Justin Foley and Elizabeth Jensen were brought into Dennis Vasquez's office by Matt and Lainie Jensen. "Do either of you have any idea where Clay is?" Clay did not come home the night before.

Elizabeth shook her head, looking up at Justin. "I have no clue." Justin spoke to his family. "When I came home last night, he wasn't there."

"And what time was that?" Dennis questioned him.

"Around midnight." Justin answered, grabbing onto Elizabeth's hand nervously. "When I woke up this morning, his bed was still made."

"I tried to call his phone after Justin told me Clay was gone, but then I remembered that the cops had it." Elizabeth stated.

Dennis furrowed his eyebrows. "And he gave neither of you any indication that he intended to flee?"

Elizabeth looked down at her and Justin's hands as her boyfriend spoke. "No warning at all."

"Well, can you blame him?" Matt scoffed, leaning back in his seat. "The police just kicked down our door, for Christ's sake. He's scared shitless." 

"Justin, Eliza, I know that you both want to protect Clay, but if there is something either of you are not telling us-"

"We don't know anything, mom." Elizabeth cut off her mother.

Justin sighed as he leaned closer towards Elizabeth. "He clearly didn't want us to know."

*

"Clay fucking ran away."

"He what?" Zach Dempsey's eyes widened as Elizabeth spoke to him through the phone. He was sitting in the boy's locker room after lifting his morning weights. "Holy shit."

"He's gone, and Justin and I are really worried about him."

Zach did not realize that he was speaking as loud as he was. "So, he's just gone?" Montgomery De La Cruz began to listen to every word that came out of his mouth.

"Yes, literally what I just fucking said. Please, if you see him, call me straight away. I'm freaking the fuck out. The cops are really going to think he killed Bryce now. Why the fuck would he do this?!"

"Eliza, calm down. If I see him, I'll call you, but I-"

"No buts, alright? Just do it."

"Yeah. Okay." Zach nodded. "Bye." He ended the call, placing his phone into his back pocket.

Montgomery smirked as he moved closer towards Zach. "Was that Eliza? Did she proclaim her undying love for you?"

Zach rolled his eyes. "Shut the fuck up, Monty. It's family stuff."

"Wait, who's gone. Her brother?" Montgomery's eyebrows raised. "What the fuck? Did he take off?"

Charlie St. George had entered the locker room and heard the conversation. "What? Why would he do that?"

"Holy fuck, maybe he is guilty." Montgomery chuckled as he looked over at Charlie.

"He's not guilty. That's insane." Zach shook his head before rubbing his temples. "There's no way he could have taken on Bryce. You know what? That would have taken someone who was, I don't know, six foot, one-ninety, nasty fucking temper." Zach was perfectly describing Montgomery.

Montgomery raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like someone I wouldn't want to fuck with."

*

Elizabeth sat next to Justin on the bleachers in the high school's gym as Principal Bolan stood at a podium. He had arranged this assembly for Jessica to apologize to the Hillcrest students. "Welcome, everyone. And a very special welcome to our guests from Hillcrest." Elizabeth rolled her eyes before making eye contact with the Hillcrest boy who had groped her during the homecoming game. She looked down at her lap. "We would like this to be a time to come together. The interruption of the homecoming game inflamed feelings on all sides. And it was followed a few days later with the news of the tragic death of former Liberty and recent Hillcrest student, Bryce Walker. Now, I've spoken at length with the student leadership and Hillcrest administrators. We agreed that it was time to bring our schools together for a day of accountability and healing."

Elizabeth let out a scoff. "Accountability and healing my ass." Justin chuckled as he pressed a kiss to Elizabeth's cheek.

"And, with that in mind, Jessica Davis, student body president and organizer of the protest, would like to offer a few words." Principal Bolan walked away from the podium after finishing his opening speech.

