so yes, i know i'm cap at updating, but you are crap at reviewing. i got one review last chapter. i'm going on holiday so here is an extra long chappy.

15.

After a few minutes the receptionist approached them.

'Excuse me but you are worrying the other guests.' He told Veronica, who still held Logan in her arms. Logan's knees had given in and he was now on the floor, so Veronica understood why it didn't look good. She smiled apologetically at the receptionist.

'He does has a room on the third floor. You could take him there.' He handed Veronica a spare key. She thanked him and the two helped Logan into his room.

'Thank you so much.' Veronica said as he left. She walked towards Logan sitting on the bed, still crying. Veronica felt for him, he had so much hope, and it all got ripped from under him by his selfish sister.

'Do you want anything to eat?' She asked him softly. 'The receptionist left a room service menu. Or you could take a shower, have a sleep?' She suggested. 'I don't think you should drive home tonight.'

Logan just stared at the floor, his vision blinded by tears. He wasn't sure why she was here, but he was glad she was.

'I think I'll go for a shower.' He finally managed to croak out. 'Then food and sleep.' He spoke like a robot.

'Ok, well I'll order you some food then I'll leave you to it.' Veronica said to him, going to get the menu off the dressing table, but Logan grabbed her hand. She turned to face him.

'Stay…' He croaked out, looking up at her. His eyes were filled with sadness, and Veronica's heart broke. She nodded silently, biting her lip.

'I'll wait till you want to go to sleep.' She whispered.

Logan stood up and went to shower. Something inside him wanted Veronica to stay for longer, but he was vulnerable so he blamed it on that. He turned on the shower, and once the water was warm enough, he stepped in, ignoring the pain on his cuts and scars.

Veronica sat down on the bed, crossing her legs, deciding what to order. Deciding on just some burgers and fries, she called down to reception, who said they wouldn't be long. She took out her phone and called her dad. On reaching the machine, she left a message.

'Hey dad, just to let you know I'm at the Sunrise Hotel with Logan. It's not actually what it sounds like, there were some charges made to his mom's credit cards and we thought she was still alive. Turns out it was his sister so Logan's not doing so well. I don't think I'm staying the night but I'm just staying until he's ok so I might be a bit late. See you tomorrow.'

Veronica lay back on the bed and shut his eyes, trying to get her head round what Logan must be feeling right now. Her thoughts wandered to Amelia DeLongpre, she was safe at Veronica's house, waiting for the papers that would be arriving tomorrow.

Logan wrapped a towel around his bottom half and wandered out into the hotel room. He felt slightly better, but he was exhausted and just needed a good sleep. He glanced over the room service menu, his back to Veronica.

Veronica opened her eyes and thought she was dreaming. Firstly, Logan was standing before her with only a towel to cover him. But more importantly, his back was on full view to her, and all she could see were cuts, deep gashes marked onto his skin, and old scars. Blood ran down his back, and it didn't even seem to bother him. Veronica quietly sat up, not wanting to startle him, maybe he thought she was asleep.

She studied the cuts more, they were long and deep, almost as if made by a cane or a belt…

Trina's words came flooding back to her all at once.

'Cigarette burns and broken noses, blood on the sheets? Oh the stories you used to tell.'

Everything hit Veronica like a ton of bricks. Logan never took his shirt off when he was out with them by the pool. And when they were together Veronica thought they were just taking it slow, his top only sometimes came off, but she had never seen anything so bad. Maybe some scars and bruises, but he had valid excuses for those. Aaron was maybe getting worse after the loss of Lily, then Lynn.

Logan suddenly realised exactly who would be on the bed behind him. He had been stupid enough to actually forget she was there. And now all he could do was stand still, he didn't want to have to face it. He knew Veronica would have overheard Trina in the lobby, but she never mentioned the belt. Now Veronica would have a lovely view to exactly what was happening at home.

'Logan?' Her broken voice whispered behind him. He knew from that voice that she was crying. He felt bad, he didn't know what to do.

