Drunk Logan
Chapter 25
A/N: Okay, I was getting ready to post this chapter last night. I was also chatting with a friend online. In the middle of prepping the chapter and reviews and right in the middle of the chat, I fell asleep. I woke up 20 minutes later to my friend saying, "where'd you go? Did you fall asleep?" I was barely conscious enough to tell her good night. :-) So, you get the chapter this morning.
Disclaimer: I don't own 'Sleeping Beauty' or any of the Disney Kingdom for that matter. Frankly, I own very little and it's beginning to really piss me off. Anyway, love you all. Thanks for your feedback.
Veronica had gotten in and out of the store in no time and was highly confident about getting back to Logan's before anyone knew that she was gone. In fact, she figured that she had found a pretty good way of getting some alone time away from the house. She laughed at her thoughts.
She had been staying at Logan's for over a week and this was the first time she had wanted any alone time. In fact, if she wasn't spending time with Logan, she'd been wishing she was. Even now, the only alone time she wanted was alone time with Logan. Unfortunately, Logan had lost interest and moved on.
Tears threatened to fall again, but Veronica refused to let them. 'It's not like we were going out, we both agreed that we were working on our friendship and we'd see where things took us. Well, I guess I know the answer to that now.'
She was devastated. She didn't want to be, but she was. It was that simple. Finally, after so much misery and loneliness and abuse, she had thought she'd found a possibility at love again.
'Who am I kidding, I did find love, he just doesn't love me back,' She thought grimly.
She really wanted to keep the closeness that they had gained over the last couple of weeks. She had to find a way to be okay with him dating other people or they'd drift apart. She couldn't let that happen.
She got into her car and headed back to Logan's house, hoping that she'd be able to avoid much contact with him until the morning. She just needed some time to figure out how to look at him without aching for him; his touch, his smell, his kiss, his love.
Veronica was lost in thought trying come up with a plan of action. 'What do I do now? Everything in the tornado that has been my life for the last two weeks has been calmed and bearable by the presence of Logan. What do I do now that he is no longer...available?...focused on me?...mine? whatever he was.'
She was exhausted and her mind was swimming. She just needed to go home and crawl into bed and sleep until morning. When she pulled into the driveway, she smiled to herself. She was right, Logan wasn't back yet. The thoughts of what he could be doing with Jenny stole her smile in an instant.
When she went into the house, she got rid of the note she'd left Logan and put the ice cream in the freezer. She went up to her room, got ready for bed and crawled under the covers. She was so tired of crying. She'd done so much of it lately that she wasn't sure if her body had the ability to make more tears. She laid there for a few minutes before exhaustion overtook her body completely.
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Logan had to suppress the urge to roll his eyes several times on the ride to Jenny's house. She just kept talking and everything she said was asinine. It was meaningless and boring and he hated every minute he was with her.
'How was I ever able to be around, let alone, date girls like this?' Just as he thought it, Jenny "stretched" arching her back and making the tight fit of her shirt, even tighter.
'Oh, yeah. Now I remember what I was thinking.' He accidentally laughed out loud.
"What, what so funny?" She wasn't offended, she was genuinely curious. Logan hadn't picked her for the brightest girl, but she really was just completely clueless.
"Nothing. Well, looks like we're here. I'll see you tomorrow." Logan said as he pulled up to her house. If she'd had half a brain, she would have taken the hint and jumped out quickly. Instead, she leaned over the console to him and ran her hand down his chest.
"No one's home. Are you sure you don't want to come in for a while? Get the whole house tour?" From her facial expression to her body language to her tone of voice, she was turning on all of the sexy she could manage.
As soon as she touched him, his skin began to crawl. After hearing her, he grabbed her hands quickly and jerked them away from him. At her horrified look, he remembered why it was that he was subjecting himself to this. He needed to keep her around for a little while, long enough to get past the awkwardness with Veronica and Duncan.
Using every ounce of strength in him, he plastered on a smile, "Ah, don't tempt me." He rubbed her hands, "I really have to go. Maybe next time, okay?" She nodded, then her lips were on his before he had the chance to do anything about it.
When he pulled back, she smiled dreamily at him. "Bye, Lovah." She said and then got out of the car.