Jessica stood up from her seat, moving to the podium, as students in the gym began to applaud her. "Thank you, Principal Bolan. You're absolutely right." She nodded before continuing. "In times like these, people need to be held accountable for their mistakes. And after something traumatic happens, it's important to focus on healing. But the thing is, how is anybody supposed to heal if all we do is cover up wounds and hope they'll go away?" Elizabeth smiled as she listened to her friend speak. "We have to look at them and recognize them for what they are. We have to be honest about who actually got hurt and how." Jessica sighed, looking down at her paper and then back up at the students. "The protest I led was an attempt to try to draw attention to the rape culture in boys' sports and throughout our school. And yes, I admit that the way I went about it wasn't perfect." She specifically looked over at the Hillcrest football team. "I'm sorry for how it all ended up. I really am. But making mistakes is part of being a survivor. At first, you think you're, like, permanently broken. But then, little by little, you start picking up the pieces, and you start realizing what you're making is a mirror. And the more of those piece that you put together, the more you start to see yourself. But maybe, we can start picking up those piece of that mirror together, and we can finally see the truth. If you think sexual assault doesn't affect your life, you're wrong." Jessica shook her head as she spoke. "There are survivors all around us. People you care about, who you never knew were suffering in silence." Jessica made eye contact with Tyler, but he quickly looked down. "Let them know that you are there to listen. It is time for you to know the survivors in your life. To hear their stories and to know that their voice matters." A small smile appeared on Jessica's face as she took her hands down from the podium. "My name is Jessica Davis, and I am a survivor."

People in the crowd began whispering before Casey stood up from the bleachers. "My name is Casey Ford, and I am a survivor."

Another girl stood up, looking around at everyone who was staring at her. "My name is Janelle Martin, and I'm a survivor." Jessica made eye contact with Tyler and nodded for him to stand, but he shook his head, telling her that he was simply not ready.

"My name is Maggie Kim, and I'm a survivor."

Tyler noticed Clay walk into the room with a gym bag in his hand, and he knew he had the courage to share his truth. He stood up from his seat slowly. People sitting around him gasped. "My name is Tyler Down, and I'm a survivor." Elizabeth smiled, taking Justin's hand in hers.

"My name is Lina Ochoa, and I'm a survivor."

"My name is Isabel Henry, and I am a survivor." Elizabeth's eyes widened as she looked across the gym to see her neighbor standing amongst the other survivors. The made ey contact and smiled at each other.

"My name is Sarah Stern. I'm a survivor."

A boy near Tyler stood up. "My name is Robby Corman, and I'm a survivor."

"My name is Tanya Brown. I'm a survivor."

Elizabeth felt Justin's hand slipped out of hers, and he stood up. She looked up at him, and her mouth opened slightly. "My name is Justin Foley, and I'm a survivor." People around the entire gym began to whisper about Justin. Elizabeth was shocked. He had never told her this.

"My name is Stephanie Rodriguez, and I am a goddamn survivor."

"Yeah!" A girl cheered as many other began to clap their hands in support. Elizabeth was one of them.

Jessica grabbed onto the microphone, making her way in front of the podium. "To those of you who are still seated, I know a lot of you still have stories, but you're not ready to share them yet. And that's okay. When you're ready, we'll listen. And we will continue to fight to make sure that no one is assaulted, harassed or abused at this school. We will not sit down. We will not be quiet. We will not rest until that happens." Jessica was practically in tears at this point. Principal Bolan began applauding, causing the rest of the gym to clap for Jessica, as well.

*

After the assembly, Elizabeth approached Isabel, who was standing alone. "Hey."

Isabel smiled as she saw her friend. "Hey, Eliza."

"I just wanted to let you know that I'm here for you." She spoke. "I know that we don't really know each other that well, but I want to change that."

"Yeah." Isabel nodded. "I'd really liked that."

Elizabeth spotted her brother talking to Tyler. "I've got to go, but I'll see you later." The brunette left her neighbor, rushing towards her brother. Justin walked up to Clay at the same time. "Clay, where the fuck have you been?" Elizabeth questioned her brother.

"I've got to go."

"Are you fucking crazy?" Justin scoffed. "You can't run."

"Justin." Jessica stated as she approached her friend group. "What that real just now?"

"Yeah, yes-"

Justin was cut off by the sheriff and multiple other police officers entering the gym. "Clay Jensen, I have a warrant for your arrest for the murder of Bryce Walker." Elizabeth's eyes widened as the officers stepped closer towards Clay. "Turn around. Put your hands behind your back."

The sheriff grabbed onto Clay, and turned him around so he could handcuff him. "Clay, I-" Tyler was stopped by an officer.

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you by the court." The officers began to lead Clay out of the gym. Elizabeth tried to follow behind them, but Justin grabbed onto her arm, stopping her.

Rewritten
Word Count - 1733

An : I feel like this is kind of a lame update, but I'm really tired and wanted to get something out tonight, so here.

Anyways, please vote and comment what you want to see in future chapters!

Have a nice day, lovelies 💕