A/N: Hey, I forgot to mention that that was the prologue. The actual first chapter is this right here. And it takes place one year later. Lilly and Veronica don't talk much because she is extremely busy, so Veronica really doesn't have any real friends. She has met Wallace in this story, but she hasn't met Mac. I might bring her in later though.
Logan started to inch away from Veronica. It got to the point where every time he would see her, his heart would skip a beat and his right hand would tingle as he remembered those five minutes of bliss where her hand was his. This was not good. Logan Echolls's hands did NOT tingle. They punched PCHers and held his alcohol bottles. Veronica was changing him, and this could not happen.
Lianne Mars was a coward, a fake, and a phony. Veronica repeated this phrase in her head all summer. Lilly left in October, she broke up with Duncan in April, and her mother left her and her father all alone in May. The thing that hurt the most though, was she was losing Logan. He knew her better than anyone in Neptune, and all Veronica could do was watch as he spiraled deeper and deeper into trouble.
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SLAP The sound of belt hitting skin was echoing in the near-empty mansion. Lynn was outside. She was a strong believer in the 'I didn't see it, it didn't happen' philosophy. But it was happening. Logan just sat there biting his whimpers into his lips. Whimpers equaled weakness and weakness equaled bruises.
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"It's not that bad, no need to worry!" Keith exclaimed as his daughter ran to get an ice pack for the bruise on the side of his shiny, bald head. Veronica did worry a little too much about her father, but he was all she had left. Once she was positive he was okay, she walked back to her room to get the information for the case he was working on. She stopped in front of the mirror. Her long blonde locks were gone, and a shorter, older, edgier do was in its place. She cut off her hair earlier that afternoon. The old look reminded her too much of her mother. There was a time when she would do anything to look as beautiful as her mother. Not anymore. Veronica would do anything to forget her past.
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The bell signaling the end of 3rd period had just rung when he saw her. Her hair was gone, and it was mad sexy. All thought exited his brain when she gave him a small smile. He dumped his books, grabbed his keys, and headed home, deciding that now was the time to take that mental health day. He needed someplace safe to think about her. When he opened the door, he realized all chances of being safe had vanished. There, on the couch, was his father, half naked, on top of some stranger. Logan winced, as he realized that Aaron knew he was there.
He tried to get away, but he tripped over something. "This was it," were his thoughts as his father came near him. The mystery lady was already running out the back door. When we were alone, the words slipped out before he could stop them. "You bastard." The last thing Logan remembered was the look on Aaron's face before his fist connected with Logan's jaw. And the awful sound of his head hitting making contact with something hard. That thunk kept ringing in his ears as the world around him faded to black.