Force of Gravity, Ch. 3
Title: The Force of Gravity
Rating: R (language and sexual content)
Summary: It's a darker Neptune, a darker Eli Navarro, and Veronica's pretty sure that she's gotten darker too.
Spoilers: Up to Not Pictured.
Disclaimer: All characters, plots, etc. belong to Rob Thomas and the lovely people who make Veronica Mars possible.
There’s a note on the fridge from her father and Veronica’s heart nearly stops when she reads it. She stuffs it in her pocket, heading back out the door without putting away any of the groceries she brought in. They won’t go bad and they can wait for her to find out just what the hell happened.
Driving to the hospital feels like a something a girlfriend would do. She convinces herself that it’s not. Her relationship with Logan ended with harsh words, a bit of screaming, and she’s mentally placing her bets that he was admitted for alcohol poisoning. He’d already started into the Jack Daniel’s well before he told her to find the door and use it. So it’s not a girlfriend thing, it’s just a friend thing and if her father left her a note then he probably thinks she should go.
Hospitals remind her of Meg and Abel and all those kids on the bus who didn’t make it. Cold tile floors and sterile walls bring back memories of her father, battered and burned from coming to her rescue. She used to think that Fate had a sense of humor. Now she thinks Fate is a lie. There is no right foot in, no shaking it about; they were born to die and molder away, that’s what it’s all about.
Inside the hospital room looks unreal. She can see Logan through the doorway with the TV remote in his hand and an annoyed expression on his face because the show he wanted isn’t on. That’s normal. What isn’t normal is the bruise that starts at his right ear and ends at his nose, the split lip, and the cast on his arm.
She doesn’t have to ask what happened now. As the temperature in the hallway seems to drop fifteen degrees, she realizes that she has a pretty good idea of who did the damage. She’s horrified, not sure if she’s more angry with Logan for being an idiot or herself for not thinking he’d go after Weevil. Bracing for the lashing that’s sure to come, she raps the door with her knuckles and enters the room.
“Look who’s come to see the fruits of her labors.” Logan tosses the remote onto the bed and leans back against the pillows.
Forcing herself to smile, she keeps her chin up and takes a seat in the chair meant for visitors. “I can’t take credit, Logan. This was all you.”
“Right. Because I get my jaw broken by Eli Navarro every third Tuesday. Good fun.” He winces as he speaks and she notices that he’s not really opening his mouth. “Guess he picked up a few tricks in prison. That and he had this tool…thing. What are they called? A wrench or something. Hurts like a motherfucker, whatever it is.”
“What were you thinking?” The knife in her gut at seeing him like this is beginning to twist and a herd of shoulds stampede through her mind. Should have known he’d do something stupid, should have given him some other reason for breaking up. Should have gone straight home after she finished swimming.
“It seemed like the thing to do at the time.” His voice is tired. “You’re the one who had sex with him.”
“I told you--”
“I don’t care that it was just a one time thing, Veronica.” The glare is accusing and she flinches because she deserves it. “I don’t care that it was eye-opening and made you realize that you didn’t love me. Or whatever bullshit you rambled on about last night. It’s Weevil, Veronica. Weevil. God. I’m going to be eating pudding and jello for a fucking month because you had to get your freak on with that asshole.”
Her teeth bite down almost involuntarily on her lower lip, keeping her mouth shut, keeping the words inside. Nothing he says changes anything at all and there are enough painkillers in his system to make him say pretty much anything. She wants to throw the blame off of her shoulders and back onto his, but she can’t even bring herself to shrug. She can’t tell him it’s all his own stupid fault because she knows Logan and she should have seen this coming.
She should have warned him that Weevil had changed.
“Thanks for coming. Could you go now?” Logan closes his eyes, settling into the bed. No more encouragement is needed; she’s almost to the door when he speaks again. “Stay away from him, Veronica.”
It’s not the words that stop her in her tracks; it’s the genuine fear in his voice. There’s no response to that; she leaves without saying goodbye and her mind is racing as she finds her way out of the building. Logan and Weevil were no strangers to fighting; beating each other up had been nearly a weekly event in high school. Had she counted on Logan being able to hold his own? Or had she simply hoped that a high school diploma would mean he’d think before going in with fists swinging. In the cold light of the hospital, she can’t answer those questions. She can’t even remember why she’d abandoned her sanity the night before.
