by Raathi Chota
“Err…sure.”
“Okay, when Keene says go, you’re going to keep it in park for a second, then put it in reverse while pushing down on the accelerator. Two seconds later, put it in first gear and, well…the car will rise, then zip down the street as fast you can,” I said, then turned to Lana. “Got it?”
“Not really, but I’ll give it a shot,” she mumbled, then wrapped her hand around the handle. I put my hand over Lana’s, which made her look at me.
“Trust me,” I whispered, then looked at Keene. Once he dropped his hand, the smell of burned rubber polluted the air. I guided her hand as it went in reverse. Everything happened so fast as I looked at the side mirror to see smoke from the tires. The car rose as the guy in the Toyota gaped at us, then drove. We landed on the ground, and that’s when the race began. We zipped down the long road, and I literally heard Lana move her foot toward the clutch. “Second gear,” I called out and looked over my shoulder to see the guy right on our tail. “Block him.”
“Wha—we’re in the lead. I do—”
I cut her off when I squeezed her thigh. She yelped and blocked the guy. After a while, she whacked my hand away and went into third gear. In a matter of seconds, we saw Axel and Levi. I smiled as they cheered and hollered. The guy was next to us as we drove full speed. I looked at him, and he did the same. Lana hit the accelerator pedal once more as we passed the finish line. I smirked and raised my middle finger at him as we stopped.
“Oh my god! We did it!” Lana cheered as I turned to her.
“You did, baby girl,” I said as she gave me a smile, then pulled me in for a quick hug. We got out of the car, and Lana immediately ran to Levi. I watched as she jumped in his arms as he laughed.
“You finally did it!” he said as the guy reached into his pocket and pulled out the money.
“Not bad…as promised.” He held up the money.
“Where’s Keene?” Axel asked.
“Aww, shit, we forgot him again!” Levi said as he pointed to Keene who ran toward us.
“Screw you, guys. You know that.” He huffed as he stood next to me. The guy was about to give us the money until we heard claps. It was hard to look around since it was dark and the only light was the headlights of the cars. The claps got louder as the guy backed away. I raised a brow as he smirked.
“Tick that off the list,” a recognizable voice said. I stiffened as James appeared in front of us with two men behind. Just as expected, one of them was from the cage. His face looked swollen.
“Hey, you were the guy I beat.” Axel pointed at the man who glared in return.
“What are you doing here?” Keene asked as I looked at him, then Lana. She seemed frightened as she stood behind Axel.
“Just wanted to say a quick hello.” James smirked as he stood right in front of us.
“Can I have my money now?” the guy asked as he looked at James.
“Wa-wait—you set us up!” Lana pointed at James.
“I had to find some excuse to talk to my boys.” James laughed as I looked away. “You could’ve just done what I asked, and none of this would be happening.”
“Yo, I don’t know what’s going on, but I want my mo—” The guy cut off when James raised his hand. One of his men behind him pulled out a gun with a silencer and shot the man in the head. My jaw dropped as he fell to the ground, blood oozing out of his skull. We watched as James spun around and approached the guy. He placed his foot on his back and looked at us.
“Not the first time some of us have seen blood coming out of someone’s head,” he said, and his men laughed. My jaw tightened as I looked at the body. He still had his eyes open, which made the hair on the back of my neck rise. I looked at Lana and expected her to cry, but all I saw was a blank expression as she stared at the body. Levi held a poker face while Axel and Keene looked shocked. Then there was me. I didn’t know how to feel because I didn’t want James to get inside my head. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” James looked at Keene, who held his phone. “Otherwise I’ll just shoot you all, since you’re such disappointments to me.” I looked at his two men, who had pistols in their hands. James walked over to Lana, and Levi immediately stood in front of her. James smirked as he leaned in and whispered in his ear. Whatever he said put Levi off as he stepped aside and walked over to me. I watched in fear as James stroked Lana’s cheek. I didn’t know if she shivered from his touch or her shorts, but she closed her eyes as James put a lock of hair behind her ear. I stepped forward, but Levi gripped my arm. I scowled. He gave me an icy glare in return and shook his head. “Such a beautiful girl can do so much damage,” James muttered as he cupped her cheeks. My jaw clenched as I saw the tear roll down her cheek. We watched as James backed away and snapped his fingers. The men took the dead body by each arm and pulled him. “Don’t do anything stupid until we see each other again,” James said as he looked at Levi, Lana, and me. “Happy New Year, and remember…actions speak louder than words.” He then walked into the dark night with his two men, who casually carried the body as if he weighed nothing.
