Sierra's pov
The baseball game is happening right now. Clay, Justin and I are all making our way to the clubhouse right now to get these pictures. I can't believe no one has found this place. How could no teacher know about this?
Clay puts the code into the lock and then I look to Justin and then Clay opens the door. We all look to each other and then I take a deep breath. "You guys ready for this?" I said.
"Yeah" Clay said nodding. We all walk in and instantly I feel disgusting. Just being in here is making me feel sick. It's dark in here. Extremely dark. There's shit everywhere. It's like parties are thrown in here everyday.
"You think they'd know better than to just leave this shit lying around" Justin said.
"Except then they'd know better than to take pictures in the first place" Clay said.
"They could be anywhere" I said and then we all jumped when we heard the door open. Justin walks over to me and then we all sigh when we see it's Zach in his uniform.
"Shit" Clay said.
"What the fuck are you doing in here!?" Zach said.
"We know about the clubhouse. We know everything, and we're not the only ones" Clay said.
"Oh, you know everything? I don't think so" Zach said.
"Zach. We know enough" I said.
"Really" Zach said pissed.
"Hey, just back off, Dempsey." Justin said.
"Or what, Justin? Gonna come at me? I wasn't scared of you even before you fell apart." Zach said.
"Zach!" I said.
"Do what you want, Zach. I've had the shit beat out of me once this week already. It's not going to stop us" Clay said and I looked to him.
"Really?" Zach said.
"Yes" Clay said.
"Cause it's going to keep happening, Clay. To you too, Justin. And now you brought Sierra into this place. It doesn't stop. You can't take shots at the top and expect to not get hit back." Zach said.
"I'm not afraid." Clay said.
"Neither am I. We can't be scared" I said and Zach just looked to me and nodded.
"Good" He said and then went over and grabbed a box and walked over to me. "You already have three of these. Here's the rest" He said and I looked to him confused.
"It was you? Zach...why didn't you just talk to me about it?" I said.
"Cause I'm a fucking coward. And you're not" He said and then left the clubhouse. I just stand there still in shock and then I look to Justin and Clay who are looking to me too.
I walk over to the box and I put my hand on it and then I take a deep breath. I can only image how bad these pictures are going to be from the three I already have. I open the box and I look in it and can just see all the pictures laying in there. So many pictures.
"Holy shit" I said.
~
Justin, Clay and I are back in Clays room just going through all of the polaroids. I can't even believe what I'm looking at. And some of them go back years ago.
"It's no wonder these fucking baseball guys are so fucking tight. I mean, they're all covering each other's asses for this shit." Justin said.
"There's so many girls. So many girls who were used, manipulated, taken advantage of" I said.
"That's the thing I don't get. I mean...why are these girls getting themselves into this situation in the first place?" Clay said and I look to him.
"Seriously, Clay? You're blaming the girls?" I said and his face dropped.
"No, I just...I mean...Look, this girls laughing" He said showing me a picture. I grab it from him and see a girl sitting on the couch smiling and I recognize her.
"This is Nina. She's on the track team. Her and Jessica have been hanging out." I said.
"Shit" Justin said.
"Look, Clay...we don't know what was really happening in this photo. I mean...she could've thought nothing of it until something happened. There's a before and after to all of these pictures." I said.
"Clearly no ones forcing her to be there" Clay said.
"Girls don't just get themselves into bad situations. Guys make the situations bad. Okay? You think I just walked into Bryces guest house knowing what was going to happen? He did that" I said and they both just stared at me.
"I'm sorry" Clay said.
"I'm just trying to say that it's complicated" I said and then Justin put his hand on my back and gave me a small smile.
We all go back to looking at the pictures and then I see Justin staring at a particular one and he kind of puts it down a little. "What is it?" I said.
"It's Bryce again" He said showing me it and it's another picture of him raping a girl. I feel sick to my stomach and then Clay comes and looks too and I look closer at the girls face and my heart drops.
"Holy shit. That's Chloe" I said freaking out a little. "He did this to his own girlfriend?!" I continued.
"This is how we take him down." Clay said.
"What do you mean?" Justin said.
"She's unconscious in these pictures. He's fucking raping her. If we show her these, maybe we can get her to report it. Maybe we can get her to turn against him" Clay said.
"You think she will?" Justin said.
"I think we have to try" Clay said.
"Guys...this is sensitive. We can't go about this the wrong way. I mean...this is hard for anyone to see let alone Chloe herself" I said and Clay nodded.
