Chapter 19: The Bitch is Back Again
*****Wednesday Morning*****
Parker was heading to the field house after her early morning soccer practice. Her mind was full of the events of the past few days. Sunday morning's run-in with Duncan had just been the beginning of the bad things that occurred. Besides the horrible news of Veronica's miscarriage, she had failed her quiz on Monday morning in her Business Ethics class because she'd been up all night obsessing over Duncan and Piz. The look on Duncan's face when he saw that Piz had stayed the night haunted her. She was happy that Piz was back with her. However, she missed Duncan, and the guilt she felt for missing him was eating at her. If she loved Piz like she thought she did, why did she feel so awful over Duncan?
She was looking down contemplating that when she hit a hard body. "Oof!" she grunted as she slammed into someone's chest. Embarrassed at her clumsiness (she just finished cheerleading practice for goodness sakes!), she mumbled a, "Sorry!"
The chest she'd ran into belonged to the man she was thinking so hard about. Heading to the field for soccer practice, Duncan had been looking down at his cell phone reading the text message Dick had sent. Veronica was upset with Mac over Madison. Frowning as he read, he hadn't noticed anyone walking, so he dropped his phone when the girl hit him. When the girl apologized, he recognized the voice and looked up. "Parker?" he asked in surprise as he was picking up his cell phone off the ground.
"Oh, hi, Duncan," she said, giving him an uncharacteristic shy smile.
The anger he felt for her just a few days ago was gone. In its place was a deep longing. He missed her so much. Why didn't she want him? "Hey," he said quietly.
"Sorry. I wasn't watching were I was going," Parker said with a rueful smile.
"Yeah, me either," Duncan admitted.
They stared at one another a moment, each wanting to say something but neither knowing how to get started. Parker decided to try once again to get him to accept her overture. "Duncan, please don't hate me," she begged softly.
Duncan put his phone in his pocket and looked closely at her. Her eyes were pleading with him. He could see her hurt, and it bothered him. Duncan reached out and put his hand on her cheek. "I could never hate you," he said honestly. "I miss you," he admitted.
Parker felt her eyes fill with tears. "I miss you, too," she said. She reached up and put her hand on top of his for a moment. "I'm sorry," she said as she stepped back. They stood there staring at one another a minute longer. Finally, Parker lifted her hand and gave a small wave. Then she walked away.
Duncan turned and watched her leave, his heart racing over their too brief encounter. He tried to push away the bitterness at her loss. Then he could imagine his sister Lilly saying, What is wrong with you, Donut? No brother of mine would just let her get away without a fight! Lilly would've been disgusted at his ineptitude, his easy compliance with Parker's wishes. He had simply let her go. Just like he had done with Veronica. He had taken his mother's word that she was his sister and just walked away. Now Parker said she wanted to work things out with Piz, and he just did nothing. However, he really wanted her. More than he had ever wanted anyone, even Veronica. His dreams with Veronica were so far away that he could barely remember them anymore. All he could think about anymore was Parker. A life with Parker. His daughter laughing with Parker. That was the life he wanted. So badly.
Lilly always went after anything and everything she wanted. Consequences be damned. For once, Duncan decided he was going to follow his late sister's not so stellar example. Lilly had lived more in her sixteen years than most did in a lifetime. The good things in life never came easy, and he knew that Parker was worth fighting for. Feeling emboldened for the first time, he headed to the soccer field with renewed energy.
******At the Beach House******
Veronica was getting dressed, prepared to face the day when Logan came out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around him. He noticed she was up and getting ready.
"What are your plans for the day?" he asked as he rubbed a towel over his hair.
"I'm going to go to class," Veronica said.
Logan frowned. "Don't you think you should take another day and rest?" he suggested.
"Physically, I feel fine. I just feel empty," Veronica said with a hollow look. "If I stay home, I'll just brood and get more depressed."
Logan nodded and grabbed a shirt out of his drawer. "If you're sure," he said reluctantly.
"Besides, if I stay home, I can't go to school and start making Madison's life miserable!" Veronica said with relish.
Logan snickered. He reached over and pulled her against his chest. "I do love your vindictive soul!" he exclaimed. He laid a loud smack on her lips. "I have the bail money in a jar on the dresser if you get busted."
Veronica grinned. He always knew what to say. "It may come to that!" she said.
He put on his shirt and slipped on a pair of jeans. He was debating on whether or not he should come clean about his trip to Portland. Finally, he decided to grab the bull by the horns. They'd been through so much already. Surely, this wouldn't break them. "Uh, snookums, I have a small confession to make," Logan said.
