"Thanks for having me over" Hannah told her, "Your house is so pretty."
"Thank you" Ophelia said, "and really it's no problem. It's actually...exciting having a sleepover. I haven't had one since middle school."
Hannah set her backpack down on Ophelia's bed. "Wow. Your room looks so sophisticated."
Ophelia laughed, "Sophisticated?"
"Yeah, like adult. No posters. No funny blankets. Just the basics."
"Well" said Ophelia, "sorry if I'm too basic for you."
In truth, Ophelia did have a few photos on the wall. Of Montgomery. But she took them down before she got there.
"Did I say basic? I meant classy."
They both laughed.
"And is this your dress for the dance tomorrow night?"
Hannah picked up the dress that was covered with a plastic bag, folded over Ophelia's desk chair.
"Yeah!" she said. "I was meaning to ask you about it. It's sleeveless. Do you think that's too much?"
"Too much what?"
"Too much skin to be showing?"
Hannah rolled her eyes, "Sleeveless is fine. Why? Did your boyfriend tell you it was?"
He did. But Ophelia wasn't going to tell her that. She liked Hannah. And she wanted to continue their friendship for a long time. She didn't want Hannah to think badly of Montgomery before even meeting him, that would just cause unnecessary drama.
"No" she lied. "I was just wondering."
"And you promise I get to meet your knight in shining armor tomorrow?" Hannah asked.
"Of course! At long last you will finally meet my hidden boyfriend" Ophelia joked.
"Well" Hannah began, "Just so you I am expecting a very high quality man for my high quality best friend."
Ophelia paused. "Best friend?"
Hannah's smile fell. "No! I...I just meant. It's just that I haven't really been talking to anyone else. You're like my only friend. Not like you're the only friend I could get! And not like you're easy! I just-"
"Hannah" Ophelia cut her off, "It's okay. You're my best friend too."
Hannah smiled. "I hope he's as kind as you."
Ophelia turned away and frowned. He wasn't.
Hey, O. It's finally your turn.
The sound of Hannah Baker's voice chilled Ophelia to the bone. She thought she was ready, but as soon as she hit play, and heard those words, her headphones were thrown off and she gasped. She breathed in deeply, trying her best to catch her breath.
"I can't.." she muttered. "I can't."
Tony had given her the tape last night, along with a spare tape player he had. She had only just worked up the courage to try it out in the morning. She figured it would be better to listen to it now, so that she didn't have to stay up worrying about it. But now she regretted it. She knew she couldn't focus in school anymore.
Montgomery was bound to be there any minute. He has ensured he would still drive and pick her up from school. He just couldn't enter the parking lot.
"Just one minute" she told herself. "Just listen for one minute."
She took another deep breath, and put the earphones back on.
I bet the other people listening to these tapes are surprised you're on it. I mean, our friendship wasn't super public. Not that I held that against you. You were shy, and modest. Nothing you did was super public. That's probably why I didn't know this would happen. I swore that I finally found a friend that was too kind to do something as horrible as everyone else. But you did something worse...
Ophelia bit her lip.
I remember when we first met. I didn't know who your boyfriend was. And you didn't tell me. It was this game we played where I would try to figure it out. Even our parents were in on it, none of them giving up any information. I even tried to bribe your sister with candy from the movie theater. But she informed me you already bribed her with actual cash.
It was so much fun being friends with you. Even though we didn't hang out much at school, you made time for me afterwards. No one else did that. And I wonder...if I hadn't gone to the winter formal, would things be different right now? If I hadn't accepted your call that night, would we still be best friends? Personally, I think we would.
Ophelia began breathing heavily. Anxiety from the direction this was headed pouring in.
The night of the winter formal is when I finally met your boyfriend. Montgomery De La Cruz. I remember exactly what I was thinking when I saw him. "What the actual fuck?" If any of you other listeners didn't know they were dating, please leave your gasps until the end. I have more.
Because that night when I first met your boyfriend...that was also the first night that I-
Ophelia took the earphones off, and threw the tape player in a drawer, slamming it shut. She was done with the tapes. Montgomery arrived to pick her up soon after. She wished her mom and sister a good day, hoping they wouldn't ask Montgomery to come in. She didn't know Montgomery was suspended, but if she saw the bruises on his face she would at least know he was in a fight.
He looked terrible. Not just bruised, but cut too. When he pulled into the parking lot, finally slower, she said, "You don't have to take me to school if you're embarrassed."