“I miss Christo,” one of James’s men piped up as they walked off. We couldn’t see them, but we heard them.
“Same here, Mike. He’s an idiot for not following,” James said, and that was the last thing we heard until they were gone. Silence filled the atmosphere as we took in what had happened. I didn’t know what else he wanted from us. Out the corner of my eye, I saw Lana walk forward. Her breaths were heavy as she looked in the direction James went in.
“You can’t just do that!” she yelled as I closed my eyes. I hate to see her like that. “Where is he?” she yelled as I opened my eyes and raised a brow. “What do you want?” she cried out as Levi walked to her.
“Hey, hey, hey calm down, pr—”
“I’m not going to calm down! What the hell? We just witnessed a murder, Levi. Not just any murder, but one done by a drug dealer!” she exclaimed as Levi placed his hands on her arms.
“I know, princess. You just have to calm down. Everything’s gonna be ok—”
“No, no, no—we have to tell my dad. He’ll kno—”
“Listen to me!” Levi yelled as he shook her. She stopped and stared at him. “Your dad doesn’t know that we’re here. He doesn’t even know that we’re all together out here. We’ll tell him when we get back, okay? I just need you to relax!” He raised his voice. She nodded her head as Levi dropped his arms and stared at her. I looked past them and saw something on the ground where the dead body had lain. I walked over to it and blocked out the others as I saw a paper on the ground. I picked it up and unfolded it. When I read the paper, I squinted my eyes as I thought about what S1 meant.
“I wanna go home,” Lana whispered.
“You can’t. I planned the whole night for us. I don’t know when I’ll see you again for the next year,” Levi said as I rolled my eyes.
“I’m gonna miss you.” Lana pouted as she wrapped her arms around his torso.
“Me too, princess, but I’ll always be there when you need to talk or a shoulder to cry on.”
I had to resist the urge to gag at his nonsense.
“Thank you,” she mumbled into his chest as I walked to the car.
“Anytime. Love you,” he said as I froze and turned to their moment. She stared at him with that smile that I’ve seen one too many times. It wasn’t a happy smile or a sad smile; it was a mixed emotions smile. Her only smile I’d noticed.
“Love you too,” she said, then pulled away from him. “Levi, I need to tell you something about that guy and his guy that we saw in the cage they we’r—”
“Err…guys, we gotta go.” Keene cut off Lana as we heard a gang approach us. We rushed to the car. Keene drove while Axel sat in the passenger’s seat. Lana sat between Levi and me and leaned into his chest as he ran his fingers through her hair.
“Quick, get us out of here,” Levi said as Keene started the car. I watched the gang walk past us to the abandoned Toyota. They started to disman
tle it.
“Where to now?” Axel asked as he ticked off street racing from the list.
“Head back downtown. We’re going to a paint party.” Levi smirked as he looked at Lana. She was half asleep as Keene turned on the radio. When I looked down, I saw Lana’s hand placed loosely on my thigh. I slipped my hand through hers and entwined our fingers together as we drove through downtown.
***
By the time we arrived at the party, it was two-thirty a.m. Levi called Jaden, and somehow, he talked the bouncer into letting us in, since we were underage except Axel. The place was packed with people, and their neon clothing, as well as the lights, stood out. Lana was off with Keene while Levi, Axel, and I stood away from the crowd.
“Listen, err…for what happened earlier, we keep it between us, right?” Levi asked as he looked at us.
“Yeah, we will, but you know Lana. She’ll tell her dad, and I think it’s right because he’s been looking for James for months now,” Axel said.
“I know. Something’s not right. I can see it her eyes. There’s something that she’s hiding,” he said as I rolled my eyes.