Veronica's gaze narrowed at his words. "Confession? What did you do?" she asked suspiciously.
"Well, I didn't really go to Portland on business. The trip was personal," he confessed.
"Personal how?" she asked with a frown.
"Well, I got to thinking about how things were so good in our life and with the baby coming, you might need your mother here. So I tracked her down. She's living in the Portland area," Logan said, spitting it out. He tensely waited for her reaction.
"So you hunted down my mother when I specifically said I didn't want her in my life?" Veronica asked in disbelief at his revelation.
"You said it with your words but not with your heart," Logan said knowingly.
"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked crossly.
He reached out and took a hold of her hand. "It means, my little bobcat, that I know you better than you know yourself," he boasted.
"You should've talked to me first, Logan, before you went and spoke to my mother!" she scolded. She pulled her hand back and glared at him.
He lost his smirk. "I wanted to give you back your mother, Veronica. I know how much it hurts you that you don't have her because I know how much it hurts me that my mom is gone. The hole will never be filled. And I love you too much to let you have a hole in your heart that not even I can fill," Logan said frankly.
His words worked to smother the anger that had begun to build in her. He was right. Not having her mother in her life was a wound that never quite healed. As much as she loved Alicia, not even she could replace Leanne. At least the Leanne who had existed before her dad lost his job and they lost their house. "Well, there's no baby now, so your trip was for nothing," she said darkly.
Logan reached out and hugged her. "I know. I still can't believe it. And I'm so sorry," he said grimly. He pulled back and looked at her and vowed, "I promise if you'll let me, I'll give you a thousand sons!"
"A thousand? Are you nuts?" she asked her mouth open in shock at the suggestion.
Logan laughed at the look on her face. "Well, you know what I mean," he said sheepishly.
"I can't even think about that now!" Veronica said, holding up her hand.
Logan knew when not to push. "Okay. I understand. But our life isn't over," he said determinedly.
"A part of it is," she said sadly.
"I know," he agreed, not wanting to minimize their loss. "But you and I are still getting married in less than two months. We are still going to have an amazing life. With or without children."
"Do you mean that? You'd be happy with me if we never had kids?" she asked dubiously.
"You are my dream, Veronica. You are my favorite thing. Children would just be a bonus," Logan said earnestly. He loved her and without her he had no life. Not one he'd be able to bear anyway.
Veronica's eyes filled with tears at his heartfelt words. "God, how do you do it?" she asked in amazement. "I should want to throttle you for sneaking behind my back and tracking down my mother—and I'm going to kill Weevil, by the way."
"Weevil? I know not of whom you speak!" Logan denied loftily.
Veronica shook her head at him, fighting a smile. She would not encourage him. He had to learn that this wasn't acceptable behavior. "I should make you suffer for doing something I specifically told you not to do!" she insisted. She wiped the tears from her eyes, done crying. She had cried an ocean of tears since she became pregnant.
"Specifically? I don't recall that. You said you weren't interested in finding her. You never forbade me for doing it for you!" he clarified with a smug grin.
Veronica's mouth fell open in outrage at his semantics. "You are so incorrigible!" she complained.
He grinned unapologetic. "You already took my ring. There's no take backs, so you're stuck with me!" he informed her with an arrogant, self-satisfied expression.
"Oh, I am, am I? Are you sure about that?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "This town has a few good pawn shops!"
"Yep, I'm sure! I'm it for you!" he said with a confident nod. "No hocking necessary!"
She shook her head, giving up with a laugh. "Okay, you win! I guess I'll keep you. Only 'cause no one else would put up with your high handedness!" she said. Then she sighed and put her arms around his neck. "I do love you."
Logan grinned victoriously and gave her a thorough kiss. Then he pulled back smacking his lips. "Yum!"
She shoved him away with an amused chuckle. Then she looked over at the clock. "We're going to be late to Mythology. We'll talk more about this later. You can tell me all about your trip to Portland tonight." They heard Richie wailing. Veronica frowned—she hated it when he cried.
Logan sat down in the chair and put on his shoes. "Your mom told me that you almost getting shot last year motivated her to get sober," he shared.
"She was sober?" Veronica asked in surprise. Richie's crying distracting her.
"Yes, she was. She is," Logan said.
Richie was still crying. "God, why does Trina let him cry like that?" Veronica said crossly.
"She read in one of those books Mac gave her that it's not good to always pick up a crying baby. Self-soothing or something like that," Logan said.
