Jayda POV

I knew it. I place the box of champagne onto the table. Luckily all the waiters are busy. After searching my surroundings, I grab one of the wine openers: just a swig, something to take the edge off.

Before I can place the bottle onto my lips, a hand comes around me and takes it away; I slowly turn around, expecting it to be an adult, but instead, it's Ryder. "What are you doing here?"

I knew his parents were coming, but I didn't expect him to come, with his leg and all.

He's standing in front of me, in a black and white suit, balancing on his crutches while still holding the bottle in his hand. I scan over his outfit; he's actually wearing a suit this time, unlike last time when we were going to the play, he wore a suit jacket and black jeans.

"What are you doing?" he asks me.

"Has anyone ever told you it's rude to ask a question with a question?" I fire. "Now give me the bottle back," I try to reach for it, but he just moves back.

"Last time I checked, you were 17, which means underage," he says, stating the obvious.

"And so are you!" I counter, "Yet you drink,"

He then says, "That's because I don't have a problem,"

"I don't have a problem," I lie.

He tilts his head, not believing me, "Do you not remember the time I saw you drunk?"

"Okay, and. That was one time,"

"Somehow, I doubt that was the only time,"

I take a deep breath angrily; he's getting on my nerves, "You don't know me, Ryder! So stop acting like you do," I shout, good thing the place is bursting with laughter and music; no one probably even heard me.

He frowns and says, "I don't know you?" with a slight smile, implying that he, in fact, does know me.

"Could you just give me the bottle and bottle and leave me alone?"

"No,"

He continues staring at me, not back down; before I can say more, my grandfather walks in; he looks at Ryder and then at me. I wait for him to ask what's going on, but he doesn't; he grabs the box of champagne on the counter.

"Ugh, more champagne," he groans, "I need something stronger if I'm expected to sit around and listen to rich people problems," He looks at me, "I don't know how you do this every year,"

"Me neither," He smiles and then looks at Ryder and then back to me. Oh right. "Oh Grandpa, this is Ryder Adams, a boy from school,"

Ryder rolls his eyes while placing the champagne bottle onto the counter. He reaches out to shake my grandfather's hand, "Nice to meet you, son," my grandfather says.

"Nice meeting you too," he replies.

We then stand in awkward silence, I already know what my grandfather is thinking, and I will be sure to clear everything up for him later.

Grandpa then says, "Well, I'm going to go embarrass your father a little more, you two kids have fun," before walking away.

"So you don't think I'm your friend?" Ryder asks as soon as my grandfather is no longer in hearing distance.

"Huh?"

"You just said I was a boy from school. Is that all I am to you?"

I then ask, "What am I to you?" He stares at me blankly, not giving me an answer. "Exactly, you can't say it, neither can I. You took a bullet...bullets for me, yet you can't even call me your friend,"

That is why he saved me, I think. I should ask him right now why he did it, but I don't have time for that; I need to start implementing the plan. "Do you know a William Mclain?" I ask, starting step one.

"What?"

"William Mclain?" I repeat.

He thinks about it and then responds, "He's a family friend; why?"

I shrug my shoulders, "Just asking," he can't be a part of this; I refuse to have him in this, whatever this is. I give him a fake smile. "Well, uh, enjoy the party," I quickly walk away before giving him the chance to question me more.

Once I am back in the crowded area, I look at my phone, gluing the man's picture in my head; I look back at the crowd. I saw him on the list of guests who signed in, so I know he's here.

Ah, there he is, wait, ugh, of course, he has to be standing by my father. Oh well, it's now or never. I strut over to where the gentlemen are standing.

"Hello," I greet both of them. They welcome me back with smiles.

"We were just talking about you," my father says.

Mr.Mclain speaks, "Yes, 1515 on the SAT that's pretty impressive,"

I don't respond; I just nod. "You pretty much have a straight shot into any college; what are you thinking about? Career and College wise,"

Here we go; this is my chance. Step two "Uh, I don't really know what college I want to go to, but I have been thinking about doing something that can really make a change, something like," I lift my shoulders in the air, "I don't know, joining a school board,"

My father shoots me this questionable glare, saying since when.

The man laughs and says, "Well, I can vouch for that; I am on this district's board; it really is amazing to be able to help the kids and make things better for them,"

"I know," I sigh.

"What made you think about that?"