"Okay. We'll...we'll figure it out." He said. This is horrible.
I hear my phone start to ring and I answer it while the guys continue to look. "Hello" I said to my aunt.
"Sierra. Somebody broke into our store" She said and I just froze.
"What?! Aunt Olivia, where are you?" I said.
"I'm here with the police. I...I don't know who did this. Everything is completely destroyed" She said and I stood up real quick.
"I'm coming" I said and then hung up before she could talk me out of it. I could tell by her voice she's panicked and shaken up.
"What happened?" Justin said concerned.
"I have to go" I said grabbing my stuff frantically.
"Sierra" Clay said and Justin stood up.
"Our shop wasn't broken into and destroyed. I need to go now" I said and Clay jumped up too.
"Holy shit" Clay said.
"You're not going alone. I'm going with you" Justin said.
"Okay, we just need to go now" I said and he nodded and we started walking towards the door.
"I'll put these all away. Keep me updated and call me" Clay said and I nodded and then Justin and I left. We both get into my car and I start driving into town and I have no clue what I'm about to see. This is getting too serious.
"Who would do this?" Justin said.
"It has to be those fucking baseball guys. They're all protecting Bryce. They're all protecting their dirty secrets. They're trying to prove a point" I said.
"You really think it's them?" He said.
"I don't...I don't know. Whoever it is...they're angry with the trial. They have to be in order for them to destroy our drugstore" I said.
"Shit, Sierra...what's tomorrow?" He said and I looked to him.
"Sunday" I said and then it hit me. "Fuck" I continued. Bryce testifies tomorrow.
We finally get to our shop and my heart immediately drops. I see cops everywhere and I see the windows smashed in and writing all over the walls. I park and jump out of my car and walk a little closer and look inside to see shelves knocked over and everything destroyed.
I feel Justin walk up behind me and he just puts his arm on me and I just stare in shock. I see my aunt and she turns to me and I just walk up to her and we both embrace each other. I feel her start to cry and I just hug her and look into the shop again.
This is serious.
•••
It's the next morning. Today is the day Bryce testifies. Last night was horrible. That shop is apart of our family and seeing it destroyed was hard. Justin and I ended up taking my aunt back home and spending the night with her so she wasn't alone. We told her we'd help and do whatever it takes to rebuild and fix everything.
As for today...my aunt doesn't want me coming to court. I told her that's not an option though and that I was going to go. A few of us are going. Me, Clay, Tony, Justin and Alex. We just want to know how Bryce is going to cover his ass in court. If he even can...which I'm sure he thought of everything to say.
I'm standing outside of the courthouse with Justin and Alex. My aunt already is inside and we're waiting on Tony and Clay. I'm nervous, I can't even lie. I just know Bryce is going to lie his ass off up there.
"There he is" Alex said and I looked over to see Bryce and his parents walking into the courthouse. "Is he wearing fucking glasses? What is that supposed to make him look innocent?" Alex continued.
Bryce happens to look over and he makes eye contact with me and just stares a little as he walks by. I just shake my head and look away and then look back to the guys.
"I wonder what his cover story is going to be" I said.
"You really think he'll get away with it?" Alex said.
"He's Bryce Walker. He's been getting away with shit for years" Justin said.
"I'm sure he'll turn it on everyone around him. Make him look like the good guy. He'll have a loophole" I said.
"Hey" We heard and saw Tony and Clay appear.
"Hey" Alex said.
"Sierra" Tony said and I give him a small smile.
"You guys ready for this?" Clay said.
"As ready as we can be, I guess" Alex said.
"Look, none of us can react in there. We just all have to stay calm despite what Bryce says in there" I said and they all nodded.
"We should go in. It's about to start" Alex said and we all nodded. Everyone starts to walk into the court house but Clay grabs my hand a little stopping me.
"Before you go in there I need to show you something. No more secrets" He said and then handed me a polaroid and I look around in shock. I then look to it and my heart drops when I see it's Hannah wearing one of the jocks jersey in the clubhouse. She's smiling a little on the couch and I just shake my head and look to Clay.
"Hannah has been there?!" I said.
"Apparently" He said.
"Please tell me this isn't Justin's jacket" I said since Hannah did date Justin for a little.
"He said he's never been there, Sierra. We gotta believe him" He said.
"What other jock could it be? Bryce?" I said.
"Look, I don't know anything. But I just needed to show you this just in case it's brought up today." He said and I nodded.
