Ophelia was sitting under the awning of Scott's patio, on an outdoor couch. Scott sat next to her, but was talking to someone else. Another boy Ophelia didn't recognize. He sat on a lawn chair across from them. Scott and the boy were eating. Scott was on his...seventh slice of pizza? And that was just since they had sat down. She was sure he had more earlier.
Ophelia had eaten two slices. And she decided that was enough. She was scared to get more. Some boys were so mean, and Ophelia was scared they would point it out to embarrass her.
"And what about Andrews?" the boy said. Him and Scott were talking about football players from a professional team.
"He's hella fast. But he's skinny. I don't know why they signed him," Scott said. "I've seen him get tackled. No one even breaks a sweat."
Ophelia listened, interested, but not at all caught up on the topic.
"Scott, you're skinny," the boy laughed. "And they let you play."
Scott snorted. "But that's why I'm better at baseball, isn't it?"
Ophelia thought he was good at both sports. She didn't think he was that skinny either. He seemed fit. Although, next to Zach he was pretty small.
"I think you're good at football," Ophelia pointed out. She felt awkward speaking, because she hadn't really been part of the conversation. But the other boy didn't seem to mind, and neither did Scott.
Scott smiled at her, seeming happy to hear her finally speak up. "Yeah?"
The boy laughed, "She's going to Hillcrest, Scott. She doesn't know what a good player is anymore."
Scott chuckled.
Ophelia asked, "Is the Hillcrest team really that bad?"
"You'll see," Scott told her. "They were last year."
She shook her head, chuckling. Liberty hated Hillcrest.
Ophelia got a text message, and looked at her phone.
ZACH : are you still at Scott's house?
Ophelia checked the time and realized she had been there for almost an hour. She felt bad. She had told him she was just going to stop by.
She texted back 'I am. I will probably leave soon.'
She waited.
ZACH : okay. come to my house after.
She noticed the tension through the text message alone. Ophelia looked over at Scott, who had grabbed another piece of pizza.
Truthfully, he wasn't still hungry. But Ophelia had taken a seat at the patio, and he wanted an excuse to stay under there with her.
"Hey, I might get going," she told him.
His face fell. "Oh. Are you sure?"
"Yeah, but I had a lot of fun," she assured him.
Scott didn't want her to go. Because he didn't know the next time he would see her. And he wasn't ready to say goodbye. He thought he was, but maybe that was just because he hadn't spent this much time with her in a while. He forgot how much he liked her company, and he knew when she left he might never have it again.
Scott stood up quickly when she did. "Let me walk you out."
She nodded, not seeing the harm in it. "Okay."
They headed inside, and Scott went in front of her, making it to the door before she did. He stood in front of it, like he was blocking it.
"Actually, my mom bought this graduation cake. I think we're gonna cut it soon."
"Oh." Ophelia felt like she was being tempted.
"And, we'll open gifts then. I saw the you brought something, maybe you can stay for that. I mean, assuming it was for me."
Ophelia thought about it, and didn't seem the harm in staying just a little bit longer.
"I mean...the gift was actually for your mom. But I can stay."
He laughed when he picked up on her joking attitude. "Okay, great. It'll probably be, like, fifteen more minutes. I don't know where my mom went."
"I can wait," she said. She then told him, "You know, you can go hang out with your other friends. I don't mind waiting alone."
"What are you talking about? You're not waiting alone. Come on, we can go back outside."
She sighed. "Scott, a lot of people are here to see you."
"That's okay," he told her, trying to coax her back outside. He just wanted her there longer. "I see them all the time. Most of them are going to the same school as me."
"And what school did you end up committing to?" Ophelia asked. "You got a few scholarships offers, right? For baseball?"
Scott straightened up, standing a little taller. "Yeah. Six offers actually. But I chose Sanderson."
Sanderson University, the local college.
"Really? You don't want to move away?" she asked. "Most kids go as far as they can."
Scott just said, "Things aren't as bad here as people try to say they are." He winced, realizing what he just said, "Shit-I didn't mean bad things didn't happen-"
"No, it's okay," Ophelia said quickly. "I'm glad you like it here."
They lived in a pretty town, with nice shops and fun things to do. It must be a great play for Scott, the boys with friends everywhere. It was harder for a girl who didn't have many people wanting her to stay.
Scott did lead her outside, where a brunette girl, dripping wet straight out of the pool came up to him.
She was wearing a bikini, and Ophelia noticed how she was both thin and busty. That kind of thing wasn't even fair.
She came up and grabbed Scott by the arm. "Scotty, come in the pool! Diego, Cindy, and I are playing chicken and a need a new partner. Holden keeps dropping me."
Scott glanced at Ophelia. "I was actually gonna stay over here."
"Scott, go," Ophelia told him, encouraging him to go have a good time.
"Are you sure?" he asked her. "I don't mean to leave you by yourself."
He didn't want to either. Honestly, he didn't mind if everyone left, as long as she stayed.
"It's fine," she told him. "I'll be watching."
"Judging?" he joked.
She laughed. "That too. Of course."
"Come on," the girl urged Scott again. This time, he went. He sent Ophelia one more look, only for her to nod encouragingly.
Scott went to the pool, and when he reached the edge, he tore his shirt off. Ophelia's eyes widened and she looked away quickly.
He had glanced back at her, and smiled at her reaction.
And in that moment, he wished they had been alone. All alone. No friends, no parents, no party. Just the two of them, in his pool.
It was a sudden lustful thought that made him feel guilty. He wanted her to keep her eyes on him. He wanted her to think his bare body was attractive. He wanted her to have the same lustful thoughts as him.
But he knew she didn't. Scott supposed that was a good thing. She had a boyfriend, after all. He was glad she was loyal to Zach. Scott would want Ophelia to be loyal to him if they had been together.
But they never would be together. And maybe that's why his feelings started getting to him. It wasn't just exciting having her there, it felt almost painful.
It felt like intense nostalgia and regret over something that could have been great, but never happened.
Scott imagined for a second what his graduation party would be like if him and Ophelia had been dating. She would probably be having more fun, and be in no rush to leave.
Maybe she wouldn't have been comfortable with all the people she didn't know. But then again, maybe Scott wouldn't have felt the need to invite them. Maybe he wouldn't have wanted a graduation party at all. Maybe he just would have wanted time with her.
He, again, imagined them alone in the pool. He imagined what would happen between them if they had been together romantically. He imagined kissing her, and he hoped she would like it.
Scott realized, as he thoughts drifted further, that he was being a bad friend. A bad friend to Zach for thinking of his girlfriend in that way, and a bad friend to Ophelia for thinking of her in ways he knew she would find inappropriate.
Scott jumped in the pool quickly, to force his mind off the topic, and to hide is lower body that had clearly become too excited by his thoughts.
"I never thought I'd be here again," Zach said as he walked with Ophelia to the front door of the Walker house. Guests were already piling in.
"Me neither," Ophelia admitted.
Mr. and Mrs. Walker stood just at the door, shaking hands as people walked in.
When Mrs. Walker saw Zach, she smiled slightly. Him and Ophelia made their way up the front steps.
"Mr. Dempsey, thank you for speaking," she said, kindly. "It was a very nice thing for you to do."
"It was my pleasure," Zach told her.
Ophelia knew he wouldn't have done it if he hadn't been asked by the coach. She was glad he lied though.
Mrs. Walker shook his hand lightly. Mr. Walker took his hand and gave it a hard shake saying, "Sorry those girls had to chase everyone out. I would've thanked you at the funeral."
Ophelia noticed the scowl on his face when he thought back to the disruption.
"No worries," Zach told him.
Mr. Walker looked at Ophelia. His gaze went up and down her length. She'd be disturbed if she didn't know we was grieving.
"Is this your lady?" He asked.
Mrs. Walker hadn't been sure either. She had only ever known Ophelia as Montgomery's girlfriend. Until now, she thought that what she still was.
"Yes, sir," Ophelia answered for him, "And...um, Bryce spoke of you a lot." She wasn't sure if it was inappropriate to say, but she thought it would make him feel better. "Whenever he was upset, or in trouble, he would always said he would call his father first, before anything else."
She watched as Mr. Walker's face softened. He looked away for a moment, and cleared his throat. "I suppose I always was good with legal trouble."
Ophelia didn't want him to think that's all she meant.
"Not just legal stuff," Ophelia said quickly. "Everything. I could tell you meant a lot to him." She glanced at Mrs. Walked, who was now listening to only her. "Both of you did."
Mrs. Walker looked like she was trying to hide her saddened expression. Ophelia didn't know why. She should let it out.
"Thank you," Mrs Walker told her. She nodded inside. "Please, make yourselves at home."
"Thank you," Zach said back, politely.
The two walked inside to see the house already full of people. Clay and Justin stood by the wall, looking uncomfortable.
Justin's face lit up when he saw them, and beckoned them over.
"I'm a little surprised you guys came," Justin admitted. "I thought you were going to the funeral and then done with it."
Zach would have been, if not for Ophelia. But Ophelia hadn't realized this, or she wouldn't have asked him to come. She thought his hesitancy was because of the H.O. girls protesting the funeral.
Ophelia did not agree with the protest. She didn't think funerals were for anyone except those who wanted to be respectful.
"No, of course we'd come," Ophelia told him. She reached out and touched Justin's arm lightly. "Especially for you. How are you feeling?"
"Not...not great," Justin told her. He looked around, his eyes down turned sadly. "Being here is a lot worse than being at the funeral."
Ophelia understood. "All your memories are here."
Justin sniffed. "It feel like just yesterday he threw me my sixteenth birthday party here." Justin laughed. "And Zach threw up after two beers."
Ophelia chuckled.
Zach smiled, slightly. He defended himself by saying, "You guys keep buying strawberry. I keep telling you I'm allergic."
Justin's sixteenth birthday. That was a good memory. A fun memory. Ophelia recalled going to the party with Montgomery. She didn't spend time with Zach. After her and Montgomery started dating, she hardly ever did.
Ophelia regretted it. She regretted not realizing how amazing Zach was for so long.
Ani walked up to the four of them. "Hey, you guys. Welcome."
Ophelia moved over and gave her room to join their little circle.
Clay brightened up. "Hey, Ani."
Ani smiled again at them all. "Do you guys mind if I steal Clay? We've got a project due Monday."
Zach frowned.
Clay hesitated. "I should probably stay with Justin."
Justin gestured towards Ophelia and Zach and said, "I'll be good with them."
Ani wrapped her arm around Clay's.
She beamed, "Brilliant. Thank you."
Ani led Clay out of the room.
"They have a project?" Ophelia asked, confused. "What teacher assigns projects on a weekend of a funeral?"
And all the teachers knew about the funeral.
Justin shook his head, saying, "They always say that. 'We have a project'. I think it's their excuse to go make out with each other."
Zach snorted. Justin laughed and continued, "I mean, I haven't gotten a single project all year."
Zach's smile fell. "What about in economics? The stocks project?"
Justin frowned, "What?"
"And the English project," Ophelia added. "There's one due in two weeks."
Justin began to sweat. "W-Why the fuck didn't anyone ever tell me about those?"
Zach said, "The teacher went over it five times," at the same time Ophelia said, "That's all we talked about in class the last few days."
