All On Contract

Chapter 128 - This Must End

Tessa's P.O.V:
I walk upstairs with the shopping bags and walk into Iris' room. I walk towards her bed and place the bags down on her bed before I walk towards the curtins and pull them open.

I hear the shower turn off in the bathroom and I couple of seconds the door swings open. Ryder walk out dressed in one of the two shirts he owns and his jeans. He freezes in his spot and waits for me to speak.

"Hi." I start and watch him scan my face with a blank stare. "I...Brought you clothes." I say and pick up the black bag and hold it towards him. "I noticed you only had two pairs of jeans and shirts." I add.

"No thank you." He says, taking me by suprise.

"Ryder you only have two pairs of clothes." I state.

"I don't have the money to pay you with." He says. "So take this back." He adds. "Besides, I can't even afford to look at that." He mumbles as he gestures towards the other bags with the designer logos on it.

"I don't want you to pay me." I say.

"Why? You feel sorry for me. I don't like it when people feel sorry for me. I don't want it....Thanks." He says.

"It's a gift Ryder." I sigh. "You'll need these." I add. "I wasn't sure what size shoes you where so if these don't fit, let me know." I say and walk past him, leaving the bags on the bed.

***

"She looked....Dead." I sigh and watch Marshall look up at me as he plates up the food. "She's lost all her hair. The cancer has gotten worse." I add.

"She'll get better soon, baby." Marshall says, making me sigh as I shake my head and lean down on the counter.

"I feel like a bitch for saying this but I have a feeling she won't." I say and let out a sigh. "She has a husband and two boys to take care off. She has her whole fucking life ahead of her." I add. Before Marshall could say anything, Iris walks in.

"Hi." Iris says and walks towards the sink to wash her hands.

"Hey baby." Marshall clears his throat.

"Where's your brother?" I ask as I take the hot dish from Marshall. "Marshall, honey could you grab the spoons." I say as I place the dish on the table.

"He's coming." Iris says and sits down. We sit around the table and a few seconds later, Ryder appears.

"Come sit." I say. Ryder keeps his head hanging low before he sits down next to Iris, across from me.

"How was everyone's day?" Marshall asks. I pass the bowl of salad to Ryder and notice that he's still wearing the same shirt on.

"Uhm. Not so bad." Iris shrugs.

"What happened?" Marshall asks.

"Well. I got chosen to be cheerleader." Iris says.

"You're a cheerleader?" Ryder asks in disbelief.

"That's great sweetheart." I say quickly.

"Only thing is that I think they chose me because of you and dad." Iris says.

"I doubt th-" Marshall starts but gets cut off by Nick.

"Mind if I join?" Nick says.

"Grab a plate." Marshall says.

"Hey Ryder." Nick says as he sits down next to me. Ryder stares at Nick blankly. Nick looks at me and Marshall before he lets out a sigh.

"How was aunty Karla?" Iris asks.

"She was great." I lie. Seeing Karla like that killed me.

Karla has no hair left. Her face is pale. She can barley speak without choking. She can barley sit up or do anything by herself anymore. She hates it when we help her and she wouldn't let me stay with her.

"Can we go see the baby?" She asks.

"Yeah. I'm planning on going this weekend for a meeting." Marshall says.

"What meeting?" I ask him.

"Dr and I are meeting up with this songwriter called Mariah and she w-" Marshall starts and gets cut off by Ryder.

"Is it true that you and Mariah Carey used to fuck?" Ryder asks. I choke on my food the same time Nick chokes on his drink.. Marshall looks up at Ryder before he looks back at me. "I mean. I'm just wondering." He shrugs.

***

"I never really asked you that either." Nick says, making Marshall sigh. "Is it true? Or did you make that up?" He asks.

"I'm busy." Marshall says as he flips the page in his notebook.

"I haven't asked you either." I say.

"You haven't?" Nick says in suprise.

"We never really talked about." I say.

"Why would I talk about girls I fucked with in the past with you?" Marshall says to me.

"So you did fuck her?" Nick asks. Marshall throws his head back but before he can say anything, our mangers walk in, making us all turn to face them.

"Everyone in the studio." Leroy says before they both walk off.

"I swear they're not human." Nick says as I stand up. "They fucking appear out of no where." He says, making me shake my head as I walk out of the living room.

Marshall and Nick follow behind me slowly as I make my way towards the home studio. I push open the door and walk in. I take a seat on the couch and look up at our managers.

"What's this about?" I ask. Leroy glances at me before he looks back down at his papers.

"There was a meeting a couple of days ago." Paul explains.

"Meeting about what?" Marshall asks.

"The contract." Paul says. "We pulled the date back to 2005. We decided to pull it a bit more foward. This contract ends in a month." He says. Marshall's eyes quickly dart to mine the same time my heart drops at his words.

"What?" Nick whispets.

"Now the original plan was for it to end in 2006 but unfortunately because of you two breaking rules, it ends in one month." Leroy says.

"Everyone will go their sepreate ways on November the 10th." Paul says. "Tessa. You move back to California. Marshall you stay here. We sign a final contract a couple of weeks after the contract ends. We don't...Make contact again." He adds.

"Why can't we end this in 2006?" Marshall asks.

"You broke rules that's why." Leroy says.

"Yes but we're over that now." Marshall says. "Tessa doesn't remember anything. We won't be breaking any rules-" He starts and gets cut off.

"Well then, it's going to be easier to separate you two. This must end." Leroy says. "You have to say your goodbyes to Iris too." He adds and picks up his briefcase from the floor.

"What?" I say in disbelief.

"She's just another part of the contract. She has to go Tessa." Paul says before he walks off. "And her brother has to go too." He mumbles, leaving us all in shock.