that night - m.de la cruz

Let the dead bury the dead

Monty and Clay were both in holding cells. But this morning they took Monty in real life prison. Today, with Monty's dad, we were going to go see him. As I saw Monty coming in, my eyes filled with water.
Monty: hey guys.
Mr. De la Cruz: Sit! Your girlfriend, she hasn't stopped crying since they picked you up.
Monty: I'm sorry Oli.
He said looking at me. I smiled at him softly.
Me: that's-...
Mr. De la Cruz: I bust my ass for this family, and this is what you do?
Mr. De la Cruz: Answer me.
Monty: What? What do you want me to answer? You kicked me out remember!
Mr. De la Cruz: Is it true? What they're saying?
Monty: What are they saying?
He said not looking at either of us.
Mr. De la Cruz: you damn well know. They're saying you assaulted a kid. That you sexually assaulted a kid. A boy. That true?
Monty: No, it wasn't sexual assault.
I kicked Monty under the table.
Monty: I was messing with him.
Mr. De la Cruz: Messing with him? The way they said? Why would you do that shit. To a boy? Are you some kind of faggot.
Me: We're done here.
I said taking Mr. De la Cruz by the arm and making him stand up.
Mr. De la Cruz: Dont tell me what to do!
He said about to hit me, before Monty took his hand.
Monty: You don't get to raise your hand on her!
The guards took him and put them back in his cell. But before they did, I kissed him.
Me: please be safe.
Monty: I promise Oli. I love you.
Me: I love you too.
And they took him back. I walked away followed by Mr. De la Cruz. When we got outside, I stared screaming on him.
Me: what's your problem?! He's your fucking son!
Mr. De la Cruz: so what?
Me: So what?! You kicked him out!!
Mr. De la Cruz: You're going to tell me how to treat my kids?!
Mr. De la Cruz: He's a fucking faggot!
I looked at him before punching him. He fell on the floor.
Mr. De la Cruz: You're a crazy bitch!
Me: Yeah, and you should fear that.
I said before leaving. I got in my car and saw a window, there was Monty looking at us. I waved at him.
Justin called me, asked me if I could pick them up from school. I said yeah, and I went to pick them up.
Me: You can leave the house?
I asked to Clay.
Mrs. Jensen: He's not on house arrest.
I gently chuckled before taking them both to school. Clay had a interview with Dr. Singh to see if it was a good idea to go back to class. Justin and I walked for awhile before he went to see Ani. I found my way to the gym and started working out. Without Monty here....everything was weird. Charlie was there to help me, but he couldn't be like Monty. The bell rang and we all went to class, the police wanted to speak to Ani again.
Zach: Umm..hey.
I turned around in class and saw Zach.
Me: Hey, umm Charlie told me you went to the police yesterday.
Zach: yeah.
Me: You didn't have to do that.
Bryce Walker did hurt a lot of people. Zach and Chloe, certainly. But I soon realized the one he hurt the most was Jessica Davis. You need to understand that everyone had their reasons. And you need to understand what those reasons are. Before I tell you who did it, and you decide what to do about it, you need to know who could've done it and why.
Violence begets violence, it just doesn't always look the same. Some of us do violence to ourselves. Some try to break the pattern. Zach tried. Maybe Bryce was trying to break the cycle within himself. And Jessica found him before he got the chance.
It felt like everything happened between my back. Nothing was right. No one looked at me all day, my friends were avoiding me. Jess and Justin barely spoke to me. The only person I talked to was Charlie. He's always been there for me. As we were both walking to history I saw Tyler in a empty classroom. I went to see him.
Me: Hey, Ty. What you working on?
I asked as he closed his laptop.
Tyler: Umm...
He re-opened his laptop and showed me the pictures of his bruises.
Charlie: Shit dude.
Me: You kept those as proof?
Tyler: Yeah, I thought it was just that night. But everyday I kept taking one. And it shows how I changed.
He said while showing the last picture. He was smiling, his first genuine smile.
Me: Talking to the police must've been like a weight off, right?
Tyler: yeah, and I'm sorry Oli. I know how much you love him...
Me: It's okay, I can wait for him to get out.
I said while hugging Tyler. Charlie and I left.
Clay Jensen had been broken by Bryce more than once. Bryce has threatened to ruin Monty's life. Jessica Davis was on fire with the cause, with anger at Bryce. Justin Foley would've done anything for her. Tony would've loved to get into that fight. Tyler felt under attack all over again. And Zach's dreams were destroyed with one hit. So, he tried to destroy Bryce's dreams. As you know, he didn't finish the job.