Justin wiped his face, nervous now. "I literally never heard anything about either of those fucking projects."
"Because you're half asleep every class," Zach complained.
Justin was either half asleep, or on his phone. But he still denied it. "I think you guys are messing with me."
Ophelia just laughed with Zach.
Outside a loud horn was heard. Ophelia had ignored it, but Justin had glanced out the window. Now, he was laughing too.
"Oh shit, look at them."
Ophelia looked towards the window and saw Marisa and Paul. Montgomery's Jeep was in view also. It looked like they had been walking, and Montgomery almost hit him. Marisa was yelling, Ophelia could hear her voice faintly from inside.
Marisa was yelling at Scott, because he was in the passenger side of the car. Scott just rolled his window up, and they drove passed them.
Ophelia was curious what happened, but didn't need to wait long. Marisa came in venting about it.
"That fucking asshole almost hit me," she huffed. One of the guests frowned at her words.
Paul, behind her, looked guilty. "Well, you ran in front of them."
Marisa insisted, "I didn't! I walked ahead and they gunned the gas."
"He gunned the gas?" Justin asked.
Zach told them, "He did that to me and Ophelia last year. In the school parking lot."
Marisa crossed her arms. "See, Paul? Attempted murder. That's what that was."
"That man starts a fight everywhere," Justin chuckled. "Even at a goddamn funeral."
Zach just shook his head. Ophelia reached over and grabbed his hand. She could tell this was hard for him. Not just the grieving, but the guilt of grieving. She hoped Montgomery arriving wouldn't make things worse.
"And fucking Scott Reed," Marisa huffed. "He was just laughing."
Ophelia tried to ignore the curiosity she felt when she heard the name. She wanted to know how he laughed, why he laughed. But she realized she didn't need to know, and she shouldn't want to know.
"Oh yeah, I didn't think he would actually come," Justin spoke up. "I mean, I thought I heard Monty say something about it, but didn't he hate Bryce?"
Zach just said, "Haven't we all hated Bryce?"
Ophelia told him to quiet down.
"Well, I'm glad to see him," Justin admitted. He caught Zach's glance and he said quickly, "Even though he is fucking around with Monty."
Ophelia noticed his tension when Scott was mentioned. It had been the same in the church. Ophelia hoped she hadn't done anything wrong to make him upset.
Had she spoken to Scott too much? She didn't think so. Only when he addressed her. She tried to ignore him, knowing what it did to Zach.
She thought back to the incident that happened between them. She would never want Zach to think she was taking Scott's side in anything.
Honestly, when Ophelia saw Scott, the first thing she wanted go do was apologize for her behavior last year. For accusing him of turning in her statement, for being so rude for no reason.
But in the car ride to the Walker house, Zach asked her not to mention it. He didn't want her to bring it up to Scott, or apologize for it. Zach said it had been Scott's choice to lie about it, and he didn't deserve her apology.
Ophelia didn't agree, but she wanted to stand by her boyfriend. So she would try her hardest not to bring it up, even if it did eat away at her.
They all saw Montgomery and Scott enter the house. Montgomery looked over and caught Marisa's eye. He laughed at her.
Marisa let out a frustrated groan. "Fucking...immature...douchebags...," she mumbled under her breath.
Zach looked down at his phone. He read a text. He sighed. "Our moms got lost downtown."
Ophelia frowned. "I thought they were just going home."
"They got lost going home," he explained. He felt guilty saying, "I'm gonna step outside and call them, I'll be right back."
"Yeah, of course."
Ophelia felt happy knowing how caring her boyfriend was. He really would put everything aside to help his family, and she knew he would do the same for her.
"Some Hillcrest boys just got here," Paul saw. "I'm going to go say 'hi'."
For a moment, Ophelia forgot Paul was a football captain. Then again, she forgot Zach was all the time.
"I'll come," Marisa volunteered. "Ophelia?"
"I'll stay with Justin," Ophelia said quickly. She didn't want to leave him alone. No way.
When they were left alone Justin admitted, "Would you mind coming upstairs with me?"
"Not at all," Ophelia told him. "Did you want to go, you know, say goodbye?"
Justin admitted, "Something like that."
She followed him upstairs and into Bryce's room. She was breathless, looking at everything. His room almost humanized him. Almost. Before she realized he may have assaulted girls on the bed in the middle of the room. Just as he had done outside.
Being in his room made her think of Hannah. She would be screaming at her to get out of the room. Hannah always had been there to look out for her.
Ophelia was hit with a sudden wave of grief for Hannah that she hadn't felt in a long time.
Ophelia thought of herself as such a disappointment of a friend when she chose go stay with Montgomery after being hurt by him. She wondered if Hannah would be happy she was with Zach. Maybe her and Hannah had the same type after all.
"Can I have a minute alone?" Justin asked her.
"Of course," she told him. "I'll be in the hallway."
Justin then asked, "Why don't you wait in the bathroom?"
There was a personal bathroom in Bryce's room.
She asked, "Why?"
Justin shrugged, guiltily. "We're technically not supposed to be up here."
Ophelia scoffed. "Justin! If his parents don't want us in here we shouldn't be in here!"
"Shh!" He grabbed her shoulders and turned her around so she was facing the bathroom. "Two minutes. I promise."
She sighed, heavily. "Fine. I guess. Just because I know you're upset."
"You're the best," he told her, before closing the bathroom door behind her.
Ophelia felt strange. She felt like he needed her out. Not just to say goodbye, but for something devious. She wondered what he was really doing, but wouldn't dare accuse him of anything. Especially not at that time.
Ophelia sighed and leaned against the counter. She looked around the bathroom, and felt a pang of remorse when she saw Bryce's Hillcrest uniform jacket hanging on the back of the door.
She let out a deep breath. Things looked so normal.
His room smelled like him. She hadn't even realized he had a smell until it lingered while he was gone. The smell made her fearful, and it came with traumatic memories.
But Ophelia couldn't help imagining how hard it would be for Bryce's parents to walk in, to smell his smell, and realize it would only last for a short amount of time.
Ophelia lowered the top of the toilet, and sat on top of it for a moment, trying not to make herself too upset.
She glanced at the trash can in his bathroom, and frowned. She recognized some of the contents. There were condom wrappers in his trash can. Looking closer, Ophelia thought she may have seen a used condom.
She put her hand over her mouth, standing up. She was uncomfortable now, and almost nauseous thinking about it. Because she had thought he was getting better, but when she saw the used condom, she couldn't help but think Bryce had hurt another girl, because who would have been with him sexually after what he had done?
No. It could have been consensual. It was probably someone who just didn't know his past. She hoped.
"Justin?" she said out loud. He didn't answer. She huffed and crossed her arms, facing back towards the mirror. She cringed suddenly, catching a glimpse of her face.
She stepped closer, looking at herself. She was so pale. And her eyes had big, dark circles under them. She felt embarrassed, imagining how she looked sitting next to Marisa, and Chloe. She touched her face. Had she gained weight in her face too?
She couldn't tell. All she knew was she didn't like how her face looked.
The door flew open, and Ophelia gasped. She saw him in the mirror first, and turned around quickly.
It wasn't Justin. It was Montgomery?
He looked upset. Not mad. Upset. Sad. Tired. If she thought her eyes looked bad, his were worse. They were red, and she could see they were wet. More than that. She saw the falling of a tear.
His eyes widened when he saw her, and he was embarrassed. He picked up his sleeve quickly, wiping his eyes.
"W-What the fuck are you doing up here?"
Ophelia flinched back, forcing herself as close into the bathroom as possible. She didn't answer, she just stood with her mouth open as she suddenly felt afraid again.
Montgomery, stuck with embarrassment, yelled at her again. "W-What the fuck?"
She pushed herself off the wall and tried to push past him. But he wanted to know why she was there, so he reached out to grab her arm.
He wasn't used to how reviled she was by his touch, so he was shocked when she screamed. She scratched his wrist, forcing him to bring it back. She stumbled, and ended up tripping over one of Bryce's laid out shoes.
She fell. If she had reached out and steadied herself on Montgomery, she would have only stumbled. But she refused to touch him again, so she fell. Right onto the floor.
Her scream was heard just outside the door, which is where Scott had been. Like Ophelia had with Justin, Scott wanted to give Montgomery a chance to say goodbye.
He was concerned by the sound, and glanced inside the room.
Scott saw Montgomery standing tall. And he saw Ophelia on the floor.
Scott glanced between the two for what felt like a while, but in reality it had only taken a second for Scott to access the situation and react. And his reaction was storming in the room, and pushing Montgomery, forcing distance between him and Ophelia.
"Monty, what the fuck?" Scott spat. He turned around to Ophelia. He reached a hand out. "Are you okay-"
She flinched back at the hand, and got up herself.
Scott bit his lip, hiding her hurt at her unpleasant reaction towards him.
Scott turned to Montgomery, making sure he was still between him and Ophelia. "What did you do?"
Montgomery scoffed, and stepped back. "I didn't fucking do anything! I just came in here!"
Montgomery was mad now. He was mad that he was being accused of doing something wrong, and he was sad that Scott assumed he had.
Scott looked unconvinced. He glanced back at Ophelia, before looking back at his friend.
"I didn't do anything!" he said again. "She-She was just fucking in here!"
Montgomery had honestly went to go into Bryce's bathroom to cry. It was the one place he thought he would actually be alone. Now, he was being yelled at.
Scott saw his hurt. He told Montgomery, "Okay! I believe you."
Montgomery let out a relieved breath, and Scott noticed he was shaking. He was sad and angry. Everyone thought the worst of him. Honestly, he deserved it. But he was glad Scott didn't think so.
"I just walked in and scared her," Montgomery told Scott, defending himself. "I didn't fucking know she was in here."
Ophelia noticed how he spoke to Scott, like he wanted to seem better, and like Scott being there made him want to act better.
Montgomery sniffed, and wiped his eyes. Ophelia stood at the door, and Justin suddenly came back in.
"What the fuck happened?"
"N-Nothing," Ophelia said. She just wanted to go.
But she couldn't. And she knew she couldn't, because Zach appeared upstairs also. He looked panicked, and she regretted screaming, wondering how far her yell went.
"Ophelia, what's wrong?" he asked. Zach glared at Justin. "What happened?"
Justin felt awful, and guilty. "I just stepped out for a minute, I don't know-"
Zach's eyes glanced into the room, and locked on Montgomery. He suddenly charged at him. "What the fuck did you do to her?"
Scot jumped in front of Montgomery, stopping Zach. "He didn't do anything. She just got scared when he came in."
"She should," Zach snapped, "He's a sick fuck."
"Fuck you, faggot!" Montgomery yelled at him, angered beyond belief at his insults. His anger only increasing because of his grief. He stopped momentarily. He used the word often, but realized he hadn't used it in front of Ophelia in a while.
"Shut the fuck up," Scott snapped under his breath. Scott said to Zach, "She was just jumpy."
Ophelia frowned. She yelled at Scott. "I wasn't jumpy, he grabbed me!"
Justin muttered a 'fuck', feeling awful for leaving her alone.
Zach stepped back and made sure he was closer to Ophelia.
Montgomery scoffed. "I just wanted to know why you were in the fucking bathroom-"
"It's not your business!" she yelled back.
