Zach, I hurt your feelings. I'm so sorry about that but when you turned around and tried to hurt me back twice as hard, I lost all respect for you. He came running straight to you didn't he Dixie? His little pixie. Unrequited love sucks huh Zach?
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ITS BEEN A WEEK since the party. A week since the break in the group fractured even further. The newest drama was Monty and Alex getting into a horrible fight in the middle of the school parking lot. The cause of the rumble? Monty and his awful driving. He nearly ran over Alex and a few other students. Thankfully Bryce had given me a lift to school so I wasn't in the blue jeep. Seeing Monty continuously punching Alex made me sick to my stomach. He was like a man posessed. The fight resulted in Monty being suspended for 3 days.
That's how I ended up getting into Zach's car on a Sunday morning. I need a distraction and I know the tall boy can provide that.
"Your carriage awaits my princess"
"You're such a freak Dempsey" I laugh.
"I know. Where to?"
"Anywhere Zach. Somewhere that will make me forget about stuff for a while" I sigh, wishing I could get the image of a bloodied Alex out of my head.
"I know just the place"
Zach drives for about an hour, arriving at the nearest beach to Evergreen. We get out of the car and I start heading towards the white sand.
"No no no. This way pixie" Zach says while grabbing my hand.
We walk to a cute little blue and white building, the signage reading 'Giancarlo's Gelato Shop'. The interior is the most beautiful thing that I have ever seen. A mural of Venice is painted on the wall behind the ice cream/gelato fridges, the other walls decorated with light blues and pinks. Zach and I make our selections; I decide to have the cookies and cream and Zach goes boring with strawberry and vanilla. We choose to sit outside as the weather is amazing and what is better than eating gelato by the ocean?
"I never even knew this place existed"
"Yeah, my dad used to bring Mei and I here on a weekend while mom was at work" Zach explained with a shrug.
"Its cute, I like it"
"This is nice ya know. Just us hanging out like the good ol' days, before you got with Monty"
"Yeah. I kinda miss our after school hangs" I say.
"I guess we're both just too busy now"
"I guess" I agree somewhat reluctantly.
After we had both finished our gelato I decided it was finally time to get my feet onto that perfect sand. Practically dragging Zach behind me, I race towards the waters edge and watch the pinks and reds of the sunset dance with every crashing wave. Zach and I take a seat on the sand just out of the way of the waves breaking onto the shore.
"I didn't realize how much I've missed the ocean until right this second. It makes me so calm. You know Dempsey, when I was a kid my dad would ask me what I wanted to be when I grow up. My answer was always a mermaid. Every year he'd ask me the question and every year my answer would always stay the same. That was until one year my mom decided to inform me that mermaids aren't real, they're just stories from drunken sailors that mistook manatees"
"You could still be a mermaid Dixie. They sell the tails. You could start your own business. I'll be your manager" Zach adds with a chipper attitude.
"You're so cute dempz. You always cheer me up"
A peaceful silence descends over us. Before it can get too awkward I decide to give Zach a long overdue apology.
"Hey, I'm sorry I wasn't there for you when your dad died Zach. That was shitty of me"
"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you when Jeff died"
"Why would you have been? As far as you and our friends were concerned Jeff and I were just friends. If Hannah hadn't sent those tapes, you would still never have known" I explain quickly.
"Can I ask you a question? Well, a few questions actually"
"Of course"
"Why didn't you want anyone to know about you and Jeff? He was a good guy. Why the big secret?" The tall boy enquires.
"I just didn't want anyone getting involved. You know how school is. Girls would've made up rumours or tried it on with him just to cause shit"
"Why did you break up? When did you break up?"
"Why? Because I got too insecure. Even him talking to another girl drove me crazy. I had to end it before it turned toxic, me being the toxic one not Jeff. When? I don't remember the exact date but we'd been broken up a few months before he died"
"Why are you still close to Sheri? She's the one who caused Atkins to die"
"Because accidents happen Zach. There's numerous people that are to blame for what happened. I can't just cut everyone off because they all played a part in my secret ex boyfriends death"
"But you especially blamed Hannah--"
"Do you have any other questions Dempsey?" I interrupt him mid sentence not really wanting to answer that particular question.
"Why did you take her compliments?"
"It wasn't just me Zach. You took half of them too. She needed to pay for hurting you, for rejecting you"
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Dixie spotted Hannah sitting alone at her usual table. Deciding it was time to properly clear the air between them, the blonde girl took the seat opposite her sometimes friend.
"Hey friend"
"I'm not your friend Dixie"
"Oh c'mon han! Don't be like that. I said I was sorry about the Marcus thing"
"The Marcus thing?" Hannah scoffed.
"Yes. Now tell me, have you noticed a certain Jensen boy starting at you constantly?"
"Clay? Helmet isn't interested in me"
"Of course he is curly" Dixie exclaimed while reaching over the table and twirling Hannah's hair around her finger.
"I have noticed a certain basketball player constantly staring at you though"
"Justin? He's always fucking staring at me. Has since we were 7" Dixie comments with an eye roll.
"No. Dempsey. It's so obvious"
"What's so obvious?"