That night. At homecoming. Bryce and Monty exchanged some interesting words on the field. I saw him. Winston. He was there. Will Monty went to talk to Bryce at the end of the night, I went to see Winston.
Me: What are you doing here?
He pointed to his camera.
Winston: Yearbook. Your dog isn't going to hit me again?
Me: Nah, we're good.
I told him laughing.
Monty: The fuck are you doing here?
Shit! We both looked at Monty and Winston quickly got out his keys.
Monty: I'm not gonna do anything.
Winston: I got to go.
Monty: I'm sorry about last summer. I was drunk, and really fucked up.
Winston: It's fine.
But before he left, I asked them.
Me: Y'all wanna get waisted? I have a bunch of shit at my house.
Monty: I'm down.
Winston: I have to go.
Monty: No you don't. Come on dude. You seem like a good guy.
Monty followed that bus. As soon as it left Liberty. Monty has a secret. And Bryce knew what it was.
The cops took Charlie for interrogation.
Jessica was in bed. Her dad tucked her in. While she was sleeping, Justin was out getting high. He bought from a dealer named Halls, out on the waterfront by Whitley Docks. He got black out high right there.
Monty realized that the cycle had to be broke somehow. And all those years of being manipulated, all the rage, the hurt, burst out of him. And he pushed Bryce off the pier.
Ani said.
Ani: Montgomery De la Cruz killed Bryce Walker.
Ani: It doesn't matter anymore. He died, hours ago in his cell.
She said. Everyone looked at her. Zach, Justin, Jessica, Alex, Tyler, Clay.
Jessica: How are we going to tell Oli?
Clay: I don't know.
...
Clay asked me to come to his house. When I walked in, everyone was there.
Me: What's wrong?
Alex: We have some bad news for you Oli....
Zach: You should probably sit down.
Me: What?
I said sitting on Clays bed.
Jessica: It's about Monty....
Me: What about him? Jess!
Justin: Monty died a few hours ago.
Me: What?!
Water started filling my eyes.
Me: You're lying. He can't be!
I said crying. Charlie came to sit next to me and I started crying in his arms.
Charlie: Shhh, Oli. It's going to be okay.
Me: It's not!
He understood me. He cared about Monty, as much as I cared for him. Ani walked in and looked at me before saying:
Ani: Now we wait. And hope.
Zach: We don't have the tape, do we?
What tape? Wtf has been going on behind my back? Jess took out a cassette from her bag and Clay put it in.
Bryce: Hey Jess. It's me. Yeah, I know. A tape. Yes, I did it on purpose. Not to be a dick, but because the day I listened to those tapes, my life changed. And I bet the same is true for you. And for Justin, and Zach, everyone. And I wanted to give you this. I thought you'd hear me better if I wasn't standing in front of you. You said I had no idea what I'd done to you. You were right. I can't stop thinking about you. Um..replaying that night in my head. I raped you. I heard you say no, and I did it anyway. Because I wanted to, and I didn't care how you felt. Justin tried to stop me. I wish I could tell you that there was a tiny voice in my head telling me that what I was doing to you was wrong. There wasn't. I never had one of those before. That's not an excuse, it just...is. I raped Hannah Baker. I raped seven or eight other girls. Some of them were my girlfriends at the time. I won't name them, but if they choose to tell you, believe them. I'm broken. I know that. I'm a person in a thousand pieces. But I'm seeing a counsellor. It's a long, hard process, but little by little, you start picking up the pieces. And you realize that what you're making is a mirror. And h the r more pieces you put together, the more you see yourself. I'd like to say that I'm not the same person who raped you anymore, Jess. But what I've come to realize is that I'll always be him. But I'm trying to be better. To be someone worth something in this world. I have this dream that I could be someone who protects people somehow. Protects them from people like me, like who I was. I don't know. I am so fucking sorry for what I did to you. And I know words add up to nothing compared to what I took from you. Someone once told me that it'll take me a lifetime to learn what sorry is. They're right. But I'm starting. If you've listened this far, thank you. It's more than I deserve. I wouldn't blame you if you smashed this tape to fuxking pieces. I would. I wish you the best, Jess. Truly. Goodbye.
And the tape ended. Nobody said anything. I think everyone was crying because I heard a couple of sniffs.
We all got home that night, and Charlie slept at my house. All night, we didn't say any words. We just laid down and he let me cried in his arms.