He's asking all the right questions, unknowingly falling into my trap, "After I read about what happened to AJ Crawford," I answer.

The mention of the boy's name causes his whole demeanor to change; he shifts to the other side while his jaw clenches. The champagne glass he is holding in his hand starts to shake.

"Tragic, right? I mean, how is no one talking about it? What happened to him was terrible; people should know, the schools should be recognizing it, not hiding it, don't you agree?"

He half-smiles, knowing where I am getting at, "What are you trying to imply, dear?"

"Nothing," I say innocently. "I'm just saying how it's unfortunate that a boy died, in a terrible way yet; no one talks about it. He's basically a ghost, him and his story. I wouldn't have even thought he was real if I didn't see his picture in the yearbook," I state, "I guess whoever tried to cover up his death forgot about that," I partially smile.

I continue staring at the man, not backing down; this rush of confidence flowing through me feels fantastic. I wish I could feel like this all the time. At first, I wasn't too sure about any of this. I was 99 percent sure Jessica and I got our facts wrong, but the way Mr.Mcclain is looking at me right now, I know for a fact we are 99 percent on point; he looks scared yet slightly angry.

My father clears his thought, "My daughter, she has a wild imagination; I'm sure no one would do that, sweetheart," he places his hand on my back.

The man unglues his eyes from me and then looks at my father. "If you'll excuse me, Marcus," he then looks at me, "I hope we cross paths again, Jayda,"

"I'm sure we will,"

Once the man is far enough, my father shoots me a look, "What the hell is wrong with you, Jayda? Do you know who that was?"

"Yes,"

"I'm sure you don't; you can't just go around accusing people of things like that, especially people like him,"

I narrow my eyes, "Rich white people, why can't I?" he must have forgotten we are in the 21st century.

He takes a deep breath, "No, people that have a partnership with my dealerships,"

I should've known. Everything always goes back to him and his damn dealership. Thank goodness the doorbell rings; this gives me an excuse to walk away. "I'll get it,"

I turn away from him and then walk over to the door opening it. "Caleb," I say weakly. "What are you? I thought you were--"

"Your mom called me,"

"She did?" How did she get his number?

"She insisted that I came," he says. "That's the only reason I am here,"

"Oh," I open the door wider, and he walks in.

My father walks up and greets him, "Caleb," they shake each other's hands. He then pulls him away and starts introducing him to all his rich friends.

Ryder POV

Of course, he fucking shows up; the night I wanted to talk to her, really talk to her, he comes around, ruining everything.

"You think he fucked her?" Matt asks.

I instantly tense up at the idea. "I don't fucking know,"

"Sure he did, you don't really think, they've been together all this time and didn't do shit,"

Ashey laughs and then says, "Well, if they haven't done the nasty, he most definitely has cheated on her; there's no way he hasn't had sex in two months," she then adds, " You guys remember how he was. It's like ever since his sister died, he became this fuckboy looking for love in all the wrong places,"

It's sad, really. Though it does explain a lot, from what Willow told me, they basically took care of themselves; their dad left when they were younger, and the mom just isn't around. She would stumble into town here and there, but she's not in the picture. They raised themselves; they always had only each other. After Willow died, he had no one but himself; maybe that's why he sleeps around or did sleep around, because he needs that connection, every human does.

"So, what did you do this time?" Ashley asks Matt, referring to his busted lip.

"Nothing," he replies, restrained.

She narrows her eyes. "Oh, really? Then why--"

"Drop is Ash," he says harshly. He stands up from the table and walks away.

She looks over at me, "He's acting as if we don't already know his dad beats the shit out of him,"

Jayda POV

"Caleb, can we please talk?"

He looks at me but then nods, agreeing; we walk to the back of the house. "I'm sorry about yesterday. I was scared."

"Of what?" he forcefully asks. "Me?"

"No," I shake my head. "Of course not, I was just afraid of you to see me," I put my head down in embarrassment.

"To see your body?" he says slowly. "There's nothing wrong with your body,"

I lift my head back up. "To me there is; the thought of you seeing me naked terrifies me; I know you probably don't understand, but I'm a girl; one of our biggest fears is being rejected or compared to other people our boyfriends have been with,"

He assuringly replies, "I would never do that; I'm not going to look at you and compare you to other people I've been with; those girls meant nothing to me," he then adds, "You mean everything to me,"

After a pause and a two-second gaze into each other's eyes, I stand on my tiptoes and kiss him; he doesn't pull away, which I thought he would; instead, he just pulls me closer.