Zach was surprised by her loud voice, so was everyone.
"It was my fault!" Justin spoke up. "I asked for a minute alone. Fuck, I didn't mean to leave, I-I just..." He was just snooping around the rest of the house.
"It doesn't matter," Ophelia snapped. "It doesn't matter what the fuck I was doing, you can't touch me!"
Montgomery balled his fists up. "Can't touch you?-"
"Stop," Scott tried to say. He turned back to Montgomery, who just sidestepped him.
"Says the bitch who used to beg me to fuck her," Montgomery snapped at her, cruelly.
Ophelia deflated. He always went back to that.
Scott cringed at his words, and he turned around quickly, because he was sure Zach would charge at him for what he said.
And Zach wanted to. But Ophelia reacted first.
Scott could see her face fall, and an emotion he had never seen before crossed her face. She took a deep breath, before reaching onto Bryce's shelf, and grabbed a football trophy, and threw it at Montgomery.
It didn't hit him, but with the strength she threw it if it had it would have cut him. It hit the wall behind him, and it broke part of the drywall.
Then she took another one and threw it, just as roughly, and this time it caught his shoulder, and he put his arm over his face. It ripped his shirt slightly.
She grabbed another one, but Justin reached over and stopped her. "Ophelia, fuck! Stop!"
"Holy shit!" Scott swore.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Montgomery snapped at her.
"Fuck you!" She screamed. "Fuck you! Don't touch me like that! Don't you ever touch me like that!"
"I didn't fucking t-"
"You did!" she yelled. "You fucking did! You didn't just touch me you-"
She stopped suddenly, and took quick, deep breaths. She almost did it. She almost admitted what he did to her. But if she admitted it to them, she would be admitting it to herself. And she didn't want to.
And if Ophelia told a single person what happened, everything would change in her life. Everything.
"Fuck you!" she cried, this time with more depression than anger. "Don't you ever fucking come near me again!"
Ophelia stormed past Justin, who watched her go with wide eyes.
Montgomery tried to hide the emotions within him, because all he felt was guilt. And he knew he couldn't let it show.
Gifts did come soon after they went back outside. His mother came out, calling everyone back in. His father had brought out extra towels, knowing the teenagers didn't remember to bring them out themselves.
Everyone gathered in his living room. It was very large, apparently his father and him had expanded it. Scott told her a lot about what they did to their house, and Ophelia found it interesting, but didn't know why he kept finding new things to mention.
Ophelia was one of the first people in the living room. Scott brought her in to sit next to him on the couch.
Montgomery, who has been in the pool house the whole time, stilled when he saw her. He hadn't known she was there. Scott noticed his hesitation, and glanced between Ophelia and Montgomery. Suddenly, he regretted making her stay that long.
Scratch that. No, he didn't. But he regretted that she had to see Montgomery.
Montgomery had planned on going to sit by Scott, but he changed his mind when seeing Ophelia by him. Instead, he just stood.
Montgomery hadn't even seen her come in, and he suddenly wondered how long she had been there. Montgomery then looked around for Zach. More people spilled in and he still didn't spot him.
"Where's Dempsey?" Montgomery asked aloud.
Ophelia bit her lip. "Zach's, uh, he's pretty busy right now."
Montgomery scoffed. "School just ended. Can't be busy with much but jerking off."
A few boys in the room laughed.
"Dude," Scott said, unapprovingly.
Montgomery just said, "Relax, your mom isn't in here yet."
But Scott hadn't been worried about his mom getting upset. He was worried about Ophelia getting upset.
"Monty, come sit here," a boy told him, slapping an open spot on the couch across from them.
Montgomery went over to him, and sat. A blonde girl in a dry bikini sat next to Montgomery. She looked like she had been tanning rather than swimming. She smiled at Montgomery, who winked at her.
Montgomery smiled at her slightly. But not a full smile. Not the smile Ophelia was used to.
Another girl came and sat next to Scott on the other side of him. She leaned back and crossed her long, toned legs. She had been the other girl playing chicken fight with him in the pool.
"Scotty, you have to spend some more time in the pool," she told him. "And next time, you're gonna on my team."
Ophelia watched her put a hand on his knee.
Scott laughed. He sat on a towel, because his swim shorts were slightly damp. His shirt was wet, clinging to his build, reminding Ophelia exactly what it looked like.
And his hair was slightly dripping at the front, falling again, almost in front of his eyes.
He swept it back with his hand, laughing. "Yeah, but my freaking hair kept getting in my eyes. I wish there was hair gel for pools."
Ophelia noticed how he said 'freaking' instead of 'fucking' because his dad had come in.
The girl reached forward and ruffled his hair. "Oh, you're fine."
Scott turned to Ophelia. "What do you think? Do I need to invent water proof hair gel?"
Ophelia looked at him, noticing how handsome his appearance still was.
"I don't think you need it," she admitted. "I think
you look nice with your hair falling like that."
Scott smiled, widely. "Yeah?"
She nodded. "Mhm."
"Where'd your mom go, Scotty?" Montgomery suddenly asked.
Scott looked back at him. "I don't know. Dad?"
His father stood by the entryway, smiling knowingly. "Oh, she went to get something."
Scott looked scared. "Oh, god. What?"
His mother then came back in. Carrying a life-size cardboard cut out of Scott himself. The photo was his baseball picture.
Scott's face grew red, while everyone began laughing, finding it hilarious.
"What is that for?!" he demanded.
His mom stood next to it. "It's for when you leave. I get to keep a Scotty with me."
"Mom!" Scott complained. "Why don't you just take a picture?"
Montgomery laughed. "You should auction it off, Mrs. Reed. With raffle tickets."
"Ooh, I would buy a few tickets," the blonde girl next to Scott said.
A boy laughed, "Of course you would, Macy."
Montgomery joked, "I could use it. I could cut a hole in it."
The boy next to him snorted.
Thankfully, Scott's parents didn't understand that joke. Everyone else did. Ophelia's nose crinkled up in disgust, and Scott took a piece of tissue paper out of a bag, and crumpled it, throwing it at Montgomery.
The cardboard cutout stood there, smiling, the whole time Scott opened gifts.
His father handed them to him, while his mother wrote down who gave what for thank you cards. When his father handed Scott Ophelia's present, he seemed to recognize it from the bag alone.
"This is from you, right?"
Ophelia nodded, smiling, "Yup."
His excitement was obvious. Ophelia saw the girl next to him staring at her, she didn't know why, so she ignored it.
Scott opened the gift. His eyes widened when he saw it. She saw him glance at Montgomery, very quickly.
"Active Warzone: American Revolution," Scott read out loud.
"Yeah, you mentioned that in class before," Ophelia told him. "This is the newest version. That's what the guy at the store told me anyway."
Scott smiled at her again. And Ophelia felt bundle of joy as she saw how happy he was with it.
"This is perfect," he told her. And the smile didn't leave his face, and his gaze didn't hers.
Not until Montgomery suddenly said, "That's the one I got you?"
Scott looked guilty. He said to Montgomery. "Yeah. The one we were playing awhile ago."
Ophelia frowned. "You already have one? I thought it just came out?"
"That was my grad gift to him too," Montgomery said, crossing his arms and leaning back in his seat. "But I guess he can still keep yours around in case someone steps on it." Ophelia rolled her eyes at what he was referring to. She had broken a few of Montgomery's games before, accidentally.
Montgomery explained, "You know, Scotty, she stepped on two of my video games. Two. Two separate times. Months apart."
"God, you're the one who keeps his games on the floor," Ophelia said.
The people in the room laughed at the topic. So Ophelia ended up laughing too. Just as Montgomery did. For a moment, she caught his eye, and they laughed together.
But just for a moment.
"I still have the receipt," Ophelia told him. "I think it's in my car. I can get it."
"No way," he said quickly. "I like the game. I'll just play it twice."
But they all knew he could just play it twice anyway.
"Ophelia bought a video game," Mrs. Reed said, writing it down. "Thank you, Ophelia."
Scott opened the rest of his gifts, and they cut his graduation cake. Before everyone headed outside to eat it, Mrs. Reed made a quick announcement.
"I have polaroids over here next to New Scott." She gestured to the cutout. "If you guys leave, feel free to take a picture with it. He hardly ever smiles for photos anyways."
Ophelia laughed, even more so when he saw how much it embarrassed Scott.
"People can just take pictures with me," he said.
His mother just brushed him off. A few people did stay inside to take pictures with the cutout.
"Jeez," Scott muttered.
The girl that sat next to him, Macy, dragged him back outside.
"Hey, let me know before you leave," Scott told Ophelia. She just gave him an awkward thumbs up.
Ophelia hopped in line for a piece of cake. She hesitated when Montgomery got in line behind her. She just looked forward.
But she heard him clear his throat. She barely glanced back.
"We could do that, you know."
Ophelia blinked. "Do what?"
"We could take a picture. With the cutout. The two of us could."
Ophelia frowned. "Like, together?"
Montgomery shrugged. Suddenly, he looked shy. "Yeah, together."
"Why?" Ophelia asked. "I mean, how would that be better than one at a time?"
Montgomery chuckled. "Come on. His two favorite people?"
Ophelia laughed, like it was a joke. But Montgomery didn't laugh. She stopped. "Monty, come on. What would possibly make you think I'm one of his favorite people?"
Montgomery thought it was obvious. But he was glad Ophelia didn't see it as such.
Montgomery knew Scott had feelings for Ophelia, even though Scott refused to admit it. He was glad he refused to admit it. Scott was his friend, like Zach had been his friend. But unlike Zach, Scott wouldn't stab him in the back.
Ophelia was off-limits.
Scott respected that.
Montgomery smiled at her. A different smile than the one he gave to the girl earlier. The smile Ophelia was used to. The smile that drove her to him.
"You guys are my two favorite people."
Montgomery could admit this to her now that most people were outside, and no one else but Ophelia could hear him.
It was true. His favorite people. And they were both leaving him that summer. Scott to Sanderson College, Ophelia to Hillcrest High School.
And Montgomery was sad. He was really, really sad. And that's why he had an ounce of vulnerability as he spoke to her. And why suddenly, there were no more jokes. No more sarcasm. He wanted a photo of the three of them together. They didn't have any of just the three of them, only group shots.
Montgomery didn't know if Scott would approve of him speaking to Ophelia. He might break them up if he came into them talking.
Montgomery knew Scott was loyal to him, but loyalty didn't mean allowing your friends to do bad things. It just meant you would stick by them to help ensure they wouldn't do any more.
So Montgomery doubted Scott would want the three of them in an actual picture, so he figured the cutout would do.
"Yeah," Ophelia agreed finally. "I think it would be nice."
And what Ophelia would never, ever admit to Montgomery, is that she would be happy taking a picture with him too.
So they waited for the line to pass, and Mrs. Reed took their photo.
She handed Ophelia the polaroid and asked in a low voice, "Is Monty your boyfriend?"
"No," Ophelia said quickly. Mrs. Reed smiled. She was glad Montgomery hadn't heard her ask. "No. No, my boyfriend couldn't make it."
Mrs. Reed looked disappointed. Ophelia figured it was just because she couldn't meet him. "That's too bad."
