Ophelia waited until everyone left the classroom, including Hannah, to walk over to the compliment bags.
It was an odd idea that the teacher had. Leaving compliments for each other? But it was nice, too. It helped. Ophelia never felt like she had a lot of girl friends, but some of the girls in her class left her notes that made her feel more confident in herself as a woman.
She heard Hannah complain that she never received any, so Ophelia thought maybe it would be easier if the note came from the bag.
Ophelia slipped inside the class, and put the note in Hannah's brown bag, and then she left, quickly. That was her last shot. Her last apology to Hannah for not talking to her. For practically forgetting about her.
Ophelia had no idea that Zach saw her put the note in, and that he went back into the classroom and cruelly took it out.
He opened it, wanting to give a quick glance before throwing it away.
He stopped, suddenly. He was confused by the note's cryptic meaning.
'I'm sorry things are awkward. What you saw was a mistake. I promise Monty isn't always like that. Maybe we can have a sleepover and talk about it?'
Zach frowned in confusion. Ophelia was apologizing for Monty? What did Monty do?
It didn't bother him long, though. He just assumed her boyfriend said something stupid, like he always did. He was sure they would end up talking things out in person.
Zach crumpled the note, and threw it away.
*****
Ophelia opened the door to find Zach smiling widely, three bouquets of flowers in his arms.
He was wearing a dark blue button down shirt, tucked into black dress pants.
One bouquet was of roses, one lilies, and one multicolored flowers. He held the roses out to Ophelia. "These are for you."
Ophelia smiled, having to force back the thoughts that were scattered in her head. "Thank you, Zach. These are really nice."
"Is Zach here?" her father called. He came into view behind Ophelia. Zach moved both bouquets to his left hand, so he could shake her father's hand with his right.
"Good evening, Mr. Tristano."
"Come in, come in," her father said, shaking his hand. "Is one of those for me?" He pointed to the flowers.
Zach laughed with him. "Of course. They all are actually."
Ophelia was happy to see they were getting along well. He never said it, but Ophelia thought he might have liked Montgomery better. Probably because he didn't know him as well.
Tony walked up from the living room. "Hey, Dempsey."
Zach nodded. "Hey, Tony."
Zach handed the other two flowers to Ophelia. "The lilies are for your mom, and the others are for Honor."
"They're upstairs still," Ophelia told him. "I'll go give them to them."
Zach offered. "I can come with you."
"It's okay," Ophelia said, quickly. "I'll be right back."
Zach noticed the nervousness in her voice.
Ophelia's father left back to the kitchen.
He stood awkwardly by the door, with Tony, who was much more underdressed.
"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.
Now, Zach did sit down. He put his head in his hands. "Yes, I kissed her. But I don't know who took that photo."
Ophelia cautiously walked up and took a seat next to him. He then ran his hands through his hair, messing up the gel he had put into it earlier. He didn't care.
"Why?"
Zach let out a long, deep breath. "Look, I've meant to tell you for a long time. I just-I just never found a good time to really let it out."
Ophelia was even more nervous now. She knew he wasn't a rapist. She knew there was no possibility of that. But why did he seem so scared to tell her what happened
"Let what out?"
Zach pointed at her phone again. "Can I please see the picture?"
Ophelia gave in. She gave it to Zach, opening it for him to see. The looked at the photo carefully and for a long time.
"Well?" Ophelia asked, already tired of his silence.
Zach grabbed her hand. "I'm sorry, O."
Why was he torturing her like this?
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. Hannah and I..."
"What?" she demanded. "Is this true? What they're saying?"
"No!" he said quickly, "I never raped her. I could
never do that, I just...." He took another deep breath. "Hannah is the girl I slept with. The one I lost my virginity to."
Ophelia almost choked on air. She felt a crushing in her heart. Like someone had reached in and was trying to pull it out. Prickles fell over her skin like someone threw a box of needles at her.
"What the fuck?" Her voice was low, so low Zach strained to hear it even though he was right next to her.
She sounded heartbroken.
"You slept with Hannah," she breathed, still barely audible. "How could you not fucking tell me?"
"I'm sorry," he whispered, though his deep voice couldn't go as low as hers. "I wanted to tell you, but I was ashamed. I really liked her, O. But not like I liked you. Not like I like you." He corrected himself.
"I fucking hope not," she told him, "How long were you together?"
He wished she didn't ask that. "Summer of Sophmore year."
"Not when, how long?" she demanded.
