Chapter 26
The next morning, Veronica woke up in Logan's arms, she turned around and looked at her boyfriend who was still asleep. She stroked his cheek and she snuggled up to him, closing her eyes, she wanted to forget all the things that happened last night, she wanted to forget the feeling of his hand on her. She was disgusted; she wanted to throw up just by thinking about it.
"Stop that!" Logan said, opening his eyes.
"I'm doing nothing."
"Stop lying, we both know what you're thinking about. Do you have plans for the next eight days?"
"I don't think, why?"
"I want to take you away, Hawaii, just you and me and maybe Duncan."
"No." she said, shaking her head. She pulled away and started to get dressed under his stare.
"Come on Ronnie, we both need to go away."
"I don't want you to pay for…"
"It makes me happy, please Ronnie, and consider it as a belated birthday gift. I know you hate it, but please, I'm begging you, come away with me. We both need it, it will make us some good and if you really want it, you can pay for the food or your clothes or anything else. Please come with me."
"I don't know." She replied, knowing she couldn't just pack and leave. She needed to talk to her father and make a pros and cons list, it was too hard.
"Ronnie, just accept it. We will enjoy it and my mother wants you to leave Neptune too."
"What? Logan what aren't you telling me?"
"Believe me, you won't want to be in Neptune in the next few days."
"Why? What's going to happen?"
"My mother has decided to leave my father, Ronnie things aren't going to be pretty, Neptune will be invaded by paparazzi. I don't want to be here but I won't leave you alone."
"I will think about it, okay."
"Yeah."
"Well I've got to go home, I need to change clothes and I haven't seen my father yet."
"Okay, call me later. I'm spending the afternoon at DK's, you can join us."
"We will see." She replied, leaning to kiss him. "See you later."

Logan was sun bathing with Duncan lying on his left doing the same thing, so far they hadn't done many things. When he had walked in, he had found Duncan by the pool reading a magazine and Jake in his office working, like always. They were talking about his plans to take Veronica away.
"Do you think you can come with us?"
"Where?" Duncan asked removing his headphones.
"Hawaii, you know that little trip I've been talking about for the last hour."
"Oh yes, sorry, I was listening to this song and I was somewhere else."
"Yeah, I noticed. So what do you think Veronica will say?"
"Oh man, here we go again." Duncan said whining. "Why can you just kidnap her or something like that?"
"Thanks for your help man, I really don't know what I would do without your help." Logan told him sarcastically, he sighed and closed his eyes.
"What do you want to say, Logan you both need to go away, especially after the year you've had."
"Why don't you come then? Your year hasn't been that great either, we could go, just the three of us, and enjoy our last days of holidays."
"I don't know."
"Duncan you can't do this to me! Your sister has already told me this early, listen we all need it, we can take a plane and enjoy some nice time in Hawaii."
"Who's going to Hawaii?" Jake asked them, joining them on the terrace. He sat on one of the deckchair.
"I'm trying to convince your kids to come to Hawaii with me."
"My kids?" he repeated, he had never thought to Duncan and Veronica as his children until now, it felt strange and yet good. "Why do you want to go to Hawaii?"
"Because my mom is about to divorce my dad and she doesn't really want me to stick around when he gets the papers and Veronica needs to leave the town too."
"Why?"
"Because Aaron has the bad habit of hitting on her."
"What?"
"He likes them young and beautiful and unfortunately Veronica is young anddddd beautiful. She's also my girlfriend and quite frankly, Aaron is an ass who likes them young."
"What does Veronica say about your trip?"
"She isn't sure, I think it has something to do with money. She doesn't want me to pay for everything and …"
"I will go get my checkbook." Jake suddenly said. Duncan raised his head and looked at his father.
"Why?"
"I need to get it, I'm going out for a while."

Jake knocked on the door several times before it finally opened. Veronica was standing in front of him, looking at him as if it weren't his place to be.
"You want to come him?" she asked him, stepping aside to let him in. Jake walked in, and went to sit on the couch. "So what brings you here?"
"I came to see you, see how you're"
"I'm fine, you?"
"I'm fine" he replied, an akward silence feel over the living room Jake decided to break it by speaking again. "Keith isn't here, is he?"
"No, a bail jumper in Arizona, he left two hours ago."
"So you're alone."
"Yep! All by myself, wait isn't a Celine Dion song?" she said as Jake chuckled. He nodded and looked at her.
"I brought something." he said taking out of his breast pocket an envelop. He gave it to her and watched her face change from amusement to surprise as she opened it.
"I was never good in maths but it's a lot of zeros, isn't it? I don't know what to say, you already paid us for finding Duncan so I don't know what to do with this check or even what to say. Can you tell me what it means?"
"You're my daughter and it's normal to pay some little things."
"To pay some little things, that's how you call it? This check could pay the rent of our flat for the next eighteen months!"
"If you say so, Veronica take the money and use it, in fact I heard from the boys that they're planning on going to ..."
"No!" she said, giving him back the check. "I don't need your money..."
"I know you don't which is why I'm giving it to you. Veronica you're my daughter and I want you to have this money, this isn't a lot to me, you can trust me."
"But why?"
"Because you're my daughter and I want you to have that money, it's nothing for me. Veronica please take this money and use it to enjoy your trip to Hawaii with the boys."
"I still don't know if I'm going..."
"Go, please go."
"What?" she said not understanding why he was acting like that. "Why do you want me to go that bad?"
"I heard about what happened with Aaron, believe Veronica, I know the man and I don't want my daughter around h..."
"What do you mean?"
"The marks on Logan's back, he didn't get them in fights, I don't think he got the cigarette burns from a fight, Aaron beats him, he's crazy. I'm afraid of what he could do to you, I already lost a child, a daughter, I'm not ready to bury another one." he said in a teary voice. Veronica, not knowing what to do, sat next to him and hugged him.