Logan turned to face her, his eyes shone with fear and Veronica guessed that was what he looked like when Aaron was around. She slowly climbed off of the bed and approached him. He flinched with every step she took towards him, almost as if he was scared that she would do something to him.

'I'm not going to hurt you.' She whispered. Logan seemed to relax. She reached him and their eyes met, a mixture of confusion and pain from both sides. Veronica reached for Logan's hand and took it gently.

'You're bleeding.' She said softly.

'They don't exist to me.' He said blankly. Veronica nodded slowly. She let go of his hand and Logan felt empty. She walked to the bathroom and came back with what looked like a first aid kit. She ushered him to sit down on the bed.

Sitting behind him, she set to work on cleaning the wounds and dressing them. The tears poured freely from her eyes when she felt Logan shaking under her touch.

'Logan…' She whispered.

'He uses the belt. It didn't happen a lot but after Lily died, it became a bit of a ritual. Then when my mom…' He trailed off.

'It became daily.' He whispered, his voice cracking.

Veronica tried her hardest to keep her sobs silent as she finished up with the wounds. She couldn't even speak to tell Logan she was done, so her hands dropped to her side. Eventually Logan stood up and took his clothes to the bathroom to change.

Coming back out, he noticed the crumpled girl on the bed. She was sobbing violently on the bed. He walked over and sat down next to her, placing his hand on her shoulder.

'Why did you never tell me?' She asked him, her voice barely a whisper.

'I was ashamed.' Logan answered truthfully. 'It's not something I like to start a conversation about. Hey girlfriend, my dad is abusing me.' He joked.

Veronica sighed, lifting her hand to Logan's cheek. He leaned into it, savoring her touch.

There was a knock on the door, indicating room service.

'I'm not so hungry anymore.' Veronica whispered, feeling warm under Logan's intense gaze.

Logan nodded. Getting up off the bed, he answered the door and brought the food in.

'I am.' He forced a smile and sat down on the bed and began eating.

Veronica removed her jacket, shocked at how normal Logan could act. A wave of tiredness came over her and she leant back, putting her head on the pillow and closing her eyes.

Veronica phoned was buzzing next to her and she opened her eyes, unsure exactly where she was. The caller ID read Duncan, so she rejected the call, she was not in the mood.

Realising the last thing she remembered was lying back on Logan's bed at the hotel, she figured she was still there. But now it was dark. She turned over and was shocked to see a peaceful Logan sleeping beside her. The time on her phone read 2am, why the hell was Duncan calling at that time?

She couldn't be bothered moving, and something about the shirtless Logan sleeping next to her made her want to stay. She couldn't deny that she still had feelings for him deep down. If Lily hadn't been murdered they would probably still be together. That thought hurt her, and she would still have her boyfriend and her best friend, as opposed to nothing. She felt the tears come to her eyes as she remembered how she and Logan used to be, before all of the pain. The way he used to hold her through the nights she stayed at Lily's and snuck into his bed. Of course Duncan was staying too so he could be with Lily. It always worked out so perfectly. It was probably too perfect. She cried quietly next to the boy that used to love her, now he just hated her.

Logan awoke to quiet sobbing, and for once it wasn't his own. He felt the small warmth beside him and he realised Veronica was there. It was probably his own fault that she was there. He didn't wake her up when he went to sleep, she looked too peaceful. And to be honest he didn't want to face the conversation that might have followed.

But now she was crying, and that was awkward.

'Hey.' He whispered softly. She didn't respond. He placed his hand on her arm and pulled her towards him. Slowly she turned round to face him. She didn't look up at him, she just snuggled into his chest, sniffling. He wrapped his arms around her as she cried into his shoulder, letting himself drift back into sleep.

Logan awoke to a bright light in his eyes. Forcing them open, he realised it was just the daylight. He sighed, rolling over and finding…

No one.

