Gathering up the courage to finally tell her, Ryder decided that it was time to come clean to her. He looked at her, as she sat waiting for him to begin to explain, and a sad smile tugged at his lips.

"Okay, you ready?" He asked her.

"As I'll ever be." She answered - the truth being that she wasn't sure if she would ever be completely ready.

He fidgeted a little, took a deep breath and then began.

"When I first transferred to that school, after being kicked out of my old one, everyone avoided me. They had been informed that I was a bad guy who they should avoid at any costs. In a way...that was true. But Monica...she ignored all of the warnings, and welcomed me into the school. She was best friends with that idiot Dawson, but according to her they were never a thing. Anyways, she and I got closer and closer over the year that passed. Then we started dating. " He explained clearly.

"For a while, things were great but then she started spending more time with her best friend aka Dawson than me. We got into a fight over it. She ran off to him after that and they slept together behind my back. I had no idea for a few months about it. Things were pretty normal...well apart from her dodging the subject of Dawson." He continued, with Erica hanging on to his every word.

"Eventually....after overhearing a conversation between Gen and Monica, I found out. So I confronted her. At first she denied it, but after a lot of yelling, in the school cafeteria, she fessed up. Of course I was angry, but more hurt than anything else. I felt stupid, like I should have seen it coming. Best friends my ass." He stopped for a moment, reflecting on all the feelings of that horrible day.

Erica's eyes widened. There was no rush for him to tell her, he was taking his time. She didn't mind that. Though she couldn't deny the question that was growing louder in her head.

What happened next?

In Dawson's recollection of events, the night of the party rolled around and that was where Ryder had snapped and killed Monica.

Whatever Ryder said next, would either confirm Dawson's story or tell her that one of them was lying.

But if that was the case then...which one?

"After that we went over a week without speaking. Finally I decided to try and make things right...I went to go and ask her to go to Gen's birthday party with me....only to find out that she had asked Dawson. Once again I was hurt, but I accepted it. Then the night of the party rolled around, and that is when things really got out of hand." He spoke, as if telling her a fable from a fairytale book.

Bracing herself for the final part of Ryder's side of the story, she bit down on her lower lip with anticipation.

"Despite everything that had happened, I went to the party in the hopes that I would be able to start fresh...and by that I mean at least maintain a friendship with her. When I arrived, I asked Gen where to find her and the girl was reluctant to tell me, but after a little pressure, she informed me that Monica had gone out back with Dawson. Ignoring the fact that she was with him, since I already knew that, I went out back to find her. She was no where to be seen. I even went as far as the pool house. That's when I found them, though I didn't enter the building,  I could see from where I was stood exactly what was happening." He continued.

"And what was happening?" Erica asked, speaking for the first time in a little while.

"Dawson was drunk. He was trying force himself on her, but she denied him. Despite her saying no, he continued to try and take her clothes off. Eventually she had enough and shoved him as well as slapping him. Being so intoxicated, he snapped and grabbed the nearest heavy object he could, from what I saw it was an ash tray of some sort. He then hit her over the head with it . The first time knocked her off of her feet, then when she was down, he climbed on top of her and continually hit her in the head. I tried to get in there to stop him, but he had locked the door....by the time I managed to pick the lock it was too late - he was bundling her body into a bag. Hearing the door unlock, he looked up and saw me...then he ran away and took the bag with him." He concluded.

"I thought about calling the police, but I've already been in trouble with them before, so they would most likely assume that I was just crying wolf." He added.

Erica's heart sank. This was a lot to process and would take her a little while. She was feeling a mix of emotions right now.

For starters, she felt really bad for Ryder. If what he was telling her was the truth, then he had been betrayed by someone he truly cared about.

She felt so confused about Dawson. On her first day of school, he had come across to her as such a nice person. It was hard to believe that he would be so violent.

It was so hard to fight the urge to run far away from the situation. Both boys had claimed that the other had killed Monica, but only one of them was telling the truth. She was no closer to finding out than she had been before leaving her home this afternoon.

"So...there you go, that's the truth." Ryder said, breaking her train of thought.

"I...I have no words. What Dawson told me was so different...honestly I don't know what to believe." She stammered.

"Correction. You don't know who to believe." He stated, turning back to face the ocean.

"Ryder...I'm sorry. I don't wanna hurt you...I just don't know who to believe." She spoke, her voice little more than a whisper.

"Nah, I get it. You're confused because you're being told two different things... and you were drawn in by Dawson's good boy looks as you were repulsed by my bad boy demeanour. At least now you know most of the truth. As for who to believe...that's for you to decide. For now, just go." He spoke with unwanted emotion in his voice.

"Wait, I..." She began to protest but stopped, not knowing what to say.

"Erica, please....just go." He pleaded her.

"Okay. Good night Ryder." She concluded.

Without another word from him, she picked up her handbag and rose to her feet. Walking away from him, she only looked back once just before she left the beach.

He sighed in frustration. He hated himself. Nothing in his life had ever gone right, but rather than dealing with it like a normal person, he instead pretended that it didn't bother him or acted out to deal with the pain.

Of course he was cocky and sarcastic, but that was just a defense mechanism. Shooing Erica away just now was a cold act that he regretted. He just didn't know how to be around someone who knew the truth about him.

What he had just told her was personal and one of his most painful memories, right now he felt vulnerable. With the information given, she could do anything she wanted. Twist it. Spread it. Keep it to herself. Trusting her with this was a huge leap of faith for him, one that he wasn't ready for but took simply because he owed it to her.

He wanted to run after Erica, open up to her properly and tell her how he truly felt. But he didn't, and the reason was because it had become obvious that his personality had repelled her.

The hate for himself and guilt he was carrying was almost too much to bear. He'd often thought about running away, but what would that do? It wouldn't solve anything.

No matter where he went or who he was with, there was always trouble. Mistakes were always made and hearts were always broken.

When he had switched schools, he had hopes that things would change. But after everything that happened with Monica, changing his luck seemed impossible.

Erica was a great girl, incredibly sweet and innocent. If he didn't stay away from her then he knew that she would suffer horribly because of him....and he wouldn't be able to live with that.

He didn't know what was wrong with him. All he could think was that he wanted to be able to do something good for once in his life. No matter how much people thought that it was impossible for him.