Beyond the Reasons || JUSTIN FOLEY

Thirty-Three

AUDITORIUM
THIRD PERSON'S POV

"I just wanna be super clear. I don't actually see ghosts, and I only hallucinate when under heavy stress... Normally, I just imagine people and... what I would say to them, and what they would say to me." Imogen said to Justin who was sitting right next to her.

"Yeah, I get it... Clay wrote my paper on magical realism, remember?" Justin responded and Imogen laughed a little.

"Clay would claim that he just helped you write it," Imogen said and Justin laughed.

"I know... he's just so easy to mess with," Justin said and they both started laughing.

"Okay, what I don't understand is, why is the ghost you hanging out with Bryce? Even in my head." Imogen said.

"We loved each other, me and him... and you loved him too at one point in our lives. We were brothers. You know, you can love people who did... bad shit. You can forgive people. Even the people who hurt you the worst." Justin said.

"I know you're talking about Bryce... and I know he's dead, but that doesn't make forgiving him any easier. I thought I did forgive him when I heard the tape that he made but... there was still so much anger inside of me for what he did..." Imogen said and Justin nodded his head.

"When you forgive someone, it's more for you than them, Mimi... forgive Bryce so that he doesn't have a hold over you anymore. Do it for yourself."

―

HILLSIDE
IMOGEN'S POV

We went to the place where Clay listened to his tape for the first time to bury Hannah's tapes. The court returned them to Mrs. Baker and she sent them to me and Clay saying that Clay and Tony deserved to have them because they had a piece of Hannah that she would never fully understand with these tapes. Clay and Tony decided it was best to bury them. To let Hannah continue resting in peace and so all of us can move on.

"This is where I first listened to my tape. And this is where we lay them to rest." Clay said.

"Rest in Peace," Tony added in as he stepped up to my brother.

"Come on, people... let's pile on the closure dirt," Zach said. All the guys stepped up because they had shovels and they began to bury the tapes. I turned around to see Bryce standing in the middle of the clearing. I don't know if this is a stress hallucination or one of them imagining things like I had with Justin earlier, but I think I know how to get rid of Bryce once and for all.

"I'm on those tapes. It's my day too." Bryce said and I rolled my eyes.

"No. Your day's gone. Long gone." I said to him.

"You need me in this world. Otherwise, what would girls like you start riots about?" Bryce asked and I laughed a little. I have never once started a riot if you want to be technical.

"Oh, there's plenty to riot about..." I said.

"Still, I kinda feel like I won," Bryce said and I shook my head.

"You didn't. I was looking around today at graduation, and I was thinking about how Justin was missing, and Hannah... and Jeff not being able to see me graduate. But then I thought, I love these people. Clay Jensen, obviously, Zach, and Courtney, Ryan freaking Shaver... but in what kind of world do I love all these people? The world you made. We had to love each other at the end of it all. You did that." I said.

"So that's something, right?" Bryce asked.

"Sure..." I said and then Bryce turned around and simply walked away until he disappeared. When I turned around, my brother was looking at me and I just nodded my head to him and he nodded back at me as we met in the middle of me walking back up the path and he was walking along the fence, and then everyone walked down to where we were.