Beyond the Reasons || JUSTIN FOLEY

Nineteen

PRESENT TIME
LIBERTY HIGH SCHOOL PARKING LOT
IMOGEN'S POV

"How can I go in there? Everyone thinks I'm a murderer." Clay said to Justin and I as we were all in the car together, sitting in the school parking lot. Honestly, if Clay wanted to ditch school today, I was all for that, because I didn't really feel like being here either. I wanted to get in my bed and never get out of it again.

"Should we just skip or something?" Justin asked.

"That seems like not a good idea, right?" Clay asked, and I laughed a little.

"You know, Clay. You just gotta walk back in there like. . like you know the truth and just fuck everybody else. It's the only way to walk back in there."

―

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Jessica and I were both sitting together and doing our homework when Alex approached our table and he was looking right at Jessica. "You're lying for Justin and Imogen?" Alex snapped at her, and I raised an eyebrow.

"What the fuck is going on?" I asked.

"Alex, Jesus. Calm down." Jessica said.

"You told Ani that you were with Justin and Imogen after Homecoming? What the fuck?" Alex asked. Ah, I see what's going on here. Alex has honestly never liked Justin, and he's really never liked that I've been with him because Justin has always been an asshole in his eyes, but he just doesn't understand. I get he's trying to be my friend and protect me, but it's none of his business.

"Alex, you need to calm the fuck down and stop talking to Jessica like that." I snapped at him.

"How far will you two go for him?" Alex asked.

"Alex, he didn't do anything." I said.

"What the fuck are you doing!?" Alex shouted at the top of his lungs, and I watched as Jessica cowered away from him, but I stood up and got in his face.

"Alex, you need to walk away, right fucking now. Justin told me you've been juicing, for months, and if you yell at Jessica again, I'm going to fucking knock you out." I snapped at him, and Alex rolled his eyes.

"Of course Justin told you that. It has nothing to do with anything." Alex snapped.

"No. This, the way you are, all of this. This. .-This isn't you." Jessica said, gathering her stuff and standing up from the table, and I grabbed my bookbag from off the table.

"Fine. Okay. Keep lying, both of you. Especially you, Imogen. Keep lying so that you can keep fucking Justin!" Alex snapped, and my eyes widened, especially since the entire room just heard him and it won't be long before the entire school knows.

I had to get out of there quickly.

―

"He came home at like 1:30." Justin said to Ani, as me and him were walking through the hallway because I needed to tell him about what Alex just did, but Ani was questioning us about where Clay was after the game and it was honestly pissing me off. So first she's all on his side, but now that he got taken in, she's asking around. Yeah, Tony told me that Ani was asking around about Clay, and I was about done with her.

"Where was he before that, do you know? Any ideas?" Ani asked us.

"He wasn't killing Bryce." I said.

"How do either of you know that?" Ani asked.

"It's amazing how easily you just turn on people with so lack of evidence. First you thought I was fucking Bryce, and now you think Clay killed him, and you call yourself a fucking friend." I snapped at her.