for, lover (Completed; editing)

Chapter 19

I used to listen to Maroon 5 religiously when Songs About Jane in my middle school phase so of course as soon as I heard one of the tracks, I couldn't stop dancing. I dragged Maddy right out of her chair and over to the small part of the building cleared out for all that fun stuff. She laughs at me when I grab her hands and move them around in the air.

I'm not gonna lie, I definitely have had more than a few shots but that's okay because I needed to relax a little. I feel more relaxed now than I've felt all year. Actually, I feel good.

"This is what I'm talking about! Letting go!" Maddy yells as the song ends and we make our way back to our chairs.

I chuckle and plop down in my seat, lifting my glass of water to my lips. We've been here for over an hour with no sign of Miles or his buddies. I'm losing hope that he's going to show up. Maybe it's for the best and this is where I have to finally decide to leave it all behind me.

My phone starts ringing when I finish my drink. Tony's name pops up on the screen. This wouldn't be the best time to take it so I let it go to voicemail.

"You're not going to answer that?" Maddy asks.

"No. I want to dance again."

I get back up and jog over to the dance floor as the chorus of the next song starts. I let myself get lost in the crowd, definitely out of view of Maddy. I'm not dancing with anyone. No one is, really. We're just vibing and it feels so damn good.

The alcohol feels good.

I don't think I drank that much. It was a few shots. Nothing to mess me up that badly so I honestly don't know why I feel this great.

As the song intensifies, the dancing does too. I laugh when a guy jumps in front of me and tries to make a move. He doesn't force himself on me but definitely tries his best to get me to dance with him. I start dancing with him for the hell of it. He smiles when I take him up on his offer to spin me around, making me laugh even harder.

"Can I have this dance?" A voice yells from behind me.

The guy I was dancing with nods and walks away from us. I turn to Levi with a frown.

"What are you doing?" I whine.

"What are you doing? Are you forgetting about your plan?"

I raise my eyebrows and place my hands on my hips.

"I didn't have a plan. I just went with my impulse to come out here. What's your reasoning and don't you dare say it's to see an old friend because that's stupid. Obviously Miles has beef with you."

We're not even dancing but still stuck in the middle of the floor with people doing it around us. Levi looks offended by my words but instead of reasoning he just keeps his piercing glare. It's not the time or place for more bullshit.

"What are you actually up to?" I ask him.

He glances around and grabs my wrist, pulling me out of the crowd away from everyone. He drags me outside of the building to the sidewalk in the front. There's a few people out there smoking and talking. He makes sure we aren't anywhere near them.

I pull my arm away from him and step back, showing him I'll make a run for it if I have to.

"What are you doing?" I snap, trying not to raise my voice and cause a scene.

"I needed to talk to you somewhere that isn't so loud and away from your friend."

"If you want to talk to me then Maddy needs to be around because I honestly don't trust you right now."

Levi rolls his eyes and puts his hands in his pockets.

"I'm not the one you should be worried about."

Now Levi wants to act like he knows something that I don't. He swore to me he didn't know anything.

"I swear, right now is not the fucking time to be keeping secrets when I'm trying to figure this out."

I cross my arms over my chest and huff. How else can I show my visible distress?

"I did a lot of digging."

"Which is what?"

Do I have to physically get it out of him? What's the point of him keeping something about Miles and then following me all the way down here?

"Miles' friends got themselves into a ton of trouble." He says.

"What are you talking about?"

"His friends from that picture. Trent and Reed. The fourth guy from the picture that wasn't tagged, that's Phillip Canter."

"I have no idea who that is."

"He got busted for some drug cartel three years ago."

I stare at him. He sighs and pulls his phone from his pocket. He turns the screen to me and shows me the picture I've already seen and stared at on numerous occasions.

"I've seen the picture, Levi."

He swipes his finger to the right and shows me a different photo. One of the previous guys sitting next to a younger version of a very familiar face. Justin Adams.

"You know him, right?" He asks me.

I nod slowly and shrug.

"So? That doesn't mean anything."

"Wasn't he there the night your friend got killed? That's what you told me."

Why did I blabber to this guy? I told him way too much. Granted, he might be onto something and I still refuse to admit the truth to myself.

"Yeah, he said he saw it happen but he didn't know who it was or where they went."

"Of course he's going to say that. Now look at this."

He swipes the screen to the right again, showing another picture of Justin and this Phillip guy that I've literally never seen. They're standing in front of a small stage at a club. Off to the side at one of the tables is three people I can almost barely, yet unmistakably recognize. Reed, Selena, and Miles. They were talking.

"This was posted that night before she got killed by that club's Facebook page. You also told me Miles never met her."

I shake my head and take a further step back from him. This is way too much for me to handle right now. I didn't expect to get any information this early, if at all, especially from Levi. Why the hell wouldn't he have sent me all of this before?

"It doesn't look good, Bree. That's why I'm here. Accident or not...he was there with her and it was his car that did the damage."

I turn and run back inside the building, looking around frantically for Maddy so we can either get the hell out of here before I have a breakdown or at least step somewhere to talk about this. I just need Levi to stay away until I can wrap my brain around all of this.

I push through people to head back towards our table. It's gotten way busier since we stepped outside. Maddy's standing next to our stuff with a drink in her hand talking to a guy. She's always talking to someone.

I rush over to her and up behind whoever she's talking to.

"Bree!" She calls out.

"Sorry to interrupt but we need to go." I blurt.

The stranger turns around to face me and I realize he's no stranger at all.

"Miles." I whisper as if all the noise in the building had disappeared, knowing damn well it hasn't.

A small smile forms on his face and before he can open his mouth to speak, I swing my fist in the air as hard as I can to make impact with his jaw.