Chapter Four
3 weeks 4 days 7 hours and 23 seconds. It had been 3 weeks 4 days 7 hours and 23 seconds since Veronica was released from the hospital. It wasn't a very easy release either. She had no idea where she was going and what type of people she was leaving with. They had managed to convince her that her father was a great guy and that they had a great relationship together. Keith had brought Veronica photo albums and she saw that they did have a good relationship together.
She had spent a few days in the hospital after waking up getting to know some of her friends and chit chatting with Alice. Veronica was learning a lot about herself but at the same time people weren't exactly filling her in on everything. There were a lot of missing pieces that no one was willing to tell her about. The doctors told her that it was very likely that she would eventually regain her memory and that various things could trigger memories and to not be alarmed. She was also released on the promise that she would come in every two weeks in order to go to therapy in order to talk her feelings out. It was something Veronica oh so was not looking forward to. She just wanted to be a normal teenage but apparently that wasn't going to happen.
While she was at the hospital she was constantly badgered by Piz and Duncan with Logan rarely coming by. Apparently she had really struck a chord with him upon their first interaction. It was very nice of him to still stop by every now and then to talk to her. It seemed as if there was a lot of unspoken business between the two of them which was actually better than what Piz was doing which was informing Veronica in every other sentence that they were dating. She felt like just shouting out 'Okay I get it. I had some bad taste before but I am lucky enough to not remember so just leave me the hell alone!' However; she couldn't do that since she honestly didn't know how the old her felt about Piz. Duncan was there pretty much on a daily basis and he would tell her about how much in love they used to be. Veronica always wanted to know exactly what happened between the two of them but he wouldn't share that information with her. Hardly anyone would tell her.
Wallace would come by with the girl who was apparently Veronica's best friend, Mac. She took an instant liking to Mac as she wasn't forcing a friendship on her. Mac would talk to Veronica as if they were meeting for the first time instead of 'do you remember whens' which were getting beyond annoying for Veronica. Everyone wanted to know if she remembered when Wallace was taped to the flag pole at school, if Veronica remembered the purity test that introduced her to Mac, if Veronica remembered Prom Night their sophomore year. The answer to all the questions was no, she didn't freaking remember and the quicker that people understood that the better everything would be for everyone.
One thing often bugged Veronica. No one wanted to fill her in about her years in high school. For some reason everyone was pretending that Veronica and her pals just skipped from junior high into college. She figured the reason for this was that everyone was trying to protect her but what if filling her in on some of the details would trigger a memory? Apparently that wasn't a risk that anyone was willing to take.
She found that the easiest person to talk to was Wallace. He treated her like a normal person and not someone who was delicate and would die. She was happy that Wallace was her step brother as well as her best friend. She could see right away why they got along.
"So are you going to give me any interesting tidbits today," Veronica asked the moment that Wallace walked into the front door of their house. From what Veronica understood when Wallace's mother married her father they bought a house big enough to house the Fennel-Mars clan.
"Now girl, you know I can't do that. I'd be intentionally and directly ignoring the orders of the Sheriff and I'm in no mood to get locked up. That's strictly a Mars thing," he said doing exactly what he said he wouldn't do. He had just given her a glimpse into her past.
"Oh my god. Seriously? Who? Me or my father," she fired off the possibilities without really waiting for a reply, "Wait, I'm sure it was my father. I mean you guys said that he wasn't the sheriff a while back. Like he was reinstated as a sheriff. Did he do something horrible and was thrown in the slammer? Was I an orphan?" Her imagination was always getting the best of her.
"God you are seriously crazy. Is that a side effect from your accident," he joked as he made his way into the kitchen and grabbed a package of cookies, "you know you once made me snickerdoodles. You don't do much all day, you can bake something for your brother ya know," he continued and poured a glass of milk. "And it was your ass that got arrested. If I'm not mistaken you've been hauled into that police station more times than we have fingers and toes combined. Once for supposedly making fake IDs, once for supposedly being involved in a kidnapping case. I'm sure the other times it was just because Sheriff Lamb liked looking at your big blue eyes," he took a seat at the bar and motioned for Veronica to have a seat next to him.
She walked over and plopped in the seat next to Wallace and decided to help herself to his cookies. "I guess I should be happy that I don't remember how to make cookies right? I mean looking in the mirror I don't think I look like a baker. But enough about cookies. I was arrested?! More than once?" She was very intrigued.
"Yeah girl you were, more than once. It was so great to get the phone calls from you asking me to track down Cliff, give your father a heads up, and to contact whatever guy you were with so they wouldn't think you just up and changed your mind and disappeared into the night." He looked at her and wished there was something he could do to get her memories back.
"Hey speaking of boyfriends…whats up with these guys." She figured that Wallace had just given her a perfect lead in to ask about her relationships with everyone and she hoped that he'd reply instead of change the subject like everyone else did. "Why is everyone treating the relationship issues so delicately?" she asked again.
"Listen V, I don't want to try to explain this whole mess to you. I won't lie to you either. There have only been two guys you've ever loved in your entire life besides your father and me of course…. Duncan Kane and Logan Echolls. Duncan and you were like, I don't know. The first time you guys dated I didn't even live in Neptune. The second time you guys dated I was around and we tried to double date and stuff but you know, I never found him full of life or anything. He seemed content just being there." He paused to take a bite of his cookie and a long sip of his milk.
"Well what about Logan and Piz?" she asked wanting to know her history with these gentlemen suitors. "And why hasn't Logan come by the house yet. He's the only one you know. Everyone has come by to see me."
"Logan and you have this history together that I could probably spend months trying to explain to you and I still wouldn't do it justice. Let me just tell you that he loves you more than you'll ever know. Do you know that he once got himself purposely arrested in order to kick someone's ass who tried to harm you? He probably hasn't been around because you were such a bitch to him at the hospital." He said being very honest with his step sister.
"He did," she asked the moment she heard that Logan was arrested before. "How did someone try to harm me? What happened? Was this in high school?" she started her rapid fire questions again and then the front door opened and Keith walked in. Both Wallace and Veronica knew that they were no longer able to talk about her past. Keith preferred that things triggered her memories instead of conversations about the past. He also secretly wished that she'd never get her memories back and start fresh. No one should have to deal with the murder of their best friend, the murder trial, almost being murdered, almost being raped, being raped, being abandoned by an alcoholic mother. He was afraid that if Veronica got her memories back she'd have to relive all that pain a second time around.
"Good afternoon kids," he said as he walked into the kitchen and gave Veronica a kiss on the cheek and the standard manly head nod to Wallace. "Piz called today, he's going to stop by for dinner okay," he said pre-warning the kids.
"Oh that's great," Veronica said feeling the color drain from her face. It wasn't that she had anything against Piz it was just that he was so overbearing. "Actually Wallace and I were thinking of going to the Java Hut tonight, so can you entertain Piz while we go out?"
"Nice try Mars but not going to happen," Keith said. "You really should give that boy a shot. He's a nice kid."
"I'm sure he is dad but, I don't know. I don't think I should be dating anyone until I have my memories back or until I have time to fall for someone."
"I'm not forcing you to date him Veronica. He wants to come over for dinner just to be your friend. Please you two, best behaviour?"
"Yes Dad," they said in unison as they picked up their snacks and went into their separate rooms. Veronica still had a ton of questions and Wallace had a ton of answers. They just had to get together without interruptions so she could truly find out about her life. She felt slightly more comfortable in her own skin knowing more about herself. She was kind of a rebel. That made her feel great!