Beyond the Reasons || JUSTIN FOLEY

Sixteen

PRESENT TIME
HO CAVE
THIRD PERSON'S POV

J 🥰:
You okay? Where are you? Who with?

This was the text that Imogen received from Justin once she checked her phone after the hallucinations of Monty and Jeff left her. That was honestly so surreal to happen. She knew she was going to have to bring this up with Dr. Sharpe because she didn't know how to make these hallucinations stop.

Cave, i'm fine... by myself, but i'm good.

Imogen texted Justin back and then she put her phone to her ear to make a phone call. "Hey, Dad... I know you're probably teaching right now, but... I just wanted to call and tell you that I love you and mom so much... and that you two are the best parents anyone could ask for. I feel like I don't tell you guys enough how much I appreciate you guys, and I want you to know that I am so grateful that I was given you two as my parents... I love you."

She had to leave him a voicemail since he didn't answer the phone, but no one was notified of what was happening. Everyone thought this was real, and that was Bolan's intent. Imogen hugged herself tighter when she heard gunshots, they were distant and she could tell they weren't close to where she was, but she could still hear them and more tears fell down her cheeks.

Then she heard more gunshots.

―

BOY'S LOCKER ROOM

"Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing! Get back in there." Coach Kerba said to Diego and some of the other boys who had moved from the showers when they heard the gunshots.

"Those were gunshots. We can't sit here and let people get killed." Diego said.

"Look, that hero talk ain't worth your lives." Coach Kerba said. Diego took a step closer to him until they were face-to-face.

"Well, I'm done hiding, and I don't run," Diego said.

"No, see, you fight as a last resort only. Now go sit the fuck down." Kerba snapped. Justin looked back at the rest of the boys on the team before he looked at Diego.

"Okay, come on, Diego. People are scared." Justin said.

"Well, I ain't scared. I'm ready to fight." Diego said. He had a baseball bat in his hands but what good was it going to do against a gun?

"Okay..." Justin said.

"Why aren't you, Foley? You don't want to stand and fight? You don't even know where Imogen is, do you? You're okay to just let her die." Diego said. But what Diego didn't know was that Justin knew exactly where Imogen was because he texted her to make sure that she was okay. But Justin was getting sick of Diego.

"Fuck!" Justin snapped as he lunged for him but since Kerba was standing in between the two boys, he was able to keep them apart.

"Hey, okay... Enough!" He snapped before he pushed Diego away from Justin and started to push the boys towards the showers. "Back in there! Back in there!" He shouted.

"Coach, come on, please! I don't want to die like this!" Diego exclaimed as he walked closer to him. "If this is going to be the last day of my life, I want to be doing the right thing," Diego said and Kerba snatched the bat from his hands.

"It's not going to be the last day of anyone's life. And no one's going anywhere, okay?" Kerba snapped back at him. He didn't care if he was seeming like an asshole, but protecting that team was his number one priority. Throughout their arguing, they hadn't noticed that Justin slipped out so that he could go to the HO cave and be with Imogen.