We pull away from each other after hearing my dad gather everyone's attention; we walk back into the main room. Everyone has gathered around. I look away from my talking father, and my eyes meet Ryder, who is across the room beside Ashley and Matt.

He's looking at me. He's been looking and watching me all night. I tried my best not to look at him throughout the night; I managed to sneak glances at him when he finally decided to look away from me.

Caleb intertwines his hands through mine; Ryder then shakes his head and looks away.

"So happy we can celebrate this day with friends, families, and potential partners!" people laugh at my father's joke; I don't because I don't get it.

"Just to think we are six days away from the new year, I'm sure I will see most of you next week also at the Adams house, for there annual new years party,"

I so hope we aren't going; we never go. The Adams have it every year; we're never there because my parents were always out of town, and why would I go if they weren't there.

I zone out of what my father is saying when I spot William Mclain and Josiah in the back room. I can't hear what there saying, and they are too far away for me to read their lips. They look to be in a heated conversation. William throws his hands in the air while Josiah folds his arms.

My phone buzzes in my hand; it's Jessica. I slide the phone open to read the message.

*How is everything going? -Jessica

*Great!

*So the plans working???-Jessica

*Yes, step two worked, and now step 3 is taking place; they fell right into our trap. We should know everything by tonight!

"As you all know, my daughter's boyfriend, Caleb Ohdare, has been accepted to USC!" my father announces. Of course, they all know my father most likely was showing him off like a freaking trophy.

"You took the offer?" I whisper to him.

He whispers back, "I was going to tell you,"

My father waves him over, "Caleb, could you come up here, please?"

What the hell is he doing? Caleb looks at me, asking with his eyes if I know what is happening; I shake my head in reply.

He lets go of my hand and walks through the crowd up to the front. "My pockets and I were filling generously. After speaking with my board, Kings dealerships have decided to sponsor you,"

Everyone then claps in excitement; Caleb smiles happily. I don't do anything but question why my father is doing this. What's his motive? What's his angle? He hands Caleb an envelope and then shakes his hand. People continue applauding.

He walks back over to me and asks, "Did you know about this?"

"I had no idea,"

My father comes up behind him, "Thank you so much, Marcus!" Caleb tells him. "Honestly, you didn't have to do this,"

"I wanted to," My father says. "You're basically a part of the family, this one and the dealership; we will be in contact with you soon to go over the contract and arrangement," he states. "Mellisa has agreed to be your lawyer, for free, of course, and look over the contract to make sure you're getting a fair deal,"

Caleb takes an overwhelmed but happy deep breath, "Thank you,"

"No worries,"

The rest of my night is spent in the corner, by myself; everyone has been keeping Caleb occupied and busy; I'm not complaining; the more attention everyone puts on him, the less they put on me; I don't feel as overwhelmed as I did before, my anxiety is definitely coming down, I'm so happy that I didn't have to ruin my sobriety to calm myself.

I'm grateful Ryder was there to stop me. He always shows up at the right time.

"Are you looking for me?" he asks from behind me in a deep low voice.

My body shivers, and I take a slow deep breath and turn around, "No,"

He hums, "Are you having fun?"

"No," I answer honestly, "It's okay though, there are not many things I do that are fun; I don't think I have ever done something fun," I explain. I always so easily explain things to him even when I don't mean to; it just comes out so effortless around him.

"You should do something fun. Fun to you," he says warmly.

I look down and start to pick at my nails, a habit I don't usually do, but in a moment like this, I find the need to do because I can't look at him right now. Even with my head down, I can feel him smiling and looking at me.

"Ms.King,"

I look back up and turn around to find the sheriff in front of me, "Hi," I haven't seen him in weeks; he and another officer came past the house two days after I returned home to talk to me some more. He said they would let us know when they found Travis, "Did you find him yet?"

He scratches his head, "Uh no, there's uhm a matter that's been brought to my attention,"

"Okay," I say slow.

"Uhm, January 16th," he names a date, the date my life shattered into pieces, "Where were you?"

My mouth opens to speak, but nothing comes out, "I- I uh," Shit. Shit.Shit

"She was with me!" Ryder answers.