Exit Wounds

Chapter 5/19

Logan watched her sleep. He observed her lips part slightly and her eyes dart underneath her eyelids. He noted her breathing slow down to a steady pace. Her face was relaxed. It was strange to see her at rest. He had trouble believing that in less than twenty-four hours, he had found her and was laying in bed with her. He wondered what it meant, for her and for them. He had fantasized about finding her and never leaving her side. But, she had already said it wasn't going to happen. She had left him, went off to find a new life. A crappy one, if anyone were to ask him. He knew he couldn't be happy without her in his life, but hoped she felt the same. He hoped that coming here reminded her of that.

Logan slept for a couple hours before he calmly woke up. Laying in bed for a while, he failed at falling back to sleep. He shifted a bit, but he heard her whimper at the movement. Scooting as smoothly as he could, he slipped off the bed. He turned back and stood there, watching her sleep for a few more moments before going back to the living room. He closed the bedroom door behind him.

He looked around the room, deciding what to do next. He figured he could always watch a movie and went to her DVDs. He knelt down and skimmed over the cases. She didn't have many. At the end, closer to the television, were some cases without any labels. He pulled one out and opened it up. He grinned at the name on the disc. Fun With The Girls was written in Veronica's handwriting. It reminded him of a home video of Homecoming with Lilly. He powered on the television and turned the volume down. He put the DVD into the player and sat on the edge of the couch. Curious of who this current Veronica was, he pressed play on the remote.

The screen came to life with Veronica, Claudia and one other woman dancing around at a karaoke bar. No, not a karaoke bar. They aren't singing. They are lip syncing to Destiny's Child. Logan covered his mouth to keep from laughing too loudly, but his eyes were glued to the screen. The women don't move well together, but they seem to take turns with who was lead vocalist. He couldn't believe she was moving so freely. Of course, he had seen this type of behavior before, when she was a member of the pep squad with Lilly. But, that was so many years ago and he thought that part of her had been gone forever. He loved seeing her this way, so uninhibited and happy.

After that song was done, the DVD cut to a party scene where someone was recording a drunk Veronica attempting to prank another one of her friends. She frightens her friend, which makes her laugh to the point she snorts. The prankee chases the other girls, shouting empty threats to them. Veronica and the other prankers laugh. Logan couldn't believe she was so relaxed. She wasn't on guard or expecting danger. This was the Veronica he met when he moved to Neptune, plus alcohol. He giggled as Veronica drunkenly stumbled into others.

The next clip is at a cookout. The women all coo over someone's engagement ring and Logan noticed Veronica has a couple rings on her left ring finger already. He swallowed down the jealousy and watched as Chip, a man he had met a couple times, greets his ex and her friends. Logan listened to Veronica talk to Chip as if they had met before. Chip makes reference to Hearst, but Logan couldn't figure out when Veronica would have even been on Hearst campus.

The disc ended and Logan put it back in it's case. He pulled out another unmarked case and opened it. He gasped softly as he looked down at it. Wedding. He thought about what was on this disk and what it actually meant. This was one of his biggest fears and it could almost fit in the palm of his hand. He had been scared that Veronica had moved on without him and this disk held the biggest moment. But, to ignore this part of her new past wouldn't be fair. She wasn't who she was without making that decision and a million others. He needed to see this. It didn't hurt that he was slightly a masochist. With a shaking hand, he put the disc into the player and sat on the couch.

It's a city hall wedding. Veronica is wearing a lacy, layered, white wedding dress and it took Logan's breath away. She looked so delicate and feminine. She was beautiful and it tugged at Logan's heart. Nate is in his dress white Navy uniform, looking fit and proper of an officer. Logan watched them exchange vows and place rings on each other's fingers. He watched this man he never had a chance to meet bend down and kiss Veronica as her husband.