The Sinner: A High School Bully Romance (Haven Grace Prep Book 1)

by Kelsey Clayton

  I place my hands against his chest and shove him back. “Are you out of your fucking mind? You could have gotten Brady killed!”

  He laughs, as if there is something comical about all this. “Chill, Princess. A few cuts and bruises will do the man some good. Besides, I’m sure his boyfriend took great care of him afterward.”

  My stomach drops. “You knew.”

  “Of course I knew. It wasn’t hard to figure out why he never came inside. You can’t play like you’re dating someone who acts like your brother.”

  Taking a deep breath, I try to keep my cool. “What do you want?”

  He licks his lips and looks me up and down, but before I lose my shit on him, he shakes his head. “I know you saw that deal a couple weeks ago. I just want to make sure you know to keep your pretty little mouth shut about it.”

  “Haven’t said anything yet, have I?”

  “Nope, and let’s keep it that way.”

  “Whatever.” I open the door and slip inside, locking it behind me.

  The sight of an empty bottle of Jack on the counter tells me my father’s been home since I left yesterday evening, but God only knows where he is now. Probably taking too many of the pills the doctor prescribed for his foot.

  I make my way into my room and throw myself down onto my bed. Everything from the last couple days is really starting to mess with my head. First, Grayson has the one piece of information that could destroy my reputation, and instead of using it, he’s taunting me with it. However, that isn’t nearly as surprising as finding out that he brought me here last night before bringing me to his house. Why didn’t he just drop me off? Judging by the look on his face this morning, seeing me was the last thing he wanted. It’s all just really confusing and starting to give me a headache.

  FOR THE FIRST TIME in years, I skip dance on Sunday morning. Between rehearsing for the winter recital, cheer practice, and dealing with all the mind games of Grayson Hayworth, I’m exhausted. All I want is to stay cooped up in my room, eat Ben and Jerry’s, and binge watch Netflix.

  Halfway through an episode of Friends, my dad comes stumbling into the room. The smell of booze radiates from his body, and it looks like he hasn’t showered in weeks. I hit pause before sitting up.

  “Everything okay?” I ask hesitantly.

  He looks around the room, slurring his words and mumbling something about his pills. Then, he stops and turns to me. “I need you to go to the liquor store.”

  I could argue, but it would be useless. So instead, I climb off my bed and take the money from his hand. Just as I go to slip past him, he grips my arm and slams me against the doorway—knocking the wind out of me.

  “And don’t even think about trying to trick me with water again, you little shit.”

  Afraid to move, I stay completely still until he releases me and walks back into his room. Once he’s gone, I all but run from the house. I pull my phone from my pocket and call Brady. Thankfully, he agrees to meet me at the liquor store down the street. I zip up my sweatshirt and start to walk down the sidewalk.

  “Well, damn.” A kid I don’t recognize says to me as he saunters up close. “Who might you be, pretty thing?”

  I try to go around him, but he moves directly in my way. Seriously, I am not in the mood for this shit.

  He looks like one of Knox’s friends, only younger. His black hair is spiked up, as if no one told him that style went out with the 90s. His shirt sleeves have been torn off, and his jeans are cut into shorts. It’s like he came straight out of a bad independent film.

  “Where you going, beautiful? I just want to talk.”

  I take a step back to gain some personal space. “No, thanks. I’ll pass.”

  “Aw, come on. At least let me get your name.”

  “Is there a problem here, Trey?” Knox appears out of nowhere.

  Judging by the way he freezes at hearing Knox’s voice, I’m guessing they’re not friends. Good. That’s something I can use to my advantage.

  “No, not at all,” he says, demeanor changing. “I was just trying to get my new neighbor’s name.”

  New neighbor?! Fuck my life.

  Knox comes up next to me and places his hand on my shoulder, leading me around Trey so he doesn’t stop me again. “Well, it doesn’t look to me like she wants to give it to you.”

