Page 36 of The Sinner (Haven Grace Prep 1)

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.

---