Montgomery came up behind Ophelia and put his arm over her shoulder, bringing the photo into view. "Let's go give this to Scotty."
Ani stood at the catering table, refilling an ice bowl. She was shaking her head, remembering the conversation she just had with Clay. He refused to believe Tony Padilla had anything to do with Bryce's death. Even though Tony had just been arrested. And Tony's beloved mustang sat in the Walker's garage.
Ani didn't want to believe Tony had anything to do with it either. But the evidence was stacked against him.
Then again, the evidence was stacked against a lot of people.
Justin had become increasingly suspicious over the last few days. He kept messing up his stories, and Ani saw him wandering around upstairs near Bryce's room. Jessica was more defensive than usual. Alex would hardly talk to them after they discovered he used to buy steroids from Bryce. And Ophelia had blown up on them for simply asking where she was Homecoming night.
Ani wouldn't be surprised if all of them were hiding something.
She grabbed an empty tray, and went into the back kitchen. She took a side door outside, to toss out the bottom grease. But right when she opened the door she heard voices. So she stopped, exactly where she was, to listen.
After she blew up at Montgomery, Ophelia told Zach she wanted air, and she went to the backyard towards the pool. Zach didn't know where she had gone, and after a few minutes, he went looking for her.
Scott had followed him. "Hey, Zach. Can I talk to you for a sec?"
Neither of them noticed Ani holding the door slightly open to the right of them.
"What is it, Scott?"
Scott had only been back for a day, and he was stressing Zach the hell out.
So this was Scott Reed, Ani hadn't been sure what he looked like before. She risked a glance out, to where a blonde boy stood, a few feet behind Zach.
"I just-" Scott hesitated. "Look, I don't mean to keep bothering you with shit-"
"Then don't," Zach said. He began walking again.
"Wait," Scott caught up with him, and brought him to a stop. "Be honest, man. Did anything happen?"
With Bryce? With Tony? With Alex? With Justin? So much stuff had happened with everyone.
"What are you talking about?" he asked.
Scott almost groaned. "With Ophelia. Ophelia and Monty."
Zach didn't like thinking about anything happening between them. Past or present.
"Because of what happened inside," Scott finished.
Zach just said, "She hates him, Scott. I know he's your friend, but people hate him. He's done a lot of fucked up things to a lot of people."
Scott frowned. Did Zach think he didn't know that?
"That's not what I'm saying. Yeah, he probably deserves for her to hate him. But she doesn't-or, she didn't. I mean, they were both at my grad party-"
"Yeah, your grad party," Zach interrupted. "I remember all the shit you did there."
There was an obvious tension between them.
Scott scoffed. "Would you let me finish?"
Zach stayed silent.
"Monty and Ophelia were both there. We..." Scott knew his next words would anger him. "We all took a photo together."
Zach exhaled, shocked. "What, you just forgot all the shit he did to her? You wanted them to be friends again?"
"No!" Scott said quickly. "I just...they had the idea themselves. They were...civil. They weren't great, but they were civil."
Zach just nodded. "Yeah, Montgomery can manipulate her pretty well-"
"Zach, listen!" Scott snapped at him. "What I'm trying to tell you, is the way they're acting today, that's not what what it was like. Ophelia's never been like that. Did something happen that I don't know about? Did Monty do something else I don't know about?"
He had never seen her yell like that. And he was worried about what pushed her that far.
"Montgomery's probably done a million fucked up things you don't know about," Zach told him. His anger at Scott was obvious. "Why the fuck are you still his friend?"
Honestly, it didn't sit right with Zach. Especially knowing about Scott's crush on Ophelia? How could he claim to like a girl while befriending her abuser at the same time?
Scott realized he probably wasn't going to get anywhere with Zach. He sighed, defeated.
"I'm sorry, okay? Monty...he's complicated. I feel like I can help him."
Zach admitted, "I don't think you can help a person that fucked up."
Scott cringed. "He's fucked up because of his family. Because of his father. He's young, maybe he can get passed it eventually, and get better."
"It's not gonna work," Zach told him. "Once you become violent...it changes you. You stay angry. All the time."
Scott wondered why it sounded like he was speaking from experience.
"Something happened," Scott decided to repeated. "I can tell. Ophelia hadn't acted like this before."
"She acts like this all the time," Zach insisted. "I know you only know her as quiet, but that's not the real her. Or, it wasn't before she dated Montgomery. She was never afraid to speak her mind before. The fact that she finally can doesn't mean you have to stop her."
Scott stepped back, guilty.
Zach continued, "Scott, come on, you barely know her. I've known her my whole life."
Maybe Scott had been wrong. He had sworn there was something new, something different that had affected her so much she lashed out. But maybe it was just her being herself. Maybe Zach was right, and Scott never truly knew her.
"I know," Scott said. He had been so stupid. Zach had known her all her life. "I just got worried, you know? Bryce...was murdered. I think I'm allowed to worry, right?"
Zach's face softened, and he visibly relaxed. "Yes. You are. I'm not trying be mean. But I'm serious when I say she's been like that. She has."
Scott nodded. He accepted he was wrong. "Okay, I'm sorry."
Ani watched them carefully still.
"I know her, Scott. Trust me."
So Scott did.
"Okay, fine. I just..." He sighed. He just what? He just thought he knew her better? Scott realized that was ridiculous. Zach knew her better, and he knew her longer.
Why was Scott worried? He tried to reason with himself, saying it's because of Ophelia's past. But he knew it was because of their past. What happened between them. Scott started wondering if he wasn't completely over it.
Zach didn't want for him to finish. "I'm going to go check on her," he told Scott. "Why don't you go inside? Check on Montgomery, I guess." He said it backhandedly.
Ani watched as Zach went completely into the backyard where the pool was. Scott stood in silence for a few moments, before following after him.
She closed the door.
Zach found Ophelia sitting by the pool, her feet dangling in it.
Zach stood next to her, looking down at her.
"Are you alright, Ophelia?"
She laughed to herself. Now he asked. Now that she no longer had the courage to tell him what she wanted to prior that week.
"No, I'm not alright. I fucking hate him."
He hadn't heard her use the word 'hate' often, but he was glad she did with him. Zach hated Montgomery too.
"I'm sorry that happened," Zach told her. "He's a fucking prick."
Ophelia just nodded. "I'm sorry I made you come here."
Zach shook his head. "Don't be. You're right. It was the right thing to do."
She sniffed. "We can go now. If you want."
Zach bit his lip. "Do you want to?"
"I don't know," she huffed. "I think we should. I feel terrible. I-I broke Bryce's trophy. What the fuck kind of person breaks a dead boys trophies?"
"It wasn't your fault," Zach insisted, "It was Monty. He was gaslighting you."
"You wouldn't have done that," Ophelia said. "Even though you were mad."
"I get in fights with him all the time," Zach admitted. "Ophelia, trust me, you underreacted."
Ophelia said, sadly, "I didn't want to talk to him. I promise. He get came in."
Zach frowned. "Ophelia, I don't think you did. Do you-Do you think I'm mad at you? For getting caught up in that? I'm not. I know it wasn't your fault."
Ophelia felt like it was. Why did she scream? Why did she draw so much attention to it?
"I want to go," she insisted, not answering him.
Zach sighed. "I'll go get you a towel, okay?"
She nodded, appreciative. "Okay."
Zach walked back into the house. And while Scott hadn't been meant to have been spying on them from the side yard, he was glad he had. He stepped towards Ophelia. Finally, finally alone.
"Hey, Ophelia."
Her demeanor changed. She sat up straighter and suddenly seemed more defensive.
He put his hands in his pocket, and walked all the way up to her slowly, scared she would leave if he came up too strongly.
He noticed her nose turning a shade of red.
"Are you cold?" he asked her.
He saw her thinking. It was a beautiful thing to him, watching her think.
"Yes," she said, after a moment of deliberation. "I am."
He nodded towards the jacuzzi, which steamed slightly from the warmth. "Why don't you put your feet in the hot tub?"
Ophelia stayed with her eyes on the pool water. "I don't want to." She spoke tearfully when she said, "My friend was raped in there."
Scott felt himself step back, impacted by her words. He cussed himself. What was he thinking saying that?
But it seemed Ophelia was being even worse on herself. "What the fuck am I doing here? Paying respects? After what he did to her?"
Scott didn't like seeing her filled with so much self hatred. "She would've understood. I'm sure she would."
"No, she wouldn't have," Ophelia insisted. "Zach didn't want to come. I should've listened to him. I'm such a fucking idiot sometimes."
He frowned, and found himself sitting down on the concrete next to her, hastily. "How does being empathetic make you an idiot?"
As he sat next to her, her statement stayed on the back of her mind. The one Zach turned in, not him.
And it stayed on her mind, and she wanted to bring it up so badly. But Zach had asked her not to. So she didn't.
Ophelia scoffed. "I'm just excusing his behavior. His family is trying to make him seem like a good person and I'm letting them. I'm basically slapping Hannah in the face. And Jessica. And all the guys he hurt."
Scott didn't let her get far with talking cruelly to herself. "What about you? You understand people paying their respects, and he hurt you."
She shook her head dramatically. "What he did to me doesn't even begin to compare to what happened to other girls."
Scott was upset at this. "Ophelia, it shouldn't compare. Why would you compare that kind of shit? Assault is assault-"
"It's not!" Ophelia said. She would feel guilty for letting him continue. "He didn't rape me."
Scott cringed, but he stayed silent, seeing how adamant she was about it.
Scott was thankful. He was so fucking thankful Bryce hadn't. Because he felt sick just thinking about it.
Ophelia sniffed. "It doesn't even fucking compare. Someone threatening to do something, verses someone forcing you to do something..."
She stopped, and looked back down towards the water. Scott wanted to reach out to her, and touch her, but saw her hesitancy. Instead, he took off his shoes, and his socks, and started rolling up his pants.
"What are going doing?" Ophelia asked him.
He gestured to the pool. "Do you mind sharing?"
She just shook her head.
He dipped his feet in, sitting on the edge next to her, and cursed. "Shit, it's cold. How the fuck can you stand this?"
Ophelia crack a smile for the first time in a while. "Honestly, I have nylons on."
Scott glanced at her legs, and could vaguely see the material, and laughed. "What the hell?"
She laughed too, for a moment, before suddenly stopping. She asked him, "Where's Montgomery?"
"He's in Bryce's room still, I told him to cool off." Scott sighed. "I'm really sorry about that shit."
Ophelia stared into the pool. "It's fine."
"And the dumb shit he said."
It echoed in Ophelia's brain. She turned to Scott. "Do you want to know why he said it? Why he said I used to beg for him to fuck me?"
No, he didn't want to know. He assumed it was because they were dating, but Scott honestly didn't want to picture it. He didn't want to picture Ophelia being intimate with Montgomery, or anyone else.
"I get it. You guys used to be together."
She laughed humorously. "Yeah, we did. And you know what? He was right. I basically did beg him. Like, if he was tired from practice of something, I would try to convince him to do something." She thought back to those times. "I mean, there was never a time he said no, and he always seemed like he wanted to. And he would want to a lot more than I ever did. But I used to say 'please' and shit, if you can consider that begging. But he liked it when I asked like that, so I did. I never got down and my fucking knees or anything like that, not except for when-" She stopped, and regretted speaking at all.
