Redeeming LoVe
Chapter 13: Facts and Truths
Veronica
It's been three days since Logan found out his mother had jumped off the Coronado Bridge. He had said we would talk about the situation, but when I brought it up the next morning he totally shut me out. He drove me home and left without even talking the time to talk with me. I was going to talk with him the next day, but he hasn't shown up for school either. I wanted to go over to his house and beat the living stew out of him until he talked with him, but I knew he wouldn't really care. Logan had two types of attitude love and hate. And believe me when I thought he needed to get his hate and anger out of his system before we could talk.
I was taking the full friend thing to the limit with Wallace as we go over our homework and stare at the gossip rag in front of us. Wallace was one of those friends that didn't ask for anything in return for their friendship. He was easy to just hang out with and let things go.
"Is it true that his mom left him a note on her Blackberry?' He asks as he turns the page in the gossip rag.
"Yeah that's what I heard. Talk about post-modern," I say as he looks over at me with a concerned expression.
"Do you know how Logan's handling it all?" he asks as I sigh because I couldn't really say.
"Right now we aren't actually talking. I may have said a few things he didn't need to know, and then the poop hit the fan with his mom. He hasn't been at school since," I say as I hear the keys jingling in the door. I wanted to laugh at how slowly my dad was walking into the office, but didn't want to hurt his feelings.
"Hey, Dad. How's the back holdin' up? Did you remember to take your pills?" I ask as he looks at me with a glare.
"No, nurse Mars, I haven't had the chance to take them. Shouldn't you be doing your homework instead of nagging me?" he mutters as he goes to walk by me as I hold out his pills for him. "Thanks," he mutters as he walks toward his office.
"Next time, Dad remember: lift drunk, combative bail jumpers with your legs, not your back," I say as he closes the door behind him. "I almost forgot use your heating pad, I left it in your chair, and oh ya eat plenty of fiber," I shout as I hear him bang something in his office.
"I bet it sucks having the tabloid creeps in your face at a time like this," Wallace says as I stare at his hair trying hard to keep my hands from reaching out and pulling on a strand. It looked like he had his hair twisted and braided. "Stop staring Veronica it's just hair," he says as I move to touch it. Yet, he pulls my hand from near his head and holds it down into the couch. We were interrupted by the door opening and a man coming in.
"Hey, I'm, uh, looking for Keith Mars," the man says as I look from him to the office door.
"Yeah, sure, in here. Dad?" I say as I open the door and the man follows me into the small space.
"Yeah?" my dad says as he looks up from his papers. The man doesn't wait for me to leave as he sits down in front of my dad and begins to lay out his problem. As I walk out and close the door I see Wallace staring at me.
"Did you know who that was?" he half mutters and says in a strange voice.
"Nope, should I know who he was?" I ask worried that I might actually be missing out on something.
"If you're anywhere serious about your cred with the urban demographic," Wallace says as he laughs at me.
"You know the real me Fennel I am absolutely serious about my cred with the urban demo," I mock him as he goes into detail of who just walked into my dad's office. I couldn't believe that guy was my one time friend Yolanda Hamilton. I knew very little about her dad, but I did know he was into the music scene. I just didn't know what his image was exactly. After about half an hour Wallace decided to head home as I waited for my dad.
I waited for some time but decided to take Wallace's path and headed home to make dinner. I was stirring the pasta flop I had thrown together as my dad entered the apartment.
"Hey sweetheart, what's cooking?" he asks as he lays all his stuff down on the counter.
"Well I'm not quite sure yet myself, but something that ends in –aroni," I say as I stir the noodles with the big spoon. I turn to see him pulling out a magazine from a folder he had in his hand. He had called me to tell me about Yolanda, but didn't go into too many details. "Any luck?" I question as he flips through a few pages not really looking at them.
"Nothing, it's like no one saw anything out of the ordinary," he mutters as it seems like h hit a dead end.
"Have you figured out what's up with him," I ask as I think back to how intimidated I was of the guy.
"I'm checking out all the info I could dig up on my client. And if you buy it, he's the scariest man alive who's also launching a line of casual wear," he jokes as I pick up the photo of Yolanda from the file.
"She's a senior at my school. I can ask around, background info, if you would like me too," I say as I am reminded about the first time I met her.
