broken home - j.f✔️

thirtythree.

"Thank you for all of this, Mont. You're really kind to me." Elizabeth admitted. She finished her plate, sipping on her milkshake and watching as he ate. He smiled up at her, wiping the sauce from the sides of his mouth.

"I'll pay, can you go and warm the car up?" She nodded at him, collecting her purse and his keys, leaving the diner. She had started the car up, waiting for Monty to leave the diner. When he finally emerged, she strapped herself into the passenger seat. "Are you okay?"

She nodded and rested her head against the window. It was dark out, rain hitting the window gently. It was very peaceful, she enjoyed the sound of rain. One of her most peaceful moments is waking up to the sound of rain against her bedroom window, and snuggling closer into the duvet. There was something so peaceful about rain, and bad weather.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Monty." She called out. "Thank you for the dinner." She let herself into her house, the house dark apart from the kitchen light. Her dad was at the island, typing away at his laptop and eating his plate of dinner.

"Hey, mija. Did you have a nice time?" She nodded at his question and hugged his back, quickly grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge before leaving. She had gotten out of her skirt and shirt, replacing them for much more comfortable clothes. A hoodie and some sweatpants. Her eyes gazed at the bottom drawer, Justin's clothes. Pulling open the drawer, she saw his collection of hoodies, sweatpants, shirts, socks, underwear. Everything for a night's stay.

She sighed and crawled into bed, the pain of not having Justin had come rushing back. As her head hit the pillow, she let a few tears fall. She lost everything over a stupid rumour. Why did she feel bad for punching Jess? Why did she feel like texting Justin to beg him to come back?

She heard a knock on her door, her father's face slowly appearing. Wiping her tears from her face, she let him sit on the bed beside her. "Hey, dad."

"Something is up." He observed, smoothing her hair down with his palm. She propped herself up onto her shoulder, turning the lamp on to create some light in her dark room. She admired her dad for having the time to be a father as well as being part of a busy company.

"Just school... it's stressful, we have lots of homework, and it's a lot." She lied. Luckily, she'd been through this a million times before. Her dad would notice she was sad, he'd confront her, she would lie and say she was okay, and the cycle repeats itself. "I'll be fine, I think I'm just overly tired."

"Well get some rest, I'll drive you to school tomorrow." He whispered, placing a kiss onto her head before turning the lamp off and leaving. She was in a state of being awake, but her body couldn't move. So she just let the messages come through, not bothering to pick her phone up.

Morning had arrived, and she still felt as bad as she did last night. Sure, Monty had cheered her up, but it was only temporary. The second she's alone again, it all comes crashing back down. She sat in complete silence in the car, walking the halls on her own, just kept her head down and worked through each session.

Alex was still ignoring her through Spanish, Justin wouldn't even look at her during Communications, and Study Hall with Justin was unbearable; he would look at her, and look away when she noticed, and vice versa. Lunch was somewhat okay. She sat with Zach, Clay, and Ani, everyone else with their own friend groups gossiping. Monty spent time with her throughout the day, but she understood why he wanted to sit with Bryce at lunch; they were best friends after all. But they'd share a smile as they caught eyes

"Are you okay, Beth?" Ani asked. She was focused on her grapes, spinning them in her fingers. She hadn't realised anyone was saying anything until Zach had grabbed the grape from her grasp and thrown it at her, resulting in a small giggle. "She laughs."

"Why does he believe her and not me? After everything they went through, I was there for both of them, and tried not to get between them." She explained. "And she tells me she was happy for us, then pulls this stunt." Elizabeth felt angry every time she spoke or thought about it. It was still painful.

"We believe you, you've been nothing but kind to everyone, and if he can't see that, well he's missing out." Clay added. Elizabeth quickly smiled, hearing the bell ring.

"See you guys."