Promises

Chapter 14:Reappeaences and Murder

Keith

I had gotten in late knowing that I had found the person I was looking for made me happy. It proved that I was right and Veronica's gut was correct as well. Abel didn't kill Lilly Kane, no he was used though. I finally found the proof that I knew would discredit Abel as being the murderer. He was just another person used and discarded by the Kane family. I was happy to see the lights off in the house, but surprised to see Leo in the kitchen drinking coffee.

"I thought you'd be in bed," I say as he looks up from his screen motioning to the living room as I sat my overnight bag on the counter and followed his gaze. There sat Lianne, my wife who abandoned our daughter and me in are moment in of need. She had her head down as I motioned for Leo to follow me into the security room.

"No, I was trying to keep an eye out. There was a lot of drama today," he says filling me in on the events that had transpired while I was away. There were things that he didn't know, but knew that Logan and Veronica were keeping things from us. He explained that Veronica had it out with Duncan Kane, but then he came over later to talk. I was glad that Logan was in the room with her while this happened, but I little upset they asked Leo to leave.

Leo said that after the second talk things seemed to go back to normal. I laughed at his description of normal. I made my way up stairs and noticed their door was open. I peeked in to see something I wasn't expecting. Dick had managed to get himself invited to sleep with them. I smiled knowing that things might just be getting better for them only to be ruined by the reappearance of Lianne.

I made my way back downstairs to confront her. I wanted to know why the hell she was back and how long she planned on staying. Leo had made sure to disappear before I came down. I walked into the living room as she turned around.

"Keith," she says as she stands up. I hold my hand out for her to stop.

"Lianne, I don't know why you are here. I just hope you plan to stick around because if you don't the front door is right there," I say as she sits back down.

"Veronica helped get me cleaned up. She found me several months ago and paid for rehab. I have thought nothing but how to find my way home. I am here for her," she says as I nod my head.

"Well that is all fine and dandy, but I will not sit idly by this time if you leave. You better be sure this is where you want to be. Veronica is doing so much better. Our daughter is coming into her own and she doesn't need you to hurt her," I say as she looks like I just slapped her.

"I cleaned up my room. I can stay upstairs," Leo says as he comes out of his room. I watch him carry a bag out.

"Have a good night," I say as I make my way up to the check on the kids once more.

xoxoxo

"Dick come on," Logan was saying as I heard a loud thump against the wall.

"Logan, dude Ronnie is still sleeping lets go surfing before she wakes," I hear Dick mutter as I hear another thud. What the hell were they doing in that room, and more importantly how could Veronica sleep through all that?

"Seriously, either your staying in bed Dick or Logan you better take him outside," Veronica yells as I hear some more banging against the wall.

"Are you serious?" Logan says as I finally make my way to the room to see what was going on. I peer into the room to see Dick jumping on the bed as Logan tosses things at him.

"Dick," Veronica says as he flops onto the bed causing her to fall out of it and onto the floor. "I am going to kill you," she is muttering as she tries to free her legs from the blankets that are twisted around her.

"Oh Ronnie you wound me," Dick says as she tosses a shoe at him. I couldn't help myself as I start to laugh at the scene before me.

"Dad," my daughter says as I see her looking up at me with a frown on her face. "Can you shoot Dick?" she questions as I see Logan laughing in the bed.

"No, honey I cannot shoot him. He is so important to my plans for world domination. I need him to jump on kids beds across the world to scare them awake," I say as she huffs at my words and crawls out of the tangled blankets stomping to the bathroom slamming the door as she goes in.

"Morning," Dick says cheerfully as I see Logan throw another pillow at him.

"Clean this mess up and go outside before 'Mighty Woman' comes out and tasers you," I say to the boys as I see Logan panic. Yes, that will show them. "Logan stick close I might need your help in a little while," I say as I look at my watch. Lianne probably won't be up for a little while longer.

