Everyone's a liar. If you're breathing, you're a liar. I'm a liar. No question. The truth can be dangerous, lies are easier. Until they aren't anymore.
”
— Ani narrating
If You're Breathing, You're a Liar is the second episode of third season of 13 Reasons Why. It is the twenty-eighth episode of the series overall.
After learning about Chlöe's pregnancy, Clay and Ani pay her a visit. Chlöe recalls how she leaned on Zach for support and that Bryce never knew.
Plot
Bryce is still missing and the whole school is on edge. Clay notices that Zach is wearing the lucky rabbit’s foot that Chloe gave him months before. He starts to suspect Zach and his motives and decides to look into the relationship between Chloe and Zach.
Flashback to eight months earlier: Chloe no longer attends Liberty High School. She decided to leave shortly after the Spring Fling when she told Jessica she was pregnant. One person Chloe claims she never told about her pregnancy was Bryce. She did, however, tell Zach, who seems to have a crush on Chloe. Zach even offers to raise her baby as his own but Chloe says she wants to get an abortion.
Zach gives Chloe money for the abortion after she tells him a horrible story about how she tried to get an abortion from a clinic that poses as an abortion provider in order to dissuade people from terminating their pregnancy.
Zach takes Chloe to a real clinic to get the abortion, but the visit turns into a scary situation when protesters attempt to stop her from entering. A “clinic escort” approaches Chloe and offers assistance, until the escort is also revealed to be a protester, who puts a bloody model of a fetus in Chloe’s hand. Chloe receives the abortion, then tells Zach she’s leaving Liberty High School.
Eight months later Zach tells Clay and Ani that Bryce did not know Chloe was pregnant or about the abortion (and that Zach helped her get it) — so that can’t be why Bryce attacked Zach on the football field. Chloe dumped Bryce months ago, and Zach claims Bryce was unaware of the deep connection between Zach and Chloe.
In another flashback, Ani consoles Bryce after his breakup with Chloe. Bryce was also struggling with other issues at the time. Bryce went to talk to some of the Hillcrest football players. He thought he was meeting with some like-minded individuals who wanted to talk about hooking up with girls, but that wasn't the case. One player appeared to get along with Bryce until suddenly he reminded Bryce that the team doesn't want to hang out with a rapist.
Later on, Bryce’s teammates shove him down the stairs, giving him cuts and bruises. Ani’s mother cleans up his wounds while Bryce’s mom accuses him of being unable to get his life together.
In the present day, Ani goes into Bryce’s room and finds a notepad. There’s still the imprint of words on it. Using a pencil to shade in the words, Ani learns that Bryce was writing a letter to Jessica.
Whatever Bryce wanted to tell Jessica, it’s unclear if he had the chance. In the present day, Tyler — who has been struggling to tell Clay something all day — takes a walk down by the river, as Ani’s voiceover notes that some people react to violence by committing violence against themselves. The scene cuts to officers pulling a body out of the river. It is then revealed that the body is Bryce, confirming his death.
Evidence
Opening intro shows Zach's lucky rabbit foot in an evidence bag as the second piece of evidence
Object: Zach's lucky rabbit foot.
Explanation: Chlöe gave Zach a pink fluffy toy rabbit foot as good luck, which gave Ani and Clay an incentive to look into his relationship to Chlöe. Through Jessica, they found out that Chlöe was pregnant by Bryce and had an abortion. They talked to Zach, who revealed that he gave Chlöe the money to pay for it. They figured that if Bryce had found out that Chlöe had an abortion and Zach helped her get it, Bryce would have become enraged at both of them and they both may have accidentally killed him in an altercation.
Zach hides his pain well, which is why he saw Chlöe's so clearly. And why he wanted to do what he could to make hers go away.
”
— Ani narrating about Zach and Chlöe
Ani: "You and Zach Dempsey? Friends? Project partners? Secret online gamer pals?"
Clay: "D, none of the above"
Ani: "He's hot, but he's too hot. I don't trust too hot."
Clay: "You don't, huh? Well, do you trust me?"
Ani: "Oh, you trap me, but I escape. Everybody trusts you."
Clay: "Not everybody"
Ani: "That's not what I see, I see the hero that holds everything together"
Clay: "Why do you say that"
Ani: "It's just an observation, I meant it as a good thing, it's a beautiful thing, to be so trusted."
― Ani and Clay
Amara Josephine: "Amorowat (Ani), you do not belong to the chaos here. Your only job is to focus on your schoolwork, rack up all the scholarships you can and get into a top college. Period."
Ani: "I just want to help out."
Amara Josephine: "You don't! You're nosy. I know you. Keep out of these peoples mess.. Promise me."
Ani: "Yes. Mummy, I promise."
― Amara reminding Ani to focus on her life instead of the Walker family's issues.
Chlöe: "Well, I just wanted to let you know that I am assigned to be your official cheerleader for Spring Workout. So...(Chlöe holds up a 'rabbit's foot')... for luck."
Zach: "Lucky me, unlucky rabbit."
Chlöe: "(laughs) You're my new hero."
― Chlöe giving Zach the rabbit's foot
Zach: "What?"
Clay: "So, you're her hero, but Bryce is still her boyfriend?"
Zach: "Man, shut up!"
― Clay noticing a possible forming relationship between Zach and Chlöe while Chlöe is with Bryce
“
Change, especially positive change, happens so slowly it can feel it's not happening at all. That could very well be what you're feeling today. But change does happen over time. There'll come a day you'll look back and you'll see it clearly. You don't have to believe it now. I can hold on to the hope for both of us.
”
— Dr. Singh to Tyler about changing and healing
Nora: "My father doesn't like taking his meds. He says they cloud his mind."
Chlöe: "I'm sorry."
Nora: "Well, it's a mind already clouded with old age and bitterness, and what turns out to be a fairly virulent strain of racism that he no longer sees the need to filter."
Chlöe: "I bet he was a really nice man before he got sick."
Nora: "He wasn't. But you're sweet to say so... I'm sorry to be blunt, Chlöe, but I've lost the capacity to lie."
Chlöe: "I understand."
Nora: "Do you? Men are cruel to prove they're not weak, but they doth protest too much. I was raised by a cruel man, and I escaped him by marrying another. The only difference was Dad used his fist and Barry used silence. And neither of them should have been fathers... My son is no different, Chlöe. In fact, I think he may be worse."
― Nora Walker telling Chlöe that Bryce shouldn't be a father.
Zach: "You know about Alex, right?"
Charlie: "He shot himself in the head and missed."
Zach: "Yeah. Just.. maybe don't get your psychological insights from Monty. That's like getting your clothes from Walmart."
Justin (overhearing them): "I get my clothes from Walmart all the time."
Zach: "Shut up, Justin."
― Zach, Charlie, and Justin talking during the football game
Justin: "He's not a bad kid."
Zach: "Yeah, well, wait till Monty's done with him."
― Zach and Justin talking about Charlie
“
Violence begets violence. It just doesn't always look the same. Some suffer in silence, desperate to escape their pain. Some of us do violence to ourselves. Some try to break the pattern.
”
— Ani narrating
Multimedia
Soundtrack
Song
Artist
Album
Scene
Theme Song: "Oh In This World Of Dread, Carry On" by Eskmo
"Tired"
Beabadooee
Patched Up
Chlöe and Zach talking in the hallway about Chloe being pregnant.
"Otherside"
Perfume Genius
No Shape
Chlöe's abortion is done. She meets up with Zach the next day.
"Chem Trials"
No Age
Everything in Between
Tony teaches Tyler boxing; Tyler falls down after a punch. Alex asks Tony if he can try.
