5. Bay
FIVE
bay
Levi has lost his damn mind.
And, here I go again, going up against him and doing everything that I would disown myself for if the tables were reversed.
Before, I may have been able to ask for forgiveness and Levi would’ve let it go by the wayside. But, I’m still waiting on that feat. He hasn’t spoken to me since the day he came barrelling inside the house after seeing the tape with Reeve and I while I’ve been on pins and needles ever since.
Now, after hearing him tonight with Reeve, I knew I had to wait it out because stopping Levi in front of Reeve would’ve disarmed us as a unit.
And I couldn’t have that.
Not for Reeve and his mellowed-out personality, or Torin and the way he matches my inner petty with those fucking tawny brown eyes. I knew these boys were going to cause trouble for me in more ways than one, and now they have me going up against my best friend in order to save their lives.
Lives I’m not sure are worth saving because, in the grand scheme of things, and on paper, we’re enemies. Two towns torn apart by one man and a plan, and we shouldn’t be playing this game.
But we are.
Regardless, Levi has to be my number one, always and forever. That man has had my back, I owe him my loyalty, and I’ve done nothing but stomp all over it.
Yet, I can’t allow him to take down Reeve, let alone cast him out of the country for protecting me. The bestie obviously doesn’t see it that way but it is. After that, Reeve can thank me by staying away. Because, next time, I might not be around to get his ass out of trouble like I tried to do the moment the boys carted Reeve off.
But when I strode down the hall and toward the front door, Juice was sitting at the dining room table with his cell in his hand, in the dark, like a psycho.
When I questioned him what he was doing—knowing that he was cock-blocking me into leaving—Juice played it off like I needed protecting per Levi.
Translation: you’re not getting out of this house.
Also, I wasn’t getting out of this house.
I went along with Juice’s ploy, hoping that Levi didn’t have everything set up to load Reeve up on the next container ship out. Sneaking out was going to cause suspicion, so I did what every horrible friend would do.
I called someone in who had nothing to do with it.
Travis.
Promising that I’d tell him all about it later, I sent him to the shipping yard on a co-op mission to find Reeve. I was, yet again, putting Travis in a really messed-up situation but this was life or death. I didn’t know what part of Mexico Levi was shipping Reeve off to but I would bet every dollar I had that it wouldn’t be anywhere luxurious or nice.
“You waitin’ on something?”
I glance up from the screen of my phone, finding Juice’s emerald eyes already locked onto me with something he doesn’t bother hiding—suspicion. I’m sure Levi told him to make sure I stayed holed up in the house tonight and to not let me out of his sight.
I don’t blame him.
Because I would’ve been gone by now if not for Juice babysitting me.
“I’m debating about callin’ Levi or not.”
Juice immediately frowns as I tap into his empathic nature. “Y’all still haven’t talked yet, huh?”
“You know we haven’t.” My spine thumps against the back of my chair in automatic defeat. “I don’t think he’s gonna get over this.”
“He will,” Juice retorts softly. “Just give him more time. It’s a lot to take in.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“It’ll blow over. Levi loves you.”
And I love him.
But it still doesn’t erase the fact that I lied. And I kept on doing it.
Now, Reeve’s life is in the balance, and time is not on my side. I’m relying on Travis to pull off a Hail Mary and he doesn’t know a thing about football.
Or the prayer.
Fuck.
If I call up Torin or Cairo—which I couldn’t, because I don’t have his number—what am I going to say? Am I going to rat out Levi and tell them that their boy is on his way to Mexico? It’s going to cause more chaos, more fighting, and more tension. Lives might be at risk.
I can’t backstab Levi again.
Pulling up my contact list, I mindlessly tap on Levi’s number, testing to see if he’d be too busy to answer the phone. If I can hear Reeve in the background and start asking questions about what he’s doing and where he is. If I’m about to?—
“Yeah?”
My heart immediately begins thrashing around in my chest as I try to put on a calm facade for Juice and talk normally. “Hey.”
A few pregnant seconds go by, almost making me look down at my screen to see if the call disconnected when Levi asks, “What do you want, Astor?”
He answered.
Which means he’s not busy.
“I…I ran into Juice and?—”
“I stationed him there.”
No shit.
“I know, but…I was wondering if you wanted to talk.”
“Right now?” He doesn’t sound amused to be talking to me. More as though it’s a chore but, at least he is, so there’s that. “I gotta go.”
“ Wait .” Calm your ass down. “Where are you?”
“Why?”
“Levi,” I chide lightly. “We can’t keep going on like this.”
“Says who?”
“Says my sanity.”
“Well, that’s not on the top of my priority list right now,” he counters back dismissively. “So, I’ll see you when I see you.”
And then he hangs up.
Hot tears brim the back of my eyes as I stretch my jaw to keep from sobbing.
I did this.
I tore a hole in between our relationship because I didn’t trust him. I didn’t have faith in his decision-making to not do something stupid. I didn’t have confidence that he wasn’t going to go off Emilio himself and get into a whole shitshow of trouble.
What’s the lesser of the two evils?
Keeping Levi alive.
“He’s blowing off steam,” Juice reassures me across the table. “Let him be.”
Yeah, he is.
With Reeve’s body.