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

by Kelsey Clayton

  “Me? I was only a kid,” she protests.

  “Once I turned eighteen, I started looking into his case, and I found some inconsistencies that made me look even further. I remembered his warning and focused on researching your father. It turns out that during a business trip to Vegas, your dad discovered the thrill of gambling. Only, instead of doing it responsibly, he fell down a rabbit hole. He spent all of his savings, and when he ran out of money, he borrowed from some bad people. From what I’ve seen, he was betting big and only winning small amounts back. When the loan sharks came to collect, he didn’t have it, so he started to steal it from the company our fathers worked for.”

  Her eyes show just how clear everything is starting to become.

  “He didn’t,” she pleads, already seeing where I’m going with this.

  My head drops. “The company found out within a matter of a few months, because of the high amounts that were going missing, and your dad set mine up to take the fall. He must have had help, because the whole case was practically rock solid, so I’m guessing he paid someone to cover his tracks. However, the biggest piece of evidence…” I pause and take a deep breath, knowing this is going to hurt her. “The biggest piece of evidence was a video. The deposition of a ten-year-old girl, saying she saw Mr. Hayworth stashing money under the floorboard in the den.”

  Like a damn breaking, her tears flow like the waterfall in front of us. “No. No, no, no. I didn’t. Please, tell me I didn’t.”

  I press my forehead against hers. “I’m so sorry, Savannah. I thought you knew.”

  “I had no idea, I swear.” She holds her head as she sobs. “No wonder you hated me. You should! I’m a terrible person!”

  “No.” I take her face between my hands, forcing her to look at me. “You were a child, manipulated into doing something by someone who should have been protecting you. This is not your fault.”

  I hold her as she cries, both of us fully understanding that the events that tore us apart were out of our control. I may have come back here with the intention of getting revenge, but instead I got something so much more. Her.

  “I really want to stay with you, but I promised Brady I’d help him with something at the studio.” She sniffles, wiping her eyes.

  I nod and place a kiss to her forehead. “It’s okay. I’ll drive you. But Sav?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I love you.”

  As she exhales, her face breaks into a smile that takes my breath away. “I love you, too.”

  AFTER DROPPING SAVANNAH OFF at the studio, I go home to find my mom in the living room. Home videos of me as a child play on the TV screen. As I see myself run around in a batman cape, with a paper towel tube as a sword, I laugh.

  “I was so weird.”

  “Yeah. You were always my favorite, though.”

  A small laugh bubbles out of my mouth. “Favorite out of one. Look at me accomplishing greatness.”

  I walk over to the pile of movies and put a different one in. As my mom presses play, I sit down next to her.

  “Savannah, let’s go,” I tell her, getting impatient.

  “I’m coming, I’m coming.” She walks into the frame in her white leotard. “Jeez, Gray. You can’t rush perfection.”

  Tessa and Delaney stand next to us, smiling as Savi walks toward me with fake flowers.

  “Okay,” Laney starts. “We are gathered here today to join Grayson and Savannah is holy mattress-mony.” She turns to me. “Do you, Grayson, take Savannah to be your wife? To love even when she’s sick and gross?”

  “I do.”

  She smiles and turns to Savi. “And do you, Savannah, take Grayson to be your husband? To love even if he’s a stinky butthead?”

  Savannah giggles. “I do.”

  “Well, then, by the power vested in me, by the piece of cardboard that Tessa and I drew this morning, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now share a juice box.”

  Savi takes the first sip and hands it to me to do the same. Then, we exchange pipe-cleaner rings and wave at the camera.

  “Aw.” My mom presses a hand to her chest. “You two were the cutest.”

  I can’t help but smile, hoping one day that fake wedding becomes a real one. “Yeah, we were.”

  A HALF HOUR LATER, I’M working on an essay when my phone rings and Brady’s name appears on the screen. For a second, I wonder if Savannah’s phone died. She had mentioned coming over after they were done.

