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Lilly found out the summer before junior year. Well, deep down she'd suspected. Wondered. What toned SoCal surfer boy wore long sleeves that much? How did lithe, graceful Logan have so many accidents? But he was always ready with an explanation. He drunkenly stumbled too close to a bonfire. He slipped off his surfboard and whacked his back. He got in a fight with a guy who was graphically describing the sex scene in Trina's latest B movie.
But there was no denying it after the afternoon his dad slammed into the house shouting while Lilly was in the middle of giving Logan a blowjob.
"Logan!" Aaron's voice was harsh and carried easily from the entryway down the long corridor to Logan's bedroom. Lilly didn't pause in her ministrations, but Logan froze.
"Coming!" he shouted, and rolled away from her.
"You coming is what I was working on." Lilly pouted from the bed.
"Lilly, you have to go. Now." He wouldn't look at her as he hurriedly slid into his jeans and t-shirt.
"LOGAN!!" This time even Lilly couldn't ignore the fury in Aaron's voice. She slipped on her discarded top and headed toward the patio door she'd snuck out a gazillion times, as Logan squared his shoulders and walked into the living room.
"What in the HELL were you thinking?" Aaron's voice still carried down the hallway, and Lilly's curiosity got the better of her. She turned and tiptoed to the door into the living room. It was open just a crack, and she could barely see Logan and Aaron through the sliver of space. Aaron was shaking a tabloid in his son's face. "Do you realize how much you've embarrassed me? Now every interview on the press tour is going to turn into a discussion of why my 15 year-old is smoking pot on the cover of the Hollywood Hotspot."
"It could be worse, Pop; somebody actually offered me coke at that party. And I don't mean the cola."
"You little prick!" Aaron roared and lunged, and his momentum carried them out of Lilly's line of sight. Her heart was pounding, and she heard struggling, a crash, gasping. Without even realizing it she had backed away from the door. She slipped out onto the patio and walked home with her iPod blasting in her ears, trying to erase the sounds that kept replaying in her head.
The next day, when Logan called, he said he had the flu. His voice was raspy, and Veronica, who had come over to swim, sunbathe, and gossip, suggested they could bring him some soup, but Logan said he didn't want them to catch the virus. When Lilly pointed out that she'd been swapping spit, among other fluids (Veronica pretended to gag at that), with him less than 24 hours before and that finishing what she'd started might be the best medicine, he again told her to keep her distance, that he'd be better in a few days. A few days? His dad must have really done a number on him...
"Lilly?" Veronica was staring at her with concern. "You okay? It's just the flu, not cancer. Logan will be fine."
You have no idea, Veronica Mars, thought Lilly. And for a moment, she was tempted to tell her best friend. Then she'd have someone to help her figure out what to do. But no. Veronica would want to tell her dad, and Sheriff Mars was a total Good Cop. No way would he look the other way when a kid was being abused, even if the abuser was a super-rich actor whose super-expensive lawyers would find a way to get him off. Either way, the news would get out, and Logan already hated the attention from being Aaron Echolls' son. God, he'd never escape it if he was the poor, abused, kid of the famous movie star. Even if Lilly swore Veronica to secrecy, her friend would start looking at Logan with those puppy dog eyes of hers, and he'd figure out Veronica knew his secret and who had told her. No, this was something she wasn't going to share with her BFF.
"I'm fine." Lilly turned her pensive frown into a pout, "Just trying to figure out what to do with all my libido, since I won't be getting laid while Logan is laid-up."
"Oh my God, Lilly!" Veronica punched her on the arm, but she was giggling, "Do you ever think about anything other than sex?"
It ended up being a week before Logan resurfaced. His tan was darker (sun was good for convalescents, like all those old-timely consumptives, he'd quipped), but Lilly, while leaning in to nibble his earlobe and tell him she'd missed him, could still see what looked like faint finger marks at the base of his throat. She pretended nothing had changed, letting herself fall back into their usual routine. Lilly was good at pretending, after all. Logan had no idea she was seeing Weevil. Seeing every last inch of Weevil, in fact. But as Logan took her face in his hands and stared at her with those sweet, gorgeous eyes, she vowed to herself that she wasn't going to forget what she'd seen. She would find a way to make Aaron pay.
Summer was almost over, and Aaron was back from his globe-trotting round of premieres and tv appearances to promote his latest movie when Lilly stumbled into a plan. She came into Logan's house from the pool to get a drink and found Aaron leering at her when she closed the refrigerator.
