Loose Change~ Montgomery De La Cruz / Zach Dempsey/Scott Reed

Part 2 Chapter 10

Scott was embarrassed by the topic of masturbation. Being friends with people like Justin and Montgomery, it came up a lot. The topic of sex came up a lot too, but it never embarrassed Scott. He had been with a fair share of girls. He was cute, he had been told.

He used to be shy when it came to sex, but it became so normalized in high school that he didn't see the point. And he liked to think his good looks made it obvious he was sexually actively. He didn't try to hide it.

Masturbating was a different story. Yes, that was normalized too, but it was different. Masturbation felt intrusive, because it was hard to do if you weren't watching porn, or if you weren't thinking about someone sexually. And it felt weird for him to touch himself while thinking of someone without them knowing.

He used to do it all the time, but then a girl he hardly knew told him she had used a sex toy on herself while pretending it was him. It freaked the fuck out of him, and he realized that maybe other girls were uncomfortable with that as well. So he tried to stop. Scott tried to never think of people he actually knew, only people he saw in porn. He still did it a few times without realizing, and felt guilty afterwards. Especially because they might have been his friend's girlfriends. He would try sexting a lot too. At least then the girl knew that he was thinking of them in that way. At least they could give their consent to his imagination running wild.

So Scott wondered, how was it possible for him to be so scared to masturbate to a girl that didn't want him, only for Bryce to fuck a girl who didn't want him? How could someone have so little empathy for someone else that they are capable of raping them, and then not feeling an ounce of guilt for it?

Scott had finally listened to all the tapes, including Bryce's confessions.

"Every girl at this school wants to be raped."

He couldn't believe he heard those words come out of his friend's mouth. Scott had tried going up to Zach at school, and asking him more about it. But he wouldn't say anything. Montgomery would probably tell him, but he didn't want to talk to Montgomery. Not for a long time.

Scott found himself so stressed that he went for a late night run, circling his neighborhood back and fourth. He was listening to music, feeling the cold, night air keep him from getting too hot and sweaty.

He was surprised to find that his music stopped, and he was getting a phone call. He checked his watch. He was shocked to see it was past midnight already. He assumed it was one his friends calling to mess around. Probably Montgomery. He tapped his earphones in his ears, and sent it to voicemail.

It called back. Again, he sent it to voicemail. Then they called a third time. Scott sighed, pausing his run. He stopped, and answered the call.

"What the fuck? It's midnight," is how he started.

"Are you home?" The voice was loud, frigid, panicked.

"Home?" He pulled his phone out of his pocket. It was an unsaved number. But he recognized the voice immediately. Ophelia. He was confused. She had ever called him before, he didn't even know how she got his number. "Ophelia? Um, I'm close." What did she need?

"You've been to Monty's secret spot, right? He's taken you?" She spoke quickly, and with a kind of fear in her voice.

Scott thought about it. The secret spot? He then realized she meant his little hideout he slept when his father became too much to handle.

"Yeah, I-"

"Take me! Please, take me! I don't remember how to get here!"

Scott didn't want to take her there. Why did she want to see Montgomery? Had he manipulated her into wanting to be with him again?