  “Hello?” I answer.

  “Hey, Grayson.” Brady sounds less than thrilled to speak to me. “Can I talk to Savannah real fast? I just want to know if she’s going to be home for dinner, and she isn’t answering her phone.”

  Everything goes ice cold in an instant. “Wait, what? I dropped her off at the studio almost an hour ago. She said she had to help you with something.”

  “I haven’t been at the studio all day, and she and I definitely never made plans.”

  It only takes a second for everything to click. Her knowing everything. How heartbroken she was about it. The determined look in her eyes when I dropped her off. No.

  “Fuck!” I jump up out of my chair and grab my keys off the desk, skipping most of the steps as I leap down them. “Meet me at her dad’s house! I think she’s in trouble.”

  27

  Savannah

  I sit in the big office chair as I wait for my dad to get off the phone. He’s pacing back and forth while a man in a suit watches me from across the table. Daddy looks frustrated. I hate when he’s like this.

  “Just put $5,000 on the Broncos,” he says into the phone. “Yes, I’m good for it. I’ll have you the money by tomorrow.” Hanging up, he releases a breath and changes his expression. He comes over and kneels in front of me. “Now Savi, my sweet, sweet, little Savi.” He tucks my hair behind my ear. “You need to tell the nice man what we practiced, okay?”

  I frown. “But it’s a lie, and you said it’s bad to lie.”

  “I know, baby, but it’s okay just this once, because if you don’t, Daddy is going to need to go away like Mommy did.”

  The idea of losing my dad makes my heart hurt. I already have to live the rest of my life without my mom. I don’t want to live without my daddy, too.

  I nod, and he steps back behind the camera. The man in the suit smiles at me, but he doesn’t look very nice, so I don’t smile back. He presses a button on the camera and then turns to me.

  “Okay, Savannah. I’m just going to ask you a few questions about the night you stayed at your friend Gray’s house, okay?”

  Shaking my head, I correct him. “His name is Grayson. Only me and his dad get to call him Gray.”

  He chuckles. “I’m sorry, the night you stayed at your friend Grayson’s house. Is that better?”

  “Yes.”

  Looking down at a notebook in front of him, he reads the next question from the page. “You said in the middle of the night, you woke up and needed a drink, is that right?”

  “Mm-hm. I was thirsty so I went downstairs for a glass of milk.”

  “And when you went down to get a drink, what did you see?”

  I look to my dad, knowing this is the part where I’m supposed to lie. He gives me a reassuring nod, and I recite the answer he told me. “I saw Mr. Hayworth putting money under the floorboard in the den.”

  The man in the suit looks back at my dad for a second and they both smile happily. “Did you look in there after he was gone?”

  Shaking my head, something about this makes me feel sick to my stomach. “I just saw there was a lot of money in there.”

  How could I have been so stupid to never put the pieces together? Less than a year after that interview, Grayson disappeared. My dad wouldn’t tell me where they went, just that they moved away and weren’t coming back.

  That asshole knew exactly what he did. He knew the lives he was ruining. His best friend’s. Grayson’s. Mine. The only person he’s ever cared about is himself. Even while he was working to cover his trac
ks and frame Grayson’s father for a crime he himself committed, he was still making bets with the stolen money.

  A part of me hopes that the reason for all the drugs and alcohol in the last seven years was to cope with the guilt of what he did. At least then it would seem like he has some kind of conscience. If he doesn’t feel any remorse for what he’s done, then I’m not sure I ever really knew him at all.

  I look up at my house, knowing that monster is inside. All of this comes down to him. Grayson’s father was taken too soon, because of him. Gray has had to grow up without a father, because of him. Mrs. Hayworth has had to raise her son without her husband, because of him. I lost my best friend, because of him. He’s the one who ruined everything, and I’m going to take him down once and for all.