"Um sure, but be discreet. Client's a little sensitive, okay?" he says as I nod my head before fishing out two bowls and flopping the slop into them. My dad looks up from his file and smiles at me as he takes a bite and goes back to his file. I eat quickly and clean up the kitchen before heading to my room.
'How are you holding up?' I send Logan the text before I have second thoughts about it. I stare at my phone for several minutes hoping he would text me back, but once I realize he isn't going to I turn on my computer and look up all the things I knew about Yolanda. I was about to turn off the lights and get into bed when my phone vibrated.
'Just peachy and dandy. What no hidden camera or wires' Logan texts me back as I realize he figured out how I had known about his situation before he found out his mom had killed herself.
'No, I am worried though. If you need anything please let me know. I mean it!' I text back but wasn't expecting a reply back. Logan wasn't in the mood to be bothered. I would focus on the case at hand and then worry about Logan. I would give him some space to cool off and then prance on him.
I found it hard the next day to focus on anything with the Hamilton case when I knew that Logan was hurting. I talked with her friend Gabrielle, but she was lying so badly that she finally caved and told me the truth. Evidently Yolanda snuck off to meet up with someone. When I called her out about lying and told her that Yolanda was missing and might be in danger she looked around before talking again.
"We'd been sneaking out to this club in LA, Blender. The bouncer Marcel used to work for her dad. I've been seeing this guy. He's older. My parents would disown me if they knew," Gabrielle says as she takes in a deep breath.
"How long did the two of you stay at the club?" I questioned as she looked down at her lunch before looking back up at me.
"When Jamie and I left it was probably around midnight. Yolanda was still there. But she had her car. I thought she would just head home like she usually did when we separated," she explained as I realized this wasn't their first time. I thought about the amount of times Lilly got me to sneak out with her.
"Thanks. I sure hope she's okay," I mutter toward her as I get up from the table giving her a glare. Gabrielle is pissed off at the comment more than Yolanda missing.
"Who the hell do you think you are Veronica? She's my best friend. You think I don't? She's my friend," she snaps back at me as I pull out my phone and she collects her things stomping away.
"Dad. Something to check…" I say as I think back to when Yolanda was one of my friends. 'Who am I? I was Yolanda's first friend at Neptune'. I pick up my bag and walk back into the hallway. I pulled my phone back out and dialed another number hoping to finally get an answer.
***LoVe***
Logan
I was so upset at how much a circus the media was having at my mother's expense. I could hardly stand being in the same house as Aaron, but the last thing I wanted to do was make him upset. I opened his bedroom door to find him sitting on the edge of his bed in his robe. The shades are still drawn and he is holding a picture in his hands. I move toward him but keep a small distance unsure of his mood.
"If you really want flowers, dying seems to be the way to go," I say before I have time to think. I move away and drop the suit I was carrying in my hands onto the bed next to him. "Here's your costume," I say as I give him a flourish of my hands. Aaron looks up at me with red rimmed eyes. It was as if he was looking right through me. "You know, if it's not sad enough, I can order you something else. Just name it and I can have someone get it for you," I half snap as he finally takes notice of me.
"Do you remember I think it was your tenth birthday we all went to the zoo?" he questions as he reaches out for my hand. I reluctantly let him grasp it unsure of where he was going with his question. "I wanted to make it special so we told your mom that we were all gonna get dressed up in our favorite animal costume. Do you remember her animal?" he asks with a sad smile.
"Yeah, it was a mermaid," I say remembering how she looked in the outfit. I was so excited that she had dressed up. I pulled my hand out of his grasp just as he sighs from the lost of contact.
"She was so light hearted that when she realized the joke was on her that she kept the outfit on anyway. She wore the costume proudly all day," he says as I watch him get sentimental.
"Yeah, I remember that day," I mutter as he looks back up at me while I pause before giving him a death glare. "On the way home I accidentally spilled my milkshake in the Beamer, and you gave me a nosebleed," I mutter as he jerks his head up in my direction.
"No you poured that milkshake out in the backseat because we wouldn't buy you that stupid monkey, then, when I went to grab you, you smacked your head against a window," he snaps as I just shake my head.
