Chapter 24: The truth is right in front of you

I texted Eddie again, waiting for him at our designated meet up near the Mall. While I sat there, my eyes wandered around, watching as oblivious people happily walked back and forth. Their bliss bothered me for some reason. 

My fingers drummed on the steering wheel impatiently. I needed to get home and do some digging, and more importantly, I needed to talk to Dad. 

From the corner of my eye, I saw Eddie jogging over to the car. My hand caressed the top of the gear shift immediately tilting it into drive. 

"Well?" Eddie asked as he climbed in, "Did you get to see him?"

I pulled the car out once he was fully situated. "I did. Not that it matters. I won't be able to see him again unless I have Dad with me."

Eddie laughed, "That means you got caught, right?" I didn't respond, only breathing deeply as I turned onto the main road. "You were brave today, Ally. I'm pretty sure you were shaking but you went through with it."

"Didn't really feel like I had a choice." I bit my lip. There was no other choice. Noting to myself that Ryder's family had been absent from the station, made me feel like if I hadn't gone he would've been feeling completely abandoned. 

Eddie tapped his finger loudly on the passenger-side window. "You like him, right?" 

His question made my breath hitch and I checked the side mirror to make sure that I wasn't going to cause an accident. Of course, I liked him. It was easy to admit to myself but a lot harder to say to someone else, even if all my actions pointed to the obvious. 

"I'll take that as a yes." He laughed, but Eddie's lighthearted take on the situation was lost on me as my mind turned in all different directions. I kept quiet as I drove home while listening to my brother on the phone, he sounded happy. It was nice. 

My mother was at the corner of the porch, phone to her ear, and a wide smile on her face. Eddie quickly waved at her as he went into the house. I paused, looking at her with such disgust that soon the vibrant smile faded, and her lips folded in. 

"Is there something I can help you with, Allison?" She took measured steps as she made her way to me, no doubt on edge about the way I was eyeing her. 

I certainly didn't need to engage but the way she acted rubbed me the wrong day. My mother was always the wrong and strong type, but even she knew that what she said to me last night was completely uncalled for. "If you hate me so much then why don't you just get a divorce?"

"You think I'm not getting a divorce because I don't want to?" She rolled her eyes, annoyed with my question. "You know something, Allison? Why don't you grow up and stop being such a selfish child? You want everything to go your way but you're not smart enough to see what's happening here, are you?"

I was taken aback. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means," my mother flipped her hair over her shoulder in typical mean girl fashion, "that I don't hate anyone in this family and you should do your best to remember that the next time you think of asking me that. When and how I choose to divorce is entirely up to me!" She stormed off, bumping into my shoulder as she pulled open the front door. 

I rubbed at the spot, my mind jumping around on what she'd said and the things I still needed to look into. It was already past noon and I had some digging to do. 

The drive to Ryder's was longer than I expected. Maybe it was because I was alone for the first time or because I was driving straight from my house and in my mother's car. Either way, I felt tired when I arrived. 

I noticed immediately that the Police had been there. There was yellow caution tape blocking the graveled driveway, and a sign that said 'Active Crime Scene'. I ignored them both, crouching under the tape and steadily making my way up the path to the house. It had been more than 24 hours and the police had to have known now, that if they weren't Ryder, they weren't getting into his house. 

 The shades were down over the glass windows, the lights were off on the second floor and the only thing that could be heard was the chirping of the birds and my unusually heavy breathing. I might've been pushing the limits of my bravery with my trip out to Ryder's house alone. 

I wandered around the back, checking out the small garage where Ryder kept his Motorcycles and the car. It was locked tight but through the window panels, I could see that one of them, the motorcycle that had been rebuilt, was missing. The last time I saw it was probably a week ago when Ryder told me that it needed a new part, something about the engine sounding dry. 

Pretty soon, after some more uneventful looking around, I found myself crouching by the car where I'd pulled it into the cover of the trees and looking down at my phone. I didn't trust looking at the Student Portal again, too scared to see my name twisted in all sorts of ways while Ryder sat in jail wrongfully accused. 

The phone buzzed in my hand and text message appeared at the top of the screen. 'MOMSTER': Doing what you want is fine, but next time remember that you're taking your liberties with MY CAR.

I ignored her message. Who wouldn't? Her only thought was probably that she wanted to go meet up with her boyfriend and she couldn't. The thought dropped an unknown feeling of shame into my stomach.

If someone else, anyone from school found out about this, would they use it against me? They already thought I'd been sleeping with Mr.Lane, this would be fuel to the fire.

And what would happen to my Dad's Firm? Would his business fail? Would the people that turned to him for help to solve their problems lose the trust they had in him?

The thoughts were crippling but the longer I sat there the more I shivered at the feeling that I was being watched.

That's when the dots finally connected! 