She was gone, and he was gutted. He wasn't sure why he wanted her to stay, he remembered they were mortal enemies, and that shouldn't be changing.

But it was.

Logan couldn't shake that feeling. Spending time with Veronica, business or not business, he really enjoyed it. He found himself trying to find excuses to see her. A little bit of him even wished that they hadn't found Trina yesterday, because then the case wouldn't have been resolved and he could still be spending time with her…

But Logan wasn't stupid. He knew that it was only business to her, he had hurt her too much and there was no turning back.

Veronica sat in her car outside the Sunrise Hotel. She had woken once more at around 8 o'clock in the morning, and she did what she was best at.

She ran.

Veronica wasn't sure what she was feeling right now. She was so confused, on the one hand, she and Logan hated each other, but on the other hand, they kept sharing these intense moments together. At the time Veronica had thought nothing of them, they were just old sparks from there relationship. But now, thinking back over them, she thought they could have meant something, fuel to an old flame, it just needed time.

She shook her head of these thoughts. She shouldn't be thinking them when she knew fine well that Logan would be thinking nothing of the sort.

So she left the hotel room at once. She couldn't bear Logan turning into his old self and slagging her off for being around, making her feel unwelcome and unloved.

Her phone started buzzing in her bag. Grabbing it quickly she answered it, seeing an unknown number.

'Hi Veronica, it's Amelia.'

Veronica smiled slightly, remembering the great achievement her and her father were about to make.

'Hey Amelia, what's up?'

'I just wanted to say thank you for everything. Thanks for letting me know about my father and thanks for this amazing limo taking me home! It's amazing!'

'What?' Veronica's stomach lurged. 'Limo?'

'Yeah, your assistant is so nice. The papers were due to arrive in around an hour but he said you told him to tell me just to go and he would take care of them.'

'Oh god.' Veronica panicked, starting up her car.

'What's the matter?'

'Amelia we don't have an assistant, that guy must be working for the company!'

'Oh my gosh Veronica what does this mean?'

Veronica sped out of the parking lot and headed in the direction of Neptune.

'It means the company found out that we knew about you, and they are trying to destroy the evidence.'

'Veronica I am so sorry!' Amelia said sincerely. 'I wish I had known!'

Veronica sighed, tears filling her eyes. 'It's ok Amelia.' She hung up on the phone and concentrated on getting home.

Pulling into her apartment complex, Veronica spotted a black car pulling out of the car park as she pulled in. She jumped out of her car and ran into her apartment, panic flooding through her.

Opening the door she felt relief as she saw a brown envelope sitting on the floor. She grabbed it and opened it quickly, pulling out a sheet of paper.

'You really should learn to stop butting around in other peoples' business.'

Veronica's eyes widened. Someone had intercepted the mail. She was furious and devastated all at the same time. This was their closest link toward proving Abel's innocence.

She grabbed the fake mail and headed to the office.

Arriving at the office she saw Duncan standing waiting outside. Veronica sighed, she could not be bothered.

'Were you this possessive with Lily?' She asked him, opening the door and heading up to her dad's office. Duncan followed her.

'You didn't call.'

'Shoot me.' Veronica said flatly.

'You promised. I was worried.'

Usually a comment like that would make Veronica jump into his arms, but not today. She just stayed silent.

'And you didn't answer when I called.'

'It was 2 o'clock in the morning Duncan, no, I did not answer.' She snapped.

'Is everything alright?' He asked cautiously.

'No.' She replied simply. 'It's not alright. And no, I don't want to talk about it, and there's nothing you can do.' She sighed.

Duncan looked around awkwardly. 'So I'll just speak to you later?' He asked.

'Yes.'

Duncan stood as if waiting for further reply, but soon got the message and left.

Veronica sighed, sitting down at her desk and putting her head in her hands. The last two days had just been too much for her. Amelia coming and then losing the papers, everything with her and Logan, Logan's beatings… It was a lot to take in over two days.

She stood up and walked into her dad's office. He gave her a small wave, and continued speaking on the phone.

