Chasing Sin

32

"I can't believe Sin works at an illegal casino," Taylor mumbles as she continues rubbing my arm soothingly.

Skylar followed after us a few minutes after running away to one of the private girls' bathrooms, and now she's braiding my hair in some sort of intricate braid in an attempt to make me feel better.

"I wouldn't either, if I didn't see it with my own eyes," I admit, picking at the chipped polish on my fingernails.

"I don't know if it's that surprising," Skylar contradicts. "Sin's always been somewhat of a mystery. We've been friends with him for months and just now learn where he works? Neither of us have been to his house or met any of his family. Your boyfriend is his best friend, and somehow we still know nothing about him."

Skylar is basically reiterating what I told Taylor a couple weeks ago when I was prying for information on Sin, and I bet it's been driving her crazy not knowing. God knows it would make me crazy.

"Maybe you're right," Taylor says, looking at Skylar. "Maybe I should have pushed Kace more. We wouldn't be in this mess right now."

"Sure we would," I argue. "You'd still be friends with him. You still are. This won't change that. Just because I'm done with him doesn't mean you have to be."

"Haven," Taylor looks at me intently, stopping me from talking and forcing me to meet her eyes. "We love you. We aren't going anywhere."

My heart swells as I look at the sincerity in her eyes, and I look at Skylar in the mirror as she continues braiding, pulling her focus away to nod at my reflection in agreement.

"Thank you guys. That means a lot to me. I love you too. I just feel so stupid," I admit, looking back down at my hands. "I trusted him so much. I told him stuff I haven't even told you guys about. I thought that was because he and I had a real... bond, and I could really trust him. Maybe he's just that good at manipulating people."

"I don't know, hun," Taylor says. "I've told you before that Sin is crazy loyal. He's done all kinds of insane things for Kace. I'm not saying you're lying, by any means. I just have trouble grasping the fact that Sin would betray you like this."

"You really think he convinced your brother to gamble away all his money?" Skylar asks, looking at me through the mirror. "And then loaned him money to hold over his head?"

I shrug. "Ethan said all the guys that work there were in on it. They pressured him to get so wasted that he would say 'yes' to anything they wanted. Now he owes them all a ton of money, and he told me he's been getting threats and calls all the time."

Taylor reaches over to grab my hand with hers and gives me a sad smile. "It's okay, Haven. It'll all be okay. Everything will work out, and we're going to be here for you until it does."

"And after that," Skylar clarifies as she finishes tying off my new braid.

"Forever," Taylor concludes.

I smile, happy to have my girls with me, even if my entire friend system feels like it is falling apart after exposing Sin as a liar.

The warning bell, signifying that lunch is over.

"You ready for class?" Taylor asks me. We have our Lit class together, and I take a deep breath before answering.

"Um, yeah, but you guys go ahead," I tell them. "I need another minute or two. I'll catch up with you later."

"You sure?" Skylar asks me.

I smile, nodding. "Absolutely. Your mega braiding skills completely cheered me up. I just need a second to myself."