for, lover (Completed; editing)

Chapter 22

Bree

Miles keeps looking anxiously out of the car window. He's obviously uncomfortable but is still trying to muster up whatever he's going to explain. I can hear Maddy sighing from the backseat, probably wishing at this point that she had just stayed home for the weekend.

"Are you hiding from someone or something?" I ask him the next time he looks out.

He twiddles his thumbs and looks back to me. The strain in his voice shows how nervous he is to be talking to me right now.

"No, I'm sorry. I just don't know what to say..."

My mouth drops slightly and suddenly I'm enraged. The alcohol sure doesn't help me contain it.

"You don't know what to say? How about you start with why you thought it was a fabulous idea to kick me out of your condo and leave without saying anything? That seems like the perfect place to start."

Maddy giggles but stops when I shoot her a glare. I was sort of hoping I'd be able to have this conversation alone. She won't let that happen. Guess I can't be mad because of everything that has happened so far.

"What was I supposed to say? Honestly, Bree. By that point you had made up your mind about me and I had nothing to combat that."

I slam my hand on the center console.

"How about the fucking truth?!" I scream.

I can see Maddy's eyes widen from my peripheral. She rests her hand on my shoulder but I shrug it off.

"I didn't know the truth!" Miles yells back.

I stare at him, my throat stinging. His back is pressed up against the passenger door to sit as far away from me as he can.

"What are you talking about?" I whisper as if I'm afraid someone is eavesdropping on us.

"That's why I came to Tennessee." He sighs. "When you start throwing all these accusations at me, I tried to piece it all together but I realized I didn't have the answers either of us was looking for so I had to go directly to the source."

His friends.

"Trent and Reed?" I ask him.

He keeps his eyes locked on mine and nods. I pull my hand away from the console and let out a deep breath.

"I promise I'm not trying to do anything crazy but I'm pretty they're looking for me and I would prefer them not seeing you so can we get out of here?" He asks.

"and go where exactly?"

He unlocks his phone and sets a map to an address a half hour away.

"Our house. Trent and Reed are still here. I'll do my best to explain most of what I know on the way."

"Oh hell no!" Maddy exclaims and pokes her head between the front seats. "You are not about to lead us to some creepy ass cabin in the middle of nowhere leading to our ultimate demise! How stupid do you think we are?"

I look at her and press my lips firmly together. That's a pretty good point. Who knows what this could be taking us to.

Miles drags his hands down his cheeks and closes his eyes tightly.

"I'm not dangerous! You guys know me. I would never hurt anyone!"

His eyes are on mine again, pleading for me to believe him. I would be the biggest dumb ass to give him the light of day after all of this and still not knowing basically anything except him throwing the blame on his two friends without proof.

"How do we know that you don't have your two buds back at home lined up to kill us as soon as we pull in the driveway?!" Maddy yells.

Another great point. I am not about to go to his house. Miles stays silent, still watching me, probably waiting for me to give in.

"We're going back to the hotel in the public. Then you're going to tell us everything since you're too afraid to start talking here for whatever fucking reason."

He lets out a small, almost relieved sigh and nods.

"Okay, that's fine."

Maddy bites down on her lip and scoots back to the center seat.

"Are you sober enough to drive?" She asks me.

I pull the seatbelt around me and get it buckled.

"I am now." I mutter.

It's only a 5 minute drive from the shops. When I pull into the parking lot, Miles unbuckles his seatbelt and looks around the area. I turn the car off and shove the keys in my pocket.

"You guys really booked a hotel right next to everything? How did you even find out I was going to be here?" He says.

Maddy laughs and opens the back door to get out of the car.

"Girls with broken hearts are better than the FBI. Take notes."

He looks at me but I don't say anything when I get out. Miles keeps a little bit of distance from both of us as we make our way inside and over to the elevator. His hair has gotten longer and he even allowed his beard to grow out more than usual. He shoves his hands in his pockets but immediately pulls them back out when he notices Maddy eyeing him down as we step into the elevator.

Miles leans up against the wall and watches the number rise as it takes us up a few floors. The double doors open and I step out first. Miles looks at Maddy who nods her head to urge him to step out. I chuckle and cross my arms, waiting for him to follow. He glances at the floor and steps out to stand next to me, followed by my little bodyguard Maddy. She's more of a protective badass than I thought.

We walk down the hall to the very end where our room is. Maddy takes her keycard out of her wallet and swipes it through the lock before  pushing the door open. We both move out of the way to force Miles to go in first.

He walks in and takes a seat at the edge of the bed. Maddy shuts the door behind us and walks over to stand in front of Miles. She crosses her arms again, staring down at him with hatred in her eyes. I wish she would lighten up just a little. Even I have managed to calm myself down.

"Time to spill." She says and pulls the desk chair over in front of him. "Sit here."

I laugh and walk over to where he's sitting.

"This isn't an interrogation, Mads. Chill."

Miles looks at me and smiles slightly. My heart jumps and I suddenly have to pull myself back down to reality. We're not on good terms right now.

"On second thought, take the chair." I mutter.

His smile fades and he gets up to switch spots with us. Me and Maddy sit down on the bed only a couple of feet away from him. He puts his hands on the arms of the chair and sighs.

"Start with why there's public pictures of you talking to Selena the day she died."