He looked away from her. "All summer of sophmore year."
Ophelia felt extremely nauseous all of a sudden. She would go to the bathroom, but she was worried she would become to light headed and fall on the way.
"And you two had sex? A lot?"
Zach only nodded.
"H-How many times?"
"Does it fucking matter?" he asked her.
She bit her lip to keep from letting out a cry. She felt humiliated for some reason, and she wasn't sure why.
"You told me you liked me for a long time," Ophelia said. "Why-Why would you sleep with her if you liked me?"
Zach scoffed. "Don't you think that's being a little hypocritical? You were fucking Montgomery for two years. I was with Hannah for one summer."
"You knew about Montgomery," Ophelia snapped at him. "I told you everything about him. You told me nothing about you and Hannah being together. God! Boys are fucking perverts. Did you sleep with Chloe too?"
Zach frowned. "Where the fuck did that come from? No!"
Ophelia asked him, "When you asked for her number? Was that really just for your study group? Or did you want more?"
"That doesn't fucking matter!" he yelled. The murmurs stopped for a moment. Tony's voice came loud, and he restarted the conversation. Zach said, quieter now, "Ophelia, it was before we were together. I'm sorry I didn't tell you this stuff before but doesn't change how I feel now."
"How am I supposed to know if there are more girl I don't know about," she said, "Zach, how can I trust you?"
"She was the only one I've been with," he told her, "Besides you."
Ophelia pulled her hand away from him. "Why didn't Hannah tell me?"
The look of guilt had not left Zach's face the entire time. "I asked her not to."
Ophelia opened her mouth to ask why he would possibly do that, but she was cut off by her father coming in.
"Come on in to the dining room, guys. Dinner's ready."
He obviously could not sense the tension in the room. Ophelia was happy, yet surprised she hadn't began to cry. She felt like it, but the water in her body must have focused itself into her mouth as once again she had to gulp, swallowing her emotions.
She stood up. "Coming, dad."
Tony's father stuck his head in the room. "What happened to your other boyfriend? The one who spoke Spanish?"
Zach shrank back.
Tony said something to his father in Spanish, speaking too fast for Ophelia to understand.
Tony's dad than said, "Alright, alright. I'm sorry, Ophelia. Nice to meet you, Zachary."
Zach awkwardly waved. The other men left back for the dining room.
Ophelia glanced down at him. "We'll talk about this later."
"Wait," Zach said. "I need to ask you a favor."
She almost rolled her eyes. What could he want?
He hesitated. "Can you...not go to court with me tomorrow?"
Her face fell. Now, she was guilty. "Just because I'm upset doesn't mean I don't want to support you."
"Please," Zach said. "If they ask me about her, I don't know if I can honestly answer with you there."
Ophelia nodded slowly. She understood. Unfortunately.
"And please don't read that blog," he pleaded. "I want you to know the story in my words."
"Okay," she said. "I promise I won't read it."
"Ophelia!" her father called.
"Coming!" she yelled back.
She gave one more look to Zachary, before leaving the room.
*****
'I love you'
Ophelia felt a tear roll down her eye as she read the text. She ignored it and typed back, 'I love you too. Good luck today.'
Ophelia wiped her eyes.
"You ready to go?" her father asked her. "Your mom has the car running."
Ophelia asked, "You're both going to drop me off?"
Her father nodded, "We're getting breakfast too."
Ophelia joked, "Jeez, thanks for the invite."
"Maybe once you get your grades back up we'll let you skip your first period," he told her. Her smile fell. She still hadn't completely made up for her time off.
Her mother sat in the passenger seat with large sunglasses on.
She watched Ophelia as she stepped out in her black sundress.
Her mother picked up her glasses and set them on her head to get a better look. When Ophelia got in she asked, "Is that dress part of your school dress code?"
"Yes, mom," Ophelia told her, "You bought it for me, remember?"
"I thought you'd wear it with leggings," her mother said, despite Ophelia knowing she had seen her wearing it plenty of times before.
"I have shorts on," she assured her.
Ophelia's father started the car. "Relax, girls at my school used to wear stuff way shorter than that."
Her mother shook her head in disapproval. "Those girls are not my daughter."
Ophelia looked down, and fidgeted with her hands on the drive to school. She didn't want to pick up her phone. The text message she got the other day scared her more than she thought it would. She didn't want to open her phone, terrified she would receive another photo. Or worse, that she would read the blog about Zach's testimony.