"We need to go in" I said and he agreed and then put the picture away and we both walk in. We go to a row in the back where the others are and Clay climbs past Justin to sit next to Tony and then I sit down next to Justin and he grabs my hand.
"Everything okay?" He said and I nodded.
"Yeah" I said grabbing his hand back.
Here we go.
~
We've been here for a little while. Basically Bryce has been talking about a football game that previously happened and how Hannah came up to him after the game. I don't know what's true and what's not true. But listening to him is giving me the worst anxiety.
"You said Hannah pursued you after that football game at the beginning of your junior year. Did it ever turn physical?" Sonya, the schools lawyer, said.
"Yes. We had kind of an on-again, off-again thing." Bryce said.
"So, you had sex more than once?" Sonya said.
"We did" He said and I took a deep breath.
"So, Hannah initiated this on-again, off-again thing?" Sonya said.
"Yes, she did. She took me to Hickmans bridge which honestly I remember thinking was kind of creepy." Bryce said.
"How do you mean it was creepy?" She said.
"Well, just the whole bridge thing. Being obsessed with a place like that. I just wish I had realized it might have been a sign." He said.
"And how many times did you go to Hickmans bridge?" Sonya said.
"Gosh, I don't know. Quite a few times. I guess it kind of became our place" He said and I looked over to see Chloe sitting on the other side. I wonder what's going through her mind right now.
"And what did you do there?" Sonya said.
"Sometimes we just made out...looked at the stars. Sometimes we made love" He said and I gripped Justin's hand a little. Hearing that makes me so angry.
"Did things ever evolve into a committed relationship?" Sonya said.
"Not really" He said.
"Did you want it to?" She said.
"Um, I had a great time with Hannah, but she wasn't really girlfriend material. Hannah had a reputation. And she didn't deserve it at all, but you know how kids are. I was too ashamed to admit that I was having sex with her." He said.
"And how did Hannah feel about that?" She said.
"I think she wanted more. She would always hang around after football games, after baseball practice..." Bryce said and I looked to Clay. So maybe that jacket Hannah was wearing was Bryces.
"Bryce, you said that Hannah wanted a more serious relationship, yes?" She said.
"Yes" He said.
"Did she tell you so?" She said.
"She did" He said.
"When?" She said.
"The night of my party" Bryce said and Justin looked to me and I just feel my heart racing.
"And that was the party on September 30th?" She said and I could see Bryce look to me a little in the crowd.
"Correct" He said.
"And what made you think that Hannah wanted something more serious?" She said.
"Because she told me so. After we had sex, she said that she wanted to be exclusive. And I said, you know, I like you but as a friend." He said.
"So, how do you explain Hannah's report that you did something to her at that party?" She said. Here we go.
"She lied to Mr. Porter." He said.
"Why would she do that?" She said.
"Because she was hurt and angry. I...I get that. I tried to let her down gently. Hannah really was a fantastic girl, but, look...she let her emotions carry her away. In high school...it's emotional." He said.
"No further questions" Sonya said and then she sat down and I look to Justin. Dennis then stands up and makes his way over in front of Bryce to start asking questions.
"Bryce, you've gotten physical with other classmates against their wishes, haven't you?" He said.
"Uh, not that I remember, no" Bryce said.
"Not Tyler Down? Isn't it true you threw Tyler Down up against a locker?" Dennis said.
"Maybe. But that's just guys messing around. He knew I was joking." Bryce said.
"So you think Tyler thought you were messing around?" Dennis said.
"Objection" Sonya said.
"Withdrawn. Bryce, let's talk about this party you mentioned. It was on September 30th of last year, right?" Dennis said.
"Correct" Bryce said.
"It was a Saturday?" Dennis said.
"Yes" Bryce said.
"It was a nice night? Lots of stars, full moon?" He said.
"Yeah" Bryce said.
"And your parents were out of town?" He said.
"Yes." Bryce said.
"You were celebrating a big football win from the night before, right?" He said.
"We were celebrating a loss, actually. Uh, we don't win all that often" Bryce said laughing and some of the jocks in the crowd laughed too and I roll my eyes.
"You were celebrating a loss, and maybe people had a drink or two?" He said.
"Yes" Bryce said.
"Maybe three or four?" He said.
"Sure." Bryce said.
"And Hannah Baker was there?" He said.
"Yes" Bryce said.
"And she was somebody that you knew well, but who you weren't dating, right?" He said.
"Right" Bryce said.
"And Hannah got in the hot tub with you?" He said.
