Dork Diaries: Dorky Daughter (4)

THE RETURN:

Renée's P.O.V:

It's... it's over... Phew...

That backstabbing Crenshaw! I never should have trusted him! He...He broke my heart.

Mom and Dad were right about him. They were right about watching out for myself at night.

They were always right...

If it wasn't for this mystery man, my hero... I don't know what could have happened to me.

I owe him my life.

But he looks shocked... Like, he's just staring at me the trunk.

RYDER: "Oh...My...Goodness... What have you gotten yourself into?"

RENÉE: "He put me in here! He should be behind bars! ...But thank you so much for saving me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I mean it. You saved me."

RYDER: "It's... It's fine. You're safe now, and that's what matters. This guy won't see the light of day for a long time for his serial cases of abduction.
His methods are unknown, so he's a dangerous man.
The police will take care of that, but the least I can do is ensure you get home safely."

RENÉE: "You mean you're not the police?"

RYDER: "No... Not me, kid. But you can trust in me that I'm your ally."

RENÉE: "Okay. Thanks, all I want is to see my parents again."

I accepted his offer and got into his car. It felt nice to be in the passenger seat and not in the trunk of a car.

Though, there is one thing that I know about this man. One thing I overheard.

RENÉE: "So... You're Dani's father right?"

RYDER: "That's right..."

RENÉE: "I can see why you haven't payed much attention to him lately."

RYDER: "Is that what he told you?"

RENÉE: "Yeah..."

RYDER: "Ugh... I'm a terrible father. I can never protect the ones I love."

RENÉE: "I wouldn't say that, my parents are always busy."

RYDER: "Your parents..."

RENÉE: "You know them?"

Well, that's a stupid question. I mean, almost EVERYONE knows who they are.

RENÉE: "If you know who they are, then surely you know who I am, right?"

RYDER: "Renée Roberts."

RENÉE: "So you do know."

RYDER: "Don't think that I'm some fan who follows the tabloids, kid. I'm not gonna ask for your autograph.
I know you because you're Nikki and Brandon's daughter."

RENÉE: "Yes, that is their names."

RYDER: "No, I mean... I know them. Well, knew them is a better term.
Nikki Maxwell... You look just like her."

RENÉE: "Nikki Maxwell?"

RYDER: "Your Mom's maiden name. No doubt she dropped it after she split town.
Same time I was accepted into the academy."

RENÉE: "Huh? Don't tell me you're-"

RYDER: "Read the diary, right? There's no doubt in my mind that she wrote all about me. I was there to pick her up from the ground, I was there to bring her and Brandon together, I was there."

RENÉE: "Maxwell Negrini?"

MAXWELL: "I go by many names in my job. But that's a name...I have not heard in a long time.

RENÉE: "You're Maxwell Negrini?!"

MAXWELL: "Yes, I am."

RENÉE: "But that's impossible, wouldn't you be wearing an eye patch or something?"

MAXWELL: "Surely you've heard of the advancements made in bionics. I thought you kids would see the world that way."

RENÉE: "Sure, but I can't believe that you're actually here in front of me. But what's all this stuff about you being called Ryder?"

MAXWELL: "My codename is Ryder, because I'm just always riding away from my problems. Moving onto the next thing, never settling down..."

RENÉE: "That's pretty sad..."

MAXWELL: "Welcome to my tragedy of a life.
Did the good old Branikki duo ever tell you about me? I bet they didn't."

RENÉE: "Branikki?"

MAXWELL: "Brandon and Nikki,  the nickname everyone gave their couple. It pissed me off..."

RENÉE: "My mother told me a little about you recently, but my father has never mentioned you."

MAXWELL: "Figures, after what I did I don't blame him."

RENÉE: "The fight?"

MAXWELL: "It's an image that was burned into my mind forever. Everything I thought I had built came crashing down. I ran away from it all, once again. I enrolled at a military academy, had them beat the weakness out of me."

RENÉE: "Oh...my....God."

MAXWELL: "I'm sorry...you don't deserve to hear this from me. All I do is cause nothing but trouble. It's best for you to stay away from me."

RENÉE: "I don't think that's true."

MAXWELL: "You what? Okay, listen up. My father killed your grandfather, okay."

RENÉE: "What?!"

MAXWELL: "Ran the limo off the road, shot him right between the eyes.
He was a bloodthirsty, greedy, selfish son of a bitch monster.
And all I've done, is follow in his footsteps... I never wanted to destroy. I only wanted to create."

RENÉE: "That was your father that did that, you are nothing like him."

MAXWELL: "..."

RENÉE: "You can't run from your problems forever. If you do, you'll only hurt Dani even more."

MAXWELL: "Ugh, here I am getting lectured by a kid..."

RENÉE: "Whether you call yourself Ryder or not, you'll always be Maxwell to me.
The hero who saved me."

MAXWELL: "Heh, I'm no hero. But...thanks kid."

RENÉE: "Now, my mansion is up ahead."

MAXWELL: "Mansion? Geez, fame and fortune has been too kind to them.
Alrighty then, this is your stop."

RENÉE: "Hey, please come inside with me. No matter what happened in the past, my parents will love you for saving me."

MAXWELL: "No, I'm afraid that is something that I can never do. All I would bring to them is pain and suffering once again. I would appreciate it if you kept this all a secret."

RENÉE: "I understand, I will."

MAXWELL: "Also, if you ever want to maybe talk sometime then feel free to give me a call."

RENÉE: "That sounds great, maybe I can visit Dani sometimes... DANI! Is he okay?"

MAXWELL: "Don't worry, he's my son. It will take more than that to keep him down. Wow, I've just received word that Jordan Crenshaw has been placed behind bars."

RENÉE: "That's great news. Well... Bye Maxwell, thanks again."

MAXWELL: "No problem Renée."

I can't believe that I just met Maxwell Negrini. He meant so much to my parents according to my mother's diary.

And now I'm afraid that I'm going to have to confront two angry parents as I step through that door.