"Sure, we'll just be out back," he says as I see Dick throw a pillow at his head. I laugh as I walk downstairs to check on Lianne. She was fast asleep still.

***LoVe***

Logan

I was surprised to find another warm body up against mine as I began to stir. I then remembered that Dick had been invited to sleep with us, not sure what Veronica was thinking. Dick then decided that he wanted to wake me up to go out surfing with him, but I was way too comfortable in my warm bed to leave it. Of course being the 5 year old he was began to make noise to wake up the whole house. I was surprised to see Keith very amused in the doorway, but not so happy after Veronica's slamming the door. Dick and I did what Keith asked us to do and cleaned up the bed.

"Why did you have to make so much noise this morning?" I question him as I pull my zipper up on my wetsuit. I look back at the house and see Veronica leaning against the deck railings talking with her dad.

"I don't know. I was whispering until you started throwing things at me," he says as I just shake my head. His concept of whispering and mine are two very different things. "What are you and Ronnie going to do tonight," he questions as I move my hands in the water waiting for a good wave to come.

"We're going to Duncan's house for the fundraiser my mom was invited to at Christmas. I'll donate some money, and then we'll leave," I say not wanting him to know that Veronica wanted to look in Lilly's vents.

"That sounds cool. Maybe I'll see if Wallace or Mac wants to hangout," he says as a wave just hits us. "Wait up man," he shouts as I head nicely into the shallow water.

"Did you have fun?" Veronica asks as I make my way up to her.

"I actually did," I say as she wraps her arms around my neck.

"Leo called the Kane's to see what security procedures were in place for the fundraiser to find out that the date was changed months ago to tomorrow night instead," she says softly as I see movement in the window. I guess the woman staring at me is the reason Keith wanted me to stick close to home.

"Let's get some breakfast," I say as I follow her into the house.

"Honey, I'm home," she says as Lianne Mars turns around at the same time.

"So am I," she replies as Veronica tenses up. I am unsure how to help her out as she makes her way to the island and sits down.

"Want some coffee," her dad asks as she mutters something incoherent. He places a cup in front of her. "Logan I have to head to the office for a little while you want to come with me," he asks as Veronica gives me a look.

"Ugh! DO you think it wise to leave the two of them here alone?" I questions as both Veronica and Lianne looks at me.

"I still don't understand why the boy is even here," Lianne snaps as I see Leo sidestep back the way he was coming.

"I don't think that is your problem," Keith says as I head toward the stairs to change.

"Veronica is still our daughter," I hear her say before closing the door.

***LoVe***

Veronica

"That's real!" I snap as I rinse my cup and put it in the sink.

"Veronica what does that mean?" my mom says grabbing onto my arm.

"It means you are a liar. Have you told dad that I might not be his daughter? Did you tell him how you slept around with Jake Kane while being married to him?" I yell as Logan is coming back down the stairs.

"Honey," she starts but I put my hand up.

"I would have liked to hear it from you and not the boy I had dated for almost 2 years. It would have been nice that you would have said something so I wouldn't be making out with my brother or that I hadn't slept with him," I yell as I feel Logan wrapping his arms around me.

"You did what!" my mother yells as she comes face to face with me.

"Oh you heard me," I say as I see Dick coming in from the patio and watch him head up the stairs.

"Keith, how many kids do you have living here," she snaps as I decide to just let it go. I slap her hard on the cheek as she looks toward me. "Veronica," she half cries.

"Don't you dare talk to dad like that?" I grunt out as she looks from him to me.

"Since I am telling things mom meet your son-in-law," I as I feel Logan tense up beside me.

"What?" she yells this time livid as I wiggle out of Logan's grasp and walk out to the deck as I hear both my parents yelling at each other. I don't know how long they had been going at it, but I feel a hand on my shoulder as I see Dick sit down beside me.

"Are you alright?" he questions as I look over to him.

"Yeah, did Logan go with my dad," I ask as he nods his head.

"I'm sorry about everything," he says after a few moments.