  Pressing a button on my phone, I slip it in my pocket and walk through the door. My father is standing in the kitchen. He scoffs when he sees me, and his upper lip raises in disgust.

  “Where has your ass been for the last week?”

  “At Brady’s.” I try to keep my voice calm.

  “Yeah?” He looks me up and down. “Are you sure you haven’t been hanging around that Hayworth kid?”

  My eyes narrow. “What if I have?”

  “Then you better cut that shit out right now. I don’t want you anywhere near that boy.”

  “Why? Because you’re afraid I’ll find out about what you did to his father?” The way the color drains from my dad’s face shows his guilt. “Yeah, I know all about it. How you gambled away all our money. How you stole from the company you spent five years working for. And even how you set your best friend up to take the fall.”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he counters, but it’s as weak as he is.

  “Oh, come on. Don’t try to be all noble now. Go ahead. Gloat. Getting away with something like that had to make you feel like a badass.”

  His stare bores into me, his body tense and motionless. “I did what I had to, and your little ass should be grateful for that.”

  “What you had to?” I snap. “You made your best friend take the fall for a crime he didn’t commit! He died in there! Grayson’s dad is dead, and you did that.”

  “You’re damn fucking right I did!” he roars, slamming the whiskey bottle down on the counter. “And I’d do it again! I got more money out of that score than I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s not my fault the fragile little shit couldn’t handle himself in prison.”

  I can’t believe the words that are coming out of his mouth, but even worse is what’s written on his face. He looks proud—pleased with himself for getting away with millions while his closest friend lost his life. There isn’t the smallest ounce of remorse, and that causes my blood to boil.

  “You’re a monster,” I tell him. “A despicable, sad excuse for a man.”

  His eyes darken, like the anger in him is starting to bubble to the surface. “You should be worshiping the ground I walk on. The shit I did kept you out of foster care. If I had gone to jail, you would have had no one!”

  “I would’ve been better off!”

  He laughs dryly and walks around the counter to stand in front of me. “If your mother could see you now—the greedy, unappreciative little bitch you are—she would be appalled.”

  “Fuck you!” I hiss. “I’m going to make you pay for what you’ve done. Being as I was unknowingly one of the key pieces of evidence in the case, I’m sure the FBI will love to know how you manipulated a little girl into lying under oath.”

  “You wouldn’t dare.”

  “Oh, I definitely would.” Turning to leave, I take one step toward the door. “Enjoy your drink. It’s going to be a while before you get to have another.”

  Before I can get away, he grabs me by the hair and pulls me back. “Over my dead body.”

  His fist plows into my face with brutal force, sending a shooting pain through my jaw. He uses his grip to slam my head into the counter and throws me to the floor. The kick to my stomach is like getting hit by a truck. I try to shield myself, but as he swings his foot into me again, I can feel my wrist snap.

  “You stupid, stupid little girl,” he sneers as he continues his beating. “I should have taken your ass out years ago.” Another blow to my face, and the metallic taste of blood fills my mouth. “Finally getting rid of you will be the best day of my fucking life.”

  The pain across my entire body is so severe that I’m finding it hard to stay conscious. No matter how motionless I am, however, he doesn’t let up. The kicks and punches still come just as hard, with no sign of letting up. He’s going to kill me.

  As the reality sets in, I think of those closest to me. Brady. Delaney. Grayson. Are they going to be okay? What will they think happened to me? Will my father get away with this too? It’s a horrible feeling, knowing I’m about to die. The only thing I have to look forward to is getting to see my mom again.

  Everything starts to go hazy as I hear the faint sound of the door flying open.

  “Get off her!” a person screams, and by some miracle, the hits stop coming. “Oh my God, Savi. No, no, no! Fuck! Stay with me, please.”

  Grayson? I try to open my eyes, but I can’t. It’s too hard. I’m too weak. Losing the battle to stay awake, the darkness takes over, and the pain fades away.