"Oh, hi, Mr. Echolls."
"Lilly, you know you can call me Aaron."
"Okay. How was your trip, Aaron?"
"Well, I got to have tapas in Barcelona, go scuba diving in Sydney, and try capoeira in Rio, but all that travel, talking about the same clips over and over is exhausting. And the truth is, Lilly," he leaned close and his gaze drifted down her bikini-clad body, "there's nothing like the scenery right here at home."
Of course! She could seduce Aaron. God, it wouldn't even be a challenge. And then she'd have power over him. Power she could use to protect Logan.
It was even easier than she'd expected. Part of her had thought Aaron might balk before actually fucking his son's girlfriend. Underage girlfriend, no less. Jesus, he really was depraved. But she had to admit the sex was great. Sex with Logan was fun, and he had a killer body, but she'd always thought teenage boys were supposed to be insatiable. Lately Logan seemed to want to gaze into her eyes and talk about feelings almost as often as he wanted to feel her up. Hooking up with Weevil was exciting, and it was hilarious when Celeste complimented the improvement in Lilly's Spanish without realizing she'd been practicing in bed with a biker. But sleeping with Aaron made Lilly think there must be some truth to the adage that older men had more stamina. And while she'd never doubted her sex appeal, she got a rush knowing that with models and starlets readily available, Aaron was spending his stolen moments with her. And Celeste thought she'd never accomplish anything! She was even managing to juggle all three guys with nobody being the wiser. Not even Veronica, who was usually so curious and clever; she must really be wallowing over Duncan breaking up with her. Lilly had to admit, she was having the time of her life, though she felt a little bad for Logan. He was totally in the dark, and she did love him. She just didn't love being tied down to one guy, no matter how cute he was.
So when Logan got all bent out of shape one night over her flirting with the waiter at dinner (Honestly, who wouldn't wonder if his lip and tongue piercings made kissing more fun? Lilly just had the courage to actually ask) they broke up again, and Lilly was actually sort of relieved. She was a junior now; ready to make the most of her prime high school years, not spend them cuddling on the couch with the boyfriend she'd had since junior high. Logan would mope for a while over her, probably always call her his first true love, but he needed a girl who was more sugar than spice (but not everything nice...) Well, that and a dad who didn't beat the shit out of him, but she was working on that.
It wasn't until the day of the pep squad car wash that she figured out how to spring her trap. While Lilly was leaning into a guy's window, convincing him to pay to have his spotless car washed, Shelly snapped a photo with her phone and threatened to send it to Logan. That was it! She just needed to get Aaron naked and asleep and she could take a photo of the two of them. Then she could threaten to send it to the police, her parents, Lynn, the tabloids, if he didn't leave Logan alone. The timing was perfect, too. Logan was off partying in Mexico, and Lynn was visiting her sister, so Lilly was supposed to meet Aaron at his place after the car wash. She could have one last romp with Aaron, get the photo, and move on. She was so pleased with her plan, she couldn't help herself; when Veronica came over to help polish a car, Lilly leaned in.
"I've got a secret. A good one." Veronica's eyes got wide. Lilly flounced over to the next vehicle, before she could be tempted to spill the story right there where the whole pep squad might overhear. And she might want to think about just how to tell Veronica. As long as Aaron's abuse wasn't an issue anymore, she wouldn't have to worry about Veronica going to her dad about it, but Veronica would probably be pretty shocked that Lilly had been sleeping with her boyfriend's father. Despite the fact that she was still a virgin, Lilly knew Veronica was no prude. She might blush at the stories of Lilly's sexual exploits, but she never made Lilly feel like a slut, the way Madison and the other girls did, even though they never actually said it. Veronica might not like the cheating on Logan part, though, or the father-son part. But it was all to help Logan, so she'd get over it. Veronica was always bragging about her dad's latest busts and how he was putting away the bad guys. She'd be so impressed that Lilly had found a way to stop Aaron. Lilly was humming, she was so proud of herself.
She dodged Veronica's pleas to tell her more about the secret when the car wash was over, and hopped in her car to head to Aaron's. She was surprised to see something on the dash: a folded paper and a shot glass. The glass had "I got baked in Ensenada" inscribed on it. Huh, wasn't Logan supposed to be in Ensenada this weekend? Sure enough, when she opened the paper it was covered in Logan's handwriting.