'And you can set that up for me? Yes, as soon as possible. I know her schedule is busy, but this is urgent. You have an opening in two weeks? That's perfect. Yeah I've got one.' Keith reached for a pen. '4 o'clock, that's great.' He hung up the phone.

'Who's that?' Veronica asked.

Keith shrugged it off. 'Nothing important.'

'You said it was urgent.' Veronica teased. Keith just smiled.

'I bet you I can wipe that smile off of your face.' Veronica's tone turned serious. She handed Keith the fake mail she had found earlier.

He opened it up and his face fell as he read over the page. 'What is this?'

Veronica sighed. 'Amelia called me, she thanked us for the limo and told me that our assistant was getting the papers.'

Keith Mars shook his head as Veronica finished the story.

'I can't believe we were intercepted.' He sighed. 'I should've known to be more careful.'

'But how were we to know that anyone else knew about Amelia being here? She never left?'

Keith Mars just shrugged. 'There are many ways to find things out Veronica. You know that.' Veronica nodded and walked out of his office.

She found Logan standing at her desk reading her open laptop, cleverly left open at the Lily Echolls' murder investigation.

'What is it with the Mars family?' He asked her. Veronica rushed forward, closing the laptop and pulling it away from him.

'God Veronica, do you really believe Lily's murder was some kind of vast conspiracy?'

'I don't know what you saw…' Veronica started.

'A file on Duncan…' Logan looked at her intensely.

Veronica bit her lip.

'There's a file on everyone.' She said quietly.

'Yeah… it's thorough. I'm glad my alibi held up.' He said.

'Out of the country. Two eye witnesses, it's air tight.' Veronica said shortly.

'What do you think Lily would make of you investigating all the people who loved her?'

'I loved Lily. Maybe if I didn't I'd be able to drop this.' She sighed quietly, sitting down in her seat. Logan looked at her carefully for a few moments before stepping forward.

'I just came to give you this.' He handed over a cheque.

'Thanks, you know, for looking for my mother.' He gave a small smile.

Veronica took the cheque from Logan and ripped it up quickly.

'Your mom was always nice to me.' She said softly, smiling at Logan.

Logan smiled back softly, gratitude shining in his eyes. He nodded, before turning to leave the office.

'I know you hate parties but you just have to come to this one.' Meg, Duncan and Wallace sat at the lunch table attempting to convince Veronica to come to the after game party tonight. Wallace was playing on the basketball team, starting for the first time. Veronica was coming to the game, just for Wallace, but she refused to go to the party afterwards.

'I am not going to a party where everyone hates me.' She said flatly. Veronica hadn't had the best last couple of days, and she did not want to top it off with people mocking her all night.

'Look, Veronica, your last party didn't go that well.' Veronica glared at Duncan, who smiled apologetically. 'Do you not think standing up for yourself and going and having a normal night would be best?'

Veronica sighed, shaking her head. 'I'll think about it.'

'I'll think about it' had obviously just meant yes to her friends, as now Veronica was being dragged by Duncan and Meg into one of Wallace's team mates house.

The game had been a huge success, the boys winning 62-34, Wallace gathering up a delightful 32 points for his team. So of course a celebration was to be had, the party was packed. People were spilling outside of the house. Veronica and Duncan had to squeeze themselves in.

'Couch opening!' Veronica yelled over the noise, dragging Duncan down to a nearby couch. 'We hold the fort until the end of the night.' She ordered. Duncan laughed.

'Are you not going to socialize?'

Veronica looked at him pointedly. 'No.'

Duncan shook his head. 'Ok.' He sighed.

Meg came over with drinks and sat next to them. 'I don't think I've spoken to half of these people in my life! And I'm a cheerleader!'

'I think some of the other team crashed the party.' Duncan pointed to a topless boy who had 'Neptune Sucks' written on his back.

Veronica laughed, shaking her head. 'This is going to be a long night.'