he chirped, then bent to kiss her. She eagerly accepted the kiss, but pulled back before the kiss become too intense. Logan frowned, "What's wrong, sugarpuss? Too tired from last night."

Veronica grinned and pushed him off gently. Logan saw the blush that spread through her cheeks. "You'd like to think that, wouldn't you?" she taunted. "But I can't be late. My dad's out of town and he would kill me if he found out."

"Wow," he murmured, leaning down to bury his lips in the crook of her neck, "it's been so long since I've seen the teacher's pet Veronica Mars that can do no wrong. I thought the butch girl got rid of you completely."

She narrowed her eyes and kicked the refrigerator door shut. "Shut up," she said with a grin. "I was so not a teacher's pet."

"I saw your report cards. Veronica Mars was such a joy to have in class," he mimicked. "You were a kissass."

Veronica laughed, unable to deny the words. She had reveled in those comments long ago. "Well now I've turned into a rebel," she told him, "kissing boys headed to detention inside the girls' bathroom."

"Oh yeah," Logan agreed.

"But," she told him as she walked away from him, hips swaying and tantalizing him with glimpses to her ass-cheeks below his shirt, "I still can't be late. Van Clemmons doesn't scare me but Keith Mars does."

"Good point," he murmured as he watched her hips. Damn, she was sexy in his clothes. Logan could not wait to see her each morning, stretching beside the bed and shrugging into his shirts. /i

He stood up and brushed the sand off his pants. Logan stretched his arms above his head and groaned aloud. A commotion from behind him caught his attention. Yawning, he turned around and saw a large white van. He glimpsed a sight of Meg Manning, Duncan's ex-girlfriend, lugging a large arrangement of white flowers. Next to her stood someone familiar but never really interacted with throughout high school. Veronica had mentioned the young woman's name several times. Logan remembered her as the weird computer geek with a streak of blue hair that had later in the school year turned to ash.

"Mac, make sure the groom doesn't see the bride before the ceremony," he heard Meg remind the other woman.

Curious, he walked up to the cemented steps that led down to the beach. Meg passed by him with no incident, perhaps because she had not seen him with the flowers in her face and mostly because there was no reason for Meg Manning to be on the lookout for a man who had been MIA for so long.

He followed Meg with his eyes and saw the white chairs lined up on a carpet laid out on the sand. A white-flowered arcf was erected close to the water, with white pews lined on either side of a petal-covered aisle. Despite the flurry of activity obviously going on, with men and women in service uniforms making last minute preparations, Logan felt peace like a traitor creeping up from his toes and fingertips.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

Logan turned to the woman who had stopped beside him. "Mac," he said.

"I'd be flattered that you know my name but I'm guessing you heard someone say it. I'm not deluded enough to think the great Logan Echolls knows me by nickname," she told him. She nodded towards the wedding venue. "Package A – Beach Wedding at Sunrise. Veronica's own concept. Not our most expensive venue selection but the closest to her heart," Mac rattled the information. She then looked at Logan sideways. "Move."

His forehead creased. "What?"

She gestured with her hand, and Logan stepped to his side. Four men passed by them. The last turned to Mac and asked, "Have you heard from Jenny?"

Mac nodded and smiled encouragingly. "Jenny's on her way with her mom and dad," she informed him. "Go ahead and wait down there. Meg will run you through where to stand and when to turn." The man that Logan supposed was the groom released a sigh of relief and proceeded to the arch with his companions, who then proceeded to slap him on the back. Mac looked down at her watch. "Where the hell is Veronica Mars? She's supposed to be handling jittery brides and grooms."

"Casey probably kept her up late last night," he answered bitterly.

Mac sighed. She jerked her head towards the wedding venue so that Logan would start walking along with her. "What are you doing back here, Logan?" She had picked up the shattered pieces of her best friend too many times whenever Veronica's relationship with Casey was threatened by reasons Veronica claimed she could not name.

Veronica had always been closemouthed when it came to her personal affairs. Mac would have known nothing if she had not glanced up from her laptop at an inopportune time and witnessed a charged gaze between Veronica Mars, seated in a booth with Casey, and Logan Echolls, seated in the bar. Not too long after that, Logan Echolls left town and Veronica Mars walked around in a daze.

