by Raathi Chota
“Dude, bring her!” Levi yelled.
“It’s not that easy getting a drunk Lana to do things,” I said.
“Ugh, fine!” Keene huffed. “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, get the fuck down!”
“That’s not the words,” Axel pointed out. I stood up and walked toward the door. I slowly unlocked it and heard the loud music.
“Okay, we can go,” I mumbled, then spun around to see Lana on the windowsill with her shoes in her hands. My eyes widened as she threw them out.
“Catch me, my knight!” She laughed, then jumped out the window. I ran to the window, my heart almost dropping out of my chest as I reached it. I bent down to see Levi, Axel, and Keene sprawled out on the ground and Lana laid across right on them. They groaned as Lana raised her fist and cheered. I let out a sigh of relief as I thought about the rest of the night.
We were in Levi’s car as we drove away from the party. I looked next to me and noticed Lana’s frown.
“What’s wrong?” I whispered. She cuddled into the blanket and let out a horrible cry.
“I want Benny!”
“Oh my God,” Keene muttered as he reached into her jacket pocket and took out her phone.
“What are you doing?” Levi asked from the driver’s seat.
“He’s gonna notice soon that she’s gone. I’ll send him a text on her phone,” Keene replied as we nodded.
“Where are you taking me?” Lana asked, then sank in her seat.
“Well, we have less than twelve hours together, princess. I’d like to spend it with you,” Levi said as he pulled a paper out of his jacket. “We’re going to do as much as we can on this bucket list.”
“Actions speak louder than words,” she whispered.
“Yeah, take this as a way of making up for not being there when I said I would. The times we promised but screwed up again…” He trailed off.
“Yeah, we’ve been planning this for a few days,” I said as she looked at me.
“Oh…so what are we doing first?”
“Underground street fight. I got it covered,” Axel said as he handed me the list. As I looked through it, some of the stuff was ticked off, yet what caught my eye was the Don’t fall in love that Levi only ticked.
“We update the bucket list every second year,” Lana said as she leaned her head on my shoulder.
“When did you get a piercing or tattoo?” I asked, since both ticked it. She leaned forward and flicked her earlobes. “That doesn’t count.”
“Well, maybe I’ll get a piercing here…” She trailed off as she placed her hand on her breast. I gulped as her hand lowered as she looked at me. “Or here.”
“Okay, tattoo it is,” Axel said as he cleared his throat. Lana threw her head back and laughed as she looked at Keene. He gave her phone back, and she put it in her jacket.
“Keene, guess what? Guess what?”
“What?”
“Blake and I are gonna eat someday,” she said as my eyes widened.
“What?”
“Yeah. Together, and I’m gonna moan.” She nodded as I facepalmed.
“What the fuck?” Levi asked as he looked at me through the mirror.
“Yeah, will you moan?” she asked me.
“Maybe. It’s kinda hard.” I gestured to the meat.
“Yeah, sometimes you have to suck and pull,” she said, which caused Axel to choke on his drink.
“Holy shit,” Keene muttered.
“I like sucking all the juice out of it. Do you?” she asked with an innocent look.
“Uh huh.” I laughed as Keene glared at me.
“Yay! Who wants to join us?” Lana asked.
“Oh my fuck, you’re adorable when you’re drunk, pumpkin.”
***
We arrived at the underground street fight that was near downtown. Lana was a bit sobered up yet remained quiet as we held hands. We followed Axel as he greeted a bunch of people. He must’ve been here before because people cheered him on. I looked around and saw a big cage where two men fought. Lana seemed to notice it too as she gaped.
“You do cage fighting?” I looked at Axel.
“What gave you that idea? The two men fighting in a cage?” he sarcastically asked.
“It’s dangerous! You could get badly hurt!” Lana spoke up.
“Don’t worry, princess, he’s good,” Levi assured Lana as we followed Axel. He brought us to a room with a vanity mirror, desk, and couch. Lana and I still held hands as we walked to the sofa.
“Do you always fight?” I asked as Axel took off his flannel.
“Of course, brother. You earn money by racing. I earn it by fighting…well, I used to race…” He trailed off as he glanced at Lana.
“Ooh, are you gonna win?” Lana asked, and Axel laughed.
“Pumpkin, I always win,” Axel said as he got ready for the fight while we walked into the busy crowd. I didn’t know how to describe Lana when she’s drunk. She’s very clingy; her hand hadn’t left mine since we got out of the car. We got the closest we could to the cage where a fight had ended. The guy who lost looked pretty jacked up. He coughed out blood while the man who won walked around, raised his fists, and cheered. I felt Lana pull my hand back as she stared at the guy.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“That guy just—I’ve seen him before,” she replied. I looked at the man who walked around; his eyes landed on us as he smirked.
“Where?” I asked as he turned his back to us, which made him look familiar.
“I-I think he’s the one who was in my room,” she whispered. Before I’d questioned Lana, the crowd went quiet as people made way for Axel. He was shirtless yet wore his jeans with his white hand wraps. He walked into the cage where the guy from Lana’s room was. The ref was there, talking to the two fighters. “What if he’s watching us?” Lana whispered in my ear.