Dear Lilly,
I came all the way back to Neptune to talk to you, but what's the point? I love you, and I always will. But I know you don't feel the same about me. Isn't it usually the guy who is supposed to sow the wild oats? But we were never a typical pair, were we? Anyway, I won't be begging you to take me back again. You're free as a bird. But I will never forget the good times we had, even though they never lasted long enough. Maybe in a while we can be friends. For now I'm headed back to Mexico to drown my sorrows in tequila.
- L
p.s. Hope you like the shot glass. Maybe it can be the start of a new tradition: a glass for every heart you break.
She sat in the car, kind of stunned for a while. She wanted to be single, but it hurt a little that Logan wasn't going to fight for her anymore. Oh well, there were a lot more fish in the sea, and now she'd have more time to swim with them. She tore the note into tiny pieces and started the car. As she drove away, she let the bits of paper fly out the window. She wouldn’t let herself be sad about her relationship with Logan ending for good; she’d channel those feelings into one hell of a parting gift. It was time for her final tryst with Aaron. Time for some blackmail.
When she got to his place, Aaron told her to go on out to the pool house and get comfortable while he made some drinks. That suited Lilly just fine - with a few drinks in him, Aaron was sure to fall asleep after they had sex, and she could get the photo she needed.
"Come here, lover! Time to earn your keep" she called toward the house. "And time to get the money shot," she thought. Flopping back onto the bed, she stared up at the ceiling, wondering what Logan would think when his dad stopped hurting him. Her eyes refocused and she noticed a weird little knob on the ceiling fan. It looked exactly like the tiny camera that was mounted on the gate intercom, so the Echolls could tell whether a guest or a paparazzo was buzzing. And there was a track leading across the ceiling to the built in bookshelves. Lilly went over and noticed there was a little gap between the two sets of shelves, and they slid easily apart when she pushed.
"You dirty dog..." she breathed, when she realized she'd found Aaron's secret recording setup. And then her heart skipped a beat. This was her lucky day! Video was way better blackmail leverage. One of the tapes was labeled October 1, just a couple days ago, when they'd last had sex right in this room. Aaron had dug his own grave by recording their liasons. She looked to make sure Aaron was still in the house, grabbed the tapes, and hurried home.
Just a street away from her house, she glanced in the rear view mirror, worried Aaron might come after her, and cursed at the flashing lights. She pulled over and put on her best innocent face as the deputy approached her car. She tried to sweet talk him into letting her off with a warning, but he was determined to give her a citation. She willed him to write faster so she could get home and get the tapes safely hidden, and heaved a relieved sigh when she pulled into the driveway with no sign of Aaron.
After stashing the videos in her air vent, Lilly went out by the pool to think. Should she threaten to show the tapes to her parents? The police? No, Aaron's vanity was his soft spot. He'd hate the thought of his affair with a sixteen year-old going public, and not just any sixteen year-old, but his son's girlfriend (ex-girlfriend, really, but she didn't think the celebrity rags would care about that technicality.) He would agree to anything if it kept her from sharing the videos. Strategy in place, Lilly was able to relax, and dozed off in the lounge chair.
She woke to the sound of Aaron striding across the flagstone pool deck.
"Lilly," he cooed, settling into the lounge chair beside hers, "I should have told you about the tapes. I'm sorry. But we can't always be together, and I wanted a piece of you to have with me when we're apart."
Lilly just looked at him, waiting to see where he was going with this.
"Let's go back to my place. We can watch them together." He put his hand on her thigh, "You'd be surprised what a turn-on it is to watch yourself on screen."
Lilly laughed. She couldn't help it. "Aaron, it's over." She brushed away his hand and stood up, crossing her arms. "The only place you're going to watch your little home movies again is on Access Hollywood, with the rest of America. Unless..."
The seductive smile disappeared from Aaron's face. "Unless what?" he growled. "What do you want, Lilly? Money? A part in my next movie?"
"Oh, please!" Lilly scoffed. "Like I need your money or would want to be in one of your two star movies. What I want is for you to leave Logan alone. If you lay a finger on him ever again, your next leading role will be pedophile on the evening news, and I don't think they give out Oscars for parts like that."
Aaron leaped up, his face red, "Who do you think you are? My parenting is none of your business! You conniving slut!" Lilly barely had time to register that things were getting out of hand, before Aaron grabbed something off the table and swung at her.
She saw stars, felt a searing burst of pain, found herself falling strangely slowly. Then nothing.