Miles

"Did we really just do that?" I asked as I zipped my shorts and straightened my shirt.

She giggled. "Yeah, we did," she said as she pulled my hoodie back over her head and pulled her hair back into its ponytail.

"Let's get back to study hall before Dawson sends out a search party. How long have we been gone?"

Rachel checked her watch. "Shit. 30 minutes. Listen, I'll go back first. I told her I had a stomachache, so I can play that off. Then you can come in right before class ends and say they took longer than you thought on the interview."

I nodded. "Okay. Go," I said, swatting her on the butt as she left the alcove.

I waited about five minutes and then walked back to the library.

I glanced to the right when I came in, and Rachel was in her seat, her head down in her arms on the desk – obviously playing up her "stomachache."

"Sorry, Ms. Dawson. That guy just wouldn't shut up!" I said, sitting down next to Rachel.

"No problem," she called, continuing her shelving and never looking up.

Rachel snorted into her arms. I elbowed her. "Shh."

***

Any productivity I hoped to have today was shot after our rendezvous in the alcove. Between that and the stuff I'd found in my dad's desk, my brain was just not with it. Thank God we only had eleven more days, and my classes were more or less coming to a close.

At the end of the day, our principal came on the intercom a minute or two earlier than usual.

"Good afternoon Bay High – GPAs have been calculated and the salutatorian and valedictorian for the class of 2018 have been determined. I wanted to take a minute to formally announce their names and congratulate them," he said.

I sat up straighter. Damnit, I wish Rachel and I had the same 7th period so I could be here with her for this.

"The salutatorian for the class of 2018 is Mr. Jake Finnegan." The class clapped politely. "And the valedictorian is Ms. Rachel Cross," he finished, and I jumped out of my seat.

"Yes! That's my girl!" I shouted. The rest of the class looked up at me, their hands frozen in applause. "Er, sorry," I said, my face heating up.

The bell rang then and I was the first out the door, running to find Rachel.

She was waiting for me in the commons area, and when she spotted me she ran in my direction. When she reached me, I picked her up and spun her around. "Congratulations baby girl! I knew you'd get it!"

"Thank you!" she exclaimed, putting her hands on my cheeks and kissing me. I sat her back on the floor and suddenly she looked at me in horror.

"What's wrong?!" I asked in alarm.

"I just remembered... I have to make a speech at graduation!" she replied with wide eyes.

"You'll be perfect. You do have a way with words."

"Oh gosh. Okay. I can do this."

"Yes, you can." I kissed her nose. "Now, what are you doing after school?"

"I need to go home and take a shower... but then I could come over to your house... your dad's still gone, right?"

I nodded, winking. "Sure is. Call me when you're on your way."

After I left school, I called Luke.

"Hello?"

"Hey bro. Can you come to my house right now?"

"Can't we talk at home?"

"No. I need you to come there. Please?"

Luke sighed. "Fine. I'm on my way."

Luke

"Having a brother is turning out to be a pain in the ass," I muttered to myself as I pulled up at Miles' house. I just wanted to go home and play a little Call of Duty.

I came through the door without knocking. "Miles? Where are you?"

"In here," he called from a door off the living room – his dad's office.

I came through the door and flung myself onto the chaise lounge dramatically. "This had better be good, Jefferson." When he didn't answer, I looked up; the look on his face told me that he wasn't in the joking mood. "Miles?"

"I have to tell you something, Luke. And I need your word that you won't tell anyone. I mean anyone," he said quietly.

"Okay, you have my word."

He took a deep breath. "I'm going to hand you an envelope... and I want you to look at what's inside. And tell me your first thought."

I squinted at him. "Oh-kayyy..." I watched as he pulled the envelope from the back of his dad's desk.

"Here," he said, thrusting it into my hands.

I sat up, pulled the contents out of the envelope and started reading the articles on the top of the stack. I gasped when I saw the headline on the first article: Beloved 21-Year-Old Server Killed in Hit and Run. I scanned the article, looked at the obituary, and the article featuring Rachel. I shook my head and looked up at Miles, who was watching me with a grave look on his face.

"What – what is this, Miles?"

"Just - keep looking," he said flatly.

I put the articles next to me on the sofa, and my mouth dropped when I saw the photo. "What the fuck is this? When was this?"

"Turn it over," he said.

I did, and I read the note. "My God, Miles. You don't think this is true, do you? We would never – "

He shook his head and held up his hands. "Hell no. I know you wouldn't... look at the receipt."

I studied it – Destin Collision Center... my eyebrows shot up when I saw the name. "Salazar?!"

"I know." Miles stood up and sat next to me. "What do you make of this, Luke? And please... don't hold back."

I glanced up at him and his stare was intense – he was pleading for me to tell him the truth, no matter how it was going to sound.

"It looks like... William has a vested interest in what happened to Rachel's brother... and not because he cares. And it looks..." I cleared my throat. "It looks like he had something to do with it."

Miles sat back and closed his eyes. "That's exactly what I thought too."

"Fuck," I breathed as I put all the contents back into the envelope. "This is bad."

"I know... this is why Rachel and I fought last night."

"You told her!?"

"No! Absolutely not. I was so upset, I didn't know what to do. She showed up here, and I just panicked... I pushed her away, Luke, and it was the worst feeling in the world."

"Are you guys okay now?"

A grin crossed his face. "Oh yeah. We're good."

I wrinkled my nose. "I don't wanna know."

"Nah, you really don't."

I shook my head. "Okay, back to business. What are you going to do, Miles?"

"I don't know, Luke, that's why I wanted to tell you. I have no idea what to do with this shit!" he said, taking the envelope from my hands and putting it back in the drawer.

I sighed and stood up, pacing in front of the desk. "I mean, we have to tell her. Right?"

Relief flooded Miles' face. "We?"

"Yeah, we. William is my father too..." I almost choked on the word father. "I should be there with you."

Suddenly, Miles pulled me into his arms and hugged me. I hugged him back awkwardly.

"Thank you, Luke," he said when he finally let me go.

"Of course," I said, nodding. "I wouldn't leave you to do that on your own."

"When should we tell her?" Miles asked, waving me out of the office and onto the pool deck.

"I don't know. She just found out she's valedictorian today, right?" I asked, kicking off my flip-flops and putting my feet in the pool.

"Yeah. She's stressed about that too... and damnit, this is supposed to be a happy time for us!" he exclaimed, sitting next to me.

"Okay, how about this: let's let her get her speech written, then we'll tell her. At least she'll have that out of the way."

"I wish we could wait until after graduation."

"We could, but that's 11 days of keeping a secret from her. I don't think that's a good idea."

He sighed. "You're right. See, this is why I need you, bro. I don't know how to do this stuff."

"And you think I do? Shit, I'm as clueless as you."

"I'm scared, Luke," he blurted. "I'm so scared I'm going to lose her."

I turned to him and put my hands on his shoulders. "Miles, you're not going to lose her. There's no way."

"But Luke – our father killed her brother. What if she can't look at me after that?"

"You didn't kill him, Miles. And we all know already that William is a horrible person."

He took a deep breath and relaxed a little. "That's true. And you know what else?" He looked at me with a dark satisfaction.

"What?"

"Now we have something on him... we can make him pay for everything he's done to us."

A chill went through my body as I realized he was right – and I realized I'd do anything to make that happen.