"You know Alex would kill you if he knew we were hanging out" Mia mused as she ascended the last few steps of the rickety fire escape.
"What's wrong with two friends spending time together?"
"Friends?" Mia asked daringly catching Drew in his lie. He kept quiet, trying his hardest to hide his smirk as he kept his lip firmly gripped between his teeth.
They had never been friends. Ever since their eyes first met in that rear view mirror they both knew what they were. End game.
It just wasn't the way either of them had hoped.
The city lights twinkled around them as Mia tentatively peered over the edge of the roof Drew had guided her to. They had spent the evening drunkenly staggering around the dark streets of Brooklyn hoping to avoid Alex as he made his nightly rounds.
Drew had wanted to take her on a real date. But between rent and keeping his head above water with Olivia, he had to settle for their late night adventure. Not that Mia minded. The copious drinks they had both consumed had left her cheeks flushed and rosy and he hoped to god he would find the nerve to kiss her before he took her home.
"Scared of heights?" He asked with a mocking tone as he pulled a crumpled joint from his back pocket.
"No" Mia replied trying to hide her nervous grin "I'm scared of falling" she smirked as Drew offered her the lit blunt. She nodded enthusiastically before taking a long inhale hoping it would make her feel a little less nervous around her brother's intimidating friend.
"Would Alex be happy about this?" He asked motioning to the smoke trickling from her lips. Mia only shrugged before tentatively taking a seat beside him on the low wall that kept them from certain death.
"When is he ever happy?" She giggled as the chemicals made their way through her lungs.
"When he knows you're alright" Drew said without a hint of sarcasm. Mia shot him a little pointed look and Drew couldn't help but scoff at her niaivity.
"I don't like Mia working at that club! I don't like creeps being round her! You better be keeping an eye on her!" Drew echoed her brother's words in a spot on impression that nearly caused her to fall back towards the street miles below. Luckily Drew's instincts took over and he caught her just before she lost her balance completely.
"Good job you are keeping an eye of me" she chuckled as her fingers instinctively wrapped themselves around the fabric of his shirt.
"Always will"
Mia couldn't tear herself away from the intense gaze he had locked her in. His steely eyes were mesmerising and in a moment of bravery Drew captured her lips in a fervent kiss.
That was the start of their brief love affair.
It felt like a fairytale. Just without the happy ending.
It had taken Alex a while to warm up to the idea but after some begging he eventually decided to give them both a chance. That didn't mean he liked watching them fall deeper in love, but luckily he didn't have to watch for long.
The end came like a switch.
Drew had been distant. Even at the club it was rare to catch a glimpse of him, he sulked in the shadows avoiding her. It wasn't until a creep's hand began wandering up her thigh that he actually showed his face. But that was the child in Drew. He didn't want anyone touching what was his, even if he was done playing with it.
On the rare nights she did hear the key in the lock before she fell asleep he was basically mute. Grumbling about being tired in an attempt to avoid her questions about where he had been all night.
That was Drew's super power. He never broke her heart in one piece, he liked to chip away at it until it was just a core.
"Drew's been avoiding me" she confessed on Alex's doorstep one evening.
"He's probably just busy Mia"
"He disappears all night with no explanation"
"Should I remind you what line of work he's in?" Alex asked mockingly as he pulled a cigarette from behind his ear "It's his job to be shady"
"He's never been like this before" she muttered quietly as she reached for a smoke peaking from his top pocket. Before her fingers could ghost the filter he smacked her hand away. "What coke is okay but you draw the line at a cigarette?"
"Shut up" he shot back, avoiding the question tactlessly.
"I think he's cheating on me" she whispered. It was the first time she had admitted the words to herself and instead of relief she felt a bone crushing sense of reality make a home in her chest.
"Drew loves you Mia. He's not cheating on you." He replied offhandedly as he pulled the straps of his bag over his shoulder "I got a meeting, want me to drop you home? You know I hate you walking around that neighbourhood alone."
She shook her head insisting that the walk would do her good and help her clear her head. But of course, it didn't.
The next time they spoke he was behind a sheet of Perspex. His confession had been signed and the sentencing booked. If she had known that their brief conversation in the hallway would be his last as a free man she would've spoken about something far bigger than her boy problems.
Drew was better after Alex got locked up. He held her hand in the court as she fought the sobs rippling through her chest. He spoke to Olivia so she didn't have to, and the first few nights she spent crying herself to sleep he was there to stroke her hair and whisper soothing words into her ear.
As always it didn't last long.
After a week he was back to his shady ways. Disappearing all hours of the night and feeding her lame excuses that she never bought. After his abrupt departure one evening, Mia realised that she'd had enough.
Grabbing her jacket she headed for the street and quickly called a cab to Lost. She wasn't sure he would even be there but she knew she needed a drink. It was late and the queue was around the block but as always Ernie was there to greet her.
"Hey darling" he drawled as she approached "isn't it your day off?" He asked and Mia was quick to notice the twinge of nervous energy in his tone as his eyes shot towards the entrance to the club.
"So what?" She asked with a shrug eyeing him carefully.
"You looking for someone?" His eyes once more darted to the door and Mia knew she was in the right place.
