Unconditional Validation

Chapter 9

"There he finally is!" my mom smiled while giving a hint of annoyance.

"I'm sorry, I got ready as fast as I could", I frowned at my mom being impatient.

"Where's Ryder?" our dad asked both me and Skyler. His question made my heart drop into my stomach.

The two of us looked at each other with a nervous glance. He never came home after what had happened at Justin's party last night. Neither of us knew what to say to our parents.

"Well, I think he stayed at Justin's house overnight because of the party", Skyler nervously explained. I held my breath because I was bad at lying.

"He can take a pass this time, we have to go. Everyone, let's get into the car!" our mom hurriedly exclaimed as she walked briskly out to the garage.

The rest of us quickly followed her to the limo where our driver was patiently waiting for us. We quickly got in and buckled our seatbelts. As we were on our way to the venue, I turned to Skyler.

"What did America and Meghan say?" I asked my sister.

"Meghan is hungover and resting, but America said she would meet us there. I sent her the address", Skyler replied while looking down at her phone.

"Can you tell Meghan I hope she feels better? I can't reach my phone, it fell on the floor of the limo", I smiled softly in Skyler's direction.

"Of course, I will do that", she responded.

I heard a ding from Skyler's phone, which meant she responded. A quick response at best, to be honest.

"Meghan said thanks Tyler and good luck!" Skyler looked up and smiled in my direction.

"America's going to meet us there?" our mom asked us with a raised eyebrow.

"Y-Yeah, she's really supportive of what we do!" I nervously laughed, forgetting to tell them America was coming to the event.

"That's great! I truly mean that! She has great ambition just like you guys have", our mother smiled warmly.

We finally arrived at the venue for my event. Unlike other events that we've held for my fashion line, this current one was being held at The Manhattan Center in Midtown. It looked really stunning and I was very awestruck at the breathtaking building. I saw paparazzi surround the perimeter with their cameras that blind people, even from a far distance. I picked my phone up from the floor and slightly brushed it off before sticking it in my pocket. The driver had come around to open the door for us to get out and almost immediately I felt overwhelmed. Everyone in our family knows what to do when there's an event with paparazzi; Walk quickly to the door, smile, and do a quick wave here and there. It's always the same no matter where we are. Having a different venue for a change was really exciting though and slightly took my mind off of recent events. The outside of the building was nothing compared to the inside! Everything was so nice and neat, while the lighting was just perfect! Wonderful picture opportunity.

"Here comes the Blackwell family now!" I heard someone announce from the venue as we walked into the building.

Everyone stood up from their tables, turned to watch us walk to the front, and clapped. I heard some cheers here and there, but nothing I'm not used to by now. Still having this exhausted feeling of wanting to be at home instead of here, I put on my fake smile in front of everyone partaking in this event. I saw that America was standing by our table at Ryder's spot. The instant I recognized it, a flood of thoughts hit me about Justin. All I could do was wish that he was here and that last night never truly happened.

"You're here!" I smiled at America with glee.

"I know! This is awesome!" America smiled back at me with awe and excitement. She looked stunning, all dressed up in her lavender dress and heels.