"You can let me out here," Ophelia told her father quickly as they got to school, hoping he wouldn't park again like last time.
Her father pulled up to the front and stopped the car.
Ophelia unfastened her seatbelt. She hesitated opening the door when she saw her father roll down the window.
"What are you doing?" she asked him.
She thought maybe he just saw Tony again, but when she looked over, she saw Montgomery and Scott.
"Stop it," Ophelia said, before he even said anything.
"I'm just saying hi," her father said, defensively. Montgomery saw that Ophelia's father rolled down the window to greet him, and he walked up, smiling cockily.
"¿Como estas, De La Cruz?"
Ophelia got out of the car, quickly. She didn't want to listen as her father and Montgomery conversed in Spanish with each other. She watched as Montgomery leaned into the car, smiling as he spoke to her father as though they never broke up.
Scott stood next to the car, smiling, not understanding a word they said.
"You boys doing good in school?" he asked in English so that Scott could answer too.
Both boys laughed and Scott. "We're alright." Scott nodded to Ophelia. "Not as good as Ophelia, of course."
"Roll up the window," Ophelia's mother suddenly demanded. She seemed angry for some reason.
"Hey, make sure my daughter gets a ride home if that boyfriend of hers doesn't show up today," her father told Montgomery.
"Course, Mr. Tristano." Montgomery's eyes flickered to Ophelia. "I'll make sure she's well taken care of."
"Stop it," Ophelia's mom told her husband. She showed an angry look to the two high school boys. "We're going. Now."
Her father sighed. "As you wish, darling."
Her parents car pulled out of the parking lot, now leaving an empty space between Ophelia and the two boys.
"Looks like Papi still likes me," Montgomery pointed out, laughing.
Ophelia just rolled her eyes. "Or maybe he's just good at faking it."
Scott asked her, "Why didn't you go with Zach to his hearing? Aren't people allowed to sit in?"
Ophelia looked down, suddenly feeling the hurt of Zach asking her not to go all over again. "He wanted to go alone," she told them.
Montgomery chuckled, "I bet he took his mommy with him."
Scott laughed too, "I bet she didn't give him a choice."
Ophelia turned away from them and starting walking inside. The boys caught up.
"Don't worry, I'll kick Scott to the back so you can ride shotgun when I take you home," Montgomery told her, smiling.
"Zach will take me home," she snapped. "Don't even worry about that."
Ophelia ducked, suddenly, as something went flying at her.
She ran into Scott, who steadied her.
Montgomery jumped up and caught the football, which had been thrown by Bryce as he spotted them across the campus.
"Lucky catch, asshole!" Bryce yelled, jokingly.
Montgomery corrected him, laughing. "Great catch for your terrible throw!"
Ophelia spotted Jessica just inside the doors, and tried to make a beeline for her while Montgomery was distracted.
"Hey," Scott said, catching her before she left.
She stared at him. "What?"
He told her, nervously, "You know, just because Zach's not here today, doesn't mean you can't sit with us at lunch."
Ophelia appreciated his words, but didn't know how to tell him she didn't want to sit with those people even when Zach was there.
"Thanks, but I think I'll sit with Jessica," she told him. She turned towards the door, only to see Jessica was now talking with Nina, another girl on the track team that Ophelia hadn't met before.
She didn't want to go that way anymore. Jessica looked like she was happy at that moment. She was smiling, laughing even. Ophelia felt guilty, because her plan was to go up to her and show her the picture she received, and what the picture said.
She decided she would take another way to class.
*****
'I love you too. Good luck.'
Zach sighed. She was angry. He could tell just by her text message.
Maybe not anger. Maybe just hurt. Either way, he knew he fucked up. He should've told her about Hannah sooner. At least said they had dated, if even leaving the sex out of it.
But the sex was basically the whole thing.
He typed out another message.
'I'm sorry, Ophelia'
He shook his head and deleted it.
Zach had been doing so much to protect her. Ophelia didn't even realize it. Every move he had been making was in her best interest, to ensure she didn't get hurt any more than she already had.
Zach had done something bigger than Ophelia realized. She thought he was fine with Bryce, and that he was cool with him, but he wasn't. He would never be.
Thats why he gave Clay the polaroids. Only two so far.
This was the only other secret he had been keeping from Ophelia. Mostly because he didn't want her to know they existed. Ophelia had been in the clubhouse before. Sometimes after games, sometimes to just hang out.