"Dick you haven't done anything wrong," I say looking at my crazy friend.

"Well if I took the blame then you wouldn't have to feel so shitty going off on your mom like you did," he mutters as I laugh at his logic.

"I see, but your logic is flawed because she did deserve it. She left me to fend for myself while she drank or slept around. I needed her and she wasn't there," I say softly as he gives me a small smile.

"That may be so, but Ronnie she's here now," he says as I look back toward the house to see her in the kitchen drinking water. "She may not be the best person in the world, but she is here right now," he reasons as I nod my head because he was right.

"You want to go watch her squirm," I say as he stands up holding out his hand for me. I head back into the house and half talk half yell at my mom until I am crying with her on the couch. Of course Dick orders pizza for lunch as we sit there watching a film, I liked how I felt knowing she was here. Yet, somewhere in the back of my mind I had a creeping feeling that this somber was only going to last a while.

Dick and I had set the table as my mom and I gathered the ingredients we needed to make Tacos. We were all laughing in fits with spoons in our mouths when my dad and Logan returned for the evening.

"Hi Dad, Logan. This is so stupid," I say as Dick is trying to get me to laugh as he tips my spoon with the end of his.

"No, I'm telling you. No tears. Keith, the radio, like old times. It works, see," my mom says as she points to my dad. Logan points his camera at us and takes a picture.

"Ah, look honey a hot blonde," he says as he gives me a kiss to the forehead. I see my mom flinch slightly as he does this to me. My dad plays with the radio until Connie Francis comes on singing "Where the Boys Are". My mom makes a note about the music choice by calling out to my dad.

"Keith, tacos," she says as I look back at Logan who has a smirk on his face. Dick is now in front of the counter dancing with his spoon in his mouth. I stare at my mother.

"What?" she questions looking at me with a small smile on her face. It reminded me of the old days before she left.

"It's just funny to me how you always have to have your music match your meal," I say as Logan picks up a tomato piece and eats it as I swat his hand.

"It is called setting a mood," she replies as I watch my dad get a goofy grin on his face.

"Of course," I say smiling as Logan grabs my hand and twirls me.

"Connie Francis is spaghetti bolognaise with a crusty bread and a nice Chianti. Uh, sans the Chianti," she remarks as I see my dad give her a look.

"Okay, say we were having hot dogs and Tater Tots?" I ask as I hear Logan chuckle behind me.

"Late seventies southern rock, Skynyrd, maybe Creedence," she quickly says as I look back at Logan who shrugs.

"Pork chops," I ask as I feel Logan moving me from the behind to go with the music.

"Country, old school," she replies smugly.

"Unless it's fried, then it's Elvis, the early years," he says as Dick hands him a spoon. My dad takes it and shakes his head.

My mom raises a bottle of water to my dad in agreement, and then drinks from it. He moves back to the radio and changes the music to "La Bamba".

"There you go, how's that?" he says as I watch Dick shake his butt and start to sing the song.

"Perfect," my mom says as we go back t finishing the meal. Logan was making me sway from side to side causing me to laugh every once in a while. The mood was light and so much better than what the morning had started with.

Xoxoxoxxo

"I think we are going to turn in," Logan says as I look up to meet his eyes.

"It's not that late," I try to agrue, but he holds his hand out for me.

"You were half asleep," he says softly into my hair as I see my mother looking at us.

"Okay see you guys in the morning," my dad says as I watch Dick head out to the patio.

"Night," my mom mutters. I didn't think she liked the idea of the two of us sleeping together or being married for that matter.

"I think your dad was relived to come home and find the two of you still alive," Logan says quickly as he pushes me up against the back of our bedroom door before locking it.

"Logan," I say breathless.

"I don't want any interruptions tonight," he says as he goes back to attacking my lips. He has my shirt off and on the ground as I struggle with his.

"What did you and dad do today?' I question when he lets me go. He turns to look back at me with tears in his eyes. "What did I say something wrong?' I question as he shakes his head.