  As pissed off as I am at him, and think he should reevaluate his life choices, I’ve never been so glad for his stalking tendencies. I swear, the guy manages to see and hear everything around here. Nothing happens that he doesn’t know about. It’s why, despite wanting to punch him in the face sometimes, I try to stay on his good side.

  Giving Knox a thankful smile, I continue my trek to the liquor store, because what better way to spend my Sunday than getting more vodka for the alcoholic?

  MONDAY MORNING, I’M ALREADY over the day when I get to school. While walking to first period, I realize Grayson isn’t with us. Strange, because I saw his car in the parking lot when Brady dropped me off. When we walk into the classroom, however, I see why. He’s already here, but he’s no longer occupying the seat he’s taken just to irritate me. Instead, he’s sitting next to Delaney. They’re laughing about something when her eyes meet mine.

  To see them together makes the usual feelings of nostalgia so much worse. If things hadn’t changed—if Grayson hadn’t moved away and my life hadn’t gone from blessed to broken—we’d probably all be sitting together. Gray and I would be a power couple, and Delaney would still be my best friend.

  “Why is he sitting with her?” Kinsley asks, as if we’re close.

  I roll my eyes. “I’m sorry, last time I checked, I wasn’t his minder.”

  We take our seats, and I do my best to ignore them, but it’s easier said than done.

  THE OBJECTIVE IS SIMPLE—create a graphic using at least five different Photoshop effects. It couldn’t be any more straightforward, and it would be easy, if I was allowed to focus on it. For the third time, Grayson drops his stylus on the ground. I glance at it but continue to do my work.

  “Savannah,” he whispers, but I don’t answer. “Savannah. Psst. Savi.”

  “What?” I snap.

  “Get that for me.”

  “No. Get it yourself. I’ve already picked it up the past two times you dropped it.”

  He leans forward on the desk, looking at me with an evil glint in his eyes. “Are you sure you want to tell me no?”

  Of course, he’s going to play this game. “Is this really how you’re doing this? Making me your personal bitch? I thought you were more creative than that.”

  “I think you need to a little taste of humility.” He smirks. “And nothing would make me happier than having Miss Queen B at my beck and call.”

  Not wanting to piss him off, I bend down and grab the stylus before slamming it on his desk. “You really are a dick, you know that?”

  He grins smugly. “Yup.”

  FOR THE REST OF the week, he continues to test my limits. Having me get him a drink during lunch, carrying his books to class, and even making me tie his shoe in the middle of the hallway. Everyone looks confused as I obey his every word, and I’m about to snap. I may be a lot of things, but I’m no one’s slave.

  “I’m starving,” Grayson moans at lunch, looking over at Carter’s plate. “That looks good. What is that?”

  “Get your own, douchebag. I don’t share food.”

  Gray smiles, looking over at me, and I already know what he’s going to say before he opens his mouth. “Oh, Savi…”

  “No.”

  His eyebrows raise in surprise. “No?”

  “You heard me. No. Go get your own damn lunch.”

  Jace exhales in relief. “It’s about time. Damn, Sav. I was starting to wonder where your backbone went.”

  “Yeah, well, I can only try to be nice for so long before people need to know their place.”

  It’s probably stupid to provoke him, and there is such a huge chance of this backfiring in my face, b
ut I get the feeling he isn’t ready to show his cards just yet. He still wants control. He wants to make me suffer, and he can’t do that without dragging this out. So, I’m calling his bluff.

  “Know my place, huh?”

  He wraps one arm around Kinsley. She beams up at him, like she always does when he shows her any kind of attention. It’s almost sad to watch. She’s so wrapped up in him that she can’t see how bad he’s playing her.

  “Is that supposed to intimidate me? You’ve fucked the school slut. Congratulations! So has the rest of the zip code.”

  Carter chokes on his drink while Kinsley’s face turns an angry shade of red.

  “I’m starting to think you’re so obsessed with my sex life because you don’t have one of your own. What are you, a virgin?” she retorts.

  I chuckle, playing it off with ease. “No, sweetie. I may not sleep with half the town, but I’m definitely no virgin.”