Logan felt sick. In the past, even with Lilly, he would have used an easy lay to get past a breakup. He and Veronica weren't even dating and he still felt like he was cheating on her. There was just something different about his relationship with Veronica than anyone else he'd ever been with.
He put the car in drive and headed back home, back to Veronica. Not only did he hate being away from her, he still did not like that he had to leave her alone. Although appreciative of the security detail and the fact that his house was a security fortress, he still felt the need to watch over her.
As he got nearer, he got more and more nervous about having left her alone. He just needed to see her and make sure she was alright. By the time he got home, he was extremely anxious and practically ran into the house. When he was done searching and calling for her in the main area and pool, he headed to her room.
He was about to burst into her room when a vision of her in the bath tub popped into his head. He didn't want to catch her naked, well, that's not totally true. That was a dream he seemed to be having at least every other night. He didn't think that she would appreciate being in that position, though.
Knocking on her door, he rocked back on his heels and waited for her reply. When there wasn't one, he knocked a little louder and called her name. Still, there was no answer and he began to get nervous again.
He slowly opened her door and said her name again. When he opened the door far enough, he saw her curled up under the blankets of her bed. He walked around the bed so he could see if she was awake, but was met with her closed eyes and steady breathing.
He let out a heavy sigh, partially because he was relieved he'd found her unharmed, partially because he was awestruck by the 'sleeping beauty' that lay before him. It didn't seem to matter how many times he'd seen her...sleeping, awake, battered, beaten and broken-hearted; she was still the most beautiful thing in the world to him.
He knelt down by her bed and just watched her sleep. He couldn't get over the fact that they'd gotten so close and that he knew without a shadow of doubt that they could have been great together.
Staring at her face, he noticed her puffy eyes and tear-stained cheeks. Just as he wondered what could have possibly upset her, she took in an unsteady breath as if she had been crying really hard. Without thinking, he slipped off his shoes, crawled under the blankets and gathered her in his arms.
She was still sleeping, but it didn't stop Logan from trying to calm her with soothing words.
"Shh, it's okay. I'm here, Ronnie. Everything's fine. You're safe, I've got your back and I won't let anyone hurt you ever again." Logan just started talking to her like they were having a conversation.
"Well, Mars. Things are only looking up for you from here. You've got me back, although, I should have never deserted you. I promise, Ronnie, never again. Never again. No matter what, okay?"
"You've got Duncan back and you guys are going to live happily ever after." His voice cracked a little on that admission. "You're dad is really your dad and he's like Super P.I. Daddy Mars who is going to track Troy down like the dog that he is."
"See, nothing but roses, maybe a few Lilly's thrown in for spice." He chuckled a little at the thought of Lilly just sitting up in Heaven and watching the show that her best friend's life had become.
He stroked Veronica's hair and kissed her head. "You know, Lilly would love this. Her ex-boyfriend and her brother wanting to be with her best friend. She would definitely say that you've found your inner red satin."
"The thing is, Ronnie, I don't know what I'm supposed to do. How am I supposed to watch you and Duncan together every day and not die on the inside, knowing that I can never have you? I'm trying my best to be happy for you, I really am. It's just, I...I'm in love with you and it is something I've never felt before. I know that I loved Lilly, but there really is something different about how I feel about you and I don't understand it. I have no idea how this happened." Logan faltered a little at the end.
He knew he couldn't stay in bed with her. She wouldn't appreciate it and neither would Duncan. For better or worse, they were his best friends and he didn't want to do anything to mess that up. The three of them had lost too much time together.
Logan wished that were the only reason, that he was selfless enough to only consider Duncan and Veronica's feelings. It wasn't true, though. A big part of him had to leave her bed or someone would have to tear him away from her in the morning. He couldn't be that close to her, knowing he could never have her. It hurt too much.
When they'd slept together before, it had been because of one of two reasons. Either total emotional support with personal feelings having little to do with it, or because of an emotional connection that had endless possibilities. During the latter times, he'd still wanted to be there for her as a friend, but he also had an immense amount of hope about the development of their relationship.
Those hopes had been crushed the moment he saw Duncan and Veronica kiss. If he were honest, he knew as soon as he read the DNA results that his chance at anything more than friendship with her was gone.