"You said 'dad'," he replies as I smile. I hadn't referred to dad being my dad, but just dad. I never even thought about the impact of one word to Logan.

"It's okay. My dad is your dad now," I say as I kiss him passionately and softly making him groan.

"I know, but to hear you say it so nonchalantly in conversation makes it so real," he says smiling as I notice the humor in his voice. "I'm not sure about Lianne though," he says as I remove my shorts tossing them in the hamper as he does the same.

"I feel the same way. I mean all I have wanted for the past year was to have her here, but dad is dating Alicia. Logan I don't want him to get hurt," I honestly say as he kisses me pulling me down onto the bed.

"Your dad is a grown man. I think he has his bull shit detector already working overdrive," he smirks as I laugh at his wording. "Let's go to sleep," he mutters as I move my body to lay on his chest. For the first time in a long time I dream of Lilly. The two of us were floating on rafts in her pool just enjoying the sun. I loved how she looked in her bikini. Lilly always looked great.

"Ronnie," I hear a voice far away. "Ronnie wake up," the voice says again.

"Why?" I mutter as I see Logan staring down at me. "What's the matter?" I ask confused as to why he was waking me up, until I look down to where his hands were resting.

"You were rubbing against me," he mutters as I see him getting up out of the corner of my eye.

"Where are you going?" I ask.

"I'm going to take a cold shower," he mutters as I laugh. "Right laugh it up," he says as I hear him turn on the water. I lay in our bed for a moment before I decide on what to do. As I walk into the bathroom I have taken off the rest of my clothes. I open the shower door to see him with his hand wrapped around his enlarged member just as he looks in my direction.

"Logan," I say as softly as I could while he releases himself.

"Ronnie," he moans as he forces me back against the cold shower wall. The water is luke warm or I would have yelped from the sensation. He is kissing me with one hand while playing with my breast. I moan as he moves his mouth to my right breat nipping at the nipple.

"Ah," I say as he continues nipping and lightly squezzing them. The sensation of his hands moving over my body feels right to me. I wrap my arms around his neck as he pushes me harder up against the wall. I can feel his erection as he begins to grind into me.

"God, I want you so bad," he moans as I wrap my legs around his waist.

"Logan, I want you as well," I moan as I feel his hands moving close to my entry point.

"I don't have any condoms," he mutters as I feel him stop. I wanted him bad at this point.

"I'm on the pill," I say as he looks into my eyes and slips past my barrier. I feel a tugging sensation as I gasp causing him to stop.

"Are you alright?" he questions as I nod. He begins to thrust slowly and steadily in and out of me. I feel the pulling of this force in my stomach that is making me want him to go harder.

"Harder," I groan out as he begins to nip at my neck. His thrusts are becoming faster and the pulling is coming closer and closer as I feel myself clenching him. I lose all control of my feelings as I fall faster than I have ever done before. I feel him thrust two more times before he moans my name into my shoulder releasing himself into me.

"That was amazing," he finally says as he moves us to be under the shower head. I lower my legs testing them as I feel a slight pain in my thighs. "Are you sore?" he questions.

"Yeah a little," I say as he lathers me up before lathering himself up. We both rinse off as I turn the water off. He helps me dry my body as I pull on one of his shirts. He hands me a pair of his boxers as he pulls a pair on.

"That was perfect," I whisper as he pulls me to his chest.

"Yes, it was Bobcat," he says kissing the tip of my nose. I give him a goofy smile at the nickname as I drift off to sleep once more.

"Morning," I mumble as I make my way to the kitchen where Logan was sitting with both my parents.

"Its noon," my mother snips at me.

"I had a rough night," I moan as I hear Logan choke on his drink.

"So that's why I heard the shower at 2 this morning," my dad says as I gulp the coffee I was drinking as Logan gave me a grin.

"I had a dream, and I needed a distraction," I say as I give Logan a grin.

