"Sin?"
I stand there, in shock, as Sin stands up behind the fancy green table. Why is he here? And why is he holding a deck of cards?
"Are you..." My question gets lost in my head as I try to decipher what the fuck is going on here.
"Haven, what are you doing here?" he asks angrily. He growls, "Go back upstairs."
Now my shock turns to anger. He is telling me to leave?
"Do you work here?" I finally ask, my tone sounding as astonished as I feel.
Sin purses his lips and looks down at the cards in his hand, not answering.
"Haven, you need to go back upstairs," he says, less angrily than the first time. "Please listen to me. You don't want to be down here."
"Sin," I say his name loudly and clearly, commanding his eyes to meet mind. "Do you work here?"
"Oh yeah, Sin's my best croupier!" Oliver Greystone announces, walking back over to the table and throwing an arm around Sin's shoulders as if they're the best of friends.
Oliver Greystone and Sin... are, like, working together? Or rather, Sin works for Oliver?
Oh my god. Of course.
I should have realized this as soon as Oliver told me his son was Archer. Sin told me multiple times that he worked with Archer, even though he wouldn't tell me what he did for work.
"Haven, it's not that big of a-"
"You... You... You work. Here," I say, still trying to piece it together.
Not only is Sin here, at this god forsaken casino, but he's working here.
I look up at him, standing there with that skeevy criminal's arm wrapped around him. He's not ashamed at all. Sin doesn't move Oliver's arm off of his shoulder or say anything to defend himself. He just stands there, watching me realize the truth.
This can't be happening. Sin works here? He's one of the people that has been fucking over my brother?
Sin has been taking Ethan's money, threatening him, terrorizing him, all behind my back. While he's been flirting with me and acting like we're the best of friends, all while knowingly fucking over my brother, my own family.
All of this is too much for one night.
"I got to get out of here." I throw my hands up and turn to leave, tuning everything else out. Sin says something, but I can't even listen close enough to process what it is.
I rush up the stairs and out to the front of the restaurant where Zara is.
"Woah, Haven, you alright? You look freaked," she tells me.
"I'm fine," I immediately lie. "What time is it?"
"It's almost ten. I was just going to come and find you and let you know your shift is almost over," she tells me.
Thank God. I have to leave. I have to get out of here, like now.
"Okay, great. I'm leaving," I say, barely able to look at her. "See you later."
I rush to the back and grab my bag, pulling my car keys out and all but running to my car. Once I'm on the road, I feel like I can take a breath.
It only takes me ten minutes to get home, and I immediately rush upstairs to my room, plopping down on my bed and taking off my shoes.
As I sit on my bed, I let myself start to process what the hell just happened.
Sin works at the illegal casino underneath Lumière's. He works for Archer's dad. He's one of the guys that Ethan said got him drunk and convinced him to take money from them.
Sin, my Sin, has been torturing my brother for weeks. Behind my back, all while acting as if we're best friends.
He's been eating the breakfast I bring him in the morning and sitting under that willow tree with me for weeks, flirting with me and convincing me I could trust him.
All while plotting against my brother? Why? For what?
I told him about my parents. I told him about Jared! How could he do this to me?
I know I don't have all the answers, but I know that the Sin I've come to know in the past few weeks must not be the real Sin. That Sin couldn't do this.
I feel my phone buzz from my pocket, and I pull it out, causing the $680 I made tonight fall out onto my bed as well.
I grab the money, part of me wanting to rip it to shreds and the other part of me grateful that at least one good thing came out of this shitty night.
I look at my phone and see a message from Aubrey.
Found this one while going through yesterday's photos. Your children will be gorgeous ;)
I look at the picture she attached and I feel tears well up in my eyes.
It's Sin and I, sitting beside each other at our table, me looking over at him with a blushing smile, probably embarrassed of Aubrey taking my photo after confronting Emily. Sin has a real, genuine smile on his face, and he looks like he's lightly laughing at something I said.
It would normally melt my heart, but right now it sinks it.
That's the Sin I've always seen, but tonight? That was a completely different side to Sin than I've ever seen.
He seemed... ashamed, and unsure. He couldn't admit what he'd done, not to my face. He just kept asking me to leave.
My eyes water as I stare at the picture, and I lock my phone before I start to really cry.
I get up to go to the bathroom and wash my face, taking off my clothes and changing into pajamas as I do.