She had just confessed to him that she wasn't as innocent as he may have thought. How could she be when she dated someone like Montgomery? Ophelia thought maybe her words convinced Scott she was a whore, like boys at school said she was. She asked him, "How does that make you feel about me, Scott? Am I different to you now?"
Scott was confused. Because it wasn't news to him. Unfortunately for her, and the other woman Montgomery had been with, he didn't keep his sexual actions a secret. He used to talk about her in the locker room, and would tell everyone how enthusiastic she was about things. But it's not like it made him think ill of her. Hearing a guy talk about how consensual his sex was wasn't a bad thing to hear at Liberty.
Ophelia watched as Scott frowned, and she wondered briefly if he was upset at her. And he was in a way, upset at what she was saying. Because she was being mean to herself, and he didn't like that.
"You think I'm gonna think worse of you because you liked having sex with your boyfriend?" he asked, unclear of why she would even think he could possibly think badly of her, ever.
Ophelia looked back to the water. "Not just a boyfriend. Montgomery. I liked being with him. I think-I think my body liked him."
Scott glanced at her body, quickly, before looking back at her.
Ophelia asked, "Do you think it's possible for your body to want something different from what your mind wants?"
Scott felt his heart drop. Did that mean she still wanted Montgomery? Or did it mean her body didn't want Zach? Either way, it was clear that she didn't want Scott. Which was good, right?
"Ophelia," Scott breathed. "I really think you're making yourself feel guilty for nothing. Of course you used to be attracted to Montgomery. He was your boyfriend."
Ophelia said, "He was. And I poured my fucking heart out to him. And I fucking loved him. And now he's just an ex-boyfriend, and all that shit I did with him, he can just use it against me."
Scott felt powerfless, because it was true. He couldn't stop Montgomery from sayid stupid shit to her, or about her.
"I thought when I started moving on with Zach, he would move on too. But he still..." Ophelia stopped, letting out an angry breath. She asked Scott, "Do you treat your ex-girlfriends like this?"
"No," he said quickly. "I don't talk to any of my ex girlfriends. I think I blocked them all." He regretted saying that. Did that sound cruel?
Ophelia wondered if he would ever block her. She pushed back the thought and asked, "Why are things so much harder with Montgomery? I mean, were things this hard for any of your relationships when they ended?"
Scott spoke without thinking. His response was quick, and honest, and maybe too personal.
"I never lost anyone as special as Montgomery did."
Ophelia caught his eyes, and she looked into them, wondering if he was telling the truth, or if he was just trying to make her feel better.
"I've been sad. After breakups, I've been really sad. But Montgomery had a reason to be devastated."
Ophelia felt herself longing for him to say more. She was special? More special than the girls Scott dated? And Scott had dated some beautiful girls.
Ophelia looked away, back to the pool, because if she kept the eye contact, she would have asked for him to say more. To validate her.
But it wasn't right for Ophelia to go to Scott for validation. She had a boyfriend. And he had a girlfriend.
"Well, at least you've met someone special now, right? You have that person," she asked, bringing up his girlfriend.
Scott didn't catch on. In fact, for that moment, he forgot she even existed. "I've met that person. But I've never had them."
Ophelia felt her mouth part open, and her eyes fell back onto him, and she realized he had never looked away.
Ophelia wanted to tell him that was inappropriate to say, but she didn't. He looked at her so intensely that she knew he was talking about her. But if she mentioned it, and he said he wasn't thinking of her, it would be embarrassing. And Ophelia couldn't think of one good reason Scott would ever say something like that about her when he had a beautiful girlfriend waiting for him back at college.
And now, Ophelia wanted to ask about the statement again. She wanted to ask why he lied, and said he turned it in. If she was so special, why would he want her to be angry at him?
Zach said Scott did it so her and Zach would stay on good terms. But could someone be that selfless?
"Is Zach being good to you, Ophelia?" he asked, suddenly.
Ophelia frowned now. "What?"
"Is he treating you right? Is he listening to you when you're feeling this upset?"
Ophelia found herself leaning away from him now. Was that all this was? Why Scott came out to comfort her? So that he could try to get her to break up with Zach? Was he trying to pull something with her while he had a girlfriend?
Ophelia put her hands in her blazer pocket. She could feel the chain of her necklace entangled slightly with her phone.
"Of course he does," Ophelia said. "Why are you worried about that?"
Because Scott trusted that Zach would take care of
her. He had left, and gone to college, trying to forget about her because he convinced himself she was with somebody better.
"I just want to know he's still good to you. Last school year, you told me you thought he dated you because of your family." Ophelia recalled the meal they had together at the diner, where Ophelia admitted her and Zach's relationship struggled. "You guys had to take a break. And now, Monty says he's been talking to Chloe again-"
"Don't listen to anything Montgomery says," Ophelia suddenly snapped at him. "And yes, we took a break. We won't do that again."
Scott bit his lip. "Because you don't want to?"
"Of course I don't want to!" Ophelia huffed. She suddenly felt herself exploding with emotion. "Why are you asking all this? You think I like thinking about it? I don't! I don't like thinking about how bad things were between me and Zach last year! I don't want to think about how much he's been fucking lying to me! And I-I-"
Suddenly, Ophelia's phone began ringing. Scott recognized the song as Elvis Preseley's 'Love Me Tender'.
That was it for Ophelia. She tore the phone out of her pocket, and didn't notice that her neckalce came out onto the concrete as well.
With force, she chucked her phone into the pool, shouting, "And I can't figure out how to change that fucking ringtone!"
It hit the pool water, causing it to splash back and hit both of them. Scott fell silent, completely shocked by her actions.
She stood up, and picked up her shoes off the table near the pool. She wiped her eyes, feeling emotional but not wanting it to show. Yet, she clearly already had.
Scott stared at the phone, watching it sink to the bottom of the pool, and then back to Ophelia. He stood up too. And it was clear to him now, she wasn't alright.
"Ophelia-"
He stopped when Zach came around the corner of the house with a towel in his hand. Zach hesitated when he saw Scott, and Scott felt his unhappy gaze.
"Was he bothering you?" Zach asked her.
Scott withheld a scoff.
"No," Ophelia told him, "I-I just want to go."
"Okay," Zach nodded. "We'll go say bye to your friends and leave."
Zach kneeled in front of Ophelia, and used the towel to dry her legs so she didn't have to. He looked up and asked, "You didn't take your nylons off?"
She let out a breath of air. "It's hard to put them back on."
Zach didn't understand, but he nodded. It felt relaxing to her the way he massaged her legs dry. He reached up and she handed him her shoes, and he put them on for her.
Scott watched, and realized he had been wrong. Zach was being good to her. Of course he was being good to her.
Scott felt guilty for trying to find something wrong with their relationship. He wondered if his own selfish feelings were the cause of it.
Zach reached out and grabbed Ophelia's hand. "We'll say goodbye quickly, okay?"
She just nodded, wordlessly.
When they rounded the corner, Scott found himself walking to the pool house. He found a pool net. He brought it to the water. He stopped, suddenly, when he spotted the necklace on the ground.
He was surprised. It was the one he had given her. He didn't know she still had it.
Scott reached down to pick it up, and saw that it was broken.
He wondered if she dropped it by accident, or if she didn't want it anymore. She probably didn't even like it anymore.
Scott accepted that he needed to stop thinking he knew better than Zach did.
"You guys took this?"
Ophelia grinned, while Montgomery answered. "Just for you, Scotty."
Scott looked at the polaroid of Ophelia and Montgomery posing next to Scott's cardboard cut out. It was the only picture near it that he had liked.
Scott never expected this, specifically from a Ophelia. He didn't think she would ever want a photo with Montgomery, or to even be around him. That why he was trying so hard to keep them apart the whole party.
But they had spoke. For Scott.
Scott felt selfish for a moment, so he decided to ask, "Can we take a real one? Together? All of us?"
Scott watched Ophelia carefully. If she gave even an ounce of discomfort he would say never mind. But she didn't. She just smiled. "Sure."
Montgomery called over Diego, a football player, to take the photo of them.
Scott wrapped an arm around Ophelia, being careful with how low his hand went on her hip. He felt her arm go around him as well, and felt bad that his shirt was probably still wet.
Diego snapped the photo and smiled. "Aw, you three look so cute. We all fucking after this or what?"
Ophelia's smile dropped and she rolled her eyes.
Montgomery laughed at his friend. "If you have to ask about the orgy, you don't belong at the orgy."
It was warm outside, but Scott felt particularly cold when Ophelia pulled away.
Scott grabbed his phone from Diego, examining the photo carefully. He looked good, Ophelia looked amazing, and he didn't really look at Montgomery. He looked nice in every picture anyway.
Ophelia glanced at it, and smiled. Scott figured she saw how beautiful she was in it.
"That ones nice."
Her eyes widened as she saw the time on his phone. It had been over an hour since she told Zach she was leaving.
"Shit," she muttered. "I better go."
She sent Zach a text saying she had been held up.
Scott's face fell. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I mean, I've been here a while, and I already told Zach that-"
"Justin fucking Foley!" Diego shouted, cupping his hands. Justin walked into Scott's backyard.
He held his hands up, dropping a set of car keys onto the table dramatically. Ophelia didn't think he had a car, so she wasn't sure who they belonged to.
"Scotty! Congratulations! You get out of this shithole finally!"
Scott smiled at Justin. "I mean, my parents still live here. It's still my home."
Justin waved his hand, walking up to them. "Technicalities, man. You get to move far away."
"Actually, he's going to the local college," Ophelia put in.
Justin looked disappointed. "Scotty, why?"
Scott laughed. "Everyone's so shocked. I don't think it's that bad here."
Justin came over and put his arm around Ophelia, leaning in and saying, "Ophelia, you gotta convince him to leave. You're the only one he listens to."
She smelled alcohol on his breath. "Justin, did you drink and then drive here?"
He looked offended. "No! Clay dropped me off. I just have the house keys so I can walk home."
Her and Scott both laughed. Ophelia looked over and noticed Montgomery had left with Diego. Things were still tense between him and Justin since Justin found out Montgomery had been threatening people over testifying at Bryce's trial.
"So, Scotty, got anymore alcohol?" Justin asked.
Scott laughed. "My parents are going to sleep soon. Then we can bring some out."
Ophelia figured Justin was tipsy because he pulled her into him a little more, trying to be friendly, but holding her a little too roughly accidentally. "You drinking tonight?"
Scott quickly noticed her discomfort, and pulled her out of Justin's grasp. Scott laughed, so Justin wouldn't noticed he was making her uncomfortable, and so that he wouldn't feel bad. "She's driving, I don't think she can."
Ophelia was appreciative of his help.
Justin smiled. "You and the other drivers can do some sober party shit together. Whatever that is."
They walked closer to the pool. It wasn't as rough now in the pool now, people were just talking. It had gotten darker. Ophelia talked to Justin for a few minutes, making sure he was going to go to summer school like he said.
Scott's parents eventually went to bed, and people brought out alcohol from their cars and started drinking. Justin disappeared as soon as the drinks came out.
Ophelia stayed by the pool, with Scott.
