Obsession Starts with a V

Chapter 20

Veronica was stuck eating pizza with everything on it, including mushrooms. Sam wasn't lying when he said they ate like fat asses. They ended up with six large pizzas split between the four of them, plus Veronica. Laddie had his own mini pizza, Lucy and Max left for work without eating, Michael never appeared, and Sam ended up eating graham crackers with peanut butter.

Veronica took two pieces and the rest was devoured by the Boys. The only things that were left were Veronica's two crusts, green peppers, pineapple, mushrooms, and black olives she refused to eat. Dwayne asked for the olives, Marko secretly took her pineapple, David stole her peppers, and Paul was eyeing the mushrooms and crust.

"Just take it." She finally said after she grew tired of him eyeballing her plate.

"Your the best Little V!" He smiled as he snatched up the last remaining food items.

"I'm tired," Sam suddenly said. He made a big show of stretching his arms up and yawning. "I'm going to bed Veronica, are you coming?"

"Nah, I'm going to stay down here for a while." She didn't look at Sam when she responded, but she could feel his eyes boring holes into the back of her head.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Positive! Goodnight Sam."

"Goodnight Sammy Whammy," Paul cooed from the couch.

"Shut it, pot head." Sam stormed up the stairs and slammed his door shut.

"Well someone's in a bad mood. Hey, where has Michael been?" Paul looked around the room, expecting to see his friend.

"Shush," Dwayne whispered. "He's sleeping. How did you like your pizza, Little V?" He asked, trying to change the subject.

David ignored his attempt and answered Paul, making sure not to keep his voice low. "We're not supposed to interrupt Michael in his grieving process. The loser needs time to cry about his whore."

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Dwayne had an angry look on his face, but quickly looked over to Veronica. "Maye if Leatherman over here is going to be an ass tonight, you better head to bed."

"No, no, I want her to stay so we can find out why she's been living here and not at home. Don't worry about Michael, he's not going to come up from his little basement of depression anytime soon." David paused and looked toward the kitchen, a part of him hoping to see Michael. He sighed and continued, "So, why are you mooching off Max?"

Veronica began to wish that she had gone with Sam. She wanted David to kill Kirby, but she didn't want to have to talk about him, especially in front of all of the Boys.

"I just got in a fight with my mom." She eventually responded.

David squinted his eyes at her, not fully believing that line. "Are you sure it's not about that Kirby prick? He seemed like a jerk when he slammed the door in my face."

"Well, that's what our fight was about."

"Want to be more specific?"

"Well...it's just...I don't like him." Veronica struggled to find the words. As much as she liked the Boys, she didn't feel comfortable telling them all about the time Kirby almost groped her, or the time he shoved her mom into a wall, or all the times he said hurtful things to the both of them.

"Is there a reason you don't like him?" Dwayne asked in a gentle tone.

Veronica was on the verge of tears. "Yeah, he's mean, and nasty, and gross, and ugly, and-"

David paused her descriptive list. "I already know all of that. Why are you really here?"

Veronica's mouth turned down on the edges and to her horror, she felt tears well up and spill over. She wanted to die, crying in front of them was the worst thing that could happen.

"She's letting him move in! I don't feel safe around him and I want him gone, but she won't listen to me. It's not fair!"

"Oh no, Little V," Marko straightened up in his seat and felt the urge to go over there and hug the crap out of her. "Don't cry! We can help!"

Veronica brought her knees up to her chest and hid her tear-stained face. "Can you kill him for me?" She mumbled from between her knees.

The Boys remained silent and she began to lose hope.

"We'll see what we can do. It'll have to pass by Max first." David eventually responded. She looked up and saw the other three glaring at him.

"Be careful what you say," Dwayne growled under his breath.

"I think it's about time we tell her." David looked at her with a cold expression.

"I think we shouldn't." Paul countered.

"Tell me what?" Veronica asked, already knowing full well what David wanted to say.

Dwayne turned away from David and gave Veronica a soft smile, breaking the awkward tension of the room. "Hey Little V, why don't you go to bed now? We'll see you tomorrow for the fireworks."

"I think me and Sam were going to the county fair tomorrow. We won't be back until later, so you should tell me whatever you have to tell me now."

Dwayne ignored her last comment and laughed. "Even better! We'll see you tomorrow night, then!"

"Goodnight Little V!" Paul and Marko said in unison as Veronica reluctantly made her way up the stairs to Sam's room. David didn't say anything.

                                          ()()()()

"Hehehe, I like that part, too! What other Disney movie is your favorite?"

"Laddie?" Dwayne came down the stairs, following the sound of Laddie's voice.

They had been asleep in the guest room next to Sam's bedroom, when Dwayne woke up and found Laddie's side of the bed empty. He had heard Laddie laughing and talking and figured Paul was up, but when he came downstairs Laddie was alone. The sun was setting and the living room was safely in shadows, so Dwayne ventured further down.

"Laddie, who were you talking to?"

The little boy looked up to him. "No one, why?"

"I heard you-" before he could finish the sentence a scent hit his nose and he sniffed the air. "Laddie, come back to bed with me."

"Why?"

"Because it smells like skank down here." 

☢ ♥‿♥ 𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓴 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝒇𝓸𝓻 𝓻𝒆𝓪𝓭𝓲𝓷𝓰! 𝓓𝓸𝓷'𝓽 𝒇𝓸𝓻𝓰𝒆𝓽 𝓽𝓸 𝓿𝓸𝓽𝒆 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝒇𝓸𝓵𝓵𝓸𝔀 𝓲𝒇 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝒆𝓷𝓳𝓸𝔂𝒆𝓭 𝓲𝓽 ♥‿♥ ☢