𝐋𝐄𝐓 𝐈𝐓 𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐍 . . . 𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐱 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐥𝐥

28. 𝙙𝙚𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨

28. depositions

season one, episode twelve: tape 6, side b

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This morning was not a pleasant morning at the Dempsey household. It had started off fine, with Mrs. Dempsey's usual homemade breakfast for her three kids, but it had become quite a sour breakfast once an officer had knocked on their front door and handed the elder woman two manilla envelopes with depositions for both Zach and Nessa.

"I'm surprised at Andy and Olivia." their mother had said over breakfast as she looked at the depositions addressed to her children. "I'm sure they miss Anna."

"Hannah." Nessa and Zach corrected their mother with scowls on their faces.

"Hannah, of course." the woman said. "But this is a witch hunt."

"I don't know." Zach replied for the both of them. Nessa just pushed her food around on her plate.

"You two didn't do anything." Mrs. Dempsey continued on. "You aren't those kinds of kids. I know how kind you both are."

"You guys aren't going to jail, right?" May asked in a worrisome tone.

"They are not going to jail." Mrs. Dempsey declared. "Ness, I know you knew her well, but how well did you even know her, Zach?"

"I asked her out once." Zach replied as Nessa chuckled, taking a sip of her orange juice.

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"Can you believe we moved here for peace of mind?" Alex and Justin heard Deputy Standall say to his officer as the two boys stood in Alex's kitchen.

"They're still talking." Justin said to Alex. "Jesus, fucking Hannah!"

"Yeah, fucking Hannah. Fuck her for killing herself." Alex said sarcastically. He had been on edge all day, knowing good and well where his girlfriend was in the tapes. He knew she would be listening to hers today, and he was worried. He had been worried for weeks.

"Dude, this is all gonna come out now." Justin said. "Aren't you freaked?"

"No, I'm worried about my girlfriend." Alex replied. "You saw how she reacted to Jessica, imagine what this is going to do to her."

Justin looked at the boy, his eyes softening as he realized how much his best friend's life was going to change after today. He had known her for years, and he felt awful keeping this from her.

"You don't think she's going to be pissed at us for not saying anything?" Justin asked. "I mean, she knows we've heard these things. She is going to know we've known."

"Yeah, I've thought about that. And I'm freaking the fuck out." Alex replied, taking the last sip of his coffee.

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Nessa sat in her room after school, taking a slow breath before she popped the twelfth tape into her Walkman. School had been a trainwreck today, with everyone getting their depositions. Everyone was on edge, Monty had started a fight with Tyler, and Nessa still didn't know what the hell she did to get herself onto these fucking tapes.

It was beginning to drive her insane, not knowing. On top of it all, her flashbacks had been giving her hell even worse now. All of this was shaping up to be much more than Nessa Dempsey ever bargained for.