"Are you gonna miss all your friends, Scott?" Ophelia asked him. He had so many friends. It amazed her.
"Of course," he told her. He laughed. "The question is, will they miss me?"
Ophelia told him. "I'm sure they will. Scott Reed is one of a kind."
He smiled at her. "Thanks, O."
She couldn't help but feel a rush of excitement hit her as he called her 'O' again. She didn't know why she liked hearing it from him so much.
Loud whoops were heard in the pool house, as though someone else just won a round of their game.
Gaming and alcohol made boys crazy and loud.
"And what about me?" she asked boldly. "Are you gonna miss me?"
Ophelia spoke in a playful tone, but Scott's eyes turned serious. He opened his mouth, like he had a confession about to spew out of it.
But suddenly, Ophelia feet left the ground, and she felt someone run into her. Then, she felt the harshness of the cold water. She was now in the pool.
She struggled to get to the surface, her confusion making it hard. But she did, eventually, and she took a gasp of air. The first thing she saw was Scott standing above her, hand over his mouth.
At first, she thought he pushed her in. But then she saw Justin come up out of the water next to her, laughing. Justin had grabbed her and pulled her in.
"Justin! What the fuck?" she yelled at him.
He was still laughing. "Come on, have some fun, it's a pool party!"
Ophelia let out a long, angry scoff. "Ugh, Justin!"
She splashed him, still upset.
Scott reached down. "Do you need help out?"
"Yes," she said, almost pouting. Justin wasn't even in a swimsuit. He was in his clothes too.
Ophelia took Scott's hand, and he pulled her out.
Scott couldn't help notice the way her shirt clung tightly to her body now, and Ophelia couldn't help but notice how effortlessly he pulled her out of the water.
"There's some more towels upstairs," Scott said, noticing how the ones outside were all taken. He then noticed her shaking. She was cold. "Why don't you come inside with me?"
She just nodded.
Justin yelled from the pool, "Sorry, Ophelia! I thought you'd like it!"
She just turned around to glare at him, shivering now.
He led her upstairs, walking behind her on the wooden stairs to make sure she didn't slip and fall down.
He grabbed a towel from the upstairs linen closet, and draped it over her. He rubbed her arms, trying to warm her. She looked at him, surprised with how much care she was being given.
He smiled as he stepped away. "Better?"
She smiled back. "Yeah. But to be fair, it's warmer in the house anyway."
She glanced behind him and saw a red door with a baseball poster on it.
"Your room?" she asked.
He looked back and chuckled. "Yeah. Um, do you want to see it? It's kind of messy."
"Oh," she felt embarrassed, because she did want to see it. "No, it's okay."
He stepped towards it. "But you can if you want-"
"Okay," she said, not even waiting for him to finish talking. He laughed at it.
He opened up his room, and turned on the light, and she saw that he had a lot more posters inside. Baseball and football. The floor was clean, but his surfaces were covered. His bed had clothes on it, and his desk was cluttered.
She walked over to the desk, and saw something that made her laugh. She picked it up.
"This is mine," she said.
He was embarrassed, but tried to play it off. "What is?" But she knew what he meant.
She held up a purple pen. "I let you borrow this in class and you promised to give it back, remember?"
He did. "Oh, shit, I forgot about that. You want it back?" He hoped she would say no.
Luckily, she said, "It's fine. Use it in college. It can be your lucky pen from now on."
He liked that idea. "Yeah, it will be."
There was a small nightstand away from Scott's bed. It had a candle on it, and a baseball mit, and a framed photo. It was of Jeff Atkins.
Ophelia stilled, and she fell silent looking at it.
Scott came up next to her. "I, um, set that up when he died. It never felt right taking it down."
"You guys were close?" She asked him.
She watched as Scott's stare because more distant. "Yeah. We were. Um, when I started hanging out with Bryce and them we kind of drifted apart, but he was good about catching up. He'd come over all the time, at least once a week, to make sure we never lost contact."
Ophelia felt sad for Scott. "He seems like a great guy. He was always nice when we went to his parties and stuff. I never really spent time with him alone. But im sure I would've liked him."
Scott nodded. "I'm sure he would've like you too."
"Scott?" Scott's mother stood in the doorway. She was dressed in pajamas. "Why are you up here?"
She then came to the door completely, and saw Ophelia. She backed up, like she was walking into something she shouldn't.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I'll let you guys be." She left, smiling.
Scott looked embarrassed. "Shit, I'm sorry about that." He wondered if she felt embarrassed being caught up there alone with him.
Ophelia had felt Scott's mother sending her another unreadable expression. Ophelia cringed, "Your mom...she's been looking at me like...I don't know. Has she heard the tapes?"
Scott knew his mother knew about Ophelia, but not what she thought. He spoke about Ophelia before, but he didn't want Ophelia knowing that. "No, she hasn't heard the tapes. I think she just remembers you as Monty's girlfriend."
But Ophelia knew that wasn't true, because earlier his mom didn't know who her boyfriend was, or if she had dated Montgomery at all.
"Did you still need to leave?" he asked, hoping she'd say no.
She sighed, "I need to dry off first. My mom would murder me if I got my seats wet."
He smiled. "Oh, great."
He saw her confused expression. "Not because of your mom, just because-shit, never mind."
His bedroom window was visible, and he saw most people, if not all, were now in the pool.
He suggested, "We can stay in here?" He saw her doubt immediately. He felt stupid for asking. He rephrased, "I mean, inside. Not in my room." That was a lie. He wanted to stay in his room. And he was angry he hadn't cleaned off his bed. If he had, she could've sat down.
Maybe it was better that it was covered. It kept his mind from drifting to dirty places.
"We could go in the pool house," he offered. "I think it's just a few guys left."
"Aren't they playing a game?" she asked.
Scott just said, "Yeah, but you can play too."
She looked unsure. Until he smiled at her.
"It's easier than you think. Promise."
She took his word for it, because even though she knew he turned in her statement behind her back, she never found herself distrusting him.
"You went to Scott's graduation party?" Ani asked Justin, finding him while he was smuggling a few sips of alcohol upstairs.
"Me?" he asked, wondering why the question came up. "Yeah, Clay dropped me off."
Ani bit her lip. "Hmm."
"What about it?" Justin asked, suspicious where the questions were coming from.
Ani admitted, "Clay mentioned something happened between Scott and Zach? Something to do with Ophelia?"
Justin hesitated. "What's this about?"
"Nothing," Ani tried to say. "I'm just curious."
Justin didn't believe that. Not for a moment. "You know, the police cleared Ophelia of all charges."
"I know," Ani said. "But is it a secret what happened? Should I go ask Zach?"
She turned, and Justin reached out and grabbed her. "No! No, don't!" She turned back to him. Justin cussed under his breath. "Look, it's bad, okay? So don't even mention Scott in front of him."
Ani pointed out, "He seemed fine talking to him earlier."
"He's not," Justin insisted. "He's really upset with Scott. And if people keep talking about him, things are going to get ugly again."
Ani caught onto his words. "Have things gotten ugly before?"
Justin didn't want fo tell her, but figured he had to, or else she would for speak to Zach himself.
"At his graduation party?" Ani pressed.
He sighed. "Yeah. Things got ugly."
"This is fucking bullshit," Diego muttered. He was in the pool house. One of the only people left in there.
He was playing Active WarZone against Ophelia, and she was winning.
Ophelia couldn't believe it, and neither could any of the boys.
"How the fuck are your so good at this?" Diego asked.
"She was Monty's girlfriend, he plays this all the fucking time," one boy said.
Ophelia scoffed. "I never played with him. I'm just good."
Scott sat on a comfy chair next to the couch that Diego and Ophelia were on.
He agreed. "You are really good."
Ophelia smiled at him, and he smiled back, his smiling remaining long after she had turned back to the tv.
"Fuck!" Diego yelled as Ophelia finally found him in the game, and shot him. "God dammit!"
"Don't be a sore loser," Ophelia teased.
Diego had earlier said Ophelia that couldn't play if she was going to be a 'sore loser', not expecting her to do so well.
"Fuck this," he said. He stood and tossed the controller to Scott. "I'm hopping in the pool."
Scott just laughed to himself.
He caught Ophelia looking at him. She asked, "Are you gonna play me now?"
They hadn't played together yet.
He said jokingly, "I wouldn't want to ruin your winning streak."
She bit her lip, but her smile showed through. "I wouldn't worry about that if I were you."
Scott felt confident enough to get up and sit down in the couch next to her. The glow of the tv fell onto their faces. He felt his knee touch hers, and wondered if it bothered her that he sat so close.
But what the hell, he'd be gone soon anyway. He stayed where he was.
They started the game, and while they did, the three boys that had still been in the room left. The two didn't notice until they finished.
Scott had won, and Ophelia leaned back and crossed her arms, rolling her eyes. "You've been playing this way longer anyway."
"Sore loser," he mumbled with a smile.
She pushed him playfully.
"Okay, okay," he said, "But, really, you played really good for your first time."
She flipped her hair out if her face. "You chose a different map, that wasn't fair."
He shrugged, laughing. "You've got to learn to adapt."
It was then, as he laughed, that he looked around and noticed they were alone now.
Ophelia must have noticed it also. And since the game was over, she finally felt his leg touching hers. She noticed exactly how close they were in that secluded room, and how alone they were, and how the door had been closed.
And she too noticed the glow of the tv hitting Scott's face, illuminating his beautiful eyes and the damp shirt that still clung to his biceps.
Ophelia took a deep breath. His hair fell down again. She liked how his hair looked down, and was glad she had told him before. If she tried telling him now, it would come out inappropriate. Because whether she meant for it to or not, a tension had built in the room. It was broken only once she recalled exactly how long ago she told Zach she was leaving.
"Oh, wow, it's getting really, really late," Ophelia suddenly realized. She stood up, quickly. Her clothes not dry, but damp, and fine to go in her car with. "I really need to go."
"We can play one more round," he said, quickly. "The regular map this time."
She wanted to stay. She wanted to play with him.
"No," she said, now putting her foot down. "I need to leave. Sorry."
He stood up too now. He was shorter than Zach, and even slightly shorter than Montgomery, so when he stood, his face was so much closer to hers. She didn't need to crane her neck for eye contact. Their eyes would find each other, automatically.
"Let me walk you out, okay?"
Ophelia figured that was fine. "Okay."
They walked out through the side yard, so that they wouldn't have to pass by the crowded pool.
Scott felt like his feet were heavy as they went through his front gate, and spotted her car not far from his house.
"I'm sorry you had to park so far away," he told her, feeling awfully sad all of a sudden.
"It was no problem," she told him. "It's just right there."
But that was the problem. It was too close for his liking. They got there too quickly. He hadn't even thought of anything to say while they walked.
She got to her car and turned to him, slightly awkward. "Bye, Scott. I hope you have fun in college."
It was just so easy for her to say bye. Scott wished it was that easy. She stepped off the sidewalk to get to her drivers side door. He followed her.
She thought about giving him a hug, but decided against it.
"Bye, Ophelia." His voice was quiet.
She took out her keys, and it felt like things were moving so quickly all of a sudden. It felt like she had just got there. He wanted things to slow down.
"Ophelia..."