I tie my hair up in a bun and start to wash my face. As soon as the warm water hits my skin, though, I feel the tears pricking my eyes start to fall.
I usually hate crying, like so much, but my face is already wet, so it's almost like it doesn't count. Besides, so much has been going on, I think a little cry is justified.
After the month I've had, moving to California, making the best friends I could have imagined, making an enemy out of the school's queen bee, getting beat up by Archer, finding out Ethan has a gambling problem and is thousands of dollars in debt to criminals, and the carrying the weight of the always-looming threat of Jared with me everywhere I go, I allow myself a good cry.
And to top it off, the guy I thought might be right for me, one of my best new friends, and the guy I trusted more than anyone, has been betraying me this entire time.
After a good long cry, I finally fall asleep, though the entire night, I toss and turn and barely get any actual sleep.
I wake up late, of course, having forgot to set my alarm last night. I rush to wash my face, tie my hair up in loose ponytail, and grab a pair of jeans and a t-shirt to put on.
I look like absolute hell, with puffy eyes from crying, dark circles from getting no sleep, and a scowl etched on my face from my overall horrible mood.
Hopefully everyone got a good look at me Tuesday, when I actually made an effort, because today I'm sporting a 'homeless teen who needs a nap' look.
"Wow, you look like shit," my brother tells me as I come downstairs.
He's right, I do. Ethan doesn't though. After spending last night in his own bed, getting some sleep, and showering, he looks a lot better.
I huff in annoyance and follow him to the car. He drives, much to my relief, and we don't speak for the entire drive.
Part of me wants to know more, to have Ethan confirm what I already know, but another part of me is too scared of hearing it said out loud.
The realization that Sin is a two-faced criminal, not my real friend, is hard enough in my head.
And it's not like Ethan can do much to refute it. I caught Sin red-handed, with a deck of cards in his hand and Oliver's arm slung around him as he announced that Sin was working for him.
I just stay silent, looking at my phone until we get to the school.
Sin tried calling me like 10 times last night, and I delete the notification, not interested. I'm pretty sure I'll end up seeing him today, but I just can't deal with that yet.
Ethan parks toward the front of the school, no where near where I usually park to be close to my friends, and I sigh out of relief.
I don't even glance over to where I know all my friends will be. Instead, I walk over to the canteen and buy a giant cup of coffee.
We're not supposed to take drinks into our classes, but Mr. Talbot in my homeroom takes pity on me when he sees how horrible I look.
I go all morning without seeing any of my friends, without even speaking to anyone, just focusing on my classes. It's a nice distraction, so I pay close attention to everything my teachers say.
When I get to gym class, I of course run into Taylor. She stops me at the door of the locker room and asks me where I was this morning.
"I just got here late," I lie, trying to make it convincing. "Ethan drove, so I didn't have time to come see you before homeroom."
"Are you sure?" she asks. "You don't look like you slept a wink. Are you okay?"
She looks at me closely, her face etched with concern. I fake a smile and brush it off.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks, Taylor. Just didn't sleep much last night."
We get changed and play a quick game of volleyball. Our coach is also the gym teacher, so we play a lot of volleyball in this class. I'm just glad I can play again now that my wrist is a little better.
Afterwards, Taylor and I change and walk back to the main building for our classes.
"I was thinking about this weekend. Do you think it'll be warm enough to actually swim and stuff in the lake? I've never been to Lake Tahoe. Maybe we can go canoeing! That would be fun. Have you ever been?"
"Yeah," I say, forgetting to add a fake smile. "It's fun."
Taylor stops rambling on about the trip this weekend and turns to look at me. "Are you sure you're okay? You've been quiet all day."
"Just in a mood," I tell her, shrugging. "Sorry. What were you saying about canoeing?"
"I think Beck mentioned there's a place to rent canoes there. Maybe we can get a couple and take turns," she suggests. "Although, we only have a few days. We might not have time."
"I think canoeing would be fun," I agree.
I'm not as excited about this weekend as I once was. The idea of spending the entire weekend in the same house as Sin doesn't really appeal to me right now.
"Hey, Ave," Peyton greets me as we approach my classroom. "Where were you this morning? I missed your world-class breakfast! I'm practically starving now."
I smile and laugh a little, putting my hands up to playfully punch him, and he holds his hands up as if I were boxing into his hands. I lightly punch the palms of his hands, and he laughs with me.
Thank