"Yes." Bryce said.
"And everybody else got out of the hot tub?" He said.
"Yes" Bryce said.
"And you started to make out with her?" He said.
"Yes" Bryce said.
"And you wanted to have sex with her, right?" He said.
"Yes" Bryce said.
"And you got really into it?" He said.
"Sure" Bryce said.
"And you assumed that she was into it too, correct?" He said.
"Yes" Bryce said.
"So, you turned her around to take her from behind, right?" He asked.
"Yes..." Bryce said.
"You pulled down her underwear, right?" He said.
"Yes" Bryce said.
"And you took your own suit off as well, correct?" He said.
"Yes" Bryce said and I could tell he's getting nervous.
"And Bryce, you usually use protection, don't you?" He said.
"I do, usually." Bryce said.
"But you didn't use protection with her on that night, correct?" He said.
"Correct" Bryce said.
"And you two didn't talk about STDs or pregnancies, right?" He said.
"We did not, no" Bryce said.
"And she never did actually say, I want to have sex with you. Isn't that correct?" He said.
"Correct" Bryce said.
"And she didn't make any specific gestures to indicate consent. Isn't that correct?" He said.
"What, like a thumbs up?" Bryce said.
"Did she give you a thumbs up?" He asked.
"She did not" Bryce said.
"Then you had sex with her against her will, is that correct?" He said and I took a deep breath.
"No. No, that is not correct. She came on to me." Bryce said.
"She came on to you, but she never said she wanted to have sex with you. Isn't that correct?" He said.
"She clearly wanted to hook up." Bryce said.
"But she never gave consent, isn't that correct?" He said.
"I...I knew what she wanted." Bryce said.
"You knew what she wanted, and yet when she went to the school counselor and reported that she had been assaulted, that was a lie?" He said.
"Correct" Bryce said.
"Why would she lie?" He said.
"Objection. Calls for speculation" Sonya said. I look over and see Chloe get up and leave the court room and I sigh to myself.
"I'll rephrase. Was there anything in your encounter that would have led Hannah to report that she had been raped?" He said.
"I...I wish I knew. I would never do that to any girl." Bryce said looking to me and I felt my heart racing and I just stood up. Do it, Sierra. Say what he did to you.
"Sierra" Justin whispered and I saw the guys looking at me concerned. I sit back down and run my hands through my hair and then hear Bryce continue to talk.
"I would never hurt Hannah." He said and then I got up and left. I go out into the lobby and I see Chloe and I walk up to her.
"Chloe" I said.
"No...don't. I can't...I just can't right now" She said and then she left the building. I just sigh and then I go and sit on a chair and wait for the others to come out. I don't even want to listen anymore.
I can't.
~
After about twenty minutes, the main lobby starts filling with people. I look up and see the jocks walk out and go stand in a corner and then I see Bryce walk out with his parents. He gives me a look and then he goes over to the jocks and they all are smiling and laughing.
I then see the other guys walk out and I stand up and walk over to them. "What the hell was that?" Tony said.
"I don't know. I just...he pissed me off" I said.
"He lies through his fucking teeth and everybody shakes his hand" Tony said looking to the jocks.
"Are we sure he lied?" Clay said.
"Jeez, Clay. Come on." Justin said.
"We can't tell Jessica about any of this" Alex said.
"We have to tell Jessica. We need Chloe. We need you" Clay said and looked to me.
"Will they even believe me? I don't really have proof. It's kind of my word against Bryces. And he has a way of twisting the truth" I said.
"There's the tape talking about what happened to Jessica in detail. And then there's the pictures of Chloe. There's evidence. Your story won't be anything out of the ordinary. Bryce can't cover up three different rapes" Clay said.
"I wasn't raped" I said.
"No, but you were assaulted, Sierra. He forced himself on you and wouldn't stop until you begged him. If he didn't stop, it would have been rape. He was going to rape you..." Clay said and I look away a little and then sigh.
"Clay" Justin said.
"Look, I just want you to know that your story is just as important. You can help too. The people he did this to need to come together. We need Jessica and Chloe. We need you" Clay said and I nodded.
"Let's see what we can do" I said.
"Are you sure about this?" Tony said.
"We have no other options. Bryce is good at lying. We need to take the next step" I said.
"What if we can't get them on board?" Alex said.
"It's not an option anymore" Clay said.
It's now or never.
Thank you for reading this chapter! Hope you enjoyed it. Please leave comments and vote for your favorite chapters. Enjoy the next :)