She paused to look at him.
He cleared his throat, nervousness blocking his voice. He felt so emotional. He wondered if she felt the same way.
"I just..." he took a deep breath. "You asked me if I'd miss you, you know, while I'm away."
She saw the hesitation on his face, and it worried her. Why was he so nervous?
He took a step closer. She wanted to take a step away, but at the same time she felt like she couldn't move. She was entranced in his gaze, and his beautiful, unique eyes.
"Of course I'll miss you, O," he breathed.
She blinked, and gulped. "I knew that, Scott. I was just kidding when I asked."
He took one more step closer. There wasn't any room to take another.
"But I'm going to miss you a lot, O. I don't think you knew that."
She hadn't. Not a lot.
He suddenly reached up, and touched her face, moving her hair behind her ear, his thumb lingering on the skin by her ear.
Scott found himself forcing his body into leaning forward, because his brain was screaming at him not to do what he was about to do.
He leaned forward, tilting his head, and pressed his lips onto her smooth, cool cheek.
He kissed her cheek slowly, and it felt longer than any kiss on the cheek she had ever had.
Her skin was smooth to his lips, and he wanted to touch her more. His hand moved to the small of her waist, and he laid it flat over her shirt, and he pushed her body forward slightly, so now their bodies were touching.
The kiss wet, and warm, and it made a small sound when he pulled away. A sound that was now engrained in her head forever.
He pulled his hand away, and he moved away from her. And for a moment, he wanted to do more. He wanted to actuallykiss her. On her mouth, on her neck, everywhere.
But he barely had time to consider it, because when he pulled away, her eyes went wide, and he could feel her shaking, despite the warm wind that picked up outside.
Her mouth was open, but she didn't say anything. She just looked to the ground for a moment, and then back up to him. Still she didn't say anything. She just turned around and got in her car.
Scott stood back as she drove away. His eyes never leaving her car until it was completely forced out of his vision.
So, yes, Ophelia had every right to be jealous when she saw Chloe kiss Zach that day at school.
Because Ophelia knew the power a simple kiss on the cheek held.
It was odd, because thinking of Scott kissing her filled her body with anxiety. Yet, it wasn't a bad memory. Her brain wouldn't allow it to be a bad memory, and neither would her body. Because all her body remembered was the warm chills that ran through her whole body once he kissed her, and the way she lost her breath when he pulled her closer.
But she also remembered the distress she felt when she remembered Zach sitting home alone, waiting for her. And once she got to his house, things just got worse and worse and worse.
Ophelia held Zach's hand as they walked back into the house. She wouldn't let go of if. She felt indestructible next to the tall boy.
They found Marisa and Paul, and she said goodbye. They decided to leave too, not wanting to be there alone.
"I'm gonna go put this towel back in their bathroom," Zach said.
Ophelia told him, "I'm gonna go look for Justin. To say goodbye."
She let go of Zach's hand, and when she did, she felt vulnerable again. She went upstairs, and stopped. She saw Justin talking to Ani in one of the rooms. They were talking quietly, and whispering. She figured she'd let them be.
She passed by Bryce's room again, and saw someone through the crack of the door. It was Montgomery. And she could barely hear him too. She saw him sitting on the bed, and he was facing the window. But she knew he was crying. She just knew it. Because she knew him.
And after everything, Ophelia wanted to go in there, and she wanted to comfort him.
But she couldn't. She couldn't do that anymore. She couldn't be that person anymore. And that was his fault. It's because of what he had done.
But it didn't stopped Ophelia from grabbing the door handle, and quietly shutting the door completely. She didn't want anyone to walk in on him. So for a moment, she stood in front of the door, making sure no one did.
Until Scott came up.
"I was just looking for Monty," he said quickly, like he was scared she would be mad at him for following her up.
Ophelia stepped away from the door. She pointed, "He's in there."
He looked at her questionably, like asking why she was up there still.
"He's, um, having a moment," she decided to say. "I didn't want anyone to disrupt him."
In his mind, that made it clear he had been wrong. Maybe nothing else happened. Because why would Ophelia be this kind to Montgomery if something else happened?
Scott was taken aback by her kindness. "That's really nice, O."
She still liked it. She still liked him calling her 'O'.
She nodded, and moved away from the door.
"Wait."
Ophelia turned, and watched as Scott pulled two items out of his pocket. Her phone, which was clearly wet beneath the case. And her necklace.
Her eyes widened, and she grabbed the necklace first.
"Oh my god, I didn't even realize I dropped this."
Scott felt slightly better as she touched the necklace gently. "Shit, thank you. I would've freaked out."
He bit his lip. "No problem."
She then took the phone, looking at him, surprised. "How did you get this out?"
"With a pool net," he told her. He said quickly, "It was easy, don't worry about it."
It wasn't easy. He ended up having to use two nets to grab it. But he didn't want to make her feel bad about it.
"Thank you," she said again. She was now embarrassed. "I don't...I don't act like this normally."
'This', as in, throwing her phone in pools.
Scott just said. "I know." She saw him look her up and down. "Are you okay Ophelia? Like, really. Are you okay?"
She just looked away, and nodded.
Scott hesitated. "You can tell me if something happened. Even if you don't want to tell anyone else, you can tell me."
And she believed him. But she couldn't confide in him. Because suddenly, it was hard to trust people again.
"Just...make sure no one goes in, okay? He doesn't like people seeing him like that," Ophelia spoke, pointing to the door.
Scott stood, deflated. "Okay."
Ophelia swallowed. "It was good seeing you, Scotty."
And she was just leaving now? Would that be it? For how long? All the way until Montgomery's graduation?
That was too long for him.
"M-Maybe we could catch up. Get some coffee or something at Monet's," he tried, desperately. "My treat."
Suddenly, the distrustfulness struck her.
"That sounds like a date," she spoke, boldly.
He didn't know what to say to that. He realized it did.
"I just...thought we could catch up."
Ophelia found herself upset. "Scott, you have a girlfriend. And a have a boyfriend. Why would you ask something like that?"
Suddenly, Ophelia found herself seeing what Zach saw. Maybe Scott was trying to pull something with her after all. Scott didn't seem like someone who would convince someone to cheat, but he was sounding like he wanted to cheat on his girlfriend.
Not sexually cheat on her. But emotionally. Like he was convincing Ophelia into a situation where she would emotionally cheat on Zach too.
"I didn't mean it like that," Scott tried.
But they both knew he did.
"Ophelia."
Ophelia saw Zach at the bottom of the stairs.
Ophelia sighed. She held up her phone again. "Thank you," she said, one more time. And that was all she said to him. Because if they kept talking, she would admit that she would love to go catch up with him.
"I'm sorry," he told her. Because he felt so bad all of a sudden.
But she had already caught up with Zach again.
Ophelia felt lost in her head. And in her guilt. The drive to Zach's house was exhausting. She still felt Scott's kiss on her cheek. It suddenly felt like it was burning her, seering into her like a cattle prod.
She let out a low whine, and brought up her hand to wipe away where he kissed her, but the feeling remained.
He kissed her. She just stood there and let him kiss her. She just fucking stood there and let another boy kiss her. And she had a boyfriend.
Did that make her a cheater? A cheating whore like Montgomery had thought she was when she started dating Zach. God, she felt so guilty, and so terrible.
She just stood there. She just fucking stood there.
She felt so emotional by the time she got to Zach's. And honestly, she felt scared to go in. Her hands were shaking as she turned her car off. And she heard her keys jingling.
His mom and sister weren't home, she remembered they had honors band that night, her sister did too.
She walked up to Zach's door, and let herself in. She gulped.
"Zach?"
There was no answer. She took a shaky breath and walked the rest of the way inside.
She found Zach sitting in the living room. A bottle of alcohol open on the coffee table. A glass in his hand. He was looking down at the glass, his eyes were hard.
Ophelia lost her breath as she took a step into the room, and he turned to look at her. The hardness in his eyes didn't go away. In fact, it intensified.
She didn't know what to say.
He did.
"You said you were just stopping by. Fucking stopping by. You were there for fucking hours."
His voice was icy, and filled with unhidden anger.
The alcohol gave him an edge, and he spoke to her colder than he had ever spoken to her before.
"I-I was going to," Ophelia stuttered. "I-I didn't want to be rude and leave too early-"
He laughed, cutting her off. He took another sip of his drink. "No, don't be rude. God fucking forbid he thinks you're fucking rude."
Ophelia didn't like his tone. And honestly, it scared her. She could recognize the tone. He was angry, and he was trying to start a fight, so that he could let his anger out. Montgomery used to do the same thing.
Ophelia breathed through her nose, her breath still shaky. She stayed where she was at the entryway of the room. She pointed to the tv.
"Do you, um, want to watch something?" she asked, desperate to keep his anger controlled.
He scoffed. "No, I don't want to fucking watch something."
She bit her lip.
He said, "What the fuck were you doing over there for so long?"
"It was a party," she told him, "I was just hanging out."
"Did you drink?" he suddenly demanded.
She shook her head.
"Did you talk to Montgomery?"
She felt herself winced. "Y-Yes."
He breathed through his nose loudly, and looked at his drink, before taking a large gulp, finishing it off. He set the glass on the coffee table, dropping it loudly.
Zach motioned to the seat on the couch next to him. "C'mere."
She didn't want to. Because Ophelia was suddenly afraid. She didn't like being around boys drinking. And she definitely didn't like been around angry boys drinking.
Zach hated drinking, right? Why was he drinking?
Ophelia took a step forward. Zach wasn't satisfied. He motioned to the seat again. "C'mere."
His voice was more demaning this time.
She sat next to him. But different than normal. Her legs and body faced forward. She didn't want to touch him at all. She felt anxious being so close.
"Did Scott talk to you a lot?" he asked her.
Ophelia felt like he was mad at her, like he was interrogating her. Had she really done something so wrong by going?
"I guess," she mumbled quietly.
She saw him clench his jaw.
"Were you two ever alone?"
She thought about Scott's bedroom, and the pool house.
She hesitated, "I mean, a lot of people were there."
"Did you go into his bedroom?" he asked, immediately.
It had been in his mind. Picturing the two of them in Scott's bedroom, alone.
He pictured them having sex too.
Zach and Ophelia hadn't had sex again at this point, and Zach found himself making himself angry, imagining Scott fucking her.
It was the alcohol. It took his mind to dark places.
Ophelia felt blown away by her own actions. They were so terrible, and she handn't even realized.
She told him, honestly, "I did. He-He had this picture of Jeff Atkins-"
"Were you two in there alone?"
Ophelia fucking hated herself. Why had she been so fucking stupid. Why had she gone in there with him?
She felt nauseous.
"Y-Yes."
He clenched his fists, and leaned back, crossing his arms, making himself look so much bigger. Ophelia suddenly noticed how large he was, and how large his muscles were. Larger than Montgomery. He was so big, and so strong. And Ophelia felt so little and weak and fragile.
And she imagined just how much more it would hurt if Zach decided to hit her like Montgomery had.
"Did he do anything, Ophelia? Did he fucking do anything?"
Her voice cracked when she asked, "What do you mean?"
He spoke with furocious anger. "Did he try anything? Did he fucking try anything with you? Did he fucking touch you?"
