lovely | thirteen reasons why

(47) monty's trial

The air was crisp from the recent string of rain that had engulfed the town recently. Mid May was not bringing as much sunshine and flowers as was promised. But that wasn't the only reason of dread for a very particular group of kids.

Tomorrow was Monty's trial, and the next day for Bryce's case. Everyone was on edge when it came to how things would proceed. The only certainty was how worrisome everyone was. Especially Libby. But not for the same reason as everybody else.

She groaned as she slowly woke up in her baby's bed, frowning when she noticed he was awake. "Baby? Why aren't you sleeping?"

Tyler didn't look at her as he kept his gaze up at the ceiling. "Couldn't sleep."

Libby pushed herself up as she rubbed his arm. "Talk to me, my love."

He sighed as he finally looked at her. "For the past six months I have been able to work on myself because I can see a future where I no longer have to face the reason I am like this. When I had to see him every day, it felt like always hitting reset on any progress I was making to heal. And with him gone, it felt like taking a new breath of air every day. But tomorrow I have to face him, and I have to tell an entire group of people exactly how he hurt me, relive the worst moment of my life for strangers. And I know that everything that I have been moving past is going to come flooding right back. As if it never left."

She shook her head. "Ty, you don't have to give a victim statement if you're not ready-"

He laughed. "Except my lawyer told me it is the strongest way to get the jury to sympathize with me. For them to see the damage he has done. Or he might be able to play around this as just another broken kid who made a mistake. I have to make this personal, or I will have to see Monty wherever I go again. I will never be able to come home with him lurking on the streets. And a selfish part of me doesn't want to give him a chance to go free. I want him to suffer. I have to do this. But I really really don't want to."

"Oh, baby!" Libby pulls his body into her chest. "You will never have to see him again after tomorrow. You don't even have to go to the Bryce trial. When Monty pleads not guilty, which he will no doubt do, we will unleash the arsenal of evidence and he is fucked. We have more than enough."

Tyler was still unsure. "Jess had evidence and a witness statement too. And Bryce got three months probation."

She sighed. "Tyler, Bryce raped a Black woman, Monty raped a white man. Bryce was a part of the richest family in Evergreen County, Monty lives in a trailer house. Bryce is white, and Monty is Latino. I hate that we are using the fact that our country is a racist and misogynistic nation which only places value on those who can afford it. But I then remember that I do not hate Monty for any of those reasons, and nothing that he has ever been through from racial discrimination, to economic issues, or even his experience with child abuse and family issues will ever excuse what he did. Tony faces racial discrimination, he is not rich, and he has family troubles. Yet he is not a rapist. I have faced racial discrimination and have faced a plethora of family issues. I am not a rapist. Some people let the cycle of abuse continue with them and use their past as a shield to hurt others because it makes them feel powerful. But the fact that it is such a rare phenomenon among victims only highlight how wrong it truly is. And that is not something you should ever have to worry about."

He nodded at her words, clutching her tightly. "His family seems to think so. Diego and Winston too. Do you think Estela would agree with that?"

Libby raised an eyebrow. "Why do you care what she thinks?"

He shrugged. "She was nice to me during the lockdown. And out of everyone in the world, she would know more than anyone exactly how Monty felt. Their experiences must be similar. And yet she is kind. She doesn't let it affect how she treats others. Really makes you think."