And sometimes just with Montgomery. He had bragged to them about those times. He told everyone in the locker room how easy it was for girls to give in at the clubhouse. He joked maybe it was something in the air that made them wet.
Zach hated the way Montgomery used to talk about Ophelia, and how he never gave her the privacy she deserved.
There were photos of Ophelia in the box. He knew there were. He had only seen one, which was of her sitting on Montgomery's lap with Bryce next to them. She was drunk in the photo, but Zach had been there, and he knew nothing bad happened.
But the rule was there was a photo taken each time someone went in.
He didn't look for her other photos. He was too scared to. He tried to prepare himself because he knew they would probably end up coming out.
He prayed that Montgomery had more integrity than he had shown in the past, and he hoped that Ophelia would be conscious in every photo.
*****
Ophelia didn't have any friends.
She realized this as she sat alone in the cafeteria. She thought Jessica was her friend, but as she watched her conversing and having a good time with Nina, she realized Ophelia was the only person that reached out to Jessica while she was away. She wanted to be Jessica's friend, but to Jessica Ophelia might have just been the only option she had.
Tony sat across the cafeteria with Clay and Alex. Tony used to be her friend, a long time ago, but she had ruined that. They weren't enemies, and they weren't mad at each other anymore, but she doubted Tony could ever find joy in her company.
Who did she spent her high school years hanging out with? Just Montgomery and his friends. Zach. Scott. Bryce.
Hannah. Hannah was a friend. She once again remembered her past with Hannah, and how she was also let down by Ophelia.
Maybe betrayal was in Ophelia's blood. Maybe that's why no relationship seemed to go perfect for her. She wasn't likable enough. She felt her body freeze suddenly.
Hannah. Hannah Baker with the best ass. Zach had no problem sleeping with her over and over again. No wonder he couldn't keep it up for Ophelia, he had started with someone with an almost perfect body.
"No Jessica?"
Ophelia was surprised to see Scott standing in front of her table, holding a lunch tray.
Ophelia felt guilty suddenly, since she said that's why she didn't want to sit with them.
"No, actually. She's busy."
Scott looked over to see Jessica talking with someone else.
"Oh. Okay." He sat down across from her.
"I heard Zach's still testifying," he told her.
"Yeah...he's been there for a while."
Ophelia watched as Chloe and Bryce walked up hand in hand, trailing behind them. They sat down with her, so casually.
Maybe they really did think they were all friends.
Ophelia wasn't proud of this friend group, but it didn't stop that fact that it cheered her up to know there were people that wanted her there.
Montgomery sat down next to Scott, while Chloe sat next to Ophelia with Bryce.
"I like your dress," Chloe complimented.
Montgomery smirked. "Looks comfortable." She knew he remember the time they almost slept together while she was wearing it.
Ophelia ignored him. "Thanks. I like your dress too. The pink looks good on you."
Chloe smiled widely. "Thanks, girl. Bryce actually bought it for me at the mall the other day."
Ophelia nodded to Bryce. "That was nice of you."
Bryce chuckled. "Zach better buy you something nice to make up for all that Hannah shit that's coming out."
Ophelia's face fell. She looked down to her lunch. She didn't want to talk about this.
"Did you know about that, O?" Scott asked her.
Ophelia lied, wanting to save Zach's reputation. "Yeah. Of course he told me."
Montgomery chuckled as he flung a hand full of dry cereal into his mouth. "Me and Scott knew already, right Scotty?"
"What the hell?" Bryce asked. "You guys knew and you didn't tell me?" He was actually offended. Why would he brothers keep a secret like that from him?
Scott set the record straight. "We didn't know. We suspected."
"I fucking knew," Montgomery spoke up. "He always went to see hella boring movies. And it was just a coincidence the best ass at Liberty High worked there? No way."
Montgomery winked at the girls in front of him. "Present company excluded of course."
Bryce pulled Chloe close and kissed her on the cheek while she giggled.
Scott said, "Not like someone could even see her ass from inside the ticket booth."
Ophelia joked, "Oh, so you were looking?"
Scott held eye contact with her as a smile slowly rose on his face. "You can't prove that."
Ophelia withheld her chuckle. Montgomery looked between them, noticing their lingering gazes on each other.
Montgomery said, "We should mess with Zach. Put some underwear in his locker or some shit like that. Write 'Hannah' on it."
Bryce laughed with him. "That'd be funny. Put some fake blood on it or some shit."
