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

Part 3 Chapter 6a

Ophelia wore the same dress to Bryce's funeral that she had worn to Jeff's and Hannah's. It fit a little tighter, but she thought it worked fine. It was the only completely black dress she had.

She had been tempted to buy a new one, one that fit a little better at the arms. But she didn't want to waste that much money on a dress she hoped she would wear only once, and then not again for years.

Ophelia thought Zach looked a lot better than she did. He wore a suit and tie, with a white button down underneath. He wasn't wearing a jersey over his button down like the rest of the football team was. The football jerseys that had been ordered with the name 'Walker' on the back, in memory of Bryce. Zach had received one, but hadn't taken it out of the package. He never planned on wearing it. He didn't have to. Zach would be speaking at the funeral.

Zach had to speak. He was the football captain. He saw it as his duty. Ophelia didn't know if he actually wanted to.

Zach had been stressed out the last few days about what he would say. It was hard. Bryce and him weren't friends in the end. In fact, Zach hated him in the end. But unknown to Ophelia, it wasn't just hard because he was stressed. It was hard because he was guilty. His conscience was heavy with the secrets he held, and he was scared they would weight on him too heavily for him to get on stage at the funeral at all.

Ophelia was surprised she was allowed to go to the funeral after all the yelling her mother did, saying she was allowed nowhere but school. But she realized her mother had more grace than that. Especially when it came to paying respects to the dead.

In fact, her mother was going. They met Zach and his mom at the church.

Ophelia curled her hair, and put on modest makeup, and had a black blazer over her dress. But when she got out of the car at the church, and saw Zach's handsome self waiting for her, she felt that pull of self-consciousness again.

"You look really nice," he told her, even though she didn't know if she really did.

"Thank you," she breathed. She reached out and straightened his tie a little bit more. "You look really nice too." Nicer than her.

He let out a nervous breath. He started to run his hand through his hair, but stopped. "My mom insisted she did my hair. Spend twenty minutes on it. Made me get a haircut last night."

Ophelia admired his new hair style. She touched it lightly, and felt the gel. She smiled. "She did a good job."

Zach smiled too. But his smile was strained.

They stood just outside the church, their mothers conversing a few feet away.

Zach stepped closer to her and whispered in her ear. "I don't know if I can do this, Ophelia."

She touched his arm. "Talk? Or go in?"

"Either," he said. He let out a groan. "I'm supposed to speak on...behalf of him? I wouldn't have even come if I didn't have to."

Ophelia winced. She saw Bryce's mother walking into the church. Ani was with her, and a woman that looked like her mother wheeling someone in. Ophelia guessed it was Bryce's grandfather.

Ophelia felt scared they heard him.

"Don't say that," she pleaded. "At least, not while we're here."

Zach turned and saw the family also.

"I don't...believe my own words."

Ophelia rubbed his arm a bit. She tried to be uplifting when she said, "That's okay. As long as his family believes it. I mean, that's what this is for. I think it's good for them to see people being kind to Bryce."