  28

  Grayson

  I press the pedal to the floor, breaking every traffic law known to man as I speed across town. Every time I try to call Savannah, it goes straight to voicemail. My mind immediately imagines the worst, and my heart plummets at the thought of it. If something happens to her, I will never forgive myself.

  Her dad’s piece of shit is out front, which means he’s clearly home. I throw my car in park and race up onto the rickety porch, bursting through the door. What I see knocks my whole world off its axis. Savannah is curled up on the floor in the fetal position as her father viciously kicks her. My rage spikes to a level that scares even me.

  “Get off her!” I roar, running to her side. Her father, the coward that he is, uses my distraction to flee. I know I should chase after him, but I can’t leave Savannah. Not now. Not like this. “Oh my God, Savi. No, no, no! Fuck! Stay with me, please.”

  There’s blood everywhere, and the fear of her dying becomes alarmingly real. I take out my phone and call 9-1-1, telling them to get here as fast as possible. Savannah is unconscious, and her pulse is weak.

  I just got her back. Don’t take her from me again. Please. I need her.

  By the time the ambulance arrives, my clothes are stained with red—my hands covered from holding pressure on her wounds. The paramedics give me odd looks. They probably think I did this, like I’m some abusive prick who knocks his girlfriend around. I don’t pay any mind to it as they lift Savannah onto a stretcher and wheel her out the door. A police cruiser pulls up and two officers get out, all grim business as they eye her prone form.

  “We’re going to need a statement from you, but I’ll have someone meet you at the hospital for that,” the officer tells me, and I nod a silent thank you.

  Brady pulls up just as we get outside. His eyes widen drastically as they load Savi into the back of the ambulance.

  “Savi! What the hell happened?”

  I try to keep my cool, but every time I even think of that bastard, my vision blurs with fury. “Her prick of a fucking father. That’s what happened.” Just before they close the doors, I stop them. “Wait, I’m coming with her.”

  “Are you family?”

  I shake my head. “I’m her boyfriend.”

  He gives me a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry, son. Only family is allowed in the ambulance.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me? Her family did this to her!”

  The urge to fight everyone who stands in my way of her is strong, and I think Brady can see that because he steps in front of me.

  “Grayson, it’s fine. Get in my car, and I’ll drive you there.”

  “No.” I start walking toward my car. “I’m dr
iving myself.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he argues. “You’re angry. Frantic. If you’re not focused enough, you could crash. Do you think Savannah would want that?”

  As the ambulance drives away with the most important part of my life, I grab Brady by the shoulders and pin him to my car with an arm at his throat. “Don’t fucking tell me what Savannah would want! She wouldn’t fucking want any of this!” Alarmed officers yank me back and I shake them off, hardly able to stand being in my own skin.

  “You’re right. I’m sorry,” he croaks.

  I know I’m taking my wrath out on the wrong person. Instead of apologizing, however, I turn around and walk toward his SUV.

  THE TRAFFIC IN CALIFORNIA is irritating on a normal day, but when we’re trying to get to the hospital and don’t have flashing lights and sirens, it’s excruciatingly worse. I don’t even wait for the car to come to a stop at the hospital entrance before I jump out and run inside.

  “I’m looking for Savannah Montgomery. An ambulance just brought her in.”

  The woman at the desk seems taken back by my panic. She looks at my blood-stained clothes with shock before shaking herself out of it and typing something into her computer. My whole body is shaking. I can’t handle not knowing where she is or if she’s okay.

  “According to this, they brought her into surgery,” she tells me, and my stomach churns. “I’ll notify the doctor that you’re here, and he’ll have someone come out to speak to you soon. Just have a seat.”

  I stand completely still, unable to move as her words play through my head. Savannah’s in surgery. That piece of shit beat her so bad that she needs fucking surgery.

  Brady gently grabs my arm and leads me over to one of the chairs in the waiting room. He then goes and gets a pack of disinfectant wipes from one of the receptionists and hands them to me.