Human Being | Montgomery de la Cruz

Chapter 8

A/N this is gonna be a long chapter, so enjoy!

Veronica's POV

I'm thinking about everything. Why did Justin play with Hannah's feelings? Why did Jess make the hot or not list Hannah's fault? Why did Alex bring Hannah into his drama with Jess? Why did Tyler stalk her? Why did Courtney lie about her and Hannah's kiss? Why did Marcus scream at her on their date? Why didn't Zach want to be seen with her? Why did Ryan publish that damn article? Why did Justin let Jess get raped? Why didn't Sheri come forward about the stop sign? Why did Clay leave Hannah alone that night? Why the fuck would Bryce rape Hannah and Jess? Why didn't Mr. Porter help her? And why didn't I know about any of it? I intend to ask everyone why they did what they did. I know Clay has been a little crazy lately, and I'm gonna seem a lot like him, but I don't care. I'm going to go in order of the tapes, so my brother is first. Last night, we barely talked, just cried.
Monty woke up, looking at me, concerned.
"Babe, did you go to sleep?" He asked.
"No," i said. I got up and hurried to get in the shower.

After my shower, I bursted into Justin's room.
"What the fuck, Veronica?" He yelled. I just walked to him and sat on his bed.
"Why'd you do it?" I asked.
He rolled his eyes, "why'd I do what?"
"Let your girlfriend get raped," I said. His eyes widened and his jaw clenched.
"I didn't let her get raped, Veronica. I tried to get him off of her, but he pushed me out and locked the door. I tried to get help, but everyone was drunk. No one would listen to me," he said, looking at the floor. A tear slipped from his eye. I quickly wiped it away and hugged him.
"Please get better," i whispered into his ear.
"I'll try," he whispered back in mine.

I got to school early so I could get around to asking everyone today. The first person I saw when I walked in was Jess. Perfect.
"Jess," I said. She walked over to me.
"Hey, Ronnie," she said, tiredly.
"I want to ask you something," I said.
She raised her eyebrow, "okay."
"Why did you make the hot or not list Hannah's fault? Why did you abandon her?" I asked. Jess pulled me into a bathroom. She checked the stalls to make sure no one was there, and came back to me.
"You shouldn't believe everything Hannah said. I mean, she's a fucking liar—was a liar. I didn't abandon her. She made a big deal out of me and Alex's relationship. She distanced from me. It's true, Alex stopped coming first, but then, she stopped coming. I admit, the hot or not list shouldn't have been about her, and I'm so sorry for blaming her, but I didn't abandon her," Jessica said, looking me in my eyes.
"Okay," i said, quietly, walking out of the bathroom.
Great, I see Alex.
"Standall," I yelled. He came over to me with a confused look.
"Veronica?"
"I need to ask you something," I said sternly. He nodded.
"Why did you make the hot or not list?" I asked, harshly.
"I- I wanted to get back at Jess because she wouldn't have sex with me. It was fucking stupid. I shouldn't have done it, I know. I'll be sorry for it for the rest of my life," he said.
"You better be sorry," I said, and walked away from him.
The bell rang. Shit, first period. Wait, Tyler is in my first period class. I looked around and saw that no one was next to him, so I sat down.
"H-hey, Veronica," he said, nervously.
"Tyler Down. Why'd you stalk Hannah, you ass?" I asked.
"How do you know about that?" He asked, nervously.
"I listened to the tapes. Why'd you do it?"
"She was so pretty. I wanted to capture her in a normal setting. It's wrong and gross. I know I shouldn't have," he said. I rolled my eyes and turned to face the board.

Second period. Courtney Crimsen, you're next.
I stormed into the classroom before the bell rang. I harshly put my hand on her desk and bent down.
"Hi, Veronica," she said, confused.
"Why'd you lie about what happened between you and Hannah?" I asked her. Her eyes went wide.
"I- I didn't want anyone to know I was gay. My dads are gay and I didn't want people to think that just because they are, I am too," she said, ashamed.
"Yeah, shame on you, Crimsen," I said, and walked to my seat.