Groceries have been put away when she gets home. She reaches out to set her car keys on the counter but can’t convince her fingers to let go. Broken bones aren’t going to go unnoticed; this wasn’t a fight between high school kids. Why would Weevil risk another strike?
“Veronica?” Her father comes out of his bedroom, still damp around the edges from a recent shower. “Sheriff Lamb called. He wants to ask you a few questions about what happened to Logan.”
“That’s…very Lamb. Ask the one person who doesn’t know anything.” Finally forcing her hand to relinquish the keys, she busies herself with making tea.
“Did you go see Logan?”
“I did.” The water sloshes in the kettle and she knows that he’s staring at her while she pretends to peruse the available flavors.
“Honey.”
“I really don’t know anything, Dad. Except that Logan is a moron, but all of Neptune’s figured that out by now.” Fingernails tap nervously against her mug until she realizes that it makes her look like a liar; she forces her hands to be still.
“Did you two break up?”
“Last night. He was drinking when I left.”
“Any idea what he and Eli Navarro would have that needs settling with violence?” His voice is too soft and too concerned for him to know the truth.
“They never needed a reason to beat each other up in high school. Is that supposed to change?” Boiling water gives her a few more moments of not having to turn around and face him. She pours it into the mug and heads for the sofa without looking at her father.
“This is serious, Veronica.”
“Dad, I get that it’s serious; I’ve seen him. But what part of this involves me?” That’s a valid question and doesn’t require lying; she has no idea why Lamb wants to talk to her. “Lamb must be ecstatic that he can go after Weevil again. Does he want me to jump out of cake or something? Cause I’m really not into that kind of thing.”
He sits down in the chair across from her, leaning forward in that fatherly way that always has her bracing for a lecture. “Eli has an alibi.”
That, she didn’t see coming. She’s not even sure anyone could have thrown her a bigger curve. “Then someone’s very confused and they’re not the only one.”
“Can you think of anyone else who has something against Logan? Enemies? Have you seen anyone unusual lately? Had Logan been acting strangely?”
She stares at him because she can practically hear the gears turning in his head. “You want to know if I broke up with Logan because he was doing drugs and if Liam Fitzpatrick put him in the hospital. You think Logan said it was Weevil because he’s afraid to tell the truth. That’s it, right? That’s what I’m supposed to be reading between your lines.”
It’s his turn to stare at her. He smiles with a little too much pride as he leans back in the chair, visibly relaxing. “How far off am I?”
“Dad.” The lie is right there on the tip of her tongue and it tastes like ashes in her mouth. “If Logan’s doing drugs, I never knew anything about it. That’s not why we broke up. I don’t know what to tell you. If Logan said it was Weevil but Weevil has an alibi…someone’s not telling the truth. And with those two? It’s fifty-fifty on which one’s lying.”
“And you can’t think of a reason in particular why those two would be fighting? Unless there’s motive, the alibi will hold up.”
“Other than breathing the same air?” She hopes he doesn’t notice that she looks away from him, pretending to be watching the mug as she lifts it to her lips.
“Lamb’s still going to want to talk to you.”
“Of course. He wouldn’t miss a chance to ruin my day. What happens if he can’t break Weevil’s alibi?”
“Knowing Lamb, he’ll either let it drop or arrest Eli anyway, go for a lesser charge. Would you mind if I did a little poking around myself?”
“Not at all.” She smiles because if she doesn’t, it’ll look like she has something to hide. “Sorry I can’t give you more information. The last I saw Logan, when he wasn’t beat up, was when I broke up with him. Anything he did between then and now is a mystery to me.”
“Why did you break up with him? If you don’t mind my asking.” That was a private investigator question rather than a father question and she knows his mind was already puzzling over the minute details.
It wouldn’t be the first time he chose the job over her and she’s a little surprised to realize that she’s still bitter about that. Up until the disastrous trip to New York that hadn’t happened, she’d always been safe in the knowledge that she came first.
“We were fighting more and more about school, and it’s not like I can just throw over studying whenever he wants me to. I got tired of trying to appease him all the time.” It’s roughly the truth. The sane, logical, mature truth that had little to do with reality. But it looked good on paper and she can tell that it’s a reason he understands and respects. He pats her knee and smiles; his way of telling her that she made the right decision.
She wonders when he flips on the television if he wants his theory to be true so he can go after Liam Fitzpatrick or if he wants it to be true because he knows something she doesn’t. The odds are even between the two possibilities. She doesn’t ask because she’s still too worried about giving herself away. And the question that’s burning a hole in her brain isn’t one her father can answer.