Ophelia sat up straight, angry. "Why the fuck would you do that?"
Montgomery laughed at her anger, like he always did. "Calm down, O. It's a joke."
"Well, I don't get it," she snapped.
"A joke about him taking her virginity," Bryce explained. "If she actually was a virgin like she claimed."
Ophelia felt disgusted hearing his words.
"Maybe she was just technically a virgin," Montgomery joked, "Like how getting fingered by Justin didn't count or some shit."
"I fucking forgot about that," Scott laughed. "She really did that shit on a slide. Zach didn't know what he was getting himself into."
Chloe noticed Ophelia's discomfort. "Or you guys could just let it go. It's not your business."
"Nah, it's a big deal," Montgomery insisted. He looked Ophelia when he said, "Since apparently he hasn't been able to find a girl he wants to fuck since."
Chloe's mouth fell open, and Bryce frowned at his friend. "Dude, uncool."
"You read any of the blog?" Montgomery asked, ignoring them. He was trying to embarrass her more. Why? Because she looked at Scott for a second too long? "They said they had 'frequent intercourse' all summer long. Sounded like it was easy for him to keep it up then."
"Fuck you," Ophelia spat at him. Her voice was low, and it was clear she was hurt.
"Dude, enough," Bryce told him. "The fuck would you say that to her for?"
"What? It's not like its her fault," Montgomery continued his joking attitude. "It's just Zach who can't keep a fucking boner around her. Even Scott here's jerk one off to Ophelia before, right Scotty?"
Scott's face turned red, and he leaned away from Montgomery, putting a hand over his face to hide his embarrassments expression.
"Jesus, Monty! Shut up, you annoying prick!" Bryce scolded him.
Ophelia stood up, and gathered her lunch together.
"Jesus, O. Take a compliment," he told her.
Ophelia grabbed the carton of milk she had, which was opened and threw it at him. "Fuck you, Monty. You talk about fucking jerking off so much because you know I was the only girl who wanted to fucking put up with you long enough to get anywhere."
Bryce was taken aback. He chuckled, "Oh shit."
Ophelia stormed out of the cafeteria. Montgomery stood up.
Scott grabbed her arm, "Bro, leave her alone."
Montgomery frowned at Scott, and scoffed. "Get the fuck off me."
He pulled his arm away before following her. What, did Scott think he had some power of her too now?
Ophelia just went to her locker. She threw it opened and shoved her lunch inside. She wasn't hungry anymore.
"Chill out, O," Montgomery said walking up to her. "Don't have a fucking spazz attack just because you found out your boyfriend fucked someone else." He laughed. "You know I've fucked girls before too, right?"
"Shut up," she said, "For fucks sake, Monty. Cut it out. You win, okay? Zach thought Hannah was attractive and he doesn't think I am. I get it, okay? I'm ugly to him."
"What?" Montgomery frowned. "That's not what I meant. You're not ugly, O."
"Yeah? Tell me about the other girls you've fucked, Monty. That's what you wanted to do, right? Tell me how they were fucking prettier?" She slammed her locker shut with force. "I fucking know they were!"
When Ophelia turned around, that's when Montgomery saw that she had been crying. He was taken aback.
"Are you okay?"
She scoffed. "No, Monty! But you don't fucking care! You fucking love making me cry!"
Montgomery didn't. And he didn't realize the impact of his words until that moment.
He hesitated. "Come on, you know I was just messing around." He stepped closer. "You know you're beautiful."
"Just leave me alone," she told him, "For once just fucking leave me alone."
Montgomery thought back to all the times he teased her, and made her mad. He always wanted to get under her skin, but he never wanted to make her cry. He realized, then and there, that all he was doing was pushing her to the edge of tears over and er again.
"I'm sorry," he told her.
She laughed sarcastically. "You're sorry? For what, Monty? Making fun of me everyday? Making fun of my boyfriend everyday?"
Montgomery didn't think of it as making fun.
Ophelia said, "Can't you just-"
She stopped, suddenly bursting into tear. It wasn't because of Montgomery, although he wasn't helping. She was crying because all day she heard snickering and laughing and people talking about what was on the blog. And it was driving her crazy. She wanted to know, and it was so frustrating not being able to read it.
She felt like everyone was talking about her behind her back. Except Montgomery. He would say hurtful shit straight to her face.
She suddenly asked him, "Why are you so mean to me, Monty? I didn't even do anything. You're the one who fucking did everything."