 Ryder didn't need me to find out who was trying to frame him, he just needed me to find who been watching him this whole time. They would undoubtedly be able to confirm all his movements, but were they even still around?

With Ryder in jail, wasn't it possible that they had gone back to wherever they came from? And if they had, how was I supposed to find them? How was I supposed to know where they were?

I looked down at my phone. I needed help and only one other person knew what was happening here.

I pressed the phone to my ear and listened anxiously as the ringing continued. When it finally stopped, her voice filtered through the speaker and pulled me from my crouched position.

"Hey Ally, I'm sorry I haven't called you yet. Things have just been a little crazy here but I promise I'll keep you updated on Ryder." She was quick to apologize; a real sweetheart who had somehow stayed out of the spotlight.

I smiled, knowing at least that they hadn't completely abandoned him. "That's okay, Ali, actually," I took a deep breath, readying myself to divulge the information on what I'd spent my Saturday doing. "I've been to see Ryder. Officer Deerbeck helped me get in, but that's not why I called."

I heard a door close on the other end of the phone and took a deep breath as Aaliyah whispered for me to continue. "I talked to Ryder and I think he wants me to find the person who's been following him. I'm at his house right now."

"You're at his house?" Aaliyah yelled through the phone. "Allison it's a police scene, you can go to jail if you get caught trespassing. What were you thinking?"

"Well honestly," and I was being honest, "I thought your mom had turned her back on him. None of you were there when I went to the station and he looked terrible. I just needed to do something to help! I'm sorry, I just...I remember what it is like for me when no one stayed by my side. I didn't want Ryder to feel that way, too."

There was a prolonged silence as Aaliyah thought about what I'd said, and soon, after she appeared to have made up her mind, I heard the sound of rustling paper.

"Listen carefully, Allison." I nodded in confirmation even if she couldn't see me. I'm going to give you a name, someone in town who's known Ryder's family for a long time. Go to them and tell them what's happening and they'll be able to help you out"

"Okay," a small smile danced on my lips but I was curious, "Can I ask you something though? Why hasn't your mom gone to this person to help Ryder yet?"

"I'll tell you later," she was quick to jump the subject, hinting that there was more to the story. "For now, find Michael Eaton. He sometimes eats at Selma's but he's from Madison. You should be able to easily find him if you talk to her. I'm sorry, I have to go now. Good luck!"

The phone clicked, ending the call before I could say another word. I repeated the name, willing myself not to forget it as I kicked out my legs and hopped in the car. It was time to pay Selma a visit. 

The small diner was bustling as I pulled up to the curb. Patrons going in and out, and a small line had started to form. I recognized a few of the faces outside, Parents mostly. The others seemed to be older folks that lived in a further part of town because none of them seemed even remotely familiar. 

I took a deep breath and gave myself a once over in the rearview. I'd met Selma a total of 2 times, this would be the third and unfortunately, neither of the previous visits suggested that she liked me or my family that much. Still, this wasn't about me. It was about Ryder so I needed to do my best. 

My first form of contact was to go to the window. Hopefully, Selma would see me from there and not ignore my presence. I tried cutting into the line and peeking through the glass, but the Diner was so packed that I could barely see the bar. I eventually joined at the back of the line and waited for my turn. 

If it wasn't for Ryder needing help, I probably would've never worked up the nerve to come back here on my own.

When it was finally my turn to head inside, I went straight for the counter. Selma was busy filling an order but I made my presence known as she placed the styrofoam box on the counter and accepted payment from the customer.  

She eyed me harshly for a moment before directing me to the kitchen doorway. I followed her with my eyes as my body bumped through the people that occupied the Diner until we were face to face at the back door.

"I hope the rumors I've been hearing are just that; rumors," Selma said curtly.

I swallowed hard, shaking my head. "Ryder is in jail, but I'm pretty sure he didn't do it."

"Of course, he didn't!" Her voice was raised, eyes blinking rapidly as tears began to line the rims. "I trust you must be here for something, you know I don't like you very much. Your mother, her mother- a bunch of maneaters who love nothing more than ruining good people and I don't think you're any different."

I can't say her words didn't sting. I felt like there was a knife being plunged deeper and deeper into my chest as the day progressed. "Aaliyah told me that you'll be able to help me find someone. His name is Michael Eaton."

The old woman's eyes lit up, "Aaliyah's the one who sent you?" I nodded enthusiastically, fighting back the need to drop to my knees and sob into my shirt. "Fine then, come back here around 8 tonight when things have quieted down. I'll be able to help you then."

She hustled back to the counter before I was able to say thank you and I left the Diner feeling equal parts dejected and hopeful.

A/N

Please forgive my extremely lengthy period of no updates. Life has been pretty crazy for me and I think I'm finally okay now. I hope that everyone is okay, and I thank you once again for continuing to read Something about Ryder!