Page 29 of Forgive Me For I Have Sinned

"What?" I repeat with my hands spread out in frustration.

"Veronica never had a boyfriend in high school. She only hung around Alicia. Veronica was considered a prude and a stuck-up bitch that wouldn't put out. Every guy tried to nail her but never could, and trust me, they all tried. That's why everyone thought she was into girls," Dravin says.

"She turned down every single guy that tried. After that night with you, it got progressively worse. They called her names like whore, and all the bullshit assholes in high school tell chicks they pick on. It was fucked up," Valen chimes in.

Draven snaps his fingers. "I remember all the guys asked her to prom, hoping they could fuck her, but she ended up not going."

"Yeah, they said someone popped the ice queen's cherry at Kenyan," Garret says mindlessly.

A slow, nagging feeling crawls up my spine. Dread slithers through my veins, and I push off the wall. "What did you say?" I ask Garret.

"What?” he says defensively. "That's what they called her. I know you thought she was easy and was out to trap you, but one thing Veronica never was before that night was a slut. To be honest, I don't think it was her period. They called her the ice queen because of her colorless hair and the fact she wouldn't let a guy touch her––"

"What the fuck are you talking about? Are you high?"

Valen rolls his eyes, annoyed with me, but it can't be. I––the way I took her was rough. I––remember that she was just lying there, and then the door flew open. She was horrified to see the blood sticking to her thighs, trying to clean herself. She pleaded for me to do something, but I didn't care. I was staring at my phone with her name and the message Reid sent, or I thought it was Reid. He wouldn't lie. Not about that.

"It doesn't matter. You're off the hook. I'm pretty sure you're the last person she would want anyway," Valen says softly, walking toward the steps and tapping me on my bare shoulder. "That night changed her, but she's not your problem. She belongs to Dorian, and as much as I want to save her from marrying that asshole, I can't because believe it or not, that girl doesn't deserve the shit hand that was handed to her." His face tightens. "I can't believe I'm saying this to you, but I'm gonna say it. Leave her alone. You've done enough."

My fists clench. "You're threatening me, Vikiar?"

"What's going on?" Jess asks when she walks in with Gia and Veronica, along with the friends she invited here.

"Nothing. Valen is just pissed off. I beat his time," I lie.

"Oh. You still swim?"

I look up and smile. "Of course. Someone has to make sure they beat these punks," I tease.

One of the girls that came in with Veronica steps forward in jean shorts and a sweater. "Are you guys like vampires?"

I can see why she would think that. The Bedford mansion looks like Dracula's lair, and the red lights from the pool glow like a pool of blood. The gargoyles add to the whole effect.

"Yeah, be careful. We like to bite," Garret says, mocking with his teeth like Dracula, making her eyes widen.

My gaze lands on Veronica."I need to talk to you." But she looks away, acting like I wasn't speaking to her. A girl with ash-blonde hair steps forward. I recognize her from the initiation party. She was arguing with her brother Adam about the guy playing her little sister with another chick. "She has nothing to say to you," she says defiantly.

"Maddison, could you take me home? Adam will give Lizzy a ride," Veronica says, clearly ignoring me.

A feeling I don't recognize stabs me in the chest. She won't look at me, and I don't know what to do. "Veronica," I call her name, but she ignores me like she can't hear me.

"Please, Maddy. I want to go home," she pleads.

"I can take you," Adam says, stepping forward, but she shakes her head and smiles.

"Take Lizzy, Adam. Maddy can take me. I have a shift tomorrow."

Shift?

"How come you work at the restaurant when you're obviously rich?" The curious one about vampires speaks up in her annoying voice. You can tell she's a bitch.

Work? Veronica works?

Veronica bites her lip nervously, trying to evade the question, and I usually don't stare at her long enough, but this time, I notice. Fear. "It's for a school project."

I smell bullshit. What is she scared about? Why would she need to work when her father is a billionaire. No school project would warrant a work-study of any kind, except an internship at the end of the semester that she needs to complete, and it's done at one of the family's conglomerates. Not at a restaurant. Adam's confused expression gives it away. She's lying, but why?

I watch Valen and Garret leave the pool, heading for the towel rack.

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