  “Prove it,” Jace quips flirtatiously.

  Grayson’s jaw ticks at the offer. I bite my lip and look Jace up and down. “Let’s go.”

  “Don’t you fucking dare.” Gray’s voice is so low, it’s almost demonic—the look in his eyes challenging me to push his restraints.

  Carter throws his head back, laughing. “There are definitely two people here who need to fuck some shit out of their systems, but Jace isn’t one of them. Sorry, bud.”

  Every part of me wants to throw caution to the wind and screw Jace just for the sake of pissing Grayson off. He’s been rubbing Kinsley in my face for weeks, and the thought of being able to make him feel even an ounce of that jealousy is so tempting. However, the last thing I want is give up that part of myself so I can inflict pain on someone else.

  “Fuck this. It isn’t worth my time.” I stand from the table, grabbing my things and heading for the door.

  The hallways are a ghost town as I make my way through them. Who the fuck does he think he is? He’s done nothing but made a fool out of me the last few days, used Kinsley to make me jealous for weeks, and now he thinks he can tell me what I can and can’t do? Not a chance in hell.

  I open my locker and spot the familiar picture taped to the door. Gray and I were only six when it was taken, right after his dad finished building the treehouse in the backyard. We look so happy as we smile from the windows. What happened to the boy in that photo? Hell, what happened to the girl in that photo?

  “I should’ve known then what a liar you are.”

  I spin around to find Grayson standing there, staring at the picture like he wants to burn it with his eyes. As he goes to reach for it, I swing my locker shut. I already lost my necklace. He doesn’t get to take another damn thing from me.

  “Open it,” he demands.

  “No.”

  Stepping closer, he invades my space. “You’re getting a little too comfortable with that word.”

  “What made you so cold?” I question in complete disbelief. This can’t be the same boy I used to share milkshakes with.

  “Letting myself believe you were a good person. That I could trust you.” He sneers. “Everything that has happened to you, and everything that will—you deserve it.” The corner of his mouth raises, like he knows the next words will sting. “Even having a drunken addict for a father.”

  My hand flies up to slap him in the face, but it’s already something he anticipated. He catches my wrist in midair and that irritating smirk deepens.

  “You want to try that again?”

  I swing with my other hand, only for him to catch that, too. In one swift move, he has me pinned against the cold metal with my arms trapped above my head. Our eyes lock, both furious and determined, until his lips crash into my own.

  12

  Grayson

  Our mouths mold together like they were meant only for this. Like everything was intended to come to this very moment. Like all my life, this was where we belonged. I release her wrists and wrap my arms around her tiny waist. Her hands move to the back of my head, pulling me closer while she breathes me in.

  My tongue finds hers, and she releases a breathy moan. It’s everything I’ve dreamed of for years—heated, intense, and passionate as sin. I want nothing more than to pick her up and take that sweet little cherry of hers right here, without giving a damn who might see.

  Sliding my hands down her back, I grab onto her hips and lift. She immediately wraps her legs around me, and my cock hardens painfully inside my pants. I grind against her as she laces her dainty fingers into my hair. I take her bottom lip between my teeth, sucking and nibbling on it in a way that’s driving her crazy.

  “Gray,” she pants, and it’s like being doused with a bucket of ice water.

  What the fuck am I doing? I release her in an instant, letting her slide down until her feet are resting on the ground. I walk away and leave her standing there—alone and confused.

  THE AIR IS COOL and breezy as I run. My lungs burn with every breath, but instead of stopping, I pick up the pace. I deserve all the pain in the world after betraying the one man who always wanted what’s best for me. Kissing Savannah was never part of the plan, but she’s an irresistible fucking vixen. Once I had her in my hold, completely defenseless, I couldn’t help myself. All the self-control in the world wouldn’t have stopped me.