Montgomery cringed. "I-I'm not mean to you."
"You are," she insisted. "And you don't care. You say shit like you want me back, but how can I believe that when you act like this?"
Montgomery took another step closer. She didn't back away. He lifted his hand up, and wiped a tear off her face. She was too exhausted to pull away.
She then cried, "Monty, why didn't he fucking tell me about her? He-He shouldn't fucking told me about her."
"I know," he said, "And...I'm sorry I didn't say anything."
She sniffed, wiping her nose and running and hand through her hair. She backed away from Montgomery.
She laughed, suddenly. "Here I am. Talking to you. I'm so fucking heartbroken I'm actually here talking to you."
"We're not enemies, O," Montgomery tried. "I mean-we can still talk."
"We should be enemies after everything you've fucking done," she told him, "But it doesn't even bother me right now. The only thing that bothers me is my boyfriends apparent sex life that everyone is talking about and I don't know about."
Montgomery asked, "Why don't you just read that fucking blog?"
Ophelia wiped her eyes. She laughed again, because she was actually going to tell him. "I promised Zach I wouldn't read it. So I could give him time to explain."
Montgomery scoffed. "Fuck that. He had plenty of time to explain. He shouldn't have waited until today."
Ophelia disagreed. "I promised him. I'm not reading it. I'll just...have to deal with it."
Montgomery pulled out his phone suddenly. "Fine. I'll read it to you."
"What? No-" She tried to push his phone over, but he held it up higher, away from her.
"It's shit he should've told you," Montgomery convinced her. "Let me tell you what it says."
*****
Ophelia took a seat at a table by the window. Montgomery pulled out the seat next to her and sat down.
She was nervous to be there. She felt like she was competent alone with him, despite the fact that Hamlin's was almost full. But more than anything, she was curious.
"So...when did you start these lessons?" Ophelia asked him.
Montgomery told her, "Just two weeks ago. I, um, had a hard time convincing my dad it was a good use of insurance."
Ophelia wondered how he was able to convince his cheap father into paying for therapy. Or anger management.
"Eventually, my mom agreed," Montgomery told her, answering her question before she asked it. "I guess she really doesn't want me ending up like my dad."
Ophelia felt bad for thinking it, but she agreed. It would be terrible if Montgomery truest became like his father.
"So you just decided to do it?" she asked him, still amazed. "You weren't forced to or anything."
He chuckled. "No. I wasn't forced. I wanted to."
She smiled warmly. "That's amazing, Monty."
Montgomery scooted his seat closer to her.
"O, you're the reason I wanted to do this program."
She knew why, but she still asked, "What do you mean?"
Montgomery looked down, fidgeting with his hands for a moment before looking back up at her. He swallowed. He was hesitant. And his hands didn't stop fidgeting even when he put them in his lap.
"I still love you, Ophelia."
She already knew. She could tell by the way he looked at her, and the way he spoke to her. And she could tell the way he smiled when he first saw her.
She didn't think he could stop loving her.
"I want us to have another shot," he told her.
She hesitated. "Monty-"
"No, listen," he pleaded. "Please. I've been, like, rehearsing this shit."
She was surprised.
He further explained, "Not because I thought I'd see you. I was planning on waiting until after the program. But...just hear me out."
She exhaled. "Okay. I'm listening, Monty."
Montgomery looked like he had reached the most important moment of his life. "I never knew what love was until I met you, Ophelia. I thought I loved my mom, and I know I love my sister, but meeting you changed everything. You made me feel shit I didn't know was possible." He closed his eyes for a second. "Fuck, I didn't meant to cuss so much. It's just slipping out."
Ophelia assured him, "It's alright."
He continued, "I'm sorry for what I did to you. I'm sorry that I've hurt you, mentally and physically. It makes me sick thinking about it, O. And if I had seen any other guy touching you like I did I would fucking killed him."
Ophelia flinched as she relived the memories he mentioned.
Montgomery looked her deep in the eyes, holding his gaze as he said, "I want to marry you, Ophelia. I want you to be part of my life forever. I want things to work, and to go back to how things were before I fucked everything up so bad."
His words were causing internal conflict inside of Ophelia's head. She trusted him, but she didn't. She believed him, but at the same time she couldn't.