They walked towards Meg Manning, who had seen them and cocked her head to the side. Mac could tell that Meg had not yet recognized who walked beside her.

"Meg, can I take five?" she called to her friend.

Meg's eyes widened as the light hit Logan square in the face. "Welcome back, Logan," Meg said. "Sure, Mac. Just don't take longer. We're about to start."

Mac waited for Logan's answer, and simply remained quiet as they faced the water darkening the sand.

"I came back to retrieve something I left," he responded vaguely, hoping the answer would discourage her from asking any more.

Mac nodded. "How long has it been since you left, Logan? Three years?" She glanced back to where some of the guests have begun filling the seats. Veronica still had not arrived. "By now whatever it is should be buried deep in the sand. You won't be able to get it back." She finally turned around to help. "For all it's worth, good luck."

Logan turned around as well to greet Meg as well. He had been friends with Meg too, if the daily lunches during which they ate on the same table counted as friendship. He froze when he saw Casey talking to Meg by the arch.

Meg nodded, her eyes shining with concern. Casey squeezed Meg's arm before turning to leave. He must have caught sight of Logan and Mac because Casey held Logan's gaze before walking away in the direction of the cemented steps leading to the road.

Meg hurried over to the two as she informed her business partner, "Veronica's come down with something. It's just to the two of us for this one."

"Veronica never misses her clients' wedding even if she's burning up," Mac said.

Logan smirked. She did not need to pretend that she was sick just so she could avoid him. It did not make sense though. How could she have known that he was here? He wished the two luck on the wedding and walked towards the same direction Casey had headed. He had parked the car on the road and he hoped it had not yet been towed.

Logan climbed up the cemented steps when a blur of blue caught his eye. He glanced down and saw Casey Gant standing on the sand, staring at one point at his feet. He looked deep in thought. Logan swallowed deeply to fight the chill that stole his bones at the sight which would have been nothing had Casey not been looking down at the exact same spot where Logan had found himself frozen long ago in a night that, if you asked him, had never happened.

i "Shut up!" he spat. "I'll take care of it, but I want you to go home and never ever tell anyone about being here tonight."

She moved away, with every step her heart sank at the thought their future was going down the drain.

"Wait," he said. Veronica's breath caught. He had changed his mind. Please, let him have changed his mind. "Take off those clothes," he told her. "I'll burn them. You can wear the dress you left last night. I'll pack up anything you may have left behind. Expect an unmarked box at your doorstep in the morning."

"Logan, I don't want this."

He shook his head. "We don't have a choice."

She stumbled towards the stairs, towards his bedroom where he knew she would sob the entire time she changed into the dress that was not soaked in her ex-boyfriend's blood. Logan knelt down beside Duncan's body and saw the unmistakable signs of Veronica's attack that he burned from his memory. He gripped the knife that killed Duncan, because he choked with the desire to bury the weapon over and over until his best friend would be unrecognizable and barely human in appearance, enough payback for the story told by Duncan's pants unbuttoned, bunched right above his knees. He knew the blood on Duncan's body was not just his.

Ashen and trembling, Veronica waited until Logan looked up. He walked up to her and hissed, "What did he do?"

She shook her head, tears dropping from her eyes like a torrent of rain.

She had said it in the hysteria that made her honest the first time she saw him. She had called for Logan but he did not come. He had promised to take care of her, and he had done a fine job of it.

"I'll fix it," he swore. "Go home."

Logan had dragged Duncan's body across the Echolls shiny floor, smearing the blood across the kitchen. He stood up and caught a glimpse of Veronica stumbling towards her car, fumbling with her keys and trying several times before she could open the door. He looked down at Duncan's body.

He made a decision that night that in hindsight Logan knew was stupid and irrational. He had left the body on the kitchen floor, a crime scene left open for any intruder. Then, Logan drove behind his girlfriend's car until he saw her let herself into her house.

When Logan returned to the shadowed house he had left, nothing was ever the same, and he knew that he would forever be watching his back. His kitchen floor was spotless and empty. Duncan was gone and the murder weapon was nowhere in sight.