Veronica rolled her eyes. "He's not even two months old! How's he going to self-sooth?" she asked.
"Maybe he's crying because he misses his Aunt Veronica," Logan said pointedly. Veronica had yet to go near the baby since she'd lost hers. Although two days wasn't long, it was for her. She spent nearly every free minute she had at home holding Richie and playing with him.
A haunted look appeared in Veronica's face. "I can't, Logan. I can't even look at him," she confessed. "It hurts too much to be reminded of what I won't have."
Logan got up and put his hands on her shoulders. "You will have it. I promise," he vowed. "It's too soon to talk about it now. I understand. But you will be a mother someday. I know it." He sealed his promise with a kiss.
*******A Zip Code Away*******
Madison pulled out of her driveway so quickly that her tires squealed. She was running late because her alarm didn't go off, and it took her too long to get ready. She tried in vain to cover up the bruising that was still visible around her nose and eyes where Veronica had decked her. It looked hideous. Although she had skipped class Monday and Tuesday, she could not bail on classes today because she has a quiz in her history class. She was barely passing and could not afford to miss the quiz.
There were lights flashing behind her. She groaned in irritation as she realized that she was being pulled over. Great! Just what she needed. Madison grabbed her insurance and driver's license. She looked in her side mirror and saw that it was a young deputy. Maybe she could flirt her way out of a ticket. Her parents had been so strict lately that she didn't think they'd handle a ticket very well at all.
"Ma'am, do you know how fast you were driving?" the young, handsome deputy asked her sternly.
She looked and read his name tag. Smiling as she handed him her information, she said, "Well, no, Officer Leo. I was recently in an accident, and it takes me longer to get ready for class. I'm running late. I am so sorry!" She tried to look as contrite as possible.
Leo knew very well what "accident" Madison Sinclair was referring to. He had to work hard at keeping his face impassive. Veronica's baby was not going to be born thanks to this woman. It wasn't a problem at all to put an overly indulged 09er in her place, especially one that truly didn't know how to drive. "Ma'am you were going 45 miles in a 25 zone. This is a residential area. You cannot speed like that."
"It won't happen again, Officer," Madison said quickly.
"I hope not," Leo said grimly. He pulled out his ticket pad and began to write down her information.
Madison blinked in surprise. He wasn't going to let her go. "Are you writing me a warning?" she asked hopefully.
"No, ma'am. You should know better than to drive so fast in a neighborhood like this!" Leo said sternly.
"But you can't give me a ticket! This is my neighborhood!" she exclaimed in irritation.
"Miss Sinclair, it is my job to keep drivers responsible. Too many people drive around like a bat out of hell. Someone could get seriously hurt," Leo said, enjoying his role immensely.
"I can't believe you! Do you know who my father is? He donates yearly to the sheriff's department! You can't write me a ticket!" Madison said angrily.
"We appreciate his support, but I'm sure your father would not want you to drive irresponsibly," Leo said easily.
Madison gripped the steering wheel tightly. She knew that she needed to be quiet and just get to class but the injustice of this was too much! She always sped down her street. "I've always speed down this street! I've never gotten pulled over before! This is bullshit!" she exclaimed.
"Ma'am, you are behaving erratically. Are you under the influence of any narcotics?" Leo asked suspiciously. Veronica had encouraged him to take it as far has he could. The girl's hostility was giving him a lot of room to work.
"What? Narcotics? Of course not!" Madison said hotly. "I have pain pills for my broken nose, but that's it."
Leo fought a grin. This was the opening he needed. "So there's drugs in your car? You're admitting to the use of narcotics?" he asked.
"What? Are you insane? I never said that!" Madison said in outrage.
"Ma'am, I'm going to need you to step out of the car," Leo ordered.
"What?" Madison asked in dismay. "Why?"
"Miss Sinclair, you need to step out of the car," he ordered again in his sternest voice.
Madison gave an irritated sigh and complied with his order. When he proceeded to give her a pat down, she wanted to slap him. However, she restrained herself. The last thing she needed was to get arrested for assaulting an officer. "Where are the drugs you say you have?" he asked.
"I don't have drugs! I have a prescription for my nose!" she explained in outrage. "It's in my purse." When he waited silently, she reached in the car and gave him her purse.
Leo riffled through her purse and located the bottle of pain pills. Since her name was on them, he couldn't legally do anything. However, he had succeeded in delaying her. He handed her back her purse. He debated on whether or not to search the car and decided to save it for next time. "You can get back in the car," he said. He handed her the purse.
