Bullied by Hayes Grier

Chapter 31

Grace's POV

I can't believe I was so stupid. Foolish. Gullible. Naive. He was playing me the whole time. I should've known. I was so blind. All I saw was him, and how he'd "changed." But, leopards don't change their spots.

I stayed up all night thinking. Searching my memories for signs, telling me it wasn't real, that I could've missed. I couldn't find any, though. I was so into him and our amazing relationship, nothing could've convinced me it was anything different.

I can't bare to leave my room. It's already noon and I haven't gotten up from my bed yet. I don't want to be seen. I'm so paranoid that everyone I know will only see me as naive little Grace. I'm scared that everyone else knew Hayes was no good.

I hear a soft knock on my door, startling me. "Grace. Do you want to talk about it?" I should've known that soft knock was my mother. She opened the door slowly and sat beside me on my bed.

"How'd you know?" I lay my head in her lap. "Nash talked to Jake. And he called about an hour ago to talk to you."

She ran her fingers through my hair. I told her everything from the FaceTime call with Hayes to me staying up all night stressing myself.

"Gracie, you'll be fine. We're all the way in California. You can have a fresh start in a brand new school," she says and I sigh. I know she's right, but it still hurts. Who could ever do something like that.

My mom convinced me to finally get out of bed. She said we could go to the beach with Aunt Mack and my cousins.

I freshened up and put on a white and black striped bikini underneath a peach sundress. My wavy hair fell down my back as I tried to hide the fact that I'd been crying all night. I slid on some nude sandal and packed my beach bag with sunglasses, sunscreen and a towel. I grabbed my phone and met my mom downstairs.

By the time we both were ready, Aunt Mack was already outside. We got into her jeep and made our way to the beach. When we got there, we unloaded the chairs and umbrellas from the car and set up in the sand. Justin, Lola and I had our own umbrella next to our moms.

"Hey Grace, come to the boardwalk with me," Justin says. I stand up from my chair and jump on his back. "As long as you carry me." "Did I have a choice?" he laughed.

He carried me all the way up to the boardwalk and put me down. "Now, tell me what's wrong. You're acting weird," he said. "Hayes played me," I mumbled.

"He what?" Justin's head shot up. "He played me. It was a bet between him and his friend," I sigh. "If I ever see the kid, I'll kill him."

Justin motioned for me to get on his back again. He carried me down to an fro-yo shop and put me back down. "I know it's your favorite. We can eat some while you tell me more about this asshole."

I make my cup of fro-yo and Justin pays for it. We sit at a table and I tell him everything. Literally. When I finish, he looks pissed.

"Oh yeah. Definitely gonna kill him," he said. I threw my cup away and we walked back to Lola and our moms on the beach.

I sat back down on my chair to tan. Mom and Aunt Mack were talking about something– I wasn't really listening, and Lola was struggling to build a sandcastle.

I went back and forth between the water and tanning; I got really hot sometimes and had to cool off.

The sun started to set so we packed up. After we loaded the car, Justin, Lola and I went back onto the sand to look at the sky. Watching the sunset at the beach is one of the most beautiful things to ever witness.

I heard my mom take a picture behind us. "Couldn't help it. It was a cute picture," she smiled. We piled into Aunt Mack's car and they took my mom and I home.

We said our goodbyes and went in the house. "I feel so much better mom," I hugged her. She smiled back at me and nodded her head, "good. I'm glad."

I grabbed my bag and went upstairs to my room. I took off my bikini, started a shower, then got in. I washed my hair and body before getting back out.

I looked at myself in the mirror, admiring my successful tan. I put on a pair of pajamas and sat on my bed. I hadn't been on my phone all day, so I decided to play around on it for a little before bed.

I had a lot of messages from Hayes– that I didn't plan on opening, a few from Jake and one from Nash.

I texted the last two back, basically telling then that I was just about over it and I wasn't gonna stress over him.

I plugged my phone into its charger and laid down. I looked out my large window, past the balcony. This beautiful city, and the sparkling water just a few miles from my door, was my new home. If nothing else, this would be how I forget him. This is going to be my fresh start.

The End

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Yes, this is the end of the book. I might make a sequel so let me know if you guys would like that!

Thanks for reading and commenting on this book 💜 it was my very first and I'm surprised it got as many reads as it has.

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