Chapter 6: No Turning Back

Veronica turned into the Echolls driveway. She didn't see any of the family vehicles around besides Logan's Xterra. So far so good, she thought. Logan smiled goofily at her as she stepped out of the vehicle.

"Let's go on in." He gestured toward the front door, looking like Vanna White from Wheel of Fortune. Once inside, however, Veronica and Logan's luck abruptly ended.

"Hey honey, I'm in the living room! Come say hello!" Lynn Echolls called from the front room. Veronica's face turned pale, but Logan smiled, barely phased by this change in plan.

"Don't worry Ronnie. I'm sure it's just her. We can go swimming after we say hi, seeing as I know you're in a swimsuit." He winked, and Veronica stifled a giggle. They arrived at the front room, and Lynn looked up from her magazine, showing faint surprise at Veronica's presence.

"Oh, why hello, Veronica. I didn't know you'd be here." Lynn crooned. Veronica only smiled. She could tell already Lynn was going to be a much more pleasant mother-of-the-boyfriend than Celeste Kane. Lynn Echolls was so much like her son, it was hard for anyone who liked Logan to dislike Lynn.

"Well, mom, you've always liked surprises." Logan teased. Lynn let out a melodious laugh, and the tension Veronica had been feeling earlier evaporated instantly.

"Will you be surprising me around here often, Veronica?" Lynn hinted at the obvious connection between her son and his new sweetheart. Veronica blushed, giving Lynn the answer she craved.

"Why, you just reminded me, mom. Veronica is in fact my new girl." Logan boasted. Veronica's face turned redder than before, while Lynn beamed and Logan's face cracked into the widest smile.

Lynn was so excited for her son, she forgot to warn him Aaron was outside, swimming. She'd been waiting for months for Lilly and Logan to break up, as she knew their relationship wasn't healthy. It may have been hard to tell sometimes, but Lynn loved her son more than anything else in the world, and she hated when something hurt him. The only person who she allowed to hurt her child was Aaron, and even so, she often drank herself into a stupor after any beating Logan took.

So Logan and Veronica sauntered outside, having changed into their swimsuits, unaware of the fact that the man they both hated with a passion was already out there, acting as though Lilly Kane had never crossed his path.

"Son! How was the beach?" Aaron boomed. Veronica and Logan both stopped, unable to move any closer to the man who'd cheated Lilly. Logan's hands clenched into fists, and Veronica stepped slightly in front of Logan, as though she thought she could stop him from charging his own father.

"Veronica? Didn't expect to see you. Thought it'd be Lilly Kane." Aaron slurred. Veronica could tell immediately he'd been drinking. Logan grabbed Veronica's hand and held it tightly. Aaron raised his eyebrows at this new development.

"Lilly and I broke up." Logan hissed. Aaron missed the tone of his son's voice and laughed.

"Yeah, well. Didn't think she was serious. Lilly's never been too serious about anything." Aaron laughed. Logan pulled Veronica closer to him, trying to calm himself as much as possible.

"It's pretty obvious we were both serious." Logan replied. Aaron swung himself out of the pool and stepped toward the couple. Logan stepped slightly in front of Veronica, as Aaron stumbled, nearly crashing into the glass table that sat by the pool. Logan made no move to help him, only shifted himself and Veronica so that if the table had broken, they would've been out of harms way.

"I can see that. Already found someone else!" Aaron pointed to Veronica. Logan growled quietly, and Veronica put her hand on his shoulder in an attempt to calm him. Aaron eyed the move suspiciously.

"How serious are you two?" He asked, and Logan narrowed his eyes.

"Serious." Logan stated, in a clear closing of the subject. But Aaron was too drunk to pick up signals, and seemed determined to continue relationship talk with his only son.

"Well, be safe. Don't want any teen pregnancy." Aaron let out a laugh, and Logan lunged. Veronica tried to hold him back, but he was too strong for her. He overpowered her quickly, and tackled Aaron. They wrestling pair landed on a lawn chair, and it groaned under the sudden weight. Veronica moved toward them, intent on ending the fight before it went too far, but Logan gently pushed her back after punching Aaron square in the jaw. Logan seemed 100% aware of what he was doing, he had none of the wild look in his eyes that Aaron had.