Montgomery laughed. "Embarrassed about what? I beat Standall's ass. He should be the one embarrassed, not me."
"I'm sure he is" she said.
"And how could I be embarrassed pulling up with the hottest fucking girl in school?"
Ophelia smiles at his sweet comment. Ophelia looked towards the entrance of the school. Zachary was standing near the entrance, pretending he hadn't seen Montgomery's Jeep pull up, and waiting for her to make her way out without him.
Ophelia thought for a moment and said, "How about we go to your house today?"
"After school?"
She shook her head, a smile rising on the corners of her mouth. "Now. Let's skip today."
"What the fuck, O?" he asked, grinning now. "Skipping school, huh? And getting in fights?"
"Fighting and skipping is better than fighting and suspension" she teased.
"Alright" he agreed. "Where do you want to go?"
"Your house" she said.
He hesitated. "Alright."
Ophelia said quickly, "If that's okay."
"Yeah" he breathed, "That'd be great."
Ophelia did love Montgomery. She loved him with almost all her heart. She knew that he loved her just as deeply, maybe more. But the events that led to Hannah's downfall had traumatized her. She didn't know if she would ever be able to look at Montgomery the same.
But he hadn't given up on her. She was thankful for that. She felt selfish for breaking up with him. She was basically all he had.
They arrived at Montgomery's small, two room house. His dad's car was gone, which relieved Montgomery.
"We can watch a movie" he told her, "or tv. Whatever you want."
"A movie works", she said, smiling up at him, "Harry Potter?"
Montgomery laughed. "Yeah, of course."
As he opened the door for her, and she walked into his humble home, she remembered the time she first visited. A time that haunted both of them to that day.
"So what's it like with no garage?" Ophelia asked him, "I would be scared people would steal my car."
She was sitting in the couch in his living room. Connected to the room was the kitchen behind them, and then the small hallway to led to the two bedrooms.
"Nah, we don't get many people over here."
Montgomery's house stood a few miles away from the city, up a hill, far away from neighbors.
"Do you get scared?" she asked, "Like, living all the way out here?"
Montgomery laughed. "Actually, I'm the one people should be scared of."
Montgomery said it as a joke, but regretted it. At this point, Ophelia and him had only been dating for two month, and he didn't want her to believe what every at school says. That he's nothing but trouble.
He cleared his throat, "Are you hungry? I could grab you something to eat?"
Montgomery stood and walked over to the kitchen.
"Do you have any fruit?" she asked.
Montgomery opened the fridge door, only to see various condiments along with half a loaf of bread. He was embarrassed. He didn't want her to come to his house, but she insisted. She wanted to meet his father. Montgomery knew under no circumstances she should meet him. He doubted his father would even be invited to their wedding.
So Montgomery chose to have her over the day his father was out of town. Only God knows where he went and Montgomery didn't care. But he wished he had bought food before Ophelia came. He normally eats at school, or at Bryce's. Ophelia's house had a lot of snack also, and he was always there, so he didn't even think of it.
"Um, no I think we're out" he admitted. "Do you want a beer?"
"Beer?" she asked. "Really?"
Montgomery said, "Yeah, if you want."
Ophelia told him, "I've never really had beer before."
Montgomery smiled suddenly, grabbing two out of an icebox. "Let's have your first drink."
Ophelia missed coming to his house. He only allowed it on rare occasions. She understood why, but she still like seeing his room. She noticed he had a lot of photos of them up.
"Did you just put these up?" she asked.
"No, I had them up for a while."
She asked, "When...we were broken up?"
He grimaced. "Is that weird?"
"No!" she said quickly. "It's cute."
Montgomery took a seat on the edge of his bed. Ophelia sat next to him.
"I'm sorry, by the way" she told him, "For breaking up with you."
He said, "You had a lot of reasons to. But I'm glad I didn't let you go."
Ophelia leaned over and kissed him on the lips. Montgomery kissed back.
She pulled away and said, "Do you think we'll ever be able to forget about what we did? Do you think that'll ever go away?"
"Hannah's gone" he told her. "She can't start anymore problems if she's dead."
Ophelia knew that was far from true.
"I love you" she said, "but I don't want to be in that situation again. I need you to promise me things won't be like before."
"I promise."
She said, "But actually promise. Because yesterday it seemed like things would be exactly the same."
