for, lover (Completed; editing)

Chapter 63

Miles
I've got beads of sweat forming on my forehead before Bree even makes it out the door. I can see the stress in her eyes as she's descending down the few steps and over to where I'm standing. The tension lingers between us and she keeps a couple of feet of distance away from me.

She's still in her work clothes. She must have just gotten home and I'm bothering her before she could even get in her pajamas. I couldn't go to sleep without talking to her but there's no way she doesn't already know about him.

"I told Maddy why I'm out here. You've got ten minutes." She says sternly, crossing her arms over her chest and eyeing me down.

"Levi's dead." I blurt.

From the look in her eyes, I can tell she isn't surprised.

She shifts her weight to her heels and back, balancing on her toes for a moment. "I saw the News."

Of course she did.

"Is that what you came here to tell me?" I ask.

I gulp, nervously rubbing my palms together. "Yes. Well, no...not exactly." I close my eyes and press my back against the trunk of my car. "I promise I'm not trying to involve you into this but I really need your help and I don't think anyone else could be that for me."

Her eyebrows draw together and her lips close into a straight line. "What did you do, Miles?"

"Before you think the worst of me again, hear me out."

She takes a step back.

She still doesn't trust me.

"Bree, please. I know you hate me already so there's nothing else I can do to fix the thing between us, but if you want the people who killed Selena to get what they deserve, you have to help me. You're the only one who can. They'll believe you."

"Miles, I don't want to be involved. There's nothing we can do about it now. Selena's gone, Levi's gone, and all of those bastards are set free to live their pathetic, loathsome lives. They'll get what they deserve at some point, I hope."

I shake my head. "No they won't. Trent and Reed have gotten this far along and it's super fucked up that they can just live with themselves after what they did. Now Levi is dead and still no one is being convicted! This shit is going to keep happening with Phillip's stupid fucking gang and more people are going to get hurt, it's not fair."

"And what exactly did you want to do about that? Selena's case was closed and they have no lead on who attacked Levi."

"I know who attacked him."

"Do you have proof?" She catechizes.

I glance down at my feet, shaking my head again. "No, not really but I think I have an idea of how I can get it."

"You're not seriously thinking about some crazy proposal to bust a drug dealer and your friends who committed manslaughter?"

That's all I've been thinking about. For months.

I wish I could say I've done much of anything else. When I moved back to Charlotte, l had a lot of time to myself and worked hard to stay away from anyone I knew would hate to be around me. I didn't have many friends here to begin with so losing Bree was a whole bigger kick to my face than I was prepared for.

Losing someone that forces you to cut ties with everything you know was torture.
Losing someone you were undoubtedly in love with that never wanted to see your face again; that was cataclysmic.

As much as I couldn't blame Bree for her feelings, I still never wanted any of this to end up like it did. I wanted her to move on and get that happiness she thought she didn't deserve. I'm hoping she got it with this guy but there's no telling. All I do know is that I'm not going to stop until Phillip, Trent, and Reed all get what they fucking deserve.

"It sounds dangerous, Miles. It sounds crazy." She sighs.

"I know but it could really work and then we wouldn't have to worry about them anymore. Isn't that what you want?"

"I never had to worry about them! It was my friend who got caught in the crosshairs and if you get yourself involved, you're going to get hurt."

"I don't care anymore. I've got nothing left to lose. You won't be seen and no one will know you were involved, I just need you to make the report to the police."

"Are you going to actually be there?"

My mouth opens slightly.

Bree tenses and shakes her head. "Miles! You are not doing this!" She shouts.

"I have to do something. You know this isn't right! I'll never forgive them for taking everything from me."

"It isn't your place. You weren't involved and had no idea any of it was happening so just let it go. What happened to what you told me about moving on?"

I take a step towards her with my pulse quickening and the rage fuming that I could almost shatter. "I CAN'T MOVE ON!" I scream.

She flinches at my voice and keeps a steady stance, not backing away like I thought she would. She's worried, but not afraid.

"I can't...help you." She whispers, her teary eyes rolling up to meet mine. "I'm sorry, I just don't think it's right."

She balls her fists and runs away from me, back in the doorway where Maddy is standing and watching me from. She holds the door open for a few seconds to look at me, shaking her head as she slams it shut.

I lower my head and sit on the concrete in front of my car, burying my head in my knees and replaying the look over and over again that she gave me when I had desperately asked her to help.

It took months for me to get the courage to talk to her again.
I took the damn delivery job just to see her.
I went over every possible scenario I could think to do to get her to see that she can trust me and I'm not this pathological, lying fiend she made up of me in her head.

I can't change the way she feels about me right now but I sure as hell can try.