"Well since I have both of you here I think we will head to the office to get a few things done," my dad says as I see my mom ready to object.

"What about school?" she snaps as I laugh.

"They are homeschooled due to the media and issues with Aaron," my dad says as I head to the living room to gather up my books. Logan and I sat in the back of the Land Rover as our dad drove us to the office. We all head up as I make my way to my desk giving Logan a nudge as he sits beside me in a chair.

"Are you going to tell me what you and dad did yesterday?' I question Logan when he went into his office.

"I went with Cliff and him to a meeting with Celeste," he finally says as he turns to the back of his textbook not looking at me.

"Why?" I ask when my dad calls me into his office. "You're not trying to burn a hole through a stack of paper using only the power of your stare again?" I say when I open the door and walk in.

"Hey, sweetheart. Have a seat a minute; I have to talk to you," he says softly as I realize this is a big issue. I sit down where I can see his face.

"I met with Celeste Kane yesterday," he says as I try to think about his words.

"She's paying you double and sponsoring our club membership?" I say knowing that Celeste owned my dad money for him following Jake several months ago but declined to pay him.

"Well, she actually agreed to pay up but only if you sign this contract that says that you'll never sue them again. She wants you to waive any claim on the Kane fortune," he says pushing the papers toward me. I got it now, Celeste didn't want me to become an issue if I were a Kane. I look at the contract and with no hesitation at all pick up a pen and sign the document. I watch the surprised look on my dad's face and then turn to see Logan looking on.

"What? Was I supposed to sign in blood?" I ask looking from Logan back to my dad who was really trying hard to hold back his tears.

"Do you know what you just signed away?" he questions as I see a few tears slip down his check as Logan moves closer to us.

"There's nothing that I want from them. I have the two most important things in my life right here," I say as I feel Logan wrap his arms around me.

"Nothing. You didn't sign away a thing," he says laughing joyfully as he pulls a paternity test result from under the contract. I look at him in surprise.

"Veronica, I am without a doubt your father," he says as I begin to sob and then reaches out for my dad hugging him close. I am laughing and crying as I feel my dad reach for Logan to join us.

"Oh! Yeah, you are!" I finally say pulling away from him to look directly at him.

"You think that charm of yours is learned behavior? That's genetics, baby!" he says laughing as I feel Logan wrapping his arms around me once more. I can't help the grin on my face as I reach forward kissing my dad. This was the best news possible. It made me feel so much better knowing that I hadn't slept with my brother.

After the whole paternity situation Logan and I headed back to the main office to work on school work. My dad left the office to go file the paper work for Celeste as I was finishing up my last math problem I looked up to see Logan staring at me.

"What?" I say as I laugh when he closes his book.

"I am glad you are happy," he says smiling as I laugh, but his smile slips slightly as I close my book.

"What's the matter?" I ask when he moves away from me.

"Um, do you have feeling for Duncan," he asks as I look up at him startled from the question.

"No, Logan what Duncan and I had was long ago. I am totally in love with you and only you," I say trying to make him look at me. I knew he was insecure, but I didn't think he would think I was still in love with Duncan. I was with him.

"It's just," he pauses as he looks up to me. Duncan broke up with you because he thought you were siblings, but you aren't," he mutters as I see where his train of thoughts was leading him.

"Logan, I am not going to get back with him ever," I say as I try to make my point by kissing him hard on the lips.

"Okay," he says letting go and giving me a huge grin. Our dad came back a short while later and took us back to the house. He had to head out once again, but took my mom with him as Logan and I got dressed for the fundraiser.

"Are you ready?" he questions as Leo and him come into the kitchen.

"Yeah, I'm going to get a drink and I'll meet you in the car," I say as they head to the garage. I take a huge gulp of the water only to spit it out. I smell the water only to find it not water. I quickly call the rehab center my mom was going to. I was pissed to find out she checked herself out before finishing the program.

"Everything alright," Logan asks as I get in the Land Rover.

