Page 20 of The Sinner (Haven Grace Prep 1)

“In your dreams.”

I don’t justify him with an answer as I walk away, knowing I can only hold back my emotions for so long. The part of me that was once hard as stone is breaking in his presence. I need to learn how to control myself before I let him destroy everything I worked so hard to attain.

THE MUSIC FILLS THE studio as I throw myself into every move. All the anger, the sadness, the pent-up frustrations—I let it all out in the best way I know how. Losing myself in the song, I hardly notice anyone around me. The dance is everything I need right now, and as the beat fades away, I collapse to the floor, breathing heavily but feeling less like a glass squeezed to the breaking point.

“If I ever become half the dancer you are, I’ll be so happy,” Lennon says with a sigh.

I sit up and chuckle. “Shut up. You’re amazing. Don’t even.”

“Maybe so, but you’re something else. The way you tell a story with your body, it’s everything a dancer aspires to be.”

“She’s right,” Brady says as he helps me off the floor. “Though I know you well enough to know that had more to do with personal issues and less to do with the choreography.”

We walk over and sit down next to Lennon. Everyone else has since gone home, but Brady is Lennon’s ride, so she stayed to hang out.

“And I take it this is when you interrogate me?” I joke. He does a quick side glance at Lennon, mentally asking if he shouldn’t say anything, but I shake my head. “It’s fine.”

“Grayson again?” he guesses.

I give him a sad smile. “Nothing gets by you, does it?”

“Is that the new guy? The one you told me to ignore at lunch?” Lennon questions.

I nod. “That’s the one.”

“He’s like, crazy hot,” she says, but then backtracks as she sees Brady wince. “I’m sorry. Was that wrong of me to say?”

“No, it’s fine,” I reassure her. “He and I just have a history.”

Brady snorts. “If that’s what you want to call it.” He turns to Lennon. “They were married.”

“What?” she shrieks.

“Oh my God, don’t listen to him. We were eight.”

I spend twenty minutes getting a confused Lennon up to speed on everything, and then another ten telling her and Brady everything that happened today. By the time I’m done, I realized I’ve been absentmindedly rubbing my hand against where my necklace used to be. I feel completely naked without it.

“Ew, what a dick.” Lennon makes a face of disgust. “And Kinsley, too. Isn’t she supposed to be your friend? Hasn’t she ever heard of girl code?”

I can’t help but smile at how angry she is for me. “Kinsley has never been my friend. It’s just easier to keep tabs on her crazy ass when she’s close by.”

“Ah, okay. That makes more sense.”

“Well, there’s only one thing left that you can do,” Brady says with a frown. “Act like he doesn’t exist.”

I scoff. “Easier said than done, B.”

He shakes his head. “No, listen. He clearly has some kind of vendetta against you, and he’s out for blood. The best way to beat that is to completely ignore him. Fight fire with fire, and you risk getting burned. But, if you leave the fire to starve, it’ll eventually burn out.”

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I ponder his words as Lennon hums. “He’s got a point.”

Brady smiles. “Take the weekend to get it all out of your system. Then, starting Monday, you act like you don’t even know who he is—because let’s face it, you don’t. Not anymore.”

8

Grayson

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