He kissed her head again and then went to his own bed.
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Tuesday morning, Veronica woke up bright and early. She looked at the alarm clock to see what time it was and was shocked to see that she'd gotten another long night's sleep, twelve long, glorious hours. She thought about the day before and wondered if that long night's sleep had cured her heartache enough to see Logan and Jenny together. She bet not.
After getting ready for school, Veronica thought maybe she'd slip out of the house and drive herself to school. She could avoid Logan for a little longer and have some alone time. She figured she needed to get used to alone time again.
It was odd, she had gotten very adept at being by herself over the last year. Now, after two short weeks of the whirlwind that is Logan Echolls, she found alone time difficult.
She walked out the door in a hurry, hoping that Logan wouldn't come downstairs before she could leave, but was stopped by the sight of him leaning against the Xterra.
"Hey, there you are." He smiled at her. "Your chariot awaits."
He opened her door with a flourish and bowed. She couldn't help the giggle that escaped. He closed the door behind her and then got into the driver's seat.
The ride to school was quiet. Both of them were trying to find a way to be just friends with the person they loved, knowing that person didn't return those feelings.
When they got to school, they fell into their usual routine. He would drop her off and pick her up from each of her classes. That was, until he got to her 3rd period class to pick her up and walk her to lunch.
Logan waited for everyone to exit and then looked into the classroom. There was no sign of her. His brow furrowed and he walked toward her locker to search for her. When she wasn't there, he walked out to the quad, thinking that maybe she'd gotten out of class early to meet Duncan.
The bright sunlight hit him when he stepped into the quad and it took a moment for his eyes to adjust. He scanned the area and couldn't find her anywhere. He was beginning to panic when he saw Duncan sitting at the 09er table. He decided to start with her boyfriend. Maybe Duncan knew where she was. Maybe she was just in the bathroom and running late.
"Hey," he said as he walked up to Duncan.
"Hey, Man. What's going on?"
"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Logan jerked his head away from the table indicating that he wanted to take the conversation elsewhere. Duncan got up and followed him.
When they had a little more privacy from the prying ears of Neptune's gossip central, he turned to Duncan.
"Where's Veronica?" He started quickly. He had no time to beat around the bush.
Duncan looked almost stunned. "I have no idea, I haven't seen or heard from her since yesterday at lunch."
"Look, Duncan, there is no reason to lie. I know that you guys are back together and it's fine, I just need to know where she is immediately." He was doing everything he could to control the anxiety running rampant through his body.
"What are you talking about?" Logan wasn't making any sense and Duncan was utterly confused.
"I just need to make sure she's okay. I-" he was cut off by Duncan.
"No, Logan. I mean, we're not dating again." He was speaking very simply, like it was the most obvious fact in the world.
"What are you talking about! I saw you kissing! Just stop with the games and tell me where she is." He was almost yelling and had to control himself in order to not draw attention to their conversation.
"Look, Logan. I did kiss her. I told her how much I missed her, that the only reason I'd broken up with her was because I thought she was my sister. With the DNA test you guys had done, we could be together again. I told her that I wanted to be with her again."
"Okay," Logan said really slowly, trying to figure out what Duncan was saying.
"I did kiss her, but she didn't kiss me back. I think she was more shocked than anything," he chuckled. When he saw the stunned reaction on Logan's face and the fact that he wasn't laughing along, but anxiously awaiting the rest of the story, he continued.
"Anyway, she told me that she missed me too, but that what we had was a long time ago. She had to move on, and then down came the hammer." Duncan said with regret lacing his voice.
"She said that she was in love with someone else." Duncan shrugged. "We agreed to work on being friends again, but it's going to take some time in light of all of the revelations in our relationship.
Logan's head was spinning. He was trying to process everything that Duncan had just said, but couldn't. What did it mean? There was a disconnect in his brain that was making everything cloudy. Duncan's words were jumbled and floating around randomly in his head. Just when he felt like he was beginning to focus again, Duncan spoke up.
"Logan? What's going on with Veronica? Why do you need to find her so badly?"
"Oh, crap." Logan's head snapped up and the wild look in his eyes scared Duncan.
