Loose Change~ Montgomery De La Cruz / Zach Dempsey/Scott Reed

Part 5 Chapter 3

"Shit," Scott breathed. He hurried back toward his car. "Shit, shit, shit."

Marisa hadn't seen her weeks? Scott saw her three days ago, and then she said she'd be staying with Marisa until the funeral.

Shit.

No one else had seen her. She's been home bound for two weeks. Two long, hard weeks.

Because Justin Foley died two weeks ago.

The first three days were the worst. They were hard for him. Really hard. Really, really hard for Ophelia. In the past, Scott wished he had been with Ophelia when Montgomery died so that he could have comforted her. Selfishly, he was now glad he wasn't.

It was painful seeing someone you loved in so much pain.

The complexion of Ophelia's face turned red. Scott had never seen anything like it. She didn't speak much, she mostly just cried. But when she did speak, it came out scratchy, and he knew her throat was in pain from her sobbing. But that didn't stop the crying from happening. The only time she was at peace was when she was sleeping. It felt like months before the first week passed. At the same time, it went by so quickly. Because they weren't doing anything. They didn't have anyone to go visit anymore.

The doctors weren't quite sure what happened to Justin in his final day. His body just shut down, that's what they said. It shut down, in the early morning, while he was still sleeping.

Things hadn't felt the same since then. Scott kept waking up in the mornings and getting ready to take Ophelia to the hospital. He didn't know why that routine stuck with him for so long. Things were different. They had been since Jeff died. 

Jeff was Scott's best friend. Then Montgomery was Scott's best friend. Then Justin was Scott's best friend. Now, he didn't have one.

Though he loved her with all his heart, Scott didn't dare say Ophelia was his best friend. Because what if she was subjected to the same fate as the others. She almost had been, after that school shooting drill. If she died now, after all this...it'd be the kind of thing that would make him understand why Ophelia's first best friend did what she did.

But Scott didn't have time to grieve again. Or to worry about the future. Because he had plenty of things to worry about in the present. Scott called the Tristano household.

Honor answered the phone. "Tristano residence."

"Honor, it's Scott."

"Heeeeey, Scott-"

"Is O there?" he asked, quickly.

"Here? No, Lia's been with Marisa the past few days. I thought you knew that."

He gulped. He didn't want to panic her so he just said, "Oh shit, yeah. Thanks for reminded me."

"Oh, shit?" She mocked his bad language.

He bit his tongue. "Don't tell O I said that to you." He heard her laugh. Her voice sounded so much like Ophelia's, it calmed him.

"Before she left she said she'd come back to get JT today," Honor told him. "Can you still do that? I have band concert tonight, I can't watch him."

"Yeah. Yeah. I'll go get her and we'll come get him."

"Thanks, Scotty."