"Should I be?" His slight stammer was all the proof she needed.
She made a beeline past the bar eyeing the stream of familiar faces that lined it. None of them met her eye, it was strange how no one recognised her when she was sober.
As soon as the door to the alley opened her suspicions became a reality. He wasn't hard to miss with the mildly familiar waitress wrapped around his waist. His head spun when he heard the creek of the door but his reactions weren't quick enough to stop her catching him in the act.
The girl quickly fell from his grip as he tried his best to formulate some essence of a sentence.
"Mia-"
"I fucking knew it" the hollow laugh that echoed her words only unnerved him as he saw her mind begin to spiral.
"It's not what you think-" he began the usual cliché but Mia didn't want to hear it.
"You're an asshole Drew, you always have been but I never thought you were a cheat" he struggled to keep up with her as she made her way out of the club. The sound on Ernie's questioning voice barely registered as she swerved between the customers waiting to make their way inside.
"Mia wait!" he called once more as he reached for her arm. She recoiled from his touch as she turned to rip her arm from his grip.
"Don't you fucking dare touch me" she seethed as he held up his hands defensively. She was no longer running away but now that he had her attention he had no idea what he would say.
The greens of her eyes glimmered with pure rage and the sight filled his chest with unfamiliar guilt.
"I-I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry" he began but they both knew it meant nothing.
"You're a coward Drew." She turned in search of a taxi and spotted one a block or so away "I'll stay at Alex's tonight, but when I come round tomorrow you better be gone."
"Please Mia I'm sorry we can make this work" he begged. She was halfway in the cab when she took her last lingering look at the man she thought was her whole world.
She had always been able to read him like a book, that's how she had seen right through his shady lies, but right now he was honest. Honest, desperate and filled with regret.
However, she didn't give a shit.
"I don't wanna ever see your fucking face again" she spat "you don't get to fuck up my life twice"
The thud of the cab door echoed in his ears. He wasn't sure how long he stood there after she pulled away. He felt an untethered rage begin to take over his whole body coupled with a feeling of pure shame and helplessness.
He knew he was playing with fire and for what? A faceless girl he had managed to coax into bed with an hour of chat and a cheap bar tab.
"Fuck!" The words were ripped from his chest without his consent as he fought to stop the anger tearing through his skin.
He turned on his heel and headed back into the club not caring to dodge the drunk patrons that had spilled onto the street.
Ernie called his name but he ignored him, sidestepping the crowd and heading for the back office. He felt a soft grip on his bicep and turned to see the toothy grin of the waitress he had previously been so infatuated with.
Her face was soulless now. Her eyes had none of Mia's sparkle. Even as he watched her heart break he was mesmerised by the way they shone.
Why was it only when something is torn away from you that you realise it's beauty? He watched the moving lips of the girl still holding his arm but it was white noise.
"Fuck off" he grunted shrugging out of her grip. She looked taken aback but didn't follow him, seemingly getting the hint.
He took the steps up the office two at a time unsure how he would respond if another person interupted him. Evidence of his discretions were spread across the room.
Cheap red lipstick stains covered the rim of the whiskey glass perched on the table. He had gotten careless. He was stupid to think she wouldn't catch him. Maybe he wanted her to.
The sight of the glass made him sick. He launched it at the back wall but the firework of glass splinters did little to dull his rage. Within seconds the room was torn apart. The contents of his desk was scattered across the room and shards of glass dug deep into his skin.
He watched the blood trickle down from his hand as if the limb was not his own. The gentle click of a door hinge sounded behind him but he stayed motionless.
"She caught you huh?" He asked softly. Drew kept his back to him unable to face what he was sure were reprimanding eyes.
He didn't need to answer for Ernie to know the truth. He had warned him but Drew didn't listen. It wasn't the first time he saw a young guy lose the girl of his dreams for a fling. He really hoped that Drew would be different, that maybe he would realise his mistake before it was too late. Guess he never did.
"Why did you throw it all away Drew?" Ernie saw him visibly tense at his words but he didn't fear his reaction. "Do you know how many guys would kill to have her, how many guys are lining up right now to take your place?"
This one thought alone made the rage reignite in this chest. He slammed his fist into the wall beside his head, unable to comprehend the extent of his jealousy. He was a hypocrite and he knew it.
How many times had he broken bones because someone dared flirt with what was his? Yet Mia had left with less than a sentence shared between them. He didn't know if that made him grateful or sick.
"I'm leaving" he announced grabbing a bag from under the desk. He ignored the items that littered the floor and instead reached for cash and documents that he kept hidden in draws around the room. "Olivia will put me somewhere else in town."
"So that's it? You're gonna run away so you don't have to face what you've done?" Ernie knew he was pushing his luck with a live wire but he felt that he needed to hear the truth from someone that cared.
"No Ern, I need a plan, then I'll be back." His monotonous tone was unnerving as he pulled the bag over his shoulder.
"A plan for what?" He asked uneasily, there was a crazed look in his old friend's eyes that was unfamiliar to him.
"A plan to get her back."
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(A/N) idk if you guys like the flashbacks cause there's no Jake but I love writing Mia back story so you're getting them.