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Elizabeth Jensen had gotten her daily dose of caffeine from Monet's, and when she left, she saw Justin Foley leaning against her car. "Are you following me now?" Elizabeth groaned as she pushed him off of her car.
"I don't have anywhere to live." Justin pleaded as he grabbed onto her hands. "Please, Eliza. I need you."
"You should have thought about that before you lied about everything." Elizabeth pushed him away from her. "I don't know what to think anymore. You fucking ruined me."
"Eliza, I love you so much."
"Go away." Elizabeth stated quietly, not wanting to start a scene.
"Please."
"No. Leave me alone."
"Eliza-"
"Just fucking leave me alone!" Elizabeth screamed in Justin's face, finally snapping. Justin sighed, nodding. His head lowered as he walked away from her. Elizabeth watched him leave, instantly regretting it, but she knew she couldn't forgive him.
*
Elizabeth Jensen sat on her bed, staring at her open window. She was waiting for her boyfriend to show up. He was thirty minutes late. She heard a knock on her door. "Come in."
Elizabeth's mother entered the room. Elizabeth could tell by Lainie's expression that something bad had happened. She sat down on the bed next to her daughter. "There's something I need to tell you." Elizabeth nodded, urging her mother to continue. "It involves Hannah Baker. You two were friends, right?"
"Yeah." Elizabeth spoke softly before looking down at her hands. "What happened?"
"She killed herself last night."
"What?" Elizabeth's mouth stayed wide open as the shock of the moment set in.
Tears streamed down Elizabeth's cheeks as she leaned her head against her mother's shirt shirt. "I'm so sorry, honey." Lainie stated. "Do you want me to leave you alone?" Elizabeth nodded before watching her mother leave her room.
Elizabeth stared at the ground, trying to comprehend the new world without Hannah Baker that she would be living in. Justin finally climbed into her room. He sighed as he saw Elizabeth. He moved towards her bed, wrapping his arms around her. "She's dead."
"I just heard." Justin nodded before pressing a kiss to Elizabeth's forehead. "I'm so sorry, 'Liza."
"Why?" Elizabeth breathed heavily as she gripped onto Justin's shoulders. "What happened?"
"Baby, it's not your fault." Justin rubbed Elizabeth's back. He hated to see her like this. He was shocked by the news, as well.
"It probably wouldn't have happened if we had stayed as close as we were." Elizabeth cried harder as she pulled away from the hug.
"You don't know that." Justin shook his head as he cupped her cheeks. "You were the kindest person in her life. That's a fact."
"I wasn't kind enough." Elizabeth gasped as she felt as if she couldn't breathe. "It's my fault. I loved her. I let her down."
"No, you didn't." Justin tried to wipe the tears from her cheeks, but they kept being replaced by new tears. "She loved you, too. It's not your fault that you guys strayed apart. It's not anyone's fault."
"I could've helped." Elizabeth remembered the week before when she had stayed over at Elizabeth's house. "I'm so blind. She seemed so happy when she was over here last week."
*
"Please state your full name, your age, what school you attend and what year."
"My name's Elizabeth Camille Jensen. I'm seventeen. I go to Liberty High, and I'm a junior."
"Were you and Hannah Baker friends?" The lawyer sitting next to Elizabeth's mother spoke to her.
Elizabeth nodded softly, staring at the camera sitting in front of her. "We were good friends. We split apart, though. We didn't hang out much near the end, and I regret that."
"Did she ever talk to you about the other kids at your school saying unkind things to her."
Elizabeth nodded once again. "In her first week at Liberty, Justin Foley and Bryce Walker sent around a picture of Hannah in her underwear." Elizabeth's eyes never moved from the camera. "About a month later, most of the boys at Liberty kept using derogatory terms to her because of a list that went around saying she had the best ass. They would slap her ass and call her a slut." Elizabeth honestly didn't care anymore. She wanted to help get justice for her friend. "Then a rumor went around that she was gay."
"So, she had a bad experience at Liberty?"
Elizabeth made eye contact with her mother. "You could say that."
"Have you heard about the tapes that Hannah made before she killed herself?"
"Yeah." Elizabeth closed her eyes, slowly nodding. "I never heard them, though. I wasn't a reason."
"So, what you're saying is that you were always kind to Hannah?"
