What We Lost - Justin Foley

TWO

Just a few days into the trial and Liberty was abuzz. The school had prohibited any conversation of the trial or of Hannah, though that didn't stop anything from becoming much worse than they had been before the trial. Alex and Jessica had returned to school, resulting in a silent tension through the halls.

"I should have gone to court today," Neve groaned at lunch, gripping her head as she leaned against the table.

"We all should do a lot of things," Alex sighed, picking at his strange new dietary options. "But staring at Courtney isn't one of those damn things."

"She's my friend," Neve reminded. "And we've all done fucked up things so maybe don't make any more enemies, Alex."

"Chill out," Alex said, watching Neve's bag of chips. "Besides there's already some shit going on around here and Clay's a little busy with Skye to do anything—"

"What are we just going from innocent to innocent, now?" Jessica asked.

"I'm just saying, Neve has an in with the jocks at this fucking school," Alex said. "Maybe she could figure out what the hell is going on? She'd at least be more helpful than Zach. And Clay is not fucking innocent."

"I thought Zach had been helping you?" Neve asked.

"Yeah, right up until Bryce needs him," Alex said. "Can you just get in with the fucking rapists through Markus or some old connection from Justin"— Jessica and Neve both winced hearing the name —"and make sure they're not planning something."

"I—"

"They're always fucking planning something," Jessica said.

"Neve, come on!"

"Y—Yeah," Neve nodded. "Listen, I got called to testify for the school and I—"

"Just go!" Alex said.

Neve jumped, hearing Alex yell while glaring at an oblivious Zach. She scrambled to gather her lunch while Alex and Jessica began arguing. Neve didn't have time to hear what was going on before she started planning on how to get in with the baseball team.

During her last period, Neve had both Markus and Montgomery in her class. She managed to get a seat directly between the two. Markus and her worked closely on the student council and being Justin's best friend, she knew Monty. It only took a minute before the three of them were all talking.

"This is pretty wild shit," Neve said. "I really need a break."

"Yeah," Monty said. "That faggot in a court room won't end well for anyone."

Neve already wanted to punch the baseball player, as well as Markus for not sticking up for his friend.

"Could be good for this fucking school," Markus said.

"What do you care about this school? You're getting out of here and going to Harvard," Monty rolled his eyes.

"I'm student body president, you dickhead," Markus grumbled. "It's my job."

"We all need to calm down," Neve said. "It's not like those fucking nerds could do anything to us."

"I have an idea," Monty said. "Neve, you still want to take a break?"

"Yeah...?"

"Meet outside of school," Monty smiled. "I know just the place."

By the time school came to an end, Neve was sick to her stomach. She managed to evade Monty for an extra few minutes by going to the bathroom, but there was no way she could get out of meeting him after school. She sat in the bathroom stall, feeling like she might just throw up. It wasn't until she received an unexpected text from Clay that she was relieved. Courtney had come out in court and she may have helped Hannah in the process. Neve burst from the bathroom stall, determined to do the same thing.

"Monty!" Neve beamed, doing her best to fake excitement from the energy her fear gave her. "We going on what?"

The guys snickered in their group. Mumbles of what they might be doing erupted, egged on by Monty's mischievous grin and Bryce's handing over of his keys.

"Don't do it in my car, Man," Bryce warned, twisting a knot in Neve's chest.

"Relax, Dude," Monty rolled his eyes.

Neve reluctantly followed Monty to Bryce's car. They hopped in and began pulling away from school. Neve got a glimpse of Alex just as they were leaving. She wondered if he even appreciated what she was doing. She wondered if it would do any good at all.

Monty and Neve drove for about a half an hour along a nearly deserted, sand path. They came to a graffitied fence with buildings and cement landmarks all around. They slipped through a hole in the fence and Monty showed Neve around a corner. Between four cement walls, were portable coolers, lawn chairs, and even a radio.

"What is this place?" Neve asked, the sinking feeling in her stomach growing. Something inside told her to run, but she wouldn't have gotten very far.

"It—It's where I go to get away," Montgomery said. "It's just a place I can take a break, away from my family."

Even without knowing Monty all that well, Neve was well aware of the abuse his father put him through.

"Who else knows about this place?" Neve asked while Monty began turning on the radio.

"Just Scott Reed and you," Monty said. "And you can't tell anyone else, got it?"

"Yeah, of course," Neve nodded.

They both opened a beer and took a seat. It was warmer out there than in the city, something Neve appreciated. Had Montgomery not been pals with a rapist and liar like Bryce, she might have felt bad for him. But she knew him, she knew that he caused his fair share of problems and hurt more than his fair share of people. She didn't feel badly for him, all she felt was terror. She scared out of her mind that she may have ended up like Hannah or Jessica had. She was more frantic to get away than she realized and before long, Monty just turned to adjust the radio between them and she practically jumped from her seat.

"Geez, what the fuck?" Monty asked. "Are you okay?"

"Y—Yeah, I'm just buzzed, I guess," Neve said, settling back into her seat. "Or maybe I'm already drunk, I don't know."

Neve could have sworn something changed in that moment. It was like Montgomery had flipped a switch. He turned up the radio and stood up, holding out his hand.

"Let's dance," he offered.

Neve could feel her heart ready to burst from her chest as she took his hand. She stood up and did her best to bob along to the song. They began dancing as the music got them more into the mood. Neve watches Monty's eyes trace over her. She knew she'd need him to be interested if he was going to talk, but she was scared of how interested he might become.

"So any idea how we're going to get back at those asshole minions of Hannah?" Neve asked, pressing her body against Montgomery's. "I'm sure you guys have been plotting for forever."

"Not really," Montgomery whispered in her ear before kissing her neck.

Goosebumps ran down Neve's spine. "Nothing at all? Seriously?"

"What the hell are they gonna do?" Monty asked, in between rubbing his hands down Neve and his tongue around her lips.

"Nothing, I guess," Neve said. "But—"

"Then let's have fun."

Neve kept up her charade. She made out with Monty for nearly a half hour when she finally managed to get him to bring her home. She had never been so happy to see the front steps of her house when Montgomery was finally on his way.