Third period. Marcus Cole and Ryan Shaver. I guess I'll have to do Ryan before Zach. (A/N Marcus is the 6th tape, Zach is the 7th tape, and Ryan is 8th)
"The one and only Marcus Cole," I said. This should be fun.
He smirked. "Veronica Foley, to what do I owe the pleasure?" He asked. I got closer to him. I leaned my face closer to his, the smirk still on his face. Luckily, we were in the back of the room and no one was there yet. I suddenly reached my hand down and grabbed his bulge harshly.
"What the fuck?" He groaned in pain. I still had a strong grip on his bulge.
"You think every girl wants to fuck you? You think Hannah wanted to fuck you?" I whispered into his ear.
He groaned in pain again. "Look, I'm sorry for what I did to her. I was acting like a dumb teenage boy. Please let go," he begged. I scoffed and let go.
"Also, you're a terrible friend. I'm Monty's girlfriend and you let me come onto you. You fucking pig," I said, as I walked to my seat. I sit next to Ryan, so this will be easy. He was already in his seat.
"Hey, Ryan," I said.
"Oh, hey, Vee," he said back.
"Can I ask my fav gay a question?"
"Of course, Vee."
"Why'd you publish Hannah's poem?" I whispered to him.
"How do you know it was Hannah's?" He asked, nervously.
"I've heard the tapes."
"Shit. Well, she had so much potential. I wanted her to see that she had talent, but I didn't know people would make fun of it. It was amazing," he said. Ryan is my very good friend. As much as I'm trying to stay angry with him, I can tell he's being truthful.
"I get that. It's okay, I'm not mad," I said. He smiled.

Fourth period. Gym with Zach Dempsey. And Monty, Justin, and Bryce. Shit. This is gonna be hard. I walked in to see the boys playing basketball. When Monty saw me, he ran over to me, Justin behind him.
"Hey, babe. Why'd you leave early?" He asked. I pecked his lips.
"Just handling business," I said.
"Okay, Ronnie. I know you want to help, but Jess and Marcus said you questioned them," Justin said.
"And I have every right to," I spit back. Monty stood there confused.
"Why are you really doing this, Ron?" Justin asked, putting his arms on my shoulders.
"I want to know, okay. I know I'm not on the tapes, but I got them. How did I not see everything? How did I let shit slip? I need to know why everyone did what they did," I snapped.
"Okay. Just know, not everything she said was true," Justin said, and walked away.
"What tapes?" Monty asked.
"Hannah left tapes before she died. I listened to them at night while you were hanging with Scott. Shit happened to her. I need you to stay calm when Marcus tells you what happened today. And I need you to stay away when I'm talking to Zach," I said, calmly.
"What happened with Marcus?" He asked.
"I pretended to come on to him so I could get information out of him," I said, nervously.
Monty stared at me for a minute. "It's okay, as long as I'm your number one," he joked, kissing my lips.
After we pulled apart, we walked over to the boys.
"Foley, looking good," Bryce said. I scoffed. I can't believe he can just walk around like he isn't a rapist.
"Fuck off, Bryce," Monty said.
"Zach, I need to talk to you," I said, dragging him away from the guys.
"What's up, Veronica," Zach asked, sweetly. I can't be mean to him.
"Zach. I need you to be honest with me. Why didn't you want to be seen with Hannah?"
"You heard the tapes?" He asked. I nodded. He took a deep breath. "I feel like I loved Hannah, but I didn't deserve her, I know that. That whole summer was magical, sadly, it didn't last. Hannah had a reputation, as much as I felt like I loved her, I just didn't want to be seen with a girl with that kind of reputation. That was my mistake," by the time he was done, tears were rushing down his face.
"I'm so sorry, Zachy," I said, hugging him.
"I killed Hannah," he said, quietly.
"No, you didn't. You were a good part of her life."