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"Look, I was trying to help Justin's case." Clay Jensen explained to Lainie Jensen. Her and his father had found out about Justin and were frustrated.
"So, you're hiding him here." Lainie shook her head as she spoke. "In the home of a lawyer who's firm is trying the case?" She leaned forward. "Do you have any idea how that could look?"
"It's not just about appearances, honey." Matt Jensen stopped her, placing his hand on her shoulder.
She looked up at him and glared. "I'm an officer of the court. Justin failed to respond to his subpoena. He's in contempt-"
"Look, I was hiding him here because I didn't have any other options, okay?" Clay interrupted his mother, finally having enough.
"What about the option of you coming to talk to us as promised?" Matt looked between him and his wife as he spoke.
"Are we thinking of the same Clay, dad?" Elizabeth scoffed as she tried to make a joke to lighten the mood. It didn't work. The three other Jensens looked over at Elizabeth and all shook their heads.
Justin looked down at his hands as he spoke. "I had nowhere to go. That's why they had no other options." Justin leaned forward before explaining his messed up situation. "My mom is a junkie, and her boyfriend-" Justin stopped as he remembered how horrible he had been to him. "He's a dealer and not a very nice guy. I knew that they wouldn't take me back. Clay, Eliza, and Tony found me, and they saved me." Justin looked back up at his friend's parents. "They didn't tell you guys because I was too ashamed for anyone to know."
Justin suddenly coughed into his sleeve. "And he's sick with the flu." Elizabeth added on, patting Justin's back.
"That's why we were waiting for him to testify." Clay explained to them.
Lainie nodded before sighing. "You can stay as long as you need, Justin, but I will need to report you being back to the lawyers. I'm sorry, it's the law."
"That's okay. I understand." Justin's eyes widened as he nodded his head. "Thank you, Mrs. Jensen and Mr. Jensen."
Lainie smiled before clapping his hands together. "Now, who's hungry?"
*
After dinner, Elizabeth, Justin and Clay went up to Clay's bedroom. The Jensen boy looked distraught. "You thinking about Zach?" Justin smiled as he lightly tapped Clay's shoulder.
"What? No." Clay frantically shook his head. It was a lie. Ever since Zach's day in court, Clay could not stop thinking about what Zach had said about Hannah.
"I read that stupid blog." Justin continued with the subject.
"Yeah, and I was there." Elizabeth chuckled, running a hand through her hair.
"I have to tell hundreds of people tomorrow what I loved about Hannah, and I can think about is her losing her virginity to Zach. I mean, Zach." Clay ranted, placing his head in his hands. "And then like a month later, she hooked up with me, and she freaked out. But she didn't freak out with Zach?"
"What the fuck are you saying, Clay?" Elizabeth scoffed as she leaned forward, furrowing her eyebrows.
"Do you know how many girls I've slept with?" Justin asked Clay as he sat down on his bed. "Like, a lot."
"Wow." Elizabeth rolled her eyes as she pushed him over.
Justin chuckled as he sat back up. "Anyways, that classifies me as like a player or something, and my best friends used to think I was the fucking best." Clay stared at him blankly, not understanding what Justin's point was. "Hannah, she sleeps with one guy. She has a crush on another, being me, and she kisses a third, being you, and whatever, it's all fine, right?" Justin spoke as he began to take off his shoes. "All of a sudden, she's a slut? All of a sudden, you don't know who she is?" Justin leaned his head back. "You're a dumbass."
"I'm not a dumbass."
"You kind of are, Clay." Elizabeth nodded in agreement.
"You're dumb. You're an ass." Justin shrugged as he explained it to him. "You're a dumbass."
"I'm not the dumbass who got locked out of the house today." Clay said defensively.
"Clay, I didn't get locked out today." Justin told him as he looked down at his lap. "Someone broke in. I didn't see who it was, and I didn't tell your parents."
"What the fuck?" Clay sat up in his seat, confused.
"Who the fuck have you pissed off lately, Clay?" Elizabeth laughed as she watched her brother stand up.
"Bryce. It has to be Bryce." Clay looked around. "Did he leave anything? Or did he take anything?"
"Fuck, I don't know." Justin shook his head as he stood up and helped Elizabeth up. "I was downstairs with your parents this whole time."
The three teenagers frantically searched through Clay's room to find anything that could have been left or taken by whoever broke in. Elizabeth stopped as she watched Justin shake his duffle bag. "What, Justin?"
"What?" He turned to her with wide eyes. "Nothing." He sat back down on the bed. "Everything's here."
The two Jensen siblings sat back down, as well. There was silence for about a minute before Elizabeth spoke up. "Justin, can we talk in my room?" Justin nodded as the two of the stood up and went to the room next door. "Jessica told me that you went to the school today?"
Justin bit his lips before speaking to her. "I wanted to find Zach." Justin walked closer towards Elizabeth. "That situation just isn't sitting right with me."
"How many times do I have to tell you that we're friends."
"I know." Justin took Elizabeth's hands in his. "But I know Zach, and I know that he can't be close with a girl and not have feelings for her."
"Justin-"
"I hate myself more and more every day because I lost you."
Elizabeth watched as a tear ran down Justin's cheek. "Hey, it's okay." Elizabeth wiped it away before pulling him into a hug.
He noticed that she hadn't said that he hadn't lost her. This broke his heart.
Rewritten Word Count - 1028
An: I meant to post this chapter this morning, but it was a hectic day because it was my birthday :)
