Veronica
"So, how long will you be at the gym?" I don't look away from the computer screen, continuing to edit as I talk.
"Give me two hours." Logan walks up behind me and kisses the top of my head. "I just want to clear my head before we track down Duncan."
Dropping my head back, I awkwardly glance up at him and his upside-down face smirks back at me.
"Say hi to Wallace for me."
"I will."
He lowers himself to kiss me and I hum with contentment. The glow from our make-up sex this morning is still on my skin and I'm already thinking about how I've decided to "reward" myself for finishing this research paper. It involves Logan, this desk, a cute little black skirt I brought with me from home, and at least an hour of time tonight. As if reading my mind, he plants another tender kiss on my lips, holding it for longer before retreating with a groan.
"You should just stay here. Sex burns, like, a hundred calories. And it's probably a better stress reliever than punching a bag."
"While that may be true, I thought you have a paper you needed to work on?"
I spin around in my chair towards him and moan with discontent. "Yeah. I do. You're right."
"Plus, I'm confident that punching a bag will help me get over my feeling that I want to punch Gory. Or Piz. Or Duncan." He shrugs on his jacket and pulls his bag over his shoulder. "Besides, we talked this morning about healthy and unhealthy coping with my anger. The gym is healthy."
"Sex is healthy!" I raise my finger and wiggle my eyebrows at him, and he just laughs, shaking his head.
"Which we will have. Later. Again…" Chuckling, he wags his finger back at me. "Now finish your research paper. I don't want to distract you anymore."
Spinning to face the computer, I sigh. "Fine. See you later. Love you."
"Love you too," Logan calls out and I hear the door open and close, locking behind him.
The words on the white screen are taunting me and I squint, moving my face closer to make sure I get every mistake, that I haven't forgotten a word. My mother once told me how she paid someone on the internet to write her high school essay on Pride and Prejudice, so she could sneak off with her boyfriend for the day, on the weekend it was due. While I was shocked at this story, right now, I would kill to be able to take some sort of shortcut on this work, if only to get through my day faster.
Not that I was looking forward to what was about to happen. After last night, Logan and I decided this morning to talk to Duncan today, before anything bad happened. Susan didn't tell us anything about a timeline of when and where a bomb could be placed, but if something happened before we could go to the Security System, and people were hurt, I would never forgive myself. But with Logan still so upset about last night, it was best that he blew off some steam before we talked to anyone.
Giving my head a shake, I try to focus on my work, and I'm able to for a time, making good progress until there's a knock at the door. I can see myself frown in the reflection of the computer screen and I save my work before standing. My sleep shorts disappeared in the bed sheets this morning, but I'm still in Logan's hoodie and a pair of his sweats I stole from the floor, cinched tightly at the waist. For a second I think about changing before I open the door, but then just shrug. It's Saturday in a college dorm; I'm sure 50% of us look something like this right now.
When I pull open the door, I'm shocked to find Duncan on the other side. He tosses me a nervous smile and shoves his hands in his pockets.
"Hey. Good morning."
"Hey…." I'm so taken aback I'm not too sure what to do. "How's it going, Duncan?"
"Good. Good." He looks nervously down the hallway and then back to me. "Can I come in?'
"Um. Yeah." I step back and hold the door open a little wider. "Come on in. Don't mind the mess."
Duncan steps inside, passing by me before stopping just in the entryway to the main room. As I pass him, I blush, grabbing a pile of discarded jackets off one of the chairs and tossing it on the unmade bed. There are clothes on the floor and towels, and I'm pretty sure it probably still smells like sex, but I try and ignore it as I offer Duncan a chair.
"Did you come about Professor Hendrix's paper?"
"No. No, I didn't." He lowers himself down onto the chair and unzips his jacket with a heavy sigh. "I came about last night."
Fear rips through me and I pace away from him, kicking a pile of clothes closer to the laundry hamper. "Yeah. That was some party…"
"It was definitely interesting," he drawls. "I mean, I don't know how you and Logan enjoyed it, but I liked it. A lot."
"Oh?" I turn and he gives me a lopsided grin.
"Yeah. That's why I'm here. I wanted to ask you about Parker."
"Parker? You want to ask about Parker?" The statement catches me off guard and I can't help my incredulous tone, baffled by this turn of events.
"Yeah. I wanted to know if she's seeing anyone. I know Piz invited her, but we seemed to hit it off, and I was just wondering…"
Chuckling, I shake my head. Walking over to the bed, I sit on the edge, facing Duncan. "…if I could find out if she likes you?"
And for the first time in a long time, I see Duncan smile, genuinely smile, at me.
"Yeah. I was wondering that. I mean, she told me she's bi, and she rejected her first match but I wasn't sure if that meant she was waiting to be matched with a woman or looking for a woman, or if she found a guy she liked…"
Ugh. My heart just aches listening to Duncan prattle on about Parker. This was why I gave Duncan so much slack. This is why I want to help him. Because this is the Duncan I remember growing up with: sweet, sensitive, kind of dorky, but in the cutest way. And I wished he let this show more often, instead of feeling like he had to be a big dumb jerk to me and Logan.