Aaron was too confused and drunk to effectively fight back. Logan got in punch after punch while Aaron simply struggled to throw Logan off of him.

"Logan! Stop it!" Lynn Echolls had run outside to see what was going on, and she screamed Logan's name over and over in an attempt to make him stop. It seemed that Logan was intent on killing his father though, and he shouted with each hit Aaron took.

"You bastard! Did you even think about me? Or mom? Or Lilly for that matter? Look at what you've done! You better pray I don't leak this to the tabloids. Or even worse, Trina! I'll tell her, and soon everyone in America will know!" Logan roared. Lynn stopped her screams, and stood there, tears rolling down her face helplessly. Veronica finally made it close to Logan, and she was determined to stop the fighting.

"Logan, honey. You've gotta stop. Please." She pleaded. His punches slowed and came to an abrupt stop. He rolled of his bleeding father and into Veronica's arms.

"Let's go." He declared. Veronica stood immediately, and helped Logan stand up. Lynn looked from her son to her husband's broken body, trying to decide who to help first.

"He doesn't need a doctor or anything. Just an ice pack." Veronica declared after examining Aaron. He had a bloody nose, and Logan had bruised him in some places, but Veronica could tell nothing was broken. Lynn nodded, and kneeled beside her husband. He sat up quickly, and pointed to Logan.

"You better stay out of my house, boy. I don't accept behavior like that from my son. Especially when I haven't done anything to deserve it." Aaron warned Logan. That did it. Logan snapped, and turned to face his father again, his face purple.

"Didn't do anything? DIDN'T DO ANYTHING? YOU GOT MY GIRLFRIEND PREGNANT! I CALL THAT SOMETHING! And you don't have to worry about me being in this house. I wouldn't stay in the same place as you if I was going to get a million freaking dollars. You're a bastard and I hope Lilly does a paternity test and that it's your kid and blackmails you straight to your grave. Although, the downside to that is, her poor kid has to deal with your DNA inside it. So maybe it'd be better off with that gangster as a father anyways." Logan snarled. Veronica looked from Logan to Aaron to Lynn. Logan seemed to have gotten out what he needed to say, as he looked perfectly indifferent. Aaron was angry, his mouth frozen in a freakish grimace. Poor Lynn looked completely dumbfounded, as though she had been pretending all this time that Lilly Kane wasn't pregnant or having an affair with her husband. Poor Lynn Echolls had been dealt the short end of the stick, again.

Veronica and Logan ran from the house after his outburst, not wanting another fight to go down.

"Where are you gonna stay?" Veronica asked.

"Hold on." Logan ran back towards the house. Veronica started to protest, but Logan ignored her.

Half an hour later, he returned with a suitcase packed and his backpack.

"I need clothes and stuff for school." He explained. Veronica nodded, still upset he'd gone back into the house.

"I'm gonna go rent a room at the Neptune Grand. I asked my mom, who was in the kitchen, and she gave me one of her credit cards to pay with. I'll stop by later, and we can go visit Lilly and then do something." Logan suggested. Again, Veronica only nodded, still attempting to process the events of the day. Logan leaned down, and met her lips. They held the kiss for a few minutes, before Logan leaned away.

"Mmm. I can't wait till later." He winked, and Veronica nearly smiled. Logan was the only person who could do that to her, make her smile in a bad situation. Duncan had tried many times, but Logan was the only person besides her father who could manage it.

"Call me." She whispered, as he climbed into the bright Xterra. He smiled kindly at her, before revving the engine. He watched as she climbed into her car, and sat in the driver's seat, putting her fingers to her lips, her lips that still burned from the kiss. He honked as he drove past her, and caught the smile that lit up her face. He could almost forget his father and Lilly and the baby with that smile. Almost.