Beyond the Reasons || JUSTIN FOLEY

Thirty

PRESENT TIME
LIBERTY HIGH SCHOOL HALLWAY
IMOGEN'S POV

"Hey, Monty."

Jessica and I stood in the hallway, as he and Charlie and another boy on the football team rounded the corner. I told Jessica that I confronted Monty once before, but didn't say anything about what Tyler said, because it wasn't my place to tell that, even though all I wanted to do was punch him in his smug little asshole face.

"What the fuck do you want now, Imogen?" Monty asked.

"What's your deal?" I asked him.

"What's my deal? What's yours? You come in and talk to me one day, sincerely and then all of a sudden, you're yelling all types of fuck you's and confronting me for no reason." Monty snapped, and I rolled my eyes, as the other football players that were with him walked away.

"Okay, but what's your deal, Monty? Why do you hurt people?" I asked, and then Monty started laughing.

"Is this about football?" He asked.

"No, it's about you. Why are you so cruel?" Jessica asked.

"I'm not cruel." Monty said shaking his head, and I laughed.

"You didn't use to be cruel, but now? There's something seriously fucked up about you, and I really wish that I knew what it was, or that you'd tell me what it is. . or that I would've noticed it earlier so I could've helped you." I said.

"I had a bad childhood, and you know that." Monty said, walking around us, but Jessica and I both turned around.

"Yeah, maybe that's part of it, but what else? Or were you always like this? I mean, Imogen's saying you weren't, and she definitely knows you better than I do. So why?" Jessica asked.

"Look, what the fuck? What do you two want?" Monty snapped at us.

"Honestly, Monty? I just want to understand. I used to think I understood you pretty well, and now it's seeming like I never did. And I don't think I ever will again." I said.

"You're both crazy bitches." Monty said getting back in my face. Honestly, under normal circumstances, I would be mad that someone who was so close to me could just so carelessly call me a bitch, more than once might I add, but Monty's hiding something, and I can tell, so he's insulting me and Jessica as a defense mechanism to not talk about what's really going on.

I started to laugh as I walked closer to him and got in his face. "Yeah. . we are. And you should fear that."

―

HO MEETING

"And so the locker room is perfect because if we confront the jocks in their precious sanctuary. ." I heard Casey talking as Jessica and I walked in, and I knew this wasn't going to be an easy conversation, especially since I didn't want to be giving this apology, so if Casey has something to say.

I might not hesitate to punch her.

"Hey." I said, and everyone fell silent as they looked over at me and Jessica.