Madison glared at him and got into her car. "Can I go?" she asked impatiently. "I have a class."
"No. I have to write you a ticket," he said. He went back to his car and ran her plates. She had several unpaid parking tickets. He took ten minutes writing the ticket. When he made it back to her car, she was red faced she was so angry. Leo worked hard at keeping a straight face. Poor little princess was going to get in trouble at school. "Did you know you have some unpaid parking tickets? You might want to take care of those when you come in to pay this one."
Madison grabbed the ticket out of his hand and threw it in her passenger's side floor. "Can I go now?" she asked crossly.
"Yes. Drive safely," he said with an easy smile.
Madison had to remind herself to drive the speed limit until the cop was no longer visible. Then she sped to campus.
******On Campus*******
When Veronica and Logan arrived in their Mythology class, Dick and Mac were already there. Veronica sat in her normal seat next to Mac with Logan in the seat behind her. Mac looked warily at her. Veronica felt a flash of guilt at Mac's look and turned to face her best friend.
"Mac, I am really sorry about yesterday. I'm not really rational where Madison is concerned. I haven't been since Shelly Pomrey's party," Veronica confessed.
Mac felt relieved at Veronica's words. She and Veronica never fought, so she wasn't dealing very well with Veronica's harsh words from the day before. "I'm sorry for making things worse," Mac said.
"It's not you. It's her. We'll have to agree to disagree," Veronica said.
Mac couldn't really even agree to that because she was leery of Veronica's plans where Madison was concerned. So she simply said, "I don't want us to argue over Madison."
"Me either," Veronica agreed, smiling. "Do you think Friday afternoon you can come with me to my doctor's appointment? Logan can't. He has a test in his last class."
"I told her I'd blow it off, but she won't let me," Logan complained.
Dick snickered, happy that Veronica had apologized to Mac. His world didn't make sense at all if the two of them were on the outs.
Mac smiled, pleased that Veronica wanted her to go with her. "Of course," she said.
Class started and they had no more time to talk.
A half an hour later, Veronica slipped out of the class. She had told Logan about her plans to leave early and wasn't too worried about missing the rest of class. The class served as a humanities credit, so it wasn't much of a challenge for her. She was determined to stake out Madison's classroom building and have a little chat, so she went and sat down on the bench directly across from the building she knew Madison was at. A phone call to Mac's ex Max had given her Madison's schedule. Max still owed her, and he was more than happy to get started on another project for her. Veronica knew that for the first time, Mac couldn't be her go-to girl. Not at least where her plans with Madison were concerned.
She spotted Jazmin walking down the sidewalk. "Hey, Jazmin!" she called out. Jazmin turned at the sound of her name and smiled when she spotted Veronica. She changed direction and walked toward Veronica.
"Hey, you're already back on campus?" Jazmin asked, surprised to see her.
"Yeah, I got things to do and a person to punish," Veronica said with a grim smile.
Jazmin gave her a small smile. She really admired Veronica; she was so strong and capable. Jazmin wished she was more like her. "Well, I can understand that. You're so much stronger than me. I wasn't able to leave my bedroom for at least a week after I lost my baby," Jazmin admitted.
"You were sixteen, not even an adult. Your miscarriage was caused by the man you loved, so who could blame you?" Veronica pointed out. "I am highly motivated to get out of my bed. Revenge does that to a person."
"So how are you feeling?" Jazmin asked.
"Okay. A part of me still feels numb. The other part of me is seething. How could my baby be inside me one moment and not the next?" Veronica said, her eyes tormented.
Jazmin reached over and grabbed her hand for sympathy squeeze. "I felt the exact same way. And when I wasn't crying, I was in a rage, wanting to hurt Joseph. I think I broke pretty much everything in my room that week," Jazmin shared.
"Really? Did you get your revenge?" Veronica asked.
"Not really. I know Jason beat him up pretty badly, though," Jazmin said.
"Not as satisfying as doing it yourself," Veronica said.
"No, it's not. That's why I really loved the birthday gift you gave me," Jazmin said, recalling with a grin the use of Veronica's Taser on Joseph over the summer.
Veronica laughed. "You have a bloodthirsty soul hidden in there somewhere!"
"Yes, I was quite pleased when Jason broke Joseph's arm and cracked a rib," Jazmin admitted.
"That's impressive," Veronica said. "I'm planning various ways to get back at Madison."