"No, but it will be," I say as I see Leo pulling out behind us. Logan drives us to the Kane estate. Celeste almost chokes on her wine when she sees the two of us arriving.

"Veronica Mars, Logan Echolls," she mutters as Jake reaches his hand out to us inviting us both into his home.

"Welcome. I'm glad you came on behalf of your mom's charity," he says as we both just nod our heads. I grip his arm a little tighter as I see Aaron standing ten feet away from us with a cocky grin on his face. We talk to a few people before slipping off to Lilly's room.

Duncan catches the two of us in Lilly's room and begins to shove Logan around when I try to calm him. He moves to push me when Logan pulls me out of the way. We both finally convince Duncan we didn't think he killed Lilly, but that someone else did. We found some tapes in Lilly's vent. As we went into Duncan's room to watch the tapes I felt uneasy being in the room.

"Oh my god," Logan snaps as we see his dad roll over on top of Lilly.

"I know what happened," I say as I explain the chain of events to the boys. Logan looks like he is ready to kill his father, but I remind him we need to get the tapes to my dad. He agrees with that as I tell Duncan about the paternity test. He goes to kiss me, but I stop him. I remind him that I was with Logan and that was the end of it.

Logan and I rush to the Land Rover before telling Leo we were leaving. I am holding the tapes as I call my dad to tell him about the tapes and that we were on our way back to the house. Logan is taking a turn a little faster than he should we I look to the side to see Aaron in the back seat. Aaron and Logan begin to wrestle with the steering wheel as the Land Rover crashes into a tree.

I wake up in pain as I see Logan slouched over. I try to shake him awake, but he is bleeding from his head. I see Aaron in between the seats as I grab the tapes and exit the SUV. I race to the house across the street banging on the door pleading for someone to help me. I hear a noise in the direction of the SUV to see the back door open. I make my way to the back of the house tossing the tapes in different places as I see Aaron rush me knocking me out.

"Veronica, Veronica? You're an odd duck. Hey, how many teenage girls keep walkie-talkies in their car?" he says as I reach for the one in the small space I am in. I try to figure out where I am but only smell gasoline and an odd stale odor.

"What have you done to me?" I ask panicking in my entrapment.

"Veronica, dear. Where are my tapes?" he yells at me as I start to cry. "I'll let you out as soon as I have my tapes back," he snaps at me as I continue to try to get out of my confinement.

"No, thanks. Honestly, I feel safer in here. I know what you do to people. You beat them for your kicks or other news you kill them," I say knowing I was safer where I was.

"Well you know, you shouldn't," he says very softly I almost miss it as he kicks the side of the container. "You wanna know something about Joan of Arc, Veronica? Huh? God didn't really talk to her. Uh-uh. It's true, I saw it on TV. You know, it was one of those historical forensics programmers. And they decided she had a brain tumor. Burned alive. What a waste. She thought her death meant something. But all it meant was she was crazy," he whispers to me before screaming, "Think about that. Veronica. Where are the tapes? Where are the tapes?" he is yelling now.

"Where are the tapes? You know, Lilly never told me where the tapes were hidden either. I-I kinda think there's a cautionary tale in that, Veronica. Something like I'm not going to let a seventeen year-old piece of ass ruin my life!" he screams into the walkie talkie as I begin to sob knowing he just admitted to killing Lilly.

"They're on the roof, I put 'em on the roof. Please let me out of here," I say as I cry even harder as the gasoline smell is getting stronger.

"Veronica! Veronica!" I hear my dad's voice on the walkie.

"Dad?" I yell a little relived to know he had found me.

I hear a lot of noise and clatter outside of my imprisonment. As I hear Aaron say, "She's in the fridge, Keith. You might want to check up on her," as I begin to bang on the inside of the fridge, crying and choking as I feel the whole area getting hotter by the second.

"Hang on, honey," I hear my dad says as I see him lift it open and I roll out, choking and coughing. My dad stumbles in the flames as I feel another set of hands reach for him as Logan comes into view. He has a trap in his hands trying to pat my dad down. I watch crying as Logan gets burned putting the flames out.