"I guess we both remember it differently right Dad," I mutter as I see him look away like it was some huge tragedy while I can't stand it as I throw my hands up in the air. "It's fine, I know things aren't any different than they were yesterday," I mutter as I head toward the door to get away from him.
"Have you heard from your Trina?" he questions as he half way gets up out of the bed.
"Yeah, she sent a telegram explaining she was shooting an underwater film and can't get away. She wished she could but there isn't any way for her to," I snap as I turn back toward the door once more.
"Logan," he mutters with a warning laced into the one word.
"Just stop? Boy, there's no people like show people," I sneer at him not thinking about anything but how much I hated him at the moment. I lift up my hands and give him the wild jazz fingers I saw once in 'Bring it On'. "Ya-da-ti-da" I say as I sing it out waving my hands and gesturing for him. "She did send a wreath though, it's gorgeous. Tulips and hyacinth," I mutter as I open the door and was about to walk through when I heard him mutter how much my mom loved Tulips as the doorbell rang.
"Don't worry about getting up!" I mutter as I realize he wasn't even listening to me anymore. I make my way to the front door just as Ms. Navarro was.
"Mr. Logan," she says as I wave her off. I open the door to find the one person I really wasn't in the mood for.
"What do you want?" I snap a little harsher than I needed to.
"I was just checking up on you," Veronica says as I see her darting her eyes wildly around.
"He's like a shut in. I just left him in his bedroom," I say knowing exactly who she was looking for. "I am pretty busy right now. I don't have short blonde pixie written down for today in my planner," I snap again as she pushes past me into the house while I shut the door.
***LoVe***
Veronica
I was feeling a little better after seeing Logan, but I was still worried about him. My dad had just got a tip about the bodyguard that Yolanda's dad had let go. He was about to reach for his keys when I snatched them up off the desk before he could. He wanted me to stay out of it, but he was high on pain killers and I wasn't going to sit around. I didn't want to sit around because then I had way too much time to think about all the stuff going on in my life.
We headed for the Blenders the night club where my dad was adamant that I stay in the car and wait for him. I watched as he walked up to the bouncer and had a little talk with him. While he was busy I went to the parking area and snatched all the old ticket stubs. I put the stubs in the back seat and waited for him to come back. I didn't have to wait too long when I turned to look in the mirror he was headed back my way.
"Where to, boss?" I said mocking the fact that he couldn't drive as he got back into the front seat. He gave me a small glare before speaking.
"Have you heard of a rapper named Dime Bag?" he questioned as I thought about it. I had only heard of them once while hanging out with Lilly and Yolanda, but that was a year ago.
"Dad, I thought you read Vibe, come on you can't tell me you have never heard, "Shot My Boo"? "Thuggin'"?" I questioned as he groaned loudly before sighing.
"I'm sure they are lovely tunes, I'm sure. But you might remember the guy that Bone Hamilton supposedly dangled out of a window until he signed a contract" he says smugly as I had no clue.
"That was Dime Bag?" I asked as he nodded his head. He found the valet stubs as he turned around to get something from the back. He wasn't thrilled I had gotten out of the car at all. He told me to head over to the hotel the guys were staying at. I drove toward the Duke which was located near the middle of Neptune. As he got out of the car in the underground parking he reminded me that I was to stay in the car away from trouble or else. I waited impatiently on the hood of my car until he returned.
"Any luck?" I questioned when I saw him coming closer. He explained to me that the manager said they were out of town, but wouldn't let him leave a message. He decided that he was going to go with plan B, which meant he was going to bug the room. I wanted to help, but he asked me to wait in the lobby. I was casually leaning up against the pillar in the middle of the lobby when I overheard Dime Bag.
I was worried that they were going to walk in on my dad in the room until I overheard the guys complaining about how small the room they were in was. The manager was going to bump them up to a bigger room, which would now make the bug my dad was planting useless. I had to act fast or this would be a wasted trip. I pulled the spare bug out of my pocket and headed toward the counter grabbing a clipboard. Once the girl gave them their new room I acted as if I was their new hostess and began showing them to their new room.
As I opened the door and they moved into the new space I began to show them their new digs looking for a place to hide the bug. I had moved around the couch behind it was a table with a phone on it. I planted the bug under the table as I picked up the phone. This wouldn't be a wasted trip. I had to help my dad because I really hated how things ended with Yolanda. My dad was waiting for me as I made my way to the car.
