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

Part 2 Chapter 6a

"Why don't you sit down?" Tony told him, gesturing towards the coach.

Zach nodded, and went to take a seat. He recalled the time he came to Ophelia's house drunk in the middle of the night. It seemed like so long ago, almost an entire lifetime.

Tony sat down next to him, and sighed. "I know it's not easy talking about the past. I know that more than anyone."

Zach was confused. "What?"

"Look, Ophelia's your girl. You love each other. If you're honest with her, she'll understand."

Zach stood up now. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Were you in a relationship with Hannah?" Tony suddenly asked him.

Zach froze. "How the fuck-"

Tony told him quickly, "Look, you don't have to tell me, okay? But you need to tell Ophelia. That's something she needs to know. Especially right now."

Zach was stunned. How did Tony know? Did Montgomery tell him? He believed that Montgomery could have figured it out because it was him and Scott that always went to the movies theater with him when they would see her. Was this spreading around? Did Montgomery tell Ophelia and then she told Tony? Is that what Montgomery and her were arguing about earlier?

Ophelia came back into the living room. "My mom says thanks," Ophelia told him in an almost monotone voice.

Tony stood up. "I'll, uh, give you two some privacy."

He left the room, and Zach was left alone with Ophelia. Chatter from the next room was heard, but muffled. Ophelia stood with her hands fidgeting, looking up at him like she had something important to say, but she didn't know how to say it.

He stayed standing, too afraid to make a single move, worrying it might trigger her into beginning to yell about what Tony just told him.

She started slow, "I got this text from this blocked number."

His eyes fell to her phone, which was sitting on the coffee table in the middle of the room. He wondered, was it a threat? Did somebody threaten her?

"What did it say?" he asked.

He watched her gulp. "It said...It said "how do you know your boyfriend isn't a rapist too?" And then it had a photo of you."

Zach wondered why she looked so off put. He wasn't a rapist and he knew that. No photo could make it seem that way because he knew it wasn't the truth.

"What was the photo?" He asked her. He wasn't a rapist. So he could disprove the photo. No need to worry. He wasn't a rapist.

She gulped again. It was like too much saliva was forming in her mouth to allow her to speak with having to swallow it again and again.

"It was of you and Hannah. Hannah Baker." Ophelia realized she sounded stupid saying that. Of course it was Hannah Baker, no other Hannah mattered. "You has her against a wall, in some alleyway. And you were k-kissing her." She didn't know why she stuttered on that word.

Zach glanced back down at the phone. "Let me see it."

"The picture?" Ophelia asked.

"Yes. Let me see it."

She grimaced. "Are you going to tell me if it really happened or not?"

Zach sighed, irritated. "There's a picture of it. So, yes, it happened. If I see it I can explain it better."

Was he mad at her? Like he had any right to be?

"How about you start with telling me how that could've been taken?" she told him.