𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬

4

Clay turns back around with a sigh but see's Justin looking through the window. "Dude! What are you doing get down!" Clay says tackling the boy to the ground. "I just wanted to see her." Justin defends himself with teary eyes, he hadn't even gotten a letter in five months, sure she had every right but it didn't mean it hurt him any less. "Well you can see her when you're clean." Clay says and Justin looks down nodding slightly.

Making his way through the hall Clay quickly finds the curly haired girl. "Jess! Jessica!" Clay shouts running to Jessica. "Yes?" Jessica asks closing her locker, she had just spoken with the school about her assault and the person trying to silence her and she wasn't in the mood to talk to someone who didn't want to learn what she'd been through but still wanted her to out it to the whole world. "We have Justin." He wasn't sure if he should talk to Maddie or Jess first, or if it even involved Jess but Tony said not to talk to Maddie until he was clean.

"What-why are you telling me?" Jessica asks, she wanted nothing to do with Justin. Sure she felt guilty at times but in her mind Maddie was safer because she told Justin to leave. "Because he's gonna get better and we're gonna take him to the Bakers' lawyer. He can back up Hannah's story." Jessica's eyebrows furrow. "It's not Hannah's story, and it's not his story. It's mine. And none of you have a right to keep trying to bring it out."

"Jess. Jess. Listen to me." Clay says while looking around. "Justin wants to help Jess. And if nothing else Bryce did something to Maddie and he can-" Justin looks around and whispers to Clay. "Shut up Clay. That's not right of you to bring up. Hell, have you even talked to Maddie about it? She doesn't want to bring it up let alone in court nor does she want Justin to be brought into it. And you claim to be a friend of her's do you realize what bringing Justin back after five months is gonna do to her? No, you don't. Because you don't care." Jessica says upset because leaving quickly when hearing Zach and Bryce approach from behind them.

"Hey, Mads there you are." Zach says looking at his sister who just ran up and tucked herself under Monty's arm. "Yeah, I had to get my notes from Clay." Maddie explains as Zach goes back to his conversation with Scott about his history class test. "Why don't you ask your boyfriend for help with history?" Monty asks making Maddie chuckle lightly at the small joke until he takes it too far for Maddie's liking. "Oh, wait. He's brain damaged." He says laughing and Maddie moves slightly away from him and closer to Scott who also seemed uncomfortable with that type of joke.

"Monty, that's not something to joke about." Maddie says rolling her eyes while crossing her arms. and Zach complains about possibly dropping to a C.

"Just use the dad card, he'll let you slide."

"It's not a card man." Zach says upset and Bryce turns slightly stopping. "No, I know. Fuck, sorry, brother." He says clasping his hand on Zach shoulder trying to show him that he meant no harm before he turns to the other Dempsey in their mix. "Maddie, I didn't mean anything by it." He says and she nods slightly as Monty wraps his arm around her. "I know." She fakes a smile making him turn around, she was getting good at faking smiles around him.

Maddie turns off. "We'll see ya Maddie." The boys and Chloe wave her off as she enters her class ready to start her test.

Towards the end of the day Clay cornered Tony. "What the fuck Tony. You didn't tell me about Sherri?" He asks and Tony sighs while fixing his bag. "That's because I knew you'd say no. I can't be part of this anymore alright? It's fucking dangerous and I'm still on probation."

Clay furrows his brows before speaking again. "Since when do you care? You said it was no big deal." Tony slams his locker in frusteration. "That's when I thought this case would settle and I wouldn't be helping detox a junkie so he could." Clay sighs shaking his head.

"Jess doesn't want him to testify. She doesn't want it told." Tony sighs. "If that's what she wants then that's fair more than enough people already know and she never told anyone." Tony was upset, he was mature, almost an adult yet for the past year Clay had constantly been pulling him into stuff that could really hurt him as well as his family.

"Yeah? Well what about Maddie?" Clay asks and Tony moves his bag. "I told you what Maddie wants. She doesn't even want to talk about him, that's how bad she's hurt by him leaving, but you know what will hurt worse? Bringing in a junkie who wants nothing more than to go get high and leave again." Tony says before stomping off, he cared for Maddie and wasn't sure what the best thing was but he didn't think bringing Justin back was it.

Sherri sighs for the umpteenth time in a row. Justin wasn't cooperating very well and she was going to have to start using the Maddie card to get him too. "Take this." She says and he shakes his head while wrapping himself in a blanket. "Do you want to see Maddie and redeem yourself so you can be together again?" Sherri asks upset and sighs when he nods. "Okay then stop being such a little bitch and get yourself better." She says holding out the small bottle for him to take which he does. "You're welcome." She says rolling his eyes.

Maddie sighs sitting at her desk, she felt like everyone was avoiding her when just yesterday everyone was being so kind. All the guys ignored her the rest of the day, which wasn't so bad, but Sherri didn't text her back and Jess refused to answer her calls. Clay fled the room everytime Maddie entered and Zach didn't even talk to her, she felt more alone than she had in awhile. So she did what she always did. She wrote, specifically she wrote to Justin.

"Hey, Justin, It's me again. I know you'll never see these but I wonder how you're doing. I wonder if you've thought of me, if you've regretted leaving. But I doubt you have, if you did you would have came back to me. I keep a playlist for you now. I have one song repeated three time in there with the lyrics 'if you love someone let them go' and I always think about you. I hope you're doing well, that you've found some place to sleep, that you still have some clothes and you have food in your stomach and that you haven't decided to go to any prostitutes or hookers or maybe even a girlfriend. I mean I suppose I can't hate you if you have because I guess in a way I'm the one that told you to leave, but we also never broke up. I hope no one has hurt you and I hope that you haven't broken yourself down. I also hope that I will once again see you. But I know I won't, I know you're gone. And I hate you. I hate you because you left without telling me, you left with a hug or a kiss, and you broke my heart. You hurt me and I hate you for it because when your name is mentioned around me I can't breathe. But I also hate myself because I still dream of you and every time I see you I get butterflies." Sighing she signs her name on the bottom, sticks it in an envelope, writes the date and sticks it with the other in a locker drawer before crawling under the covers on her bed, and going to sleep.

~~~Authors Note~~~

Hey guys! I hope you're liking this book so far, I have a lot of ideas but there's also a few things that I'm still questioning, as we get closer I will address my concerns with you all! Thank you for reading and voting it means a lot!
Also for some reason the gifs aren't working right now. If I save them and put them in like I normally do it's just a picture and if I copy and paste it doesn't load, so when the gifs work again I'll come back and put new ones in but until then I guess I'm out.

{5.3.20}