"I was trying to control my anger" he told her. "You saw me! That's why I wasn't talking to you, I didn't want to yell. But he fucking pushed me!"
"You didn't have to-"
"I didn't!" He admitted, "And I promise next time I won't. Just give me some fucking time and I'll change, I promise. I just need help doing it."
Ophelia said, "Okay. But if things start to go back to how they were-"
"They won't. I promise you. Those were mistakes, O. I'll never do it again."
This time, Montgomery reached forward and kissed her. He brought his hand up to entangle in her hair just above her ear. Ophelia brought her hands to his neck, and then down to his shoulders.
Montgomery ran a free hand down her side, and rested it on her hip. He moved it to her back, and then used his strength to bring her forward, so that they were touching, not breaking the kiss. Ophelia stopped to take a breath, and Montgomery began to kiss her down her neck.
"Monty-"
He kissed her on the lips again, now both hands in her hair, bringing her face as close to his as possible.
She pushed him slightly. "Monty."
He looked at her, lustfully. "Yeah?"
She studied him, carefully.
Finally, she said, "You're so fucking hot."
Montgomery grinned, smiling widely as he pushed her back on the bed, climbing over her and engulfing her lips again. His hands moved over her. One going to the edge of her sweater. She pushed it away, warning him. He got the message, now keeping his hands on her face, moving momentarily on her neck, the only places her skin was exposed.
She didn't want to do anything else but kiss. Montgomery respected that. But that didn't mean he wasn't going to kiss her everywhere possible.
He brought his lips to her neck and began sucking at the tender skin.
"Wait-" she breathed. "I don't want a mark-"
"I won't leave any" he told her.
He already had though. Right above her collarbone it was on purpose. He wanted people to see she was his again, even though he was gone.
He wanted Zach to see.
He pulled away and pulled his grey flannel off of him, leaving him in the blue t-shirt he had underneath. His hand moved under her back, lifting it up and arching it so that her small frame smashed again his large muscular build.
He was kissing her passionately and hungrily. He stopped suddenly. He pushed Ophelia slightly to the side, and then sat up so his back was against his headboard.
Ophelia tried to sit up, only for Montgomery to pull her on top of him. His hands moved to her butt, squeezing it.
"Hey!" she joked.
"Hey..." he said, his voice filled with sexual undertones. "I fucking love you, you know?"
Ophelia smiled warmly at her boyfriend. "I know. I love you too."
Ophelia had only drank half of her beer. Montgomery was on his third. He seemed more giggly while tipsy. But they were both having an equally good time.
Suddenly, there was the roar of an engine pulling up outside. Montgomery froze.
"Fuck."
"What's wrong?" Ophelia asked him, noticing how the blood seemed to have drained from his face.
"Come on" he told her. He grabbed his hand and lifted her off the couch. "Go in my room. Don't come out."
"What-"
Montgomery walked her to his bedroom door and pushed her in. "Don't. Come. Out."
He slammed the door shut behind her. Ophelia heard someone come in.
"What the hell you doing?" she heard a gruff voice ask.
"I'm just drinking" he told him. Montgomery's voice wasn't confident, or sarcastic anyone. It was timid.
"The fuck you drinking four beers for?!" the voice suddenly demanded. "You think I'm fucking made of money?!"
Ophelia's eyes widened. She heard a harsh sound of a slap.
"Get to the fucking store and get me some more! You ungrateful bastard! I work all day and come home to nothing! Because your fatass eats and drinks everything I have!"
There was a quiet, "...I'm sorry..."
"The fuck are you waiting for! Get out of my sight!"
There were loud footsteps coming towards her. Ophelia ran to the bed, and found herself hiding behind it. Montgomery opened the door, slamming it behind him.
She rushed to him, uttering a soft, "Monty..."
"Let's go" he told her.
She nodded. "O-Okay."
He grabbed her hand, making a beeline for the door.
"Wait."
Ophelia and Montgomery both froze at the voice. Ophelia saw a man similar to Monty, but darker and taller. Older, with a lot more damage done to his face and skin.
"Who the fuck is this?"
Montgomery didn't answer.
"I said who the fuck is this girl in my house?!"
"I'm Ophelia" she said.
The man laughed, "Ophelia? The girlfriend? Why, Monty here told me I lot about you. Told me I'd never meet ya."
