Chapter Three

"Logan, what are you talking about? You did this to spite Lilly?" Veronica props her elbows on her knees, breathing into her palms. "How can you even say that?"

"Wake up Veronica!" Logan's voice is harsh and angry, and when Veronica looks up, he's perched on the coffee table, inches from her face. "Lilly wasn't the princess that you seem to think she was. She was awful to all of us. She was horrible to everyone who loved her – you, me, Duncan. We were just toys for her. Little playthings for her amusement."

"That's not true."

"She knew everything, Veronica. Everything." Logan calms himself, shifting his weight back against the table and away from Veronica. "She knew about Duncan. She knew about your mother." He pauses, and his voice is soft and restrained when he continues. "She knew about my father."

Veronica doesn't gasp. Honestly, she's not sure why she's surprised. Logan and Lilly weren't secretive about their relationship, and, from what Veronica had been told, it would've been almost impossible for Lilly to miss the signs. She had to have known that something was going on.

Veronica had just hoped that –

No, Lilly wouldn't have done that. Not just because of one stupid kiss. She was vengeful, but she wasn't heartless.

Logan must've done – Veronica cuts off her own thought, quickly killing the urge to voice her opinion. Logan was right. He is her scapegoat.

"Lilly… she loved you, Logan," Veronica reasons. "Why would she do that? There's got to be –"

"There isn't, Veronica. Why is it so hard for you to believe? She was horrible to you, and you just refuse to see that." He shakes his head, his wry smile mocking her. "For someone who claims to want answers so badly, you're pretty willing to ignore all of the most obvious truths."

Veronica's eyes dart away, and she hates him for the truth in his allegations. She needs to believe that Lilly was ultimately good, that Lilly was everything she remembers. Otherwise, the last year and all of the awful, horrible things she had learned about everyone and everything she thought she loved – it was all for nothing. For a spoiled heiress who wanted nothing more than to shock and be amused.

Veronica didn't think she could handle that.

"Do you know how long she knew about your mother and her father?" Logan questions softly as her silence wears on. "About your paternity?"

"Duncan told her after he broke up with me," Veronica says, her voice hard with false conviction. "He must have."

"Yeah, he told her after he found out." Logan pauses. "But Lilly already knew about it by then. Her mother told her just before you joined pep squad. Months before you started dating Duncan. Celeste didn't want you around and when she saw how Duncan acted around you, she told Lilly to quit bringing you to the house. When Lilly refused, her mother told her everything, hoping that Lilly at least cared enough about you and Duncan to stop things. Lilly didn't. She wanted her toys to play." Logan pauses, another confession hot on his tongue, but before he can speak Veronica is running from the room. For one cold-blooded moment, Logan thinks he might've pushed her too far, forced too much on her. Then he hears the bathroom door slam against the wall, followed by the muted sounds of Veronica retching. He shakes his head, hating himself for doing this to her. She doesn't deserve this.

None of them deserve this.

She gasps when she feels his hands lift the hair from her damp neck. "I'm sorry," he whispers. "I never meant to…" His voice drifts away. He regrets too much to voice it all. She knows what he's sorry for. She knows what he's done.

Veronica Mars knows everything.