“Aren’t you hiding something from her too?” I asked. He glared at me.
“Look, man, you two and Keene are the only people I trust. I want you to take care of her,” Levi hissed.
“Why are you all so protective now?” I scrunched my nose up.
“Remember this.” He raised his sleeve where the tiny hole was. I remembered when he told us what happened. It scared me, but I didn’t think he told us everything. If Lana ever found out, she’d go nuts. We nodded in unison with confused looks. “How I got this…somehow involves her.”
“How?” Axel asked.
“I don’t know, but promise me that you won’t let anything happen to her. She’s already been through so much. I don’t want what happened earlier to happen again,” he mumbled as we followed his gaze to see Lana dancing. She looked so beautiful and free. Her head was thrown back as she danced while people surrounded her. No cares in the world of the things that surrounded her, that sort of look you barely saw on Lana Willson. “Well, I’m gonna find Keene,” Levi mumbled as he walked off. Axel handed me a drink and I thanked him. We stood there and drank the alcohol as I thought over what happened earlier. Levi seemed calm after what happened, while Lana was the complete opposite. It made me wonder what James whispered in Levi’s ear. Axel knew James, since Deputy Paul told him when I got arrested. Although I was suspicious of Keene.
“You really gonna let that guy put paint on her?” Axel nudged me as he pointed. I followed his finger and looked across the room. Lana took off her jacket, which exposed her glowing white crop top. I smirked at Axel as I drank up the cold liquor and gave the cup to him. I also took off my leather jacket and dumped it on his head, which made him groan. I walked toward Lana and looked at the guy who painted her back. He saw me, and I shooed him away as I took the brush and began. Her hair was moved to the side as I painted white stripes. I glanced down at her lower back as I thought about what to paint there. I shrugged as I began to use orange and yellow for the sun. Lana spun around with a startled look when she realized it was me. I grinned as I dropped the brush and dipped my fingertips into the pink paint. She stared at me as I placed my finger on her temples and brushed them down her jawline. She tugged on my shirt as she lifted it up and over my head. I stood shirtless as she ran her fingers over my tattoos, then picked up a brush. She painted dots around my eyes, then lines.
“I hope you didn’t mess on my back,” she said as I put yellow on my thumb, then dragged it down her chin.
“Nope, you look like an angel with wings,” I said, and she laughed. A chill kicked up my spine as she covered her whole hand in paint and stepped closer. She raised her head as she left orange handprints on my back.
“Guys, check it out,” Axel said as Lana and I backed away. We followed his gaze to see that Axel had painted a dick on Levi’s back.
“Not funny, dude,” Levi muttered as he looked at Lana and me.
“Yeah, you’re right. It’s fucking hilarious because it’s glowing!” Axel exclaimed as Lana and I laughed.
“What’s up, guys? That chick there just kissed me, and I feel fucking fantastic!” Keene slurred.
“What do you mean she kissed you?” I stepped closer and noticed the sweat run down his face.
“Dude, did you swallow anything?” Axel asked as he handed me my jacket. Keene breathed heavily as he pulled off his baseball tee.
“Yeah, when we kissed sh—”
“Shit. You swallowed an ecstasy pill,” Axel muttered as he ran off. My eyes widened as I thought of the symptoms an ecstasy pill had. Keene tripped, but I managed to catch him as my arm wrapped around his torso. I took him away from the crowd where Axel found us and handed him a bottle.
“Dude, we gotta get you out of here. It’s too congested,” Axel said as Keene leaned against the wall.
“How long do the effects last?” I asked.
“Probably about three hours or so, but we have to get him out of here or else…” Axel trailed off as he gave me a worried look.
“I wanna dance,” Keene slurred as he waved at the people who danced.
“Go get Lana and Levi. We have to go,” Axel said as I nodded. When I walked through the crowd, I spotted Lana and Levi. A blank look filled my face as I watched them. She sat on a chair and painted his back while he painted her thighs and legs. His hand went in between her legs, and she laughed, then pushed him away.
“Guys, we have to go,” I stated as I held my shirt and jacket.
“Why?” Lana pouted as Levi helped her up.
“Keene swallowed an ecstasy pill, so he can’t be here.”
“Oh, okay. Come on, princess, we’re going to our next stop.” Levi smirked as he took her hand in his. They walked past me, and I let out a sigh. I was glad that Levi wouldn’t see Lana after this night. I grabbed her jacket too and followed them as we walked out of the club.
I sat between Keene and Lana yet regretted it since she was wide awake and he sweated.
“Am I in the north pole? It’s fucking freezing!” Keene yelled out as he closed his window.
“You were sweating just a few minutes ago!” Levi said as he drove.
“You know I’m starting to think that everything we do on that bucket list has a consequence,” Axel pointed out as Lana ticked off paint party.
“What gave you that idea? Was it the guy who got shot or Keene getting drugged?” Lana sarcastically asked.
“I feel sick,” Keene mumbled as he rested his head on my shoulder.
“Dude, we’re almost there. Hold on,” Levi muttered as he drove faster. After a few more minutes, we finally arrived. We got out of the car, and I grinned as we read the sign.
“If you haven’t realized, Levi, it’s closed,” Lana stated as we looked at the indoor pool.
“Oh, come on, princess. This is an old one, and the only security they have are gates.” Levi shrugged as he helped Keene.
“So we’re gonna break in?” Lana demanded.
“Sshh! Don’t say it like that. It’s just we’re visiting at the wrong time.” Axel grinned as he swung his arm around her shoulder.
“If we get caught, it’s all on you,” Lana said as she pointed at Levi.
“Oh please, princess, have you ever gotten caught?”
“Not really,” she mumbled as I smirked.
“Exactly.” Levi shrugged as we stopped at the entrance that only had a locked gate.
“Shit,” Axel muttered as he shook the gate. As my brother tried to pick the lock, Levi walked around the building. Keene leaned against the wall and sang a random song as Lana looked out for anyone. I watched as Levi ran back to us with a wicked look.
“There’s a ladder that leads up to the roof,” he said, then pointed inside and onto the ceiling where there was an opening.
“Someone climb, get in there, and open for the rest of us,” he said as Lana snorted.
“You do realize whoever opens that window will land in the pool.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I’ll go.” Axel grinned as he took off his clothes.
“Are you sure?” I raised a brow at him.
“Yes, brother, it’s not like I’m jumping off a cliff.” He laughed, then tossed his clothes to me. I let out a sigh as we watched him walk off and around the corner. We looked inside and above by the center of the pool as we waited for him. Two minutes later, we saw someone drop into the pool with a big splash. I bit my lip as I watched him come up for air and out of the pool. Axel pushed the button, and the gate unlocked. Levi and I opened it as we rushed inside. Keene was clearly happy since he jumped in with his clothes on. I took out my phone and checked the time to see that it was three a.m. I glanced up and saw Axel and Keene in the pool while Lana stood a few feet away from the pool. Her jacket was off as well as her shoes, which displayed the paint on her body. I slowly bit my lip as I took a picture of her. She turned to me as I held the phone up and blocked her face. I laughed as I continued to take photos of her.
“Aren’t you getting in?” I asked as I took off my clothes.
“I don’t know,” she whispered as I unbuckled my belt.
“Come on, princess!” Levi yelled behind her. I watched as he ran toward her, picked her up, and dived into the pool with her. Lana glared at Levi as he splashed water on her. Keene came up behind Levi and jumped on him. Lana turned to me and gestured me to come in. I playfully rolled my eyes as I jumped in and swam toward her.
We played in the pool for the next ten minutes, and my thoughts drifted off to when Lana and I were in the park and had a little picnic before Homecoming. I remembered when she told me she loved to swim. The guys jumped in the pool while Lana swam back and forth. I rested in the center as I watched her. She stopped and floated on her back, and I took the chance to swim toward her. Her clothes were off by now; all she wore was her black lingerie. Her eyes were closed as her hair spread out. I managed to get off all the paint on my body, but Lana still had hers. I cautiously placed my hands on her back to keep her up.
