Forever One Of The Reasons Why 2-Zach Dempsey

4

"Good morning" I said as I walked into the kitchen "Hey honey, you're up early" mom said "Yeah, I have to go to the hospital for weigh in and blood tests you know" I smiled "Oh yes, of course" she smiled. I poured myself some water "Have some breakfast" Martha said "Oh I can't, because of the tests" I said and she nodded "Mom, Zach is testifying today and I want to be there for him. Can I maybe go?" I asked "Oh...yeah sure, I'll talk to your principle" she said "Thanks mom" I smiled "I'm gonna go upstairs and grab my back. I gotta go but I'll see you later" I smiled and gave them both a short hug. I jogged upstairs and grabbed a pair of shorts. I took out the shoe box from under my bed and opened it. I stuffed my pockets with small, metal weights. On my way to the hospital I drank a gallon of water, just to add to my weight "Hey Roxanne, how are you today?" my doctor asked "I'm good" I smiled "Alright, I love your dress, it's very pretty" she smiled "Thank you. My boyfriend has to testify in court today, you know regarding to the case with that girl Hannah Baker" I said "Oh yeah, I know about it" she said "I'm supposed to do it too but I just don't want to get involved anymore" I said "It's probably for the best. Go ahead and step on the scale" she smiled and I did "Nervous?" she asked "No, I think I did pretty good this past month" I said "Indeed, almost 5 pounds. Keep up the good work and you'll be at your goal weight soon" she smiled and I stepped down "I hope, I just want to get better" I smiled and watched her write things down on a piece of paper "How is your medication working?" she asked "Good, Martha has been making sure I take it regularly" I smiled "Good, you seem happy today" she said and I smiled "How is therapy with Mrs. Byers?" she asked "Good, I really feel like I can open up to her" I lied with a smile "Good, I'm glad. Here, a refill on your medication and I'll see you next month" she smiled and I nodded, taking the piece of paper from her, leaving. I made my way to the bathroom to finally pee. I washed my hands and looked in the mirror. I smiled at myself, how stupid are adults?
I drove to the courthouse and took off my shorts before stepping out of my car and fixing my hair. I walked in and spotted Zach and his mom talking to their lawyer "Hey, good morning" I smiled as I walked up to them "Hi, Roxanne" Karen smiled "Hey, gorgeous" Zach smiled and kissed my cheek, grabbing my hand and pulling me aside "Nervous?" I asked "Yeah, very" he said and ran a hand through his perfect hair, messing it up "Zach" I giggled, fixing it "Oh shit, I wasn't supposed to mess with it" he groaned "Don't worry it looks fine" I smiled "Thanks for coming" he said "Of course. We stick together, right?" I smiled and he nodded "Zachary" his mom called "C'mon, time to walk in" he said and held my hand as we walked into the court room "Be smart" Karen said to Zach when he was called up. I let out a shaky breath as I sat by his mom and watched his tall frame walk across the room. The Bakers' lawyer started with the questions and to be honest it was tough to see Zach there, he was so nervous and the questions were so direct "Zach, isn't it true that Hannah also reached out to try to talk to you about her feelings?" the school's lawyer spoke up for the first time "Yes" Zach said "Did she write a note to you? A note that was non anonymus" she asked. I swallowed the lump in my throat, watching Zach and expecting his answer nervously "Yes. She wrote the letter, explaining how sad she felt, alone" Zach said "So you told no one at Liberty High about this note in which Hannah poured out her feelings" the lawyer asked "I didn't know how to" Zach said "But you did reach out to her off campus right?" she asked "Uhm..." Zach said, glancing at me "The summer after the note, did you have contact with her?" she asked "Yes" Zach sighed "And isn't it true you had contact with her more than once that summer" she added "Yes. I uh...most of people were out of town, my friends included. I went to a lot of movies and she was working there, at the Cresmont" he said. What? I never knew about this. "Did her parents know?" she asked "No, to my knowledge her parents never found out" Zach said and Karen sighed "So you told nobody you spent you time with Hannah, correct?" she asked "Yes" Zach said "And isn't it true that you were ashamed of telling anyone" the layer said "No I just....I..." Zach said nervously, licking his lips and avoiding eye contact with me or his mom "That was the summer my dad died. I was out of my mind and I needed someone I could talk to" Zach said "But Zach, you sent each other thons of text messages" the lady argued back "I mean yeah we texted but I don't know how many times" Zach said and cleared his throat "We just...had things in common, we just knew things about each other" Zach said as he looked at the piece of paper in front of him with the phone records for that month "I guess we just wanted to keep the friendship for ourselves "Did you and Hannah ever become more than friends?" the lawyer asked "Uh..." Zach hesitates "Did you brag to your friends about it?" she asked "It wasn't like that, I'm not that kind of a person" Zach said "Mr. Dempsey, did anything happen between you and Hannah Baker the summer before she took her life?" she asked. Zach's eyes met mine and I could feel the tears burning my eyes, clouding my vision. My heart was pounding and my leg was bouncing up and down rapidly "Yes...we...we had sex" Zach answered, looking down. I felt the tears rolling down my face but I quickly wiped them away "Oh my God" Karen mumbled beside me "Just once?" the lawyer asked "No, the whole summer" Zach sighed and looked at her "But it wasn't just that, we really cared for each other. I don't know how Hannah felt about it but...to me it was amazing" he said. My heart ached so bad, it was like someone was jabbing it with a knife. I wanted to storm out of here so badly but I knew I couldn't cause a scene "No further questions" she said and sat down. As soon as the judge cleared the case for the day, I stood up, rushing out of the court room. I went to the bathroom and leaned onto the counter, sobbing uncontrollably. I ran a hand through my hair, trying to calm myself down but I couldn't. I needed to get it out of my system. I felt so angry-angry at Zach, at Hannah. Fucking Hannah Baker. My whole body was shaking, my breathing was uneasy and my mind was running wild. And she had the fucking audacity to blame me and call me a bitch. Hannah fucking Baker! She played her little victim card so well but the truth is she not all that nice as people think. And no way I'm letting the court be fooled by her and her pretentious lies. I wiped my eyes and fixed my makeup before leaving the bathroom "Roxy! Roxanne wait!" I heard Zach calling after me but I didn't stop. I put my sunglasses on and walked out the door but before I could make it to my car, he grabbed my arm "Wait, let me explain" he said "What is there to explain? You just told the truth right?" I said "Look, I know you're mad" he said "I not mad. Let go of my arm I have to go talk to my lawyer. He has to get me ready for my testimony I'm giving" I said "Roxy, please just...let's just talk" he said "About what? About how you fucking lied to me? Yeah, I'd rather not hear about that, I've had enough earlier in court" I scoffed "Hannah's in the past. It's you that I love, you gotta believe me" he said "Yeah" I scoffed and got into my car, speeding off.