"I can talk to her if you want. That's no problem, Duncan." I reach out and pat him on the knee. "I'm not 100% sure if she's looking for someone or waiting for Orwell, but I can find out."
"That would be great. Thanks." He nods, grinning back at me.
This is good. He's in a good mood. I'm in a good mood. It's working well and I'm feeling this friendship again. With a sharp breath, I shove my hands in the pocket of the hoodie and just decide to go for it.
"Speaking of talking to people…" I begin slowly. "I wanted to talk to you about last night. About C.H.A.D. and Gory Sorokin."
"Yeah. What did you want to know?"
"Well, Logan and I were worried about you and so we started looking into this group. You know, you've been…different…since we arrived at school and we started wondering about who you've been getting involved with…"
"Okay…I'm not quite following you, Veronica…."
"Logan tried talking to you about it at the bar one night, but you still seemed pretty sure about C.H.A. your involvement with it." I take a deep, cleansing breath, focusing on Duncan's confused face in front of me. "Well, last night, we found out some stuff about the group and we're worried that you might get unintentionally involved."
"What stuff, Veronica? What are you worried I'm involved in?"
This is it. I just need to lay it all out on the table. It doesn't matter that Logan's not here. This is Duncan. It's not like he would hurt me.
"I talked to a woman last night—I guess she was Gory's lover for a while—and she said that she overheard some of the members talking about…" I swallow hard, a cold sweat sweeping over my skin. "…planting bombs around Chicago."
Duncan shakes his head, his eyes narrowing as he sits back in the chair. "And…you think I'm involved…?"
I begin to fidget with my ring, suddenly wishing Logan would walk back into the room and help me explain this to Duncan.
"Not you. Of course not. But what about Piz? It was kind of weird how he just happened to show up with you after we had a bomb scare in our dorm. And you both seemed to know it was a bomb scare even though we didn't say anything about one and…."
Duncan leaps to his feet and the chair goes flying back with a crashing sound as it hits the wall and I jump, lurching back on the bed in shock. Duncan paces towards the door and then back, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.
"So, you're saying you think I'm some sort of mad bomber?" Duncan hisses, his face red with rage as he stomps towards me.
"Duncan I…."
Fear grips me like never before and I leap to the far side of the bed and stand, hoping he stays on the other side of the room. Instead, he advances around into the space between the bed and desks and I back up, cornered against the side table.
"You think, I'm involved with…with…terrorists, Veronica?" he spits, pausing for a second as he breathes heavily, his eyes wild with anger. "How could you ever think that?"
"Did you call in the bomb scare?" My voice trembles as I speak, but I square my shoulders and puff up my chest, trying to make myself somewhat intimidating. "Answer me, Duncan!"
He covers his head with his hands and lets out a deep groan and I'm not sure if it's a battle cry or a sound of deep angst, but when he raises his eyes back to me, they are dark and cold.
"I called in the bomb," he hisses, his nose wrinkling in disgust. "Piz had the idea, and I did it."
"Why?" I gasp, clutching my heart.
Dragging his teeth over his lips, his mouth morphs into a crooked grin. "To pay you both back for rubbing your relationship in my face, but I would never plant a real bomb. Ever!"
"Duncan…I'm sorry…I…."
My stomach tightens. This emotional game we have all been playing suddenly has very real consequences. When he steps closer, I press myself against the side table, gripping the edge as I watch him come closer, horrified by his smile.
"So, does that mean you admit it? That you were trying to make me jealous? The hand holding. The kissing. God, I could smell the sex on you when you sat next to me in class. And all I could think was that it should have been me making love to you, Veronica. Not him. I answered every goddamn question that Orwell threw at me, the way I thought it needed to be answered to get you to be mine, and yet still, you were paired with that jackass, not me."
I stand on my tip-toes, trying to stay back as his boots come right to my bare feet, his body now so close that I can smell his cheap aftershave, and my body begins to shake with fear as he looks down on me.
"Duncan, please, you need to go." My voice is strong at first but cracks in the end. "Please."
Before I know what's happening, he grabs my wrists and I scream as he pulls me close to him, his face now right in front of mine. I'm so frightened, but I fight the urge to burst into tears.
"You should have been mine!" he shouts and I feel the heat of his breath on me.
Gathering my wits, I look him in the eye, my lip twitching with newfound anger as his hands tighten painfully around my wrists.
"No! I shouldn't have. You're a liar and a fraud and I'm glad I'm not with you!"
The next thing I know I'm gasping for breath as his lips crash down onto mine, suffocating me in his kiss. Thrashing against him, his grip tightens so hard I can't feel my hands and I kick at him, trying to connect and do enough damage to make him let go. My ears are ringing as my body fills with fear of what he may do next, and I try to scream as he continues to cover my mouth. And it's then that I hear the blast.
An explosion. Somewhere outside.
The sound shocks Duncan and he releases me, my body falling to the side onto the bed. In my daze, I roll myself off the other end, taking all the jackets with me onto the ground, my senses trying to catch up with what's happening.