"Monty, I don't know how-"
"Wait, Wait, Wait," he told her. He took a deep breath. "I understand that I fucked up in the worse way possible. I didn't appreciate you like I should've. But this time I will, O. Because I know the pain of living without you." He took another long, deep breath. "You don't have to make up your mind now, O. Because you don't have to take me back now. But I was wondering if maybe, in a few months, when I end my program, if you could consider trying things again."
Ophelia leaned back in her chair. God, how badly she wanted to believe he could change. "We already tried things again."
He bowed his head. "I understand. And everything that happened happened recently. So I'm willing to wait, Ophelia. I'll wait as long as it's necessary until you're ready again. I'll wait until fucking college if I have to. Or past college. I'll wait until you have a reason to trust me again."
There were a lot of reasons she could convince herself to trust him again, but that was the problem.
"I don't know when that will be," she admitted to him. "I don't know if I'll ever be able to."
"I think you will," he told her. "I know what a fuck up I am. And I know that I don't deserve any part of you. But the way we love each other....Ophelia I'm not going to be able to love any other person the way I love you."
He reached over, cautiously and placed his hand over her. They sat like that for a few silent, moments.
After keeping his hand on top of her so long, he turned her hand over taking it in his completely and squeezing it. "I think I was meant to be with you, O."
She looked in his eyes, his beautiful eyes. And she felt his smooth skin.
She breathed, "I think you're right."
They sat together for another moment. Silence from them, chatter form the people around them. They were standing still, staring into each other's eyes. Slowly, Montgomery began to lean in.
This snapped Ophelia out of the trance she fell into. She leaned back, snatching her hand away.
Quickly, in a single second she breath, "I'm dating Zach."
*****
"And that's when it ended," Montgomery finished reading to Ophelia. "He didn't want us to know they were dating, so he told her he wanted to keep things quiet. And so she ended it."
They were sitting on the floor, backs against the lockers. Ophelia had her legs to her chest, back pack in front of her so no one could see under her dress.
"That's good for her," Ophelia said, "No one should have to be kept a secret."
Ophelia thought back to the times she went with Scott, Montgomery, and Zach to the movie theaters. All the times she went, she never even saw Hannah. Just Clay.
Montgomery then said, "They bring you up in one of the questions."
She looked over at him with wide eyes, "Why?"
He smirked. "I'll make you wait to read that part. It's funny. At least, to me it is."
Ophelia rolled her eyes.
Montgomery set his phone down. "So how does it feel to know your boyfriend's deepest, darkest secrets?"
Her face was blank. She had stopped crying while he was reading, and now she just sat, emotionless.
"Its terrible."
Montgomery suddenly said, "Can I ask you a favor, Ophelia?"
She looked at him, blankly.
Montgomery told her. "I want to do better. I want to be better. And it's going to be hard. Especially with the trial coming up."
"Monty, I'm not selling you out-"
"I got called to testify."
Ophelia was stunned. "Really? When?"
"In a few days," he told her. "I haven't told anyone but Bryce. But I know they don't have anything on me. Just that polaroid you told me about."
She instantly thought of the tapes, and how the Bakers had them.
"With this fucking blog...everyone's going to know about what happened between us. At least, they'll watch me get accused of it. Can I count on you to be on my side?"
Ophelia looked away, suddenly.
"I have no right to ask you to be," he admitted, "But I swear if you have my back I'll have yours."
"I don't want you to have my back," she snapped. "And I don't want to be on your side."
He scoffed. "Yeah, I fucking figured."
He almost said 'fuck you', but then he remembered her tears. The words drifted away from him.
She closed her eyes, and leaned her head against the locker.
She hated herself for what she said next.
"I won't sell you out."
He peeked up, not expecting that. He smiled to himself.
"But it's not for you," she said, quickly. "It's because I don't trust you not to drag me down with you."
He smirked. "Yeah, that's why."
Ophelia clasped her hands together. "Thank you...for reading to me."
Montgomery reached over to put a hand on her knee. She slapped his hand away. He chuckled. "Of course, O. You know I'd do anything for you."
She scoffed. "Except be nice."
His smile dropped. "I'm sorry about that. I'll knock it off, okay? I promise." He then asked her, "You'll tell me if they have anything else on us, right? It's just the photo? That's all they know?"
She decided right then and there to tell him the truth. Tell him what they really knew. What harm would it do? He deserved to have heard them in the first place.
"Montgomery."
He looked at her.
"Hannah..."
He stared at her, waiting, expecting.
"Hannah didn't leave a note. But she left something else."
A/N: How long is the time between the homecoming game in season 3 and the first episode of season 3??