"Where have you been? Didn't I say-" he half snaps as I move closer to him.
"Bathroom break," I say as I throw my hands up in the air. We both move toward the front of the car and get in as my dad does he groans when his back hits the seat.
"How'd we do?" I question as he opens a portable laptop and opens the bug application.
"I think we're in business," he says until we hear a woman's voice transmitting complaining to her husband.
"Here, let me try this," I say as I type in some codes changing it from his bug to mine. He looks over at me with a questioning look as Dime Bag and his buddies voices fill the small car. When they mentioned me being hot my dad almost saw red, but he held it together. I knew he was dying to ask me what I did, but I was thankful he refrained from doing so.
"What's the plan now?" I question as the idiot begins talking about girls. My dad slams the laptop closed.
"I get Mr. Hamilton to beg," he mutters giving me a disapproving look as I put the keys in the ignition and start the car. "How is Logan doing?" he questions as I head back toward our apartment.
"I'm not sure," I say softly as I stare out the window ending all communication.
***LoVe***
Logan
I wanted Veronica here with me so badly, but I didn't want to seem too clingy. I mean I thought she understood me better than some people, but it worried me how easily it was to turn against her before. I didn't want to hate her anymore, yet I just had too many questions about where we stood. I was in love with her, but I felt like the feelings weren't mutual.
I looked around the house at all the pictures of my mom and Aaron that were scattered all around the room. I looked up to see Aaron fully dressed in his dark suit looking as if nothing was wrong at all. I couldn't be more ticked off as I looked in the mirror as I finished tying my tie. I was buttoning up my last two buttons as Aaron made his way over to where I was standing in front of the front door.
"Logan. I think I have a pretty good idea about what's going in your head," he says as calmly as if nothing was wrong. He pauses with his hand on the door waiting for me to acknowledge him. "I know you think I am to blame for your mother's death. That's okay. Our marriage had some very high highs and some very low lows. And I know that this hard act you're putting on is just your way of coping. But let's make a deal. Our war's over now, Logan," he says as he reaches over to put my collar down, but I back away from him instead. "I mean it's what she would have wanted," he says ever so softly.
I stay quite even yet as I finish checking myself in the mirror before putting my sunglasses on. I give him a peace sign as I open the doors and walk out into the sunlight. Aaron just sighs loudly as he follows me. I am moving toward the waiting limo when I hear the tell, tell clicks of a camera. I look around to see where the damn jerk was hiding. I see him a few feet from me hiding behind one of the overly large rocks in our yard. The moment the jerk sees me looking at him he takes off back toward the fence.
"Logan!" I barely hear Aaron say as I chase after the photographer. There is a large crowd on the other side of the fence. I grab the photographer and jerk him around.
"You come into our yard to take pictures, huh. What the hell is wrong with you," I snap as I jerk the camera from him and with all the force I can throw him and his camera on the ground.
"You want something real? Here's real for you!" I continue as I stomp on his already broken camera.
"Hey, that's a thousand dollar camera, you little prick!" the photographer yells out at me just as Aaron shows up. I am about to give him a good right hook as Aaron grabs my hand keeping me still.
"Enough!" he snaps at me with a glare. I look directly at Aaron and then back at the audience and walk away, but not before adding the final jab, "You know what Mom would have wanted! She would have wanted you to not sleep with all her friends. She would have wanted you to care as much about her as your career. So okay, Dad, let's be honest. Maybe we both wished we'd been better. But she's dead and gone right now because of you. I hope you can live with that," I yell as I look up toward the limo to see a certain blonde.
"Logan," Aaron yells out to me as I walk up to where Veronica was waiting.
"Come on," she says as I follow her into the waiting limo. I knew with her here Aaron wouldn't try anything. A few minutes later Aaron joins us with a questioning look as he sees Veronica dressed in black holding my hand. I don't even look at him as we head toward the cemetery. Aaron was going to just have a ceremony there since no body was found. I was just glad I wasn't alone at the moment because I would have done something that I might have regretted.