"Get out!" I scream at him, my body vibrating. "Get out get out get out!"
There's now the sound of feet running in the hallways and loud voices and Duncan's wide eyes dart from me to the door. Stomping across the space, he takes a last glance at me on the floor with cold, dead eyes, before pulling open the door. The hum from the students outside rises in the room momentarily before the door slams shut behind him.
My body starts to vibrate, and I stick my numb hands in my hoodie pocket. I'm suddenly cold. Colder than I've ever been in my life and I begin to rock, trying to gather myself together. In the distance, I hear sirens and a small voice in my head reminds me that there was an explosion. That's why Duncan released me. If it hadn't happened to distract him, I don't know what could have happened. And right now, I don't want to imagine it. It's all too much.
Gathering my strength, I crawl to the window and rise on my knees to look out through the open blinds. People are stopped in their tracks below, all looking across campus towards the plume of black smoke rising from a building in the distance.
"The gym…"
The words fall from my mouth as the visual connects to reality in my head. The explosion. The smoke. The gym. The fitness center….
"Logan."
A hoarse cry of anguish rises in my throat. I grab my jacket from the floor and launch myself back across the room, crawling over to my boots and I pull them on as fast as I can considering my whole body is shaking. It takes all my strength to pull myself to my feet and I stagger over to grab my keys from the counter. I have to get to the scene. I have to see if Logan was okay.
Fight. Flight. With the last of my energy, I launch myself out into the hallway and run as fast as I can through the people, down the stairs, and out the door.
Logan
Ringing. Aaron clocked me in the head again. No. That's not right. I'm not at home. Smoke. Where there's smoke, there's fire. Fire?
Someone pulls on my arm and I roll onto my back to see Wallace mouthing something at me. I can't hear him, but I nod anyway and he helps me to my feet, tossing my arm around his shoulder. People are running past us, and I push off him, staggering forward on my own. I see which way the people are rushing from the running track, towards the stairs, but Wallace looks back, jerking his thumb and then waving me on. I shake my head and turn to follow him. The high wail of fire alarms cuts through the ringing in my ears and I squint against the assault on my senses. That's when I see it, part of the ceiling has given way. A shot of adrenaline kicks me into high gear, and I run past Wallace toward the arm sticking out under the concrete slab. The cold from the giant hole in the ceiling hits my skin and I flinch but don't stop, stepping into the wreckage. I begin to pull the concrete chunks off the person as Wallace positions himself at the guy's arms, ready to pull him out. We're able to free him quickly and as we pull him out, we realize it's Jeff Ratner and I see Wallace curse as he pulls him further away. I look around again, through the smoke. I can't see anyone else and so I jump back to Wallace and Ratner, helping Wallace pull him to his feet. He's dead weight and that's when I bend and shift him to sling over my shoulders. Wallace places himself behind me, and I feel him holding Ratner as we begin to move as quickly as we can towards the stairs. I don't know if Ratner is dead or alive, but I'm not leaving him here. There's no way.
The stairwell is empty by the time we get there, and I just hope I can manage to take Ratner down the steps without killing myself. As I move, I start to remember what happened. Jogging with Wallace on the track. The sound of the explosion blasting out my ears and the shaking of the gymnasium before...nothing. That must have been when the ceiling collapsed. Was I hit? I must have been, but I can't feel a thing.
Nearing the bottom of the emergency stairs, the doors are wide open, and I can see the hordes of people and bright flashing lights of vehicles. As I hit the bottom, I stumble and Wallace manages to somehow catch me, keeping me and Ratner off the ground. When I get to the snow, I collapse onto my knees, and Wallace scoops up Ratner to keep him from crushing me as I fall. The commotion begins to penetrate my ears and I hear Wallace holler for help as he carries Ratner through the snow towards an ambulance. Out of nowhere, Jackie breaks through the security line and rushes him just as the medics meet him to take Ratner from his grasp.
It's then that I see Veronica before I hear her, shoving through the crowd and running past Jackie, frantically scrambling towards me while dodging security trying to stop her. That's when I let go, allowing myself to fall into the snow, my eyes catching the billowing black smoke rising from the fitness center into the bright blue morning sky.
She comes to a crashing stop next to me, her arms enveloping me, pulling me into a ferocious hug. A medic drops to my other side, and she releases me.
"Oh my God! He's bleeding!" Veronica's voice quakes and I shake my head.
"What? Where?" I ask and the medic helps her sit me up a little more.
"Must have been hit," the medic murmurs, his hand cupping my head. "You'll have to come with me."
"What? Why? I'm fine…" Wrenching myself away from him, I try and stand, but am met by a wave of exhaustion.
"He's in shock," the medic states, waving for something and I hear Veronica gasp.
"Logan, your head is bleeding," she says, her hand pressing against my heart. "You can't feel that?"
I go to shake my head and suddenly, I can feel it all. It's like my brain is being squeezed in a vice and I realize the sweat dripping down my neck isn't sweat at all.
"Oh. Shit…." And as I close my eyes, the only thing I can hear is Veronica scream.