"You can't be here! You need to leave! Right now!" Ryder yelled at Mr Wesley again. But he wouldn't listen. "Listen Ryder, I-" he began but Ryder didn't let him finish.

"No, you listen, Shane. You already fucked me and mom up once. I will not let you do it again!" Ryder yelled, addressing his dad with his first name. "I am here to help this time." Shane said, trying to keep calm. "No, you're fucking not! You had 3 years! 3 years, to come back. 3 years to help me finish working for that fucked up gang that you owed 250,000 dollars to. Now, you decide to walk in with about a million dollars in your pocket from building a brand, still refusing to pay off the 10,000 dollars I have left?!" Ryder raised his voice even more, making me nervous at the thought of what he was going to do.

"I can't just pay them off!" Shane raised his voice a little.

"Yes you fucking can! The reason I'm working for them, is because you owed them money and ran off like a little bitch, throwing mom and I under the bus instead of staying and paying off your debt. I payed off 240,000 dollars and you're still refusing to pay off the 10,000 left!" Ryder told his dad for the third time tonight. The same thing. Over and over again. He was right though. The reason he had to work because his dad owed the gang's boss money and ran away instead of paying it off. Since Ryder was the only one left, he wasn't left with a choice.

"I'm sure it won't take too long to pay off the 10,000 you have left anyway." Shane stated. Ok, hold up. Is he fucking serious right now? "No, the 10,000 you have left." Ryder and I said at the same time. "Sorry." I said softly before shutting my mouth up again.

"He knows you're in town. They told me you'd be coming I just didn't believe them. You have to pay it off. Please!" Ryder pleaded and begged his dad for the billionth time tonight and him constantly saying no and refusing to clean up his own fucking mess was pissing me off. "No." he said bluntly.

"Are you insane?" I blurted out. My mouth just couldn't keep shut. Could it? Well, I'm now stepping up. I have to try and help Ryder. "Mia, don't." Ryder scoffed at his dad before stepping back and closer to me since I was standing a little behind him, to his left. "No. How can you refuse to help clean up your own mess that you haven't even tried to help with? Ryder has paid off each and every dollar that you owe them. You now have a multi-million dollar company and you still aren't going to help?" I asked in extreme shock and rage.

"This isn't any of your business, Mia." Shane glared at me.

"I think it is because your son is forced to break my heart, to make sure I don't get killed because he is paying off your debt." I finally spoke my mind.

"If my son really loved you, then he would have figured out a way to pay off the money so he could be with you by now." Shane scoffed and shook his head. This man is getting on my last nerve. "Your money. It's your job to pay it off. Not your son's." I said hands balled up fists.

"Since you seem so eager to have it paid off, why don't you help him?" he challenged me.

"You think I would let her? I'm not gonna drag into this mess like you dragged mom." Ryder said, his jaw clenching. "You're unbelievable." I shook my head in disbelief.

"Get out unless you're gonna pay it off." Ryder demanded. Shane began to protest but Ryder didn't let him. "Out! Now!" he yelled, leaving Shane with no choice but to leave since he was set on paying off his own debt.

"I'm so glad I don't have his last name." Ryder huffed as he leaned on the kitchen counter with his jaw clenched as arms folded across his chest. "I am so glad you don't have his last name." I huffed as I mirrored his actions and stood right next to him. We stood in silence for a second, me still furious and his dad but my angered thoughts were cut short when I heard him laughing and turned to see him staring at me. "What?" I asked, trying to stop myself from cracking myself. "I am so glad that I love you right now. Seriously, thank you for sticking up for me." he grabbed my shirt and made me stand in front of him before he planted a soft kiss on my lips.

"What was that for?" I asked as I stepped back a little to look him in the eyes. "That was for standing up for me." he said before kissing me again. "And that, was for yelling at him in a way that I didn't." he said before saying, "And this, is for being here with me, knowing that your life is on the line." he said and then kissed me, pulling me closer by my waist. He pulled away moments later, leaving me a blushing and smiling mess. I am melting into putty right there. I grabbed his shirt as I rested my head on his shoulder while I smiled to myself before saying, "I should go." I said before I pushed myself off of him and started walking to his front door.

"Stay." he said, making me stop dead in my tracks. Was it just me or did his voice just get hotter? It was definitely just me. Or he knew what to do and when to do it. "Stay the night." he said, this time a lot closer to me since I felt his hand brush against my arms from behind me, while I still stood with my back facing him. "Please?" he whispered into my ear, making me go all fuzzy inside and my heart beat quicken while I got chills. "I hate you." I whisper as I stood very still. "Please?" he asked before placing a quick kiss on my neck, quickly making me turn around to face him.

"Race you to the bed." I blurted out, ruining the moment before running off and jumping to his bed, reaching before him. "Way to ruin the moment." he scoffed as he walked into the room. "We were having a moment?" I asked, playing oblivious, making him shake his head and me laugh. "Yes we were having a moment." he said as he climbed into bed next to me. "Want to have one again?" he smirked while arching an eyebrow at me, making me shove his chest playfully. "Don't do that. Don't look at me like that." I blushed like crazy, grabbing a pillow and using it to hide my face. "Don't look at you like what? I didn't even do anything." he started laughing my face.

"Stop laughing at me!" I said, bursting out into laughter myself.

"I'm not laughing at you. I'm laughing at you blushing. You look adorable." he said while laughing. "Don't!" I got off his bed and walked over to his desk to grab a book when some photos that he had put up caught my eye. "What is this?" I asked teasingly as I grabbed a photo that he had from a date that we went on. It was a double date with Harper and Daniel and we had so much fun. We went to play laser tag and of course, Ryder and I were a team and of course, we won.

We always win.

"We won that day didn't we?" he asked as he got off his bed and came and stood next to me.

"Yup. We did." I smiled.

"We always win. Especially when we're together." he smiled at me,

"We do. Don't we?" I smiled back.