DISCLAIMER: Characters of Veronica Mars, the canon events of their storylines, and recognizable dialogue belong to Rob Thomas.
A/N:
Make sure you haven't missed anything posted recently:
CH 12 = posted on 5 June 2018 = includes "missing scenes" from Chapter 10 and 11
CH 11 = posted on 5 June 2018 = ends with argument in the parking lot of Java the Hut
CH 10 = posted on 2 June 2018 = weekend at B&B
CH 9 = posted on 4 May 2018 = Homecoming dance
[
If you haven't read those chapters, click back to them before continuing to read below.
[
This chapter contains bits of #2.9 "My Mother, the Fiend."
Chapter 13
A couple nights later, I got a call from Eli from his burner phone to mine. He gave me a heads up that he would be talking to me at school the next day – in front of watching eyes. We came up with a rough script for the bit of theater we'd be performing in the hallway. Before I went to bed, I carefully selected my wardrobe.
As I got out of my car in the morning, I was ultra-aware of the non-length of my miniskirt. As I leaned back in to get something I had intentionally left on the seat, I was also aware that I was being watched. Walking toward the school, I added a little extra wiggle for the benefit of the onlookers.
At my locker, it seemed like any other ordinary day. Wallace dropped by while I was getting my books, plus running through the many lists in my head while following what Wallace was saying. But it was not an ordinary day.
I could see that the PCHers had gathered at the end of the hall and were all looking my way. Wallace even noticed.
"Veronica, what did you do now? I mean, I'm assuming they're not glaring at me."
"You're gonna throw me to the wolves? Nice manners, BFF."
"I was thinking more … human shield."
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see them moving toward us. Eli gave a chin lift in Wallace's direction indicating that he should leave us alone. The others had stopped a few feet away, but they were close enough to overhear if we wanted them to.
Before walking away, Wallace put a hand on my arm. "You okay here?"
I gave him a reassuring look. "Yeah, I'm good. See you at lunch." Still facing my locker, I acknowledged Eli's presence with a single syllable. "What?"
With his back turned to the guys, he whispered, "Ready?" He waited a second before diving in. He circled around me like a panther, coming to rest against the locker next to mine, facing the other PCHers.
He ran a finger down my arm, following it with his eyes. Then, his gaze continued down my legs.
"I need a favor, V. Was hoping you could … be of service." He spoke slowly, seductively. As his words floated past my ears, his fingertips roamed lazily over nearly every available inch of exposed skin.
"A favor? What do I get in return?"
"The pleasure of my company. You know you never had it so good. Not gonna find satisfaction like that with any of the rich white boys around here."
"You really think that's all it takes? Snap your fingers like you're the second coming of Fonzi and I'll come running? Better yet, fall to my knees … grateful enough for your attention that I'd do you right here in the hallway?" My words were harsh, but I laced my tone with heartbroken wavering. They would think I was cracking under his spell.
He moved his hand to my throat – resting at the base, stroking my collarbone with his thumb.
"The way I see it, you can either dig up the info I need and then I'll spend some time reminding you how good you had it. Or… you can refuse my offer and then me and my boys will have some fun making your life hell."
"Oh, mother, may I please make a deal with the devil?"
"Think it over. And I'll drop by your dad's office after school so you can agree to my offer."
Dad was out of town for a couple of days. I had told Eli that last night. This little charade was serving double duty. The PCHers really did need some info I had access to, but he and I were in need of … well, let's call it a conjugal visit.
I stayed very still, trying to play this like the ex-girlfriend that everyone thought I was. I tried to convey fear, sadness, and desperation. Inside, every nerve ending was lit up with excitement. All I wanted to do was kiss him.
And I would. Later.
[
That afternoon as I pulled out of the school parking lot, I was followed by all the members of the PCH Bike Club. It would have been intimidating, except for the fact that Weevil and I were playing them.
After I had gotten out of my car and walked to the sidewalk in front of our office building, Weevil took off his helmet and gave me a long stare. I looked at the ground, sighed, and then raised my head to give him a nod of agreement. Only after I gave him our prearranged signal did he get off his bike. He gave Thumper a fist bump and a nod. With that, the others drove off leaving the two of us alone on the sidewalk.
He glanced down the street and verified that they had turned the corner. Then, he opened the door for me. The charade was on pause for now.
When we got into the office, I immediately locked the door behind us. I grabbed a few things from my desk and then led him into my dad's office. Call me paranoid, but if Thumper or one of the others decided to come back and bust through the door, I wanted the extra second or two of warning we would get by being in there.