  After I walked away from her, I left school entirely. There was no way I could sit there for the rest of the day, with her sky-blue eyes desperate for clarity and puffy lips that felt perfect against mine. No, I needed to go. To remind myself of the reason I’m here. It’s certainly not to make out with the girl who helped ruin my life and take my father from me.

  I get back to my house, finding it’s still as empty as it was when I left. Wherever my mother is, I just hope it’s not with Jackass. She just doesn’t learn. When someone shows you who they really are, believe them—something I should remember.

  I open the fridge to grab a beer and sit at the island. The cold feels good as it runs down my throat. Turning on my laptop, I click on the folder labeled DAD and press play on the first video. A little girl appears on the screen. It’s the same Savannah, only eight years younger.

  “And when you went down to get a drink, what did you see?” a man off-camera asks her.

  She swallows, looking at something before answering. “I saw Mr. Hayworth putting money under the floorboard in the den.”

  “Did you look in there after he was gone?”

  She shakes her head. “I just saw there was a lot of money in there.”

  Savi looks shy as she hands me a folded-up piece of paper. A part of me wonders if I should take it. She doesn’t look so sure.

  “What’s this?”

  She shrugs and looks away. “Just something I drew today.”

  I carefully unfold it before looking at the picture. It’s the two of us, holding hands at the waterfall. Our names are written at the top with a heart in between them. A bright smile spreads across my face as butterflies flutter in my stomach.

  “Do you like it?” Her voice is timid—not at all like the girl I know.

  I nod. “I love it.”

  Reaching for her, I wrap her in my arms and give her a tight hug. She lets out a breath, like she was holding it in this whole time. Did she really think I wouldn’t like it? Like her? She’s perfect.

  “Just don’t let your parents see it.”

  We both laugh. “Yeah, that would be embarrassing. I know just where to put it. Come on.”

  The two of us go downstairs and into the den, checking to see if the coast is clear before I move the rug and pull up a loose floorboard. Savi’s eyes widen when she notices my secret hiding spot.

  “That’s so cool! How’d you find that?”

  “I was jumping around when it sounded different here. I keep all my best secret stuff in here.”

  There are only a few items inside. A picture of Savi and me. The ticket stub from a baseball game I went to with my dad. The Hot Wheels car my mom wanted to throw away because it’s missing a wheel
. And now, Savi’s drawing.

  I put the floorboard back and lay the rug over it again. No one knows this secret spot but Savi and I—and that’s exactly how I want it to stay.

  Fury boils inside of me as I watch the girl who was supposed to be my best friend, more than my best friend, blatantly lie and help throw an innocent man in prison. Unable to control my anger, I throw the half-empty beer bottle across the room, seeing amber glass and liquid fly as it shatters against the fridge.

  “Last time I checked, the recycling bin is in the garage.” My mom’s voice catches me off guard.

  I turn around to find her standing in the doorway, holding a bag of groceries and looking at the mess I just made. “I’m sorry. I’ll clean it up.”

  She shakes her head. “Don’t. I’ve got it. I don’t want you to cut yourself.”

  Carefully crossing the room, I grab the bag from her and set it on the counter. “Where were you?”

  “I had a job interview.” She gets the broom and dustpan from the closet. “And then I went to the store to get stuff for dinner.”

  I nod, looking down at my hands. Since when did I start thinking the worst in people—my mom, especially? “I thought you were with Justin.”

  She sighs, clearly upset by the mention of him. “He won’t be coming here again.”

  “Why?” The level of concern grows rapidly inside me. “He didn’t hurt you again, did he? I swear to God, if he laid a hand on you—”

  “No, no.” She calms me with a single look. “He didn’t touch me. You didn’t want him here, and you were right.”

  “You got rid of him for me?”

  “You’re my son, Grayson. I may have made some mistakes since we lost your father, but there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you.”

  AFTER CHOOSING TO SKIP school on Friday, I spend the weekend with my mom in Campton, visiting my aunt and cousins. It may only be about an hour away, but I haven’t been back since we moved. Tyson and I play football in the backyard during the day, and Saturday night, we end up at a party.