Ophelia casted a glance at her boyfriend, but he didn't meet her eye-line.
"Thought I was garbage, did he tell you that? My own son said I wasn't worthy of meeting someone from your kind of neighborhood. My own son."
Ophelia didn't know how to react. Montgomery's father reached down and grabbed a beer bottle off the table. Montgomery tensed, grabbing Ophelia's hand and squeezing it tight.
"He's a worthless son of a bitch, ya know that? Wouldn't waste your time on him if I was you."
Ophelia decided to speak. "He's kind..."
Montgomery said, "Oph-"
"Kind?" His father laughed, "Must not have seen him angry yet. See what he does to you then."
His father examined the bottle. "How kind is he...to do absolutely nothing...but drink all my damn beer!"
At the end of his sentence, he gripped the beer bottle, and chucked it at Montgomery. It hit him in the chest, bouncing off and shattering on the floor. Ophelia screamed. Montgomery pushed her in front of him and out the door. Another bottle hit his back on the way out. Montgomery rushed her to his Jeep, his father still screaming as he left.
Montgomery sped off, not coming to a stop until he was at what looked like an abandoned building, made of broken cement pieces in the middle of nowhere. Montgomery hopped out, leaving her in the Jeep, and faced into a piece of cement. Suddenly, he started beating the wall.
"Monty!" she screamed. She hopped out, running to his and grabbing his arm. "Stop!"
Suddenly, she was on the ground. He was above her, shouting.
"What the fuck were you thinking?! I told you not to fucking talk to him!"
Ophelia was shocked. She stood to her feet and said, "You didn't-"
"Shut the fuck up, I did! I told you I didn't want you to come over!"
Ophelia just now noticed the red handprint on his face. She stepped forward, unafraid. She brought her up to to graze it. "Monty, I'm so sorry-"
He pushed her back. "You're sorry? You don't get to feel sorry for me! You're parents don't want you either!"
Ophelia was at a loss for words, unsure what to say. She took another step back from him, now afraid.
Montgomery took no notice of it. He just turned back around. There were beer bottles in this cement building. He picked one up, and with the same velocity of his father, threw it against the wall.
Ophelia ran to the Jeep, shuttling the door and locking it. He continued this. Hitting and breaking whatever he saw, until eventually he was quiet again. It was almost an hour until he walked back to the car.
"Can you unlock it?" he asked her, calmer now.
She shook her head.
"Ophelia...I'm sorry."
She shook her head again.
"Look...I didn't mean it. Of course your parents want you, Ophelia. They love you."
She scoffed. "You think that's what I'm upset about? You pushed me."
"Ophelia, I'm sorry. Look, I..." he paused, using his strength to jump over the door and hop into the Jeep. She moved closer to the door, away from him. "I'm really fucking sorry, Ophelia. It won't happen again, I promise."
She shook her head. "Just take me home."
"Ophelia, I love you."
She looked at him, shocked now. It was the first time her had ever said that to her. It was the first time he had said it to anyone.
"Do you really?" She asked, "Or do you just want me to forgive you?"
He grabbed her hand, now looking deep in her eyes. "I fucking love you."
She smiled, now forgetful of what had happened. "I love you too, Monty."
Montgomery didn't bring Ophelia home until after 9 o'clock, cutting it close to her 10 o'clock school night curfew. He walked her up to the door, and smacked her on the butt when she went in. She had the best day with him.
This is the Montgomery she wanted. The one that treated her like a queen when it was the two of them together.
"I love you" he told her.
"I love you, Monty." She kissed him on the lips and closed the door.
Walking back up to the bedroom, the smile dropped from her face as she remembered the tape in the drawer.
Maybe she should just throw it away. After all, she knows what on it. She sighed, understanding that she was in an emotional headspace when listening to it the first time, and she needs to listen to it more carefully now. After all, Clay Jensen will hear it soon. Who knows what he will say to the police.
She reminded it for a second, wanting to make sure she hadn't left it playing by accident. Plugging her earphones back in, Ophelia was confident that no matter what she heard, she would stay with Montgomery.
Until she hit play.
The night of the winter formal is when I finally met your boyfriend. Montgomery De La Cruz. I remember exactly what I was thinking when I saw him. "What the actual fuck?" If any of you other listeners didn't know they were dating, please leave your gasps until the end. I have more.
Because that night when I first met your boyfriend...
That was also the first night that I saw him hit you.