***LoVe***
Veronica
After the ceremony at the cemetery I wanted to go back to Logan's house with him, but he assured me he would have plenty of people to look after him. No, instead he asked me to give him a couple of days. He wanted to process the things that had happened. I gave him a tight smile as my dad picked me up. I decided to head to school because something was nagging me about Yolanda's brother.
"They said you had PE this period," I said when I found Bryce in the science lab.
"Yeah, I dropped it for independent study," he says without even looking away from his project.
"Right, there is a class where you can play with the sand. Please sign me up," I smirk as he just shakes his head.
"I am studying civil engineering, soil erosion in the urban context with this model," he says as I have no freaking clue what he was talking about.
"I guess, um cool. I'm…" I start to tell him my name only for him to stop me.
"Veronica. I remember who you are," he says somewhat angry.
"Right, I am just helping my dad out with some background info, you know, see if we can track Yolanda down and bring her home," I say as he looks back at me with a questioning look.
"Track her down? You think she's lost like some misplaced dog, if something happened to Yolanda its one of the jerks who hangs around with my dad," he mutters looking back to his soil thing.
"Your dad is desperate to get her back," I begin as he scoffs.
"Yeah he is, do you mind telling me why he hired a PI instead of just going to the police. Did you know he's ashamed of me, you know. He's been in jail a third of my life but I'm an embarrassment. State Science Fair winner two years straight but I'm soft. Is that why you guys stopped being friends? You figure out our dad was in jail?" he looks back over at me as I look anywhere but at him. How do you tell someone it was because another friend pressured you because you caught her kissing the boyfriend?
"Yolanda never talked about who your dad was. I didn't even know about that," I say as I look back at him.
"Then what you just drifted apart, right. That was too bad because she really liked you guys," he says as I decided that I didn't want to over stay my welcome if it was that at all. I had liked Yolanda as well. I wish she hadn't of kissed Logan though. I mean that was the reason Lilly had us turn on her.
***LoVe***
Wallace came over to help me with the parking stubs to see if any of them might lead us somewhere, but I wasn't finding anything useful. I pulled my laptop out to see what I could find while Wallace continued looking through the stubs.
"Look at all these valet stubs, this must be the life of the rich and famous. Man, I thought being a private eye was all about shooting dudes and making out with sexy widows. I mean that is how they do it in all the movies," he smirks as I give him an eye roll.
"Right, there are sexy widows, but they show up much later," I say as I continue to look through files on my computer until something pops up that catches my eye. "Hey! I can't believe my luck," I say excitedly as Wallace drops the stubs and moves toward me.
"What? Please tell me it's a hot sexy widow," he asks smirking as I shake my head at him.
"Not hardly, it's Bloom. My dad said he talked to a Sam Bloom but…he's in a wheelchair," I say as I pull up the records for the Bloom family. I found a record from the DMV for Benjamin Bloom from 08-15-2004; he got a warning for loitering which was reported by neighbors. Then the next one was for a Rebecca Bloom from 05-30-1995; she got a $150 Fine for parking within 10ft of Fire Hydrant. The two of them had the same address as Samuel Bloom. Benjamin must be his son.
"Veronica, Benjamin Bloom. Close but no-" he starts but I cut him off.
"Hold the cigar, I'm not done yet," I say as I pull up the birth records for Benjamin Bloom to find he was Samuel Bloom's son.
"See here," I say as I point to the screen and read. "Sam Bloom Esquire has a son named Benjamin who was at the club the night she disappeared. I'll take that cigar now," I smirk as Wallace just chuckles.
***LoVe***
Logan
As I stood around looking at the crowd of people all around me I was mentally kicking myself for sending Veronica away. I could have used her moral support right now. There were hundreds of flowers covering the whole kitchen, dining room and our living room. It bothered me that there were so many people here for her wake, but hardly anyone showed up while she was alive.
"Thanks for coming out, my mom would have loved to have seen you," I say with as much fake joy as I could muster.
"It's my pleasure," the man says as I make my way around the downstairs greeting people and shaking their hands while Aaron watched me from afar. I made sure to play the doting grieving son and see if he needed any support every 10 minutes or so.
"I am glad you could be here," I say to a balding man as I am looking to find Aaron. I shake his hand and the man seems like I had done something horrible.