Lost and terrified, Logan raced back towards Veronica's house. When he passed by Dog Beach, a patch of white on the sand made him stop. Logan ran towards the prone body on the sand and he stood frozen as he assessed the fresh clothes that Duncan was in.

His heart in his throat, Logan backed away and sped back to his house, where he sat on the bed and stared out the window, waiting until the sun shone and the radio and television exploded with the news.

Duncan Kane's body was found on the beach. No murder weapon. No witnesses. No one and everyone was a suspect. /i

She woke up with the sun dancing on her eyelids. Veronica stretched on the bed and yawned. She gasped when she saw the digital clock on the sidetable. It was Jenny and Mark's wedding date. She sat up and stumbled out of the bed, then looked for her clothes. They were nowhere in sight.

Veronica's eyes narrowed. Even before they arrived at the party, she had told Casey that today was the wedding and she needed to be there. She growled low in her throat then stomped over to the door. Casey was going to hear from her.

She threw open the door and stumbled back in surprise. "Mrs Gant," she gasped.

The older woman's sad eyes assessed her from head to foot. "Get out while you can," she advised.

Veronica walked out of the room, passing beside her. She walked over to Casey's room and rapped on the door. When there was no answer, Veronica rapped again. "Casey!" she yelled.

Veronica turned her head and saw Casey's mom watching her mutely.

"Where is he?" Veronica asked with quiet intensity.

"He's not home."

"Mrs Gant, do you know where my clothes are?"

The older woman shrugged. "Only Casey knows everything in this house."

Veronica tightened her jaw and opened the door. Then she proceeded to throw open the closet doors and root around for her clothes. She pushed at the hangers in search of her own things and found nothing. Veronica rifled through the folded sweaters and vests. She did not find her clothes there. Veronica pulled open the drawers and rooted through the socks. With every item of clothing that fell to the floor, her anger intensified.

Veronica dropped down to her knees and looked down under the bed. She smirked in triumph. She doubted that it contained her clothes, but discovering the box gave her the satisfaction of having something to hold over Casey's head. He had all the aces and now she had one. She reached out and crawled towards the box hidden under the bed. It was still out of reach. Veronica held her breath and squeezed underneath. When she finally had a good grip on it, she started shimmying back out.

Veronica took the cover off and upended the box, spilling the contents onto the floor and all over her lap.

Her eyes widened in shock at what she saw. Familiar colored and scented envelopes, addressed with Duncan's handwriting, and photographs of herself taken without her knowledge. Suddenly she could not breathe. Veronica's hand wrapped around her throat. She felt her pulse beating rapidly.

She felt goosebumps all over her arms. Veronica pushed the letters and envelopes away from her skin, afraid that they would burn holes through her clothes and poison her. Bile gathered in her throat. She tried to stand up. Veronica raised herself up on her knees, much like she had been able to that night, but the tremors racking her made it difficult to stand. Finally, grabbing onto the bed and the table, then the walls, Veronica made it out of Casey's room and she stumbled towards the bathroom. She threw open the toilet seat cover and fell to her knees. Pain shot up when her skin hit to cold tile. Veronica heaved dryly into the toilet bowl.

i"I wish you appreciated everything I did for you."/i

Veronica collapsed back onto the tile walls, too weak to stand. Suddenly she realized how very little she knew about the man she was going to marry.

She closed her eyes, wanting desperately to get out of the house but having no strength to move. Veronica felt someone touch her shoulder. She flinched, afraid it was going to be Casey. She did not want to see him unprepared about what she would say.

Veronica felt something cold and hard touch her fists. She opened her eyes blearily and saw the cordless phone being pressed against her hands. Veronica looked sideways and saw Mrs Gant leaning down towards her.

Tearfully, she took the phone in her hands and slowly pressed the numbers that she had memorized. When her world came crashing down the way it did now, there was no question about who she would always go to.

"Casey," was the cold answer on the other line. "What do you want?"

She sniffled, then saw a mixture of warmth and fear in Mrs Gant's eyes. "Logan," she whispered. "Logan, please pick me up."

tbc

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