Logan started looking around again for her and spotted Wallace instead. He sprinted over to the table.
"Where's Ronnie?" He was panting a little.
"She left." Wallace said as he took a bite of his lunch.
"What do you mean she left? I drove her to school. How could she have left?"
"Her dad came to pick her up. He called the office and wanted her to meet him in front of the school about half way through 3rd period." He said with a full mouth." One of the secretaries took the message and I delivered it to her class.
"He's been in Mexico, is he back? It's been a couple of days, he could be back. Maybe he wanted to see her again, fill her in on any information he's gotten on Troy." Logan was talking to himself as he reached for his phone and dialed Keith's cell. "Why wouldn't they have called me? It doesn't make any sense."
Duncan and Wallace were looking at him like he was crazy, although, Wallace had started to understand and was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable about the whole situation.
"Hello, Mr. Mars?" Logan was speaking really fast.
"Hey, Logan. Is everything alright? You sound upset."
"Where are you Mr. Mars?" He totally ignored the man's question and went into his own line of questioning. "Is Veronica with you?"
"What? I'm in Mexico, remember? Of course Veronica's not with me. Isn't she with you?" Keith was beginning to realize what was going on and he needed answers.
"No, Wallace said that she left school during 3rd period because you called the office and wanted her to meet you out in front of the school." Logan was practically hysterical by that point. He was almost yelling into the phone and his eyes had filled with tears. He began running toward his SUV with Duncan and Wallace hot on his heels.
"Logan, look, I'm going to hang up and call Lamb right now. We need him in on this immediately! Keep your phone on and check everywhere you can think of, okay? Your house, my house, the office, Troy's house, the beach, everywhere. And, leave notes for her in case she comes back to any of those places. I'll call you after I talk to Don. I'm on my way home, okay?"
"Yeah," Logan was bawling at this point. He was shaking all over and having trouble standing.
"Logan? Logan! Look, son, be strong right now. She needs us to keep it together now. If he has her, she is going to need as much productive help as possible as quickly as possible. We can fall apart later, right now, we have the best chance of getting her back. Do what needs to be done, understand?"
Logan straightened up, and although he was still crying, he was trying his best to focus on the task at hand. He had to get her back and away from Troy. He just hoped that this was all a big mistake like the last time she had "gone missing."
Logan shut his phone and then turned to the two very concerned boys who were with him.
"I-it looks like Troy might have her." At Duncan's confused expression, Logan explained, "Duncan, you don't know what's going on and I don't have time to tell you everything. I'll tell you that Troy beat her up really badly, then Mr. Mars and I found a bunch of stuff at his house that proves he's severely obsessed with her and has been since the summer that you and Lilly met him."
"I will tell you more later, but right now we need to find her. Her dad is still in Mexico, so whoever wanted her to be in front of the school was NOT him. It was probably Troy."
"Her dad is calling the Sheriff and wants me to check everywhere else I can think of, here in Neptune. You guys want to split up and help?"
Wallace and Duncan opened their mouths to speak, but it was the voice behind Logan that got his attention.
"Count me and my boys in." A stunned Logan turned to look straight into the eyes of the boy he hated most in the world, after Troy, of course.
He thought of all of the hateful things that he could say to Weevil, but all that he came up with was gratefulness. At this point, he'd be willing to have the Devil himself out looking for her, although, Logan was pretty sure that the Devil was already with her.
"Thanks, Weevil. Why don't you and your guys hit the beach. You can cover more ground than any of us individually. After the beach, maybe try food joints. It is lunch time and we all know how much she loves food." Logan tried to come across as confident and smile a little. In reality, he just looked like he felt sick.
"Wallace and Duncan, check the office, Wallace's house, anywhere she'd feel safe."
"I'll check my place, hers and Troy's. Call me if anyone finds anything. Weevil, what's your number?"
Logan dialed the number as Weevil told him and Weevil's phone rang. Logan disconnected the call.
"Okay, now you have my number on your phone and I have yours. Let's go guys. Call me immediately, if you find anything." Logan had started to get into his SUV, the gang leader was already on his phone contacting his boys, and Wallace and Duncan headed to Duncan's car.
They were going to find her, they had to.