As soon as we stepped through the doorway, Eli pulled me in for a kiss. Then, he asked, "Do you have any idea how difficult it is playing this game?"
"Right there with ya," I replied.
"But it's necessary right now. You're safer if they think you mean nothing to me."
"I get it. And I agreed to the plan. But would you hurry up and look at this stuff? Because I think there are better ways to spend this precious time together."
Standing behind my dad's desk, I opened my laptop and pulled up the information I had already located. The guys assumed he was just telling me now, but he had told me on the phone last night what he needed. I was leaning on the desk as I opened the files and he was right behind me.
"You know you're killing me with this miniskirt, right?"
"I always choose my costume carefully."
"I don't think I've seen you wear anything this short since … that night at Club Mojo."
"You would be correct."
He wrapped his left arm around my waist and looked over my shoulder at the screen. I could tell when he was done absorbing all the pertinent information because his right hand started sliding up my thigh toward the hem of my skirt. His left arm pulled me upright and pressed my back into his abdomen. As he began kissing the side of my neck, I began to move involuntarily.
A few moments later, I spun in his arms, my lips needing to find his. He lifted me up and I wrapped my legs around him. He walked us over to the wall. As my back hit the flat surface, he seemed to be having second thoughts.
"You sure about this? 'Cause if this goes on much longer …"
I reached down into my bra and produced a condom. "That answer your question?"
"You planned this. Why do I suddenly feel like I've been seduced?"
"Anyone who saw that display in the hall this morning knows which one of us got seduced."
"Do they?" He was smirking as he leaned his upper body away from me.
I was all wide-eyed innocence paired with a heavy dose of sarcasm – a combination that was my bread and butter – as I asked, "Are you saying that life is an illusion? That nothing is what it seems to be?" Taking a beat to steady my breathing, I continued, "Now … would you please fuck your not-so-ex-girlfriend?"
His eyes went dark and a smile played at one corner of his mouth. "That dirty mouth of yours is a bit of a surprise. Makes me wonder what you prefer … this and the quickie after we rehearsed the fight … or the romantic weekend at the B&B."
In a breathy voice, I said, "Let's save the conversation for later. I'm on a schedule here, vato."
"Yes, ma'am."
There was very little talking after that. It was amazing. Beyond memorable. In fact, I'll never be able to look at the wall in my father's office the same way again.
When we were finished, he took one last look at my laptop screen. Then, he kissed me before saying, "I'm hoping it won't be too much longer. A couple of weeks at most. But I doubt we'll be able to arrange another meeting like this."
"I know. If Thumper has anyone keeping eyes on you, we can't risk it." I tapped my lip with my finger. "But if you'd like to drop by my locker or lunch table and make lewd comments that they can laugh at, it would at least be an opportunity to talk out in the open."
"Might take you up on that." With one last kiss placed on my forehead, he started to walk out into the main part of the office. "I'll try to call every couple of days. If things start to get tense, make sure to check in with me."
"And if I don't get a reply, I should check the normal PCH meeting spots … and of course, the school flagpole."
"Be sure to bring a knife and a change of clothes for me. And if I'm not in those places, check the hospital and the morgue."
"I can't believe we're joking about this."
"It is what it is, V."
His phone rang. "It's Hector," he said before he answered, "Yeah, man. Just about to leave. Got everything I came for." He laughed darkly. "Yeah. She's good girl … very accommodating."
I could hear laughter on the other end of the line. He shook his head, but played along.
When he hung up, he said, "I apologize in advance for anything that they say tomorrow at school."
"Can't be any worse than what's already been said."
I unlocked the door and let him out. Then, I stayed in the office to return some phone calls and do some filing. The radio was tuned to my father's favorite classic rock station while I worked.
"Cursing the quest,
Courting disaster.
Measureless nights forebode.
Moments of rest,
Glimpses of laughter
Are treasured along the road."
[
[
It was a good thing that we had a chance to reconnect, because I could tell by the way Eli looked at me that he was jealous about the amount of time I was spending with Duncan and Logan while helping them with their respective problems.
It bothered me as much as it bothered him that we couldn't talk openly at school. It didn't help at all that Duncan and Logan had no such restriction. The tension was palpable.
[
[
One Friday, Logan came to school looking like he had taken part in one of the fights he used to organize. When I asked him about it, he wouldn't give me any details. He just said he'd take care of it.
I didn't like the sound of that. His tone was menacing. It reminded me of his father.