"He's in love with you Dixie"
"Ok, who made your lunch? They must have mixed some acid in with it. You're crazy baker"
"I'm not crazy. He hangs on your every word, he calls you his little pixie, he does whatever you say, he gets jealous when you flirt with Scott or Monty" Hannah counted all the reasons on her fingers as she explained them to the amused blonde girl.
"That's stupid talk. Plus I'm with Monty anyway"
"Yeah I'm aware" Hannah said with a sombre tone.
Sliding into the seat next to Dixie, an excitable looking Zach inserted himself into the two girls private conversation.
"Hello ladies, how're you both doing on this fine afternoon?"
"What do you want Dempsey?" Hannah enquired.
"Ok, to the point. I just wanted to see how you were feeling after the Marcus thing"
"Fine. I got over it"
"I was just wondering if maybe you wanted to go out with me sometime? Like a date" The tall boy asked uncharacteristically shy.
"Oh I totally get this now. This is why you came and sat with me Dixie. You've put him up to this. Zach, this is your shot at getting with the biggest slut in liberty. Well fuck you Dixie and an even bigger fuck you to you Dempsey"
"Wow Hannah. You've really gone and done it this time. No wonder no one bothers with you anymore, crazy bitch. C'mon Zach let's go"
Dixie left her tray on the table and grabbed Zach's hand ready to drag him away from the escalating situation.
"Dixie didn't set this up. This was me trying to be nice to you. Wish I never bothered. You're right about one thing though, you are a slut. I would have been scared I'd catch something from you"
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THE DRIVE BACK to Evergreen from the beach was a quiet and uneventful one. Thanking Zach for a good end to the weekend I sneak back into my house hoping to avoid questioning from my parents. Luck was on my side as I found my house empty, again. Looks like my mom was away on another yoga retreat and my dad was most likely drowning his sorrows at a bar somewhere downtown.
Monday evenings, after school is done, is the cheer teams practice time. It coincides with the baseball teams too. After practice is done I walk out of the school with Monty and Zach. I look over and see a crowd form around Zach's beloved car. The three of us push through the crowds to see someone has scratched why me? onto the side of his car. I lock eyes with a smug looking Clay Jensen. Fuming, I charge at him.
"You think you're so funny huh"
"Yeah I do actually" He replies with an even bigger smirk on his face.
"You'll pay for this Jensen"
"What's going on" Asks Tony, standing next to Clay.
"Oh look here comes your guard dog"
"Clay's my friend--"
"And Zach's mine. Do you know how much it's gonna cost to fix that?" I ask pointing back at the damaged car.
"Its not going to cost him his life though is it Dixie?"
"C'mon baby, just leave it" Monty says while laying his hand on my arm.
"No! This is criminal damage"
"This isn't your fight"
"I know that but--" I argue, Monty's hand gripping tighter on my arm.
"No buts. Dempsey can fight his own battles now get your ass in the car"
"You let her down as well Clay. You're not innocent in this" I say sharply while glaring at the Jensen boy.
"Dixie I swear to god!"
"Don't talk to me like that Montgomery" I shout struggling to free my arm from my boyfriends grip.
"Shut your damn mouth and get in the fucking car dixie" Angry, he drags me away from the argument practically throwing me into the passenger seat of his jeep. He gets in the drivers seat and speeds out the parking lot.
"What the fuck is wrong with you? That wasn't your argument. Dempsey is capable of fighting his own battles. I don't get where all this is coming from. Throwing drinks over Bryce, fighting with Jess now arguing with Jensen--"
"You really hurt my arm Monty" I say meekly, rubbing the forming bruise.
"--Its like I don't even know you anymore. Maybe it's my fault. You're hiding something from me. All of you are. I see how your conversations stop when I appear" Monty rants on not even hearing me.
"You didn't need to grab me"
"--Maybe it's Dempsey. Jess is convinced you're in love with Foley but maybe it's Dempsey. God I'm so stupid. You don't go from the likes of Jeff Atkins straight to someone like me"
"Pull over Monty"
"No, I'm not pulling over"
"Fine I'll just jump out then" I say undoing my seat belt. This causes Monty to pull over.
"Why are you being like this"
"I'm not willing to sit here and listen to this shit. You hurt me. You embarrased me back there" I shout while i turn in my seat to face the angry boy.
"I embarrassed you? I had to stand there while you flipped on Jensen. Do you know how humiliating that was? For everyone to see my girlfriend defend Dempsey?"
"He's my friend"
"Yeah. Just like Atkins was your 'friend' too" He scoffs.
"What are you trying to say?"
"Maybe you're more than friends" He accuses. Having enough of the argument, I throw the door open and jump out. Slamming the door I whirl around to face Monty.
"Fuck you De La Cruz" I say, hurt that he would even think that there was something going on between Zach and I. I decide to walk the rest of the way home. I see the blue jeep speed past without even a look back at me. Arriving at my house I quickly walk past my parents in the kitchen and barge into my room. Finally alone I let the emotions of the past hour or so spill out.
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When my compliments started disappearing I knew you had something to do with it. You love to kick me while I'm down so you knew taking away my compliments, the only happiness I had left, would send me into a downward spiral.
Zach, I forgive you. I know how much of a hold she has over you because she had the exact same hold over me. I just hope you will realize that she will never love you back. Hell, I'm not sure she ever loved jeff. Im sure she doesnt love monty. The only person you love is yourself, right Dix?
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