Jazmin looked sympathetic. "Well, I know how fragile first trimesters are. I was actually at the beginning of my second trimester when I lost my baby," she said.
Veronica nodded in understanding and then recalled the last conversation she'd had with Jazmin. She contemplated whether or not she wanted to bring it up. She did have other things on her plate. Then she decided that Weevil deserved the truth. "So are we going to talk about what happened before you had to take me to the hospital?" Veronica asked.
Jazmin winced. She had hoped desperately that Veronica would have forgotten their earlier talk. "I think you have enough going on right now, and you don't need to worry about me," Jazmin said carefully.
"Jazmin, did you sleep with another guy? Is that's what's going on with you?" Veronica asked quietly.
Jazmin looked away. Veronica was forcing her hand. She didn't know Veronica as well as some did, but she had known her long enough to know that Veronica never gave up. This may be the only way to get her to back off. She looked back at Veronica and nodded. "Yes, there was another guy. Only once. It was a stupid, horrible mistake. One I wish so very much I could take back," she told her. If only she hadn't walked into David's room, naïvely thinking Wallace would be there shortly.
Veronica frowned in disappointment. "How could you do that to Weevil? I don't understand," Veronica said.
"Believe me, I hate myself for it. Thinking even for an instant that I could be pregnant was a nightmare. I loved Eli more than anything, and I don't deserve him. I've tried to tell him, but he won't listen," Jazmin said.
"Maybe you don't love him as much as you think you do," Veronica said, trying hard to not be judgmental. However, she detested cheaters more than just about anything.
Jazmin caught the note of censure in Veronica's voice and sighed in resignation. So this was how it would end. "Okay," she said, getting up. The last thing she was going to do was upset Veronica by trying to discuss this. It would be better to let her think what she was thinking and walk away. "I betrayed Eli. And I'll be the one to tell him. Please." She held Veronica's gaze until Veronica nodded. Then she turned and walked slowly away.
Veronica didn't have time to worry about Weevil and Jazmin since she spotted her prey coming out of class. There was still ten minutes left. She called out, "What happened, Madison? Did you get kicked out of class?" she got up and walked toward Madison.
Madison stopped and glared at her. "No, I didn't. I was late for class. Very late thanks to one of your father's dumb deputies who had the nerve to pat me down like I was a druggie and give me a ticket! My professor wouldn't let me take the quiz. So I left," Madison said in disgust.
"Well, if you didn't drive a sports car and dress like a hooker, the cops probably wouldn't be so suspicious," Veronica said with a smirk.
Madison glared for a minute and then looked smug. "So I was really so sorry to hear about the miscarriage," she said with mock sincerity.
Veronica was stunned speechless a full minute at Madison's audacity. She gave her a hate filled look. "I wouldn't have lost my baby if you hadn't attacked me and knocked me into that table!" Veronica exclaimed.
"That's ridiculous! I barely touched you, but look at my face? I have to go in public looking like a battered housewife!" Madison insisted.
"You slapped me twice for no good reason!" Veronica said angrily. "And now my baby is dead!"
"The poor kid is better off not having to know its bitch of a mother!" Madison said scornfully.
Veronica had enough. She had thought that she hated Madison before this moment. But now, as Madison's hateful words rang in her ears, she felt hatred like she had never felt before. For the first time in her life, she understood murder. She understood the rage that compelled men and women to do despicable things. She was going to wipe the smirk of Madison's face forever.
She took a step closer and reached into her bag. Before Madison knew what was happening, Veronica had her Taser out and jabbed it into her stomach. Pain like Madison had never felt forced her to the ground. Madison cried out. Veronica looked down dispassionately at her. She crouched down, so she could look Madison in the eye. "It was a boy. You killed my son, and you're going to pay," Veronica vowed.
"I'm going to press charges!" Madison gasped.
"If you do, I'll let Logan have his wish. We'll bring a lawsuit against you and your parents for the loss of my baby. Maybe I'll even convince my dad to file criminal assault charges," Veronica threatened. She wanted until understanding glimmered in Madison's eyes. "Your suffering has just begun." She stood up and looked down at Madison in satisfaction. She deserved so much more, and Veronica would make sure she got it.
******Chapter End******
The line "You are my favorite thing" comes directly from the series finale of "Fringe". It was such a beautifully sweet moment on the episode that the line is imprinted in my brain. However, on the show, it wasn't a romantic line, but a line the father Walter said to his son Peter. I am in mourning at the loss of another one of my favorite shows, so I included it in here. I thought it fit very well. I hope you liked it, too!