Suddenly, Ophelia began crying.
She walked in the house, completely sure she would tell Zach what happened. How Scott kissed her.
But now she was scared to. She was terrified of how he would react. And they were alone in the house, and he was so strong, and she was so weak, and he could react however he wanted to, and she wouldn't be able to stop him.
So she cried harder.
He leaned forward and touched her. She flinched, but he didn't noticed.
"What happened?" He asked, now concerned.
Ophelia couldn't get ahold of herself. She was shaking again, and put her head in her hands, hiding her face.
"Ophelia, what did he do?"
She could barely get words out, and she felt so nervous she wanted to vomit.
"He-He didn't-" How could she even defend herself. "He walked me to my car and-"
And what? He kissed her. She had to tell her boyfriend she let Scott kiss her.
"And what?" Zach pressed. "He fucking tried something?"
Ophelia wiped her eyes and looked back at her boyfriend. "He was just saying goodbye and he..." she felt unable to confess.
"And what?" Zach demanded. He was too caught up in anger to feel empathy.
Ophelia sniffed. "He-He kissed my cheek when he-"
Zach was on his feet in an instant. "He fucking kissed you? Are you fucking serious?"
Ophelia shrunk into her seat at the couch, curling her legs into herself as Zach towered above her, his hands still clenched into fists.
"On my cheek-"
"And what did your do?" he asked her.
Ophelia's voice crack. "I l-left."
Zach didn't seem happy with her answer. "You just left? You didn't mention me? You didn't fucking yell at him?"
Ophelia buried her head into her knees, pulling her legs into herself. "I'm sorry!"
Zach noticed her dramatic reactions and believed it was due to Scott's actions, not his anger. And the alcohol in him blocked his empathy.
"That fucking piece of shit!" Zach cursed. "After everything he fucking said-" After telling Zach he would back off of Ophelia. He fucking kissed her.
"I'm sorry!" Ophelia cried again, head still buried into her arms.
She heard loud footsteps. She looked up, and saw Zach grab his keys from the door.
She struggled to stand. "Where are you going?"
"Scott's," he snapped.
Ophelia gasped. "Zach, dont! Please! It's not worth it. You-You were drinking!"
But all he said back was, "Just stay here!"
And then the door slammed shut.
Scott hadn't enjoyed the party as much since Ophelia left. He stood under the patio, watching everyone drunk in the pool. He sat by himself at the moment.
Part of him regretted kissing Ophelia. Because he knew she would feel guilty for it, even though it was his fault.
But the other part knew that if he hadn't, he would've regretted it forever. Now she knew how he felt. How he really, really felt.
He was startled as his backyard door slammed closed. "Scott!"
He stood up, and saw Zach had suddenly appeared in his backyard.
Fuck. Now he really regretted kissing Ophelia.
He tried to act innocent, "H-Hey, Zach."
"You think I'm fucking stupid?" Zach asked. "Or, what, you think Ophelia wouldn't fucking tell me?"
Scott backed up as Zach came forward quickly. A few people by the pool looked over, including Justin.
"What are you talking about, man?" Scott tried to play it off. Honestly, he was scared.
"You fucking kissed her?" Zach spat. "My fucking girlfriend?"
Scott had never seen Zach this angry before. Not even at Montgomery.
"Have your been drinking?" Scott asked, noticing the edge in his voice.
Scott hoped he hadn't spoken this way to Ophelia.
"Did you kids my fucking girlfriend?!"
More people looked over.
Scott felt conflicted. He didn't want to lie. He figured he should just be honest. "Look, I'm sorry, okay-"
Zach suddenly launched himself forward, and punched Scott in the face. He caught the bottom of Scott's jaw, knocking his face back, and turning him around.
This caught everyone's attention. And Montgomery's, who was in the pool, but jumped out in an instant.
"Fuck you!" Zach told him. "And fuck your stupid nice guy act, you piece of shit!"
Scott's face was riddled in pain. He cried out.
"You think you had a chance with her? You're not what she wants, Scott. You're what she wanted Montgomery to be."
That's the reason Ophelia was drawn to him, Zach convinced himself. He just reminded her of Montgomery.
Montgomery himself appeared suddenly, and pushed Zach away from him. "Get the fuck out of here, Dempsey!"
Justin appeared also, speaking calmer when he said, "Zach. You need to go."
"He needs to stay away from my fucking girlfriend," Zach seethed.
"Dude. You're leaving. Now."
Justin tried to force him outside, and Zach let him, sending one last glare Scott's way.
Montgomery tried to follow, but Scott stopped him.
"What the fuck?" Montgomery spat. "What's his problem?"
"It doesn't matter," Scott spoke quietly.
"Doesn't matter? I'm gonna go beat his fucking ass!"
"Stop," Scott told him sternly. "I just...fuck!"
Scott stormed inside, leaving everyone else outside, confused.
He stormed upstairs into his room, and slammed the door. "Fuck!" he yelled again, throwing everything off his bed.
"Scott?" he heard his mother knocking on his door. "Scott, are you okay? Did something happen?"
But Scott didn't answer the door. Not until the next morning.
And, like Ophelia did that same night, Scott started crying.
"Zach hit Scott?" Ani was shocked. "Calm, collected Zach Dempsey?"
"You didn't hear it from me," Justin said quickly. "Zach went crazy. I don't know why. Ever since Spring Fling, Zach's been super insecure about everything to do with Ophelia. I think it's because of Tyler."
No, it wasn't because of Tyler. It was specifically because of Scott.
"But, still...why would he hit him?"
"I guess Scott, liked, kissed Ophelia on the cheek. I'm not sure," Justin told her. "It was fucked up. But the thing is...Zach kissed Ophelia while she was dating Monty. So, like, he did that shit worse. I guess he was so mad because he knew that it led to more for him."
Zach didn't distrust Ophelia. But he distrusted Scott. Because he had kissed Ophelia while she had a boyfriend, in fact, he would have done more if she had let him. So he knew how untrustworthy boys were.
"I can't believe it," Ani said. "I mean...I've never seen that side of Zach before."
But she would. They all would.
"Well, wouldn't you freak out if someone kissed Clay?" he asked her.
Ani blushed. "That's not the same at all."
Justin admitted, "Maybe it's different for guys, then. Because girls will make them do some crazy shit."
Ani thought about the power Ophelia had over boys. The power a simple smile held. Because she could smile at so many boys, and they would do so many things for her.
Montgomery, Zach, Scott, and even Justin. They would do a lot for her. If she asked.
So Ani wondered how far that went.
What's the worst thing Ophelia could ask of someone else?
Could she ask them to kill a man that had done her wrong?
Ani also found herself wondering how long Scott would be in town.
After the memorial, Ophelia and Zach went back to her house. Their mothers were both downstairs, watching television with their sisters.
Ophelia went straight up to her room. Zach followed her in, shutting the door behind him, and taking a seat with her on the bed.
Ophelia laid down, facing the ceiling. She let out a long, exhausted breath. Zach took her shoes off, then kicked his off, and laid next to her.
"That felt hard," Ophelia admitted. "Was that hard for you?"
Zach sighed. "It was."
She reached over and grabbed his hand. He held hers tightly.
"Did I...make it hard for you?" Zach asked her.
She looked at him quickly. "No. No way."
"Did Montgomery?"
Ophelia sighed. "No. That was stupid. I shouldn't have freaked out like that."
Zach winced. "Why did you freak out like that?"
Scott's words echoed in his mind. Had something happened that he didn't know about?
Ophelia felt conflicted. She confessed, "Because he scares me, Zach."
Zach felt his spirits fall. Because he knew Montgomery had hurt Ophelia, and he knew he wasn't always going to be there when they interacted.
Zach turned over so he was facing you.
"You know you can come to me, right? If he ever does shy thing to you. I'll deal with it for you."
Ophelia just nodded. "I know."
"I'm serious, I'll protect you, Ophelia."
If only she found the strength to tell him her anxiousness wasn't for the future, but her encounters with him in the past.
Ophelia turned face him also.
Zach hoped she knew he was serious. He felt invincible now. Like he was strong enough to do anything, and to take care of anything.
He would keep Ophelia safe.
Ophelia moved closer to Zach, and he wrapped his arms around her. She buried her head in his chest.
"Thank you, for not...mentioning the statement to Scott," he said.
Ophelia hesitated. Then, she just nodded.
"I...don't want to ever have to take another break with you."
She didn't know what to say. Neither did she. She didn't want to have to take the first one.
He told her, "I love you. And I want us to be happy together."
She wrapped his arms around him, hugging him back.
Zach just continued, "But I don't know if I can be happy with you being so friendly with Scott still."
She moved back to face him. "What?"
"We both know how he feels about you," Zach said. "I heard him ask you to coffee."
She gulped, "So you heard me say 'no'?"
"I did," he admitted. "Of course, I knew you'd say 'no', I just..." Zach sighed. "I don't like him, Ophelia."
She winced. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry," he told her. "I just...I love you, okay? And I'm scared too."
"I'd never want him like that," she told him. "And especially not when I have someone like you."
Zach leaned forward and kissed her gently. They then laid in her bed for hours, just in each other's arms.
They had kissed for a while, and Ophelia had felt better, and he obviously did too. And then they fell asleep.
They woke up when his mom knocked on the door when she was ready to leave.
And Ophelia was left alone again.
She undressed herself, slowly. She decided to get put on pajamas and fall asleep again, not bothering to take a shower. As she took off her jacket, she took out her phone, which was dry now. She figured she would work on it in the morning.
She was so embarrassed about throwing it in the pool. She was especially embarrassed she did it in front of Scott.
She then pulled out her necklace. She paused, looking down at it.
The clasp was fixed.
She wondered if Zach had been able to fix it after all. Her mind drifted to Scott as well, but she quickly shook him out of her mind.
She put the necklace on, and her loose fitting pajamas, and crawled into bed. She texted Zach that she would be asleep soon.
She hesitated before putting her phone down, and opened up Instagram.
She found herself going to Scott's page.
And she found herself staring at his profile picture, and all the photos of him. She caught herself becoming worried. Because she found herself wondering what would have happened if she had went to Monet's with him.
And she thought back to the meal they shared just before Montgomery's court testimony the school year before. And, suddenly, she found herself wondering what would have happened if Zach had never come in to interrupt them.
And it was because of her awful, wondering mind, that she realized Zach did have reason to worry. He shouldn't trust her, because at that moment Ophelia couldn't trust herself.
She didn't know why she felt this way. She knew she was meant to be with Zach.
And for Zach, she knew what she had told do.
Ophelia took a deep breath, and she blocked Scott.
She hadn't noticed that the most recent photo, the one of Scott and his girlfriend, had been deleted.
A/N:
Im soooo sorry this came so late!
I got really bad writers block and then when I went to edit it, I kept wanting to add more stuff, so it took a lot longer.
I hope to have the next chapter out soon!
Also, I'm sorry about the small about of Montgomery scenes, that's for a specific reason, but it won't last for long.
And I hope you guys don't hate Zach after this. I'm not trying to make him a villain or anything :( I'm just trying to show that since he knew Ophelia for so long, he doesn't understand how she changed after dating Montgomery, specifically the fact that she becomes frightened during arguments.