Rating: R (language and sexual content)
Summary: It's a darker Neptune, a darker Eli Navarro, and Veronica's pretty sure that she's gotten darker too.
Spoilers: Up to Not Pictured.
Disclaimer: All characters, plots, etc. belong to Rob Thomas and the lovely people who make Veronica Mars possible.
There’s a note on the fridge from her father and Veronica’s heart nearly stops when she reads it. She stuffs it in her pocket, heading back out the door without putting away any of the groceries she brought in. They won’t go bad and they can wait for her to find out just what the hell happened.
Driving to the hospital feels like a something a girlfriend would do. She convinces herself that it’s not. Her relationship with Logan ended with harsh words, a bit of screaming, and she’s mentally placing her bets that he was admitted for alcohol poisoning. He’d already started into the Jack Daniel’s well before he told her to find the door and use it. So it’s not a girlfriend thing, it’s just a friend thing and if her father left her a note then he probably thinks she should go.
Hospitals remind her of Meg and Abel and all those kids on the bus who didn’t make it. Cold tile floors and sterile walls bring back memories of her father, battered and burned from coming to her rescue. She used to think that Fate had a sense of humor. Now she thinks Fate is a lie. There is no right foot in, no shaking it about; they were born to die and molder away, that’s what it’s all about.
Inside the hospital room looks unreal. She can see Logan through the doorway with the TV remote in his hand and an annoyed expression on his face because the show he wanted isn’t on. That’s normal. What isn’t normal is the bruise that starts at his right ear and ends at his nose, the split lip, and the cast on his arm.
She doesn’t have to ask what happened now. As the temperature in the hallway seems to drop fifteen degrees, she realizes that she has a pretty good idea of who did the damage. She’s horrified, not sure if she’s more angry with Logan for being an idiot or herself for not thinking he’d go after Weevil. Bracing for the lashing that’s sure to come, she raps the door with her knuckles and enters the room.
“Look who’s come to see the fruits of her labors.” Logan tosses the remote onto the bed and leans back against the pillows.
Forcing herself to smile, she keeps her chin up and takes a seat in the chair meant for visitors. “I can’t take credit, Logan. This was all you.”
“Right. Because I get my jaw broken by Eli Navarro every third Tuesday. Good fun.” He winces as he speaks and she notices that he’s not really opening his mouth. “Guess he picked up a few tricks in prison. That and he had this tool…thing. What are they called? A wrench or something. Hurts like a motherfucker, whatever it is.”
“What were you thinking?” The knife in her gut at seeing him like this is beginning to twist and a herd of shoulds stampede through her mind. Should have known he’d do something stupid, should have given him some other reason for breaking up. Should have gone straight home after she finished swimming.
“It seemed like the thing to do at the time.” His voice is tired. “You’re the one who had sex with him.”
“I told you--”
“I don’t care that it was just a one time thing, Veronica.” The glare is accusing and she flinches because she deserves it. “I don’t care that it was eye-opening and made you realize that you didn’t love me. Or whatever bullshit you rambled on about last night. It’s Weevil, Veronica. Weevil. God. I’m going to be eating pudding and jello for a fucking month because you had to get your freak on with that asshole.”
Her teeth bite down almost involuntarily on her lower lip, keeping her mouth shut, keeping the words inside. Nothing he says changes anything at all and there are enough painkillers in his system to make him say pretty much anything. She wants to throw the blame off of her shoulders and back onto his, but she can’t even bring herself to shrug. She can’t tell him it’s all his own stupid fault because she knows Logan and she should have seen this coming.
She should have warned him that Weevil had changed.
“Thanks for coming. Could you go now?” Logan closes his eyes, settling into the bed. No more encouragement is needed; she’s almost to the door when he speaks again. “Stay away from him, Veronica.”
It’s not the words that stop her in her tracks; it’s the genuine fear in his voice. There’s no response to that; she leaves without saying goodbye and her mind is racing as she finds her way out of the building. Logan and Weevil were no strangers to fighting; beating each other up had been nearly a weekly event in high school. Had she counted on Logan being able to hold his own? Or had she simply hoped that a high school diploma would mean he’d think before going in with fists swinging. In the cold light of the hospital, she can’t answer those questions. She can’t even remember why she’d abandoned her sanity the night before.
Groceries have been put away when she gets home. She reaches out to set her car keys on the counter but can’t convince her fingers to let go. Broken bones aren’t going to go unnoticed; this wasn’t a fight between high school kids. Why would Weevil risk another strike?
