Beauty and the Bad Boy

Epilogue

My throat felt clogged as I pulled up into the most familiar place. My eyes made their way to the tree stump between the two houses. There had once been a strong oak in it's place, but now, it was just a sad looking stub.

Ryder was already waiting in his driveway, standing against his car with a can of soda in his hand. When he noticed me riding up, he straightened up his posture and made his way towards my car.

I was already late. I was supposed to be on the road three hours ago, but Peyton just wouldn't let me leave. By the time I managed to escape her, we were both sobbing messes.

"Hey," Ryder greeted me, in his usual nonchalant voice.

But I knew him well enough to know that he was far from nonchalant today.

I offered him a smile and parked my car. A bunch of suitcases were crammed into the trunk along with bags and bags of supplies. I tried to avoid the suitcases and focus on Ryder.

"So," I smiled, taking a deep breath.

It was mid-August and so hot that my clothes stuck against my skin. The air smelled sweet and hopeful, which made me feel depressed all over again.

Ryder swallowed. "So," he said, in a shakier voice.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Don't tell me that you're going to cry. Mr. Bad boy. Crying. Is it the end of the world, or something?"

He didn't respond to that. Instead, he took one of my hands and pressed it against his cheek. He was facing the floor, so it surprised me when I felt my hands become wet.

"Stop, oh god," I blurted out, before I could stop myself. The whole thing was just so heartbreaking.

Ryder looked up, in shock. "You're telling me to stop?" He asked, looking incredulous.

I bit my lip. "I'll be back in a few months," I reminded him.

"Why do you have to go so early?" He whined, getting back to his usual annoying self.

Shrugging, I responded, "it's not my fault that Boston College starts early."

Yeah. I was going to college. After all the drama, I was going to Boston College, which was fairly close to home. I was majoring in journalism, of course.

Ryder was going another way. He got accepted to a school in Florida with a lacrosse scholarship. He was going as undecided.

Peyton was taking a gap year to try and pursue her acting career, Matt was going to a local school, and Axel was headed to a school in Germany. It shocked me, too.

"Make sure you call me when you get there," he ordered.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Yes, dad."

As for Ryder and me? Relationship-wise, we were officially together. I knew it would be tough to maintain our relationship, but I still had faith in both of us. After all I had gone through that year, I came back stronger than ever.

Ryder enveloped me in another bone-crushing hug, smooshing my face against his chest. In that moment, all I wanted to do was spend the rest of my life in his arms. There, I felt safe and secure, like nothing could harm me again and I could avoid the rest of my problems.

But now I was done running away. I took a step back and quickly wiped the tears that had shed from my eyes and looked up at my boyfriend. "Well, I'm outta here."

He didn't say anything. Instead, he gave me a steely calm look and watched me as I got into my car.

I hoped that he didn't see the one sob that made it's way up to my throat. As much as I hated the fact that I was growing up, I was even more curious to see what my future would look like now that I was independent.

No parents, just me and a bunch of kids in the same boat as I was in.

And as so many people have said:

Adventure awaits us.

Hey guys.

So here's the super-short epilogue. Meh, I wish I could make it better, but I just want to tie up some loose ends.

I will probably keep adding random chapters to this story. Whenever I feel like it, maybe you'll get Ryder's POV or an insight on Samantha Boyce and her whereabouts.

In fact, I was considering making this chapter about Samantha but then I was just like, no! This is Amber's story, not Samantha's. But yeah, I think some time soon I'll add something with Samantha. I think she's just so interesting to play with.

If you haven't already, please check out 'Two Can Play At That Game'. It's not as cliche as this (well idk) but it's going smoothly.