𝐋𝐄𝐓 𝐈𝐓 𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐍 / alex standall ✓

𝟐𝟗. the truth comes out

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 𝐋𝐄𝐓 𝐈𝐓 𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐍
29 / THE TRUTH COMES OUT
↳ season one, episode twelve: tape 6, side b
act one / the tapes

!! TW: SEXUAL ASSAULT !!

"𝐈𝐓 𝐒𝐄𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐃 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 no matter what I did, I kept letting people down. I started thinking how everyone's lives would be better without me. And what does that feel like? It feels like nothing. Like a deep, endless, always blank nothing. And for those of you who will now be looking for signs everywhere...what does it really look like? Here's the scary thing. It looks like nothing."

"Bryce's tonight?" Justin asked Nessa as he sat next to her at lunch. Nessa looked beside her at Alex, waiting to see if he had any objections to the idea. He didn't, so Nessa answered for both of them.

"Fuck, yeah." she replied, and Justin smiled at her.

"Zach, wanna give me and Alex a ride to Bryce's later?" Nessa called out across the table to her twin brother. He nodded, rolling his eyes while doing so.

After school, Nessa rushed through her homework so that she could show her mother that she deserved to make it to her plans tonight. Alex had even helped her – not on the actual homework, but by giving her a "study break" when she needed one.

Around 5 o'clock in the afternoon, Zach had barged into Nessa's room, telling her he was leaving for Bryce's. Nessa quickly threw on one of Alex's shirts that he had left at her house and a pair of shorts and walked out the door with Alex in tow. The three friends made it to the Walker house and saw the few cars that were there already.

"Ness!" Jessica screamed as she saw the girl enter with her boyfriend and her brother. "Come get in the pool!"

Nessa nodded, dragging Alex to the hot tub with her. She took off her clothes and hopped in, and Alex did the same. They were in there for hours, leaving only to go grab more drinks and a few slices of pizza once it had arrived. Nessa had been stressed lately, with school and upcoming college applications, so she took this night to really let loose. She felt comfortable doing so, considering Alex was right next to her the whole time, and he would never let anything bad happen.

Around nine o'clock, Nessa had proven to be pretty damn drunk. She was having the time of her life in the hot tub, and one thing about Nessa – you never really could tell how drunk she was. Especially Alex, who was also drunk off his ass.

"It wasn't a short walk. I walked forever that night. Through my old neighborhood, where the houses were nicer than the one we lived in now. All the way up the hill to where the rich people lived."

"Alex, come play a round of Warfare with me and Monty!" Zach had called out from the indoor pool house. Alex looked at his girlfriend in an attempt to see if that was okay.

"Go, babe. Jess is here." Nessa told him, so Alex did. It would become a decision he would regret for as long as he lived. Alex climbed out of the pool, leaving Jessica and Nessa to talk and drink amongst themselves. Eventually, Jessica got out of the hot tub as well, telling Nessa she just needed to talk to Justin, and that she would be right back.