“Veronica?” Her father comes out of his bedroom, still damp around the edges from a recent shower. “Sheriff Lamb called. He wants to ask you a few questions about what happened to Logan.”
“That’s…very Lamb. Ask the one person who doesn’t know anything.” Finally forcing her hand to relinquish the keys, she busies herself with making tea.
“Did you go see Logan?”
“I did.” The water sloshes in the kettle and she knows that he’s staring at her while she pretends to peruse the available flavors.
“Honey.”
“I really don’t know anything, Dad. Except that Logan is a moron, but all of Neptune’s figured that out by now.” Fingernails tap nervously against her mug until she realizes that it makes her look like a liar; she forces her hands to be still.
“Did you two break up?”
“Last night. He was drinking when I left.”
“Any idea what he and Eli Navarro would have that needs settling with violence?” His voice is too soft and too concerned for him to know the truth.
“They never needed a reason to beat each other up in high school. Is that supposed to change?” Boiling water gives her a few more moments of not having to turn around and face him. She pours it into the mug and heads for the sofa without looking at her father.
“This is serious, Veronica.”
“Dad, I get that it’s serious; I’ve seen him. But what part of this involves me?” That’s a valid question and doesn’t require lying; she has no idea why Lamb wants to talk to her. “Lamb must be ecstatic that he can go after Weevil again. Does he want me to jump out of cake or something? Cause I’m really not into that kind of thing.”
He sits down in the chair across from her, leaning forward in that fatherly way that always has her bracing for a lecture. “Eli has an alibi.”
That, she didn’t see coming. She’s not even sure anyone could have thrown her a bigger curve. “Then someone’s very confused and they’re not the only one.”
“Can you think of anyone else who has something against Logan? Enemies? Have you seen anyone unusual lately? Had Logan been acting strangely?”
She stares at him because she can practically hear the gears turning in his head. “You want to know if I broke up with Logan because he was doing drugs and if Liam Fitzpatrick put him in the hospital. You think Logan said it was Weevil because he’s afraid to tell the truth. That’s it, right? That’s what I’m supposed to be reading between your lines.”
It’s his turn to stare at her. He smiles with a little too much pride as he leans back in the chair, visibly relaxing. “How far off am I?”
“Dad.” The lie is right there on the tip of her tongue and it tastes like ashes in her mouth. “If Logan’s doing drugs, I never knew anything about it. That’s not why we broke up. I don’t know what to tell you. If Logan said it was Weevil but Weevil has an alibi…someone’s not telling the truth. And with those two? It’s fifty-fifty on which one’s lying.”
“And you can’t think of a reason in particular why those two would be fighting? Unless there’s motive, the alibi will hold up.”
“Other than breathing the same air?” She hopes he doesn’t notice that she looks away from him, pretending to be watching the mug as she lifts it to her lips.
“Lamb’s still going to want to talk to you.”
“Of course. He wouldn’t miss a chance to ruin my day. What happens if he can’t break Weevil’s alibi?”
“Knowing Lamb, he’ll either let it drop or arrest Eli anyway, go for a lesser charge. Would you mind if I did a little poking around myself?”
“Not at all.” She smiles because if she doesn’t, it’ll look like she has something to hide. “Sorry I can’t give you more information. The last I saw Logan, when he wasn’t beat up, was when I broke up with him. Anything he did between then and now is a mystery to me.”
“Why did you break up with him? If you don’t mind my asking.” That was a private investigator question rather than a father question and she knows his mind was already puzzling over the minute details.
It wouldn’t be the first time he chose the job over her and she’s a little surprised to realize that she’s still bitter about that. Up until the disastrous trip to New York that hadn’t happened, she’d always been safe in the knowledge that she came first.
“We were fighting more and more about school, and it’s not like I can just throw over studying whenever he wants me to. I got tired of trying to appease him all the time.” It’s roughly the truth. The sane, logical, mature truth that had little to do with reality. But it looked good on paper and she can tell that it’s a reason he understands and respects. He pats her knee and smiles; his way of telling her that she made the right decision.
She wonders when he flips on the television if he wants his theory to be true so he can go after Liam Fitzpatrick or if he wants it to be true because he knows something she doesn’t. The odds are even between the two possibilities. She doesn’t ask because she’s still too worried about giving herself away. And the question that’s burning a hole in her brain isn’t one her father can answer.