"Thank you," he mutters snatching his hand from me. I spot Aaron outside by the pool talking to his agent. I hated the jerk, but Aaron loved him. I walk out onto the patio letting the breath I was holding in out as I flicked the lid on the lighter that was found in my mom's car with the letter addressed to me.
"Good god, Harvey, this is my wife's funeral for fuck's sake," I hear Aaron mutter.
"So, Harve," I snap as both Aaron and him turn to look over at me. Harvey just nods his head at me as I look deeply at Aaron who seems contrite. "Do you think next time we have one of these funeral things that ICM will let us use the boardroom. You know, so there's no travel, no trailer size negotiations. I don't know, it's just a thought," I sneer as I catch the distained look from Aaron. I just walk closer but stay out of arms length.
"Logan," Aaron says as I he reaches out for me.
"What, can I get you anything? Mimosa? Finger sandwich, maybe a freaking tissue," I snap as I turn and walk back into the house. I barely hear Aaron muttering as Harvey sighs loudly.
An hour later Duncan finds me wallowing in my room playing video games. I try to explain to him how I felt, but he wasn't even remotely understanding one thing I was saying. When I told him that my mom wasn't really dead he muttered that it was wishful. I don't think he could ever understand what I was feeling, no but I had a thought that maybe one person might. Yet, I wasn't willing to give into that thought just yet. The only thing that matter to me right now was the inscription on the lighter, 'FREE AT LAST'.
***LoVe***
Veronica
"Hey Dad. Did you find Benjamin Bloom?" I questioned from my desk as he entered the office.
"No, but his dad seemed squirrelly when I asked how he was," he says as he tells me that Benjamin was a college student. I used my greater Lilly voice and played a dumb blonde to find that Benjamin was acting strange before he disappeared. His roommate said that he saw a conformation on Ben's desk right before he left for a Vegas hotel. My dad placed a call into one of his old buddies to let him know if he heard anything.
My dad went to Bone's house to let him know what he found out, but he was told he was fired. I thought back to what I had seen Bryce doing the day before and while everyone was watching Bone at the drop point my dad and I headed somewhere else. It was pouring down the rain, but all we had to do was follow the ducks. I had my dad drop them in the storm drain near where Bone was making the drop. I was smarter though because we hid several trackers in the ducks. All we had to do was follow them.
"Hey, Bryce," I say as I come up behind him.
"How'd you guys find me?" he asks looking past me at my dad.
"Well I thought whoever did this was either really dumb or really smart," I say as Bryce gives me a small smile. We talk a little before we head back to his house. I had to admit he was pretty smart for a rapster's kid. He explained that Yolanda didn't really get kidnapped she just ran off with her boyfriend.
The Hamilton's didn't really like the way that things turned out, but that wasn't out issue. I was glad though to find that Yolanda was okay. She was married, but okay. As my dad and I left the Hamilton's I could hear Bryce's dad yelling at him, but the look in his eyes told a different story. His dad was proud of him. He might be ticked off right now, but in the long run something had changed. It was sad that Yolanda's dad wouldn't give her his blessing, but she was fine with that.
My dad had gone out to get dinner as I hooked up my laptop camera in place waiting for the other person to join me. I saw the background of the hotel room Yolanda was in earlier, but she hasn't come into the room just yet. I am about to turn around when I see her.
"Veronica? Is that you? How did you…" she starts but stops and gives me a smile.
"I really just wanted to see you. Also just wanted to say congratulations on the marriage and I'm sorry for what happened last year. I should have been a better friend to you," I say as she just shakes her head.
"Veronica, I never blamed you I mean if I had been in your position, I would have done the same thing," she says with a smile. I was about to say something else as I heard a sharp knock on the apartment door. I said goodbye to Yolanda asking her to see me if she had the chance. I move toward the door with Backup at my feet. I wasn't prepared for the broken sight I would find on the other side of my door.
"Logan, what are you doing here?" I question perplexed as I see he has gotten his arms tightly wrapped around his upper chest as if he was hugging himself. I reach out to touch him but he backs away from me.
"I want you to find my mother," he says as I look into his red rimmed eyes once and for all. Yes, he may have been a jackass to me for the past year, or so, but deep down he was just as broken if not more than I was. I may not have lived the life he had, but we had both lost our mothers. He actually lost his, but mine might as well be dead since she walked out on me.