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RBDFAN: Maybe, but he's just so pretty. :-)
jennaml2709: Well, I think that we can agree that both Logan and Veronica need to think through their choices more before acting. BTW, sorry to hear about the endiometriose. After we had our 2nd miscarriage and the doctor said that after 3 in a row and no viable pregnancies, we shouldn't continue, we really had to consider our options. I remember, when thinking about adoption, that 'who said that their isn't already a baby or going to be a baby out there that God wants me to love?' I think adoption is great and I firmly believe that adoption serves as a blessing to the adopted and the adopting. Good luck.
EpicLoVeFan: Well, see. The reviews I get are my crack. There's a lot of crack floating around this place.
RedBrick: Welcome, don't think I've heard from you. Thank you...as you can see, I love to emotionally murder my readers. Heeheehee. Anyway, hope you enjoy.
Sarca666: See now, this is where I think I'm very close to canon. V did some horrifically stupid things in her pursuit of truth and justice. Sometimes she just doesn't think! Thanks for the great review!
09nerLoVer: I'm telling you! They just don't make it easy, do they? Poor Logan was just so ready to be cast aside that it colored his outlook on the V/D situation. And, what can I say. When you need Mudslide Ice Cream, you need Mudslide Ice Cream.
VMLoVeR87: Can I TELL you how much I HATE Madison Sinclair. With a passion! With the strength of 1000 two-year olds fighting to get their way! As much as Jen hates Angelina and Michael Moore hates the evils of a razor and comb. As much as Al Gore hates public transportation or as much as Osama bin Laden loves the sand that gets packed in his crack when he rolls around with the goats in his dark cave. Argh!! In other words, I believe she is not a nice young lady and should be avoided at all costs. Heeheehee
xosummerxo: I know, I just love my Logan. He just doesn't see himself as worth for V's love.
IluvVM: NO! pouts. Unfortunately, my author keeps giving me excuses, but never updates. I think that she was busy for awhile planning her wedding and then, I got the impression at a later date like maybe all of that had fallen through. Of course, she didn't say that, but I'm just guessing. Anyway, I've got to cut her some slack if that's what she's been dealing with. Anyway, so glad you are loving the torture that I enjoy putting you and your fellow readers through. It really is one of my favorite pasttimes.
2honest4myowngood: I'm so sorry to hear about your hand. Look, take a break for a couple of days. Keep reading, but you can wait to review. I'll know that you want to and I appreciate it, but take care of yourself. Now, I always tell my children to do unto others as they want to have done to them. So, did you burn those little kids back? Heehee. Just kidding. REALLY!
Literati and naley forever: You're right. I think that Logan and Veronica both have difficulty stopping themselves long enough to think anything through.
Adja: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, All-e-lu-ia! You are back! How did your test go and your time around France? So, what did you think of the chapter...little different?
Sofy2409: okay, first, I will always try to answer any of your reviews. I figure that you are taking the time to review, I can take the time to answer...unless I'm crunched for time to get my chapter out. Then, when I don't reply to reviews, it is only to avoid a lynching. My children need their mother. Second, one of my favorite comments... "no no you stupid hot boy!" Hilarious!!!
Third, yes the security detail probably could have at least tried to talk her out of leaving. What were they thinking? Fourth, if there is a declaration at some point, I think you'll like it. wink
Lorelei Candice Black: See now, you went a whole different route. Do you remember...well, I don't know how old you are or if they are still popular, but anyway. Do you remember those books that you'd read, where each chapter ended with a question and you got to choose the answer, therefore, forming where the story went. For example, I could ask: Does Troy find V at the supermarket. If yes, turn to page 58, if no, turn to page 27. Okay, yes, completely off subject, but you brought it up! Rotfl
AJzkitten69: ok, so you must live in the same time zone I do and have the same kind of sleep behavior I do. Here I am, posting at all times of the night, there you are reading at all times of the night! Hmmmm, pure evil? Well, my daddy always taught me, that anything worth doing is worth doing well. snickers
LoVeElle: Whew! Did I find you okay? You seemed pretty stressed during your review. Although, I don't think that this chapter is much for calming you, please don't throw your computer out the window just yet. I'd really hate to lose you. :-)