[
Later that night, I watched the clock for the time Eli and I had set for a check-in phone call. The appointed time came and went. According to the image on my laptop screen, his GPS tracker was at his uncle's shop. After waiting half an hour, I finally called his burner phone. Getting no answer, I decided to go to the garage and check on him.
The nagging feeling in my gut was right. Something was wrong. His cross pendant was there, but he wasn't. His leather jacket was there too; both his phones were in the pocket. I took them with me and drove around checking the usual PCH spots – places they might have taken him if they realized what we were up to. I allowed myself to feel a mild amount of relief that I had not found him in any of those locations.
Just before dawn, I pulled into the school parking lot. As I rushed toward the flagpole, I was both relieved and sickened by what I saw. He was badly beaten, but he was alive.
After I cut him down, I helped him to the car and got him settled in the back seat. Then, I called Dad. I gave him a brief explanation of why I wasn't at home and told him that I was taking Eli to his cousin's house and I would be home later in the day.
Eli needed to lay low for the weekend. He needed time to think, as well as heal.
During the drive, Eli explained that it was Logan and a few other 09ers who jumped him. Then, he explained why. I was not happy about what he was telling me – that the PCHers had taken Logan and questioned him at gunpoint. I sort of understood why he had to go along with Thumper's idea to interrogate Logan. At least, he had done what he could to control the situation.
Obviously, Logan did not feel he had been given the VIP treatment. And decided it deserved payback.
While Eli had been waiting for me to show up, he had decided that the PCHers didn't need to know about what happened. He took his phone out of his jacket and texted Thumper that he would be unavailable most of the weekend. It was clear that Thumper assumed he was with Mia.
I had called ahead to let Bri and Ben know that we were on the way. She said she would have the first aid supplies ready. They were booked up this weekend, but she would put us in their room which had a private bathroom. They would sleep on the pullout couch in the office.
After getting him cleaned up, I filled the bathtub and added Epsom salts. He tried to talk me into getting into the tub with him, but with all the bruising on his body, I didn't think that was a good idea.
He seemed to feel better after soaking for a while. I put bandages on the cuts before helping him into soft clothing. When we climbed into bed, it took us several minutes to find a comfortable way for us to hold each other.
I thought he would go to sleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, but he wanted to talk. In a groggy voice, he told me about a dream he'd had recently. It involved me being handcuffed to the bed on the third floor where we had made love for the first time.
In an even tone, I asked, "Is that something you'd like to do to me?"
"Not gonna deny it … the dream was hot. But honestly, handcuffing you would prevent one of my favorite things … the feeling of your hands on my skin."
As my hand stroked his scalp, I said, "It's one of my favorite things, too."
Shortly after that, he fell asleep. I held him for a couple hours, napping part of the time myself.
Finally, around dinner time, I went downstairs and told Bri that I needed to head home. When she asked me if we were back together, I made the command decision to tell her the truth but asked her not to tell Letty – explaining that the fewer people who knew the truth, the safer we would be. Or at least, I hoped that we would be safe.
She figured out that I would not be able to come back to get him and said that she would make sure that someone got him home by Sunday night.
After thanking her for everything, I called Dad to tell him I was getting back on the road.
That weekend, Eli and I talked for hours – in person and on the phone. He didn't normally have the luxury of that much free time, nor the privacy to talk freely. I hated that he was in pain and that things had gotten even more dangerous for him, but for this window of time, I tried to enjoy the fact that we had this opportunity to talk.
[
[
During those hours of conversation, I had encouraged him to steer clear of Logan. But he couldn't let it alone. On Monday, he found Logan alone in the restroom and took the opportunity to retaliate.
As people were changing classes, they heard a fight happening, but nobody seemed to know who it was. I managed to get close enough to see Clemmons and a security guard force the door open and drag the two of them to the office.
Later, when Logan and I were talking about his case, he volunteered some details about the fight, including the fact that Eli had asked him if anything had ever happened between the two of us. He didn't tell me his answer or what Eli's reaction was. He simply said, "Your ex has trust issues."
That evening when I was listening to the surveillance audio, I discovered that Eli had not been wearing the cross pendant at the time of the fight. He must have left it in his locker, because I heard what sounded like hallway chatter.
After hearing what Logan had to say, it made me wonder what else had gone on between them. And why Eli didn't want me to hear it.
When I asked him about it, he replied, "Trust me."
They had both used that word. Trust.
Trust him? That was a no-brainer. I trusted Eli with my life.
And at the moment, I had to trust him. I didn't really have another option.
A/N:
Mentioned in this chapter: "Along the Road" – Dan Fogelberg (1979)
Thanks for reading! Until next time …
~Jen
22 June 2018