"I love you. I love you so much. I knew you'd come, I knew you'd save me. Dad," I mumble as I feel Logan collapsing next to me. I look down to where Aaron was about to get away as a van runs into him. The man gets out, but I stay where I am with the two people that mean the world to me. I can tell my dad is in bad shape as he struggles to breath. Ambulances and police vehicles are just arriving as one place my dad on a gurney. My dad is being wheeled past fire engines on a gurney as I walk right beside him.

"You mean the world to me, do you understand that? Are you listening to me?" I softly say as I see Logan give me a small smile walking beside me.

"Hey, who's your daddy, huh?" he mutters as Logan laughs softly.

"I hate it when you say that," I half cry and sob at the same time as Logan wraps an arm around me. My dad groans as I see the man from the house is being treated for the head wound Aaron caused. Aaron himself is still on the ground but he is on a stretcher and hooked up with neck brace and oxygen. A deputy stands over him. I feel so relieved as Logan and I walk past him.

"Aaron Echolls, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney," the Deputy states as he reads him his rights. Lamb and another deputy watch as he heads towards Aaron.

I see Duncan making a run forward but Jake puts out his hand, making it clear that Duncan should stay where he is. Jake races to get to Aaron. I feel so much pity as I watch the great Jake Kane crumble learning that Aaron killed his daughter. That the man he knew as a friend had murdered his child. I watch as Lamb arrests Jake for his disturbance. Duncan gives me a small nod as I get into the back of the ambulance with Logan and my dad.

Once we get to the hospital both Logan and I are checked out. Logan has minor burns on his hands and arms from trying to put the fire out around us. I have a very sore body where Aaron used my face for a punching bag and the car accident. Logan had to have stitches to his side where a branch pierced him during the accident. I would say we got off pretty lucky. The doctor told me that my dad would make a recovery, but I should head home. I called the one person I knew he could count on to keep him company as Leo took us home. I was dreading the altercation I would have with my mom when I went inside.

"Honey? What happened? Are you okay? Where's your father? Are you alright Logan?" she asks as she goes to touch the bruise on my face, but I push her hand away.

"He's in the hospital," Logan says as he hands me a bottle of water checking the seal of it before doing so.

"What?" she snaps as I move to go to upstairs to our room.

"He's gonna be okay," I mutter as she reaches out for me once again.

"What, Veronica, what happened?" she asks half worried. I wonder if I should tell her Jake was in jail.

"It's over now and I'll tell you the rest in the morning. But first I need you to pack," I say as my voice hitches slightly causing Logan to pull me close.

"What? What do you mean?" she shrieks as I turn to face her.

"You can't be here when dad comes home," I mutter.

"Veronica," she gasps as I walk back toward her.

"I know, Mom. I know you're not through drinking, I know you didn't even finish rehab. You checked yourself out and that was my college money. I bet on you, and I lost. I've been doing that my whole life. And I'm through," I yell at her as I walk right by her, but she turns me back around to face her.

"Veronica...it's not easy," she mumbles trying to make me feel sympathy for her.

"I know it's not," I say equally upset at her as I remove my arm from her grasp and Logan takes me to our room. I change into some comfortable clothing as I lay down on the bed beside of Logan who is almost passed out. I begin to dream once again about Lilly.

"This is how it's supposed to be, right Lilly," I ask dream Lilly.

"Totally," she says flipping her hair. "Don't forget about me, Veronica," she whispers as I am left alone in the big pool. I let a tear slip down my check as I hear the doorbell and feel Logan moving beside me.

"I could never," I whisper as I get up looking at the clock and see Logan already waiting for me by the door with his hand reached out for me. Yes, this was how it would be for now on.

"I was hoping it would be you," the person on the other side says half drunk as they fall forward. Logan helps steady them as Leo makes an appearance.