“H-he won’t do anything in a crowd. Stay close.” I released my grip on her hand as I pulled her in front of me, her back resting on my chest as I wrapped my arms around her waist. The fight began, and my brother was good. The guy apparently took the first punch, but Axel dodged it, then raised his leg as he did a front kick. I glanced to the right and noticed Levi’s face was blank. “Hey, you okay?” I asked. He slowly nodded, then turned to Lana.
“Freaking foul!” Keene demanded as he banged his fists on the fence. The guy punched Axel by his kidney and neck. Axel staggered back as he raised his arms to block the punches. He did a sucker punch, and the guy backed away. The crowd was crazy as one side cheered for Axel and the other end for the man. He went down and kicked Axel by his ankles. He fell to the ground and coughed up blood. My jaw clenched as the guy already cheered with his back turned to Axel.
“Come on, Axel!” Lana yelled as she leaped forward and shook the fence. The referee started the countdown, but Axel wiped the blood from his mouth and got up. The guy spun around at the same time Axel raised his leg. He kicked the man in the hip, and he swayed. Axel took the chance and punched him right in the jaw. He pushed the guy against the fence and gave him many punches. I pulled Lana away as the fence wobbled. The guy had his back faced to us as he slid down the chainlink and groaned. Everyone went wild as people hit the cage.
“Take her to the car! We’ll get Axel!” Levi yelled. I nodded and pulled Lana away from the crowd. Levi and Keene went after Axel as we ran out. Thankfully, we parked close to the building, so it was easy to get out.
“He’s always here,” Lana mumbled as we reached the car.
“What?” I asked.
“That guy, one of James’s men. He was there that night I was with Miranda,” she answered. Before Lana continued, we heard groans. I looked over my shoulder to see Keene dragging Axel. I ran to help as I put his other arm around my shoulder.
“Where’s Levi?” I asked as we approached the car.
“Aww, you’re not going to congratulate me on my win, brother?” Axel sighed as he leaned against the car.
“Are you okay?” I grunted.
“I’m perfectly fine,” he said, then spun around to open the car door.
“Where were you?” Lana asked as Levi approached us.
“Nowhere,” he answered, then unlocked the car. Lana gave me a weary look as we entered the vehicle. Axel sat in the back with Lana and me while Keene drove. We drove in silence as Lana helped Axel with his bruises.
“I’ve never seen that dude before. Who was that?” Axel groaned.
“I don’t know,” Levi and I said in unison. I raised a brow as I turned to Lana.
“Well, at least you saw your first street fight, pumpkin,” Axel said as he read the list.
“Yeah, thank you,” she mumbled, then took a pen from Levi and the list from Axel. I watched as she ticked it off, then read the list. Her thumb grazed over don’t fall in love, and I sighed.
“Watch out!” Levi yelled as we looked up. The car came to an abrupt stop as we leaped forward. I held Lana back as her arm wrapped around Axel’s chest. We looked to see a guy in front of the car. He motioned for one of us to get out as he walked over to his Toyota Supra.
“Come on, Blake,” Levi said as he got out of the car. I opened the door and looked back at Lana, who gave me a concerned look. I assured her that it was okay as I got out of the car.
“Who are you and what do you want?” I asked as I stood next to Levi. The guy leaned on the hood of his car and smirked.
“I want to race that beauty.” He pointed to the Mustang.
“What makes you think I want to race your shit-ass car?” Levi asked as he folded his arms. The guy playfully rolled his eyes as he reached into his pocket and pulled out money. He looked over his shoulder, and we followed his gaze to the road up ahead.
“Quick race down this path, y’know, some New Year’s fun.” He winked.
“That road leads to a park,” I said.
“Then we’ll stop at the park.” He shrugged, then raised his hand, which held the money.
“All right, this will be easy,” Levi said as the guy approached us. He pointed to the car and shook his head.
“Oh no, I want to race your car, but the girl must drive.”
Chapter Sixteen
Blake
I sat in the passenger’s seat of Levi’s car while Lana gripped the wheel. We stared at the long road ahead of us, and I regretted it because she might be a little tipsy.
“At least it’s one more thing to tick off the bucket list,” I said.
“Yeah…who is he?” Lana asked as we looked to our left to see the guy in his car.
“I don’t know, but it’s kind of strange that he had a lot of cash on him.”
“Do you think this is planned?”
“I don’t know…but you’ll do perfectly fine. Just listen to me, and we’ll win this,” I stated, then rested my hand on her bare thigh.
“Where’s Levi?” Lana asked, then moved her leg, so I took it as a sign and shifted away.
“He’s with Axel. They’re waiting up ahead,” I said. Lana let out a sigh as she gripped the wheel and looked forward. Her foot hit the accelerator as the car thundered. Keene was in the center with his arm raised. I looked at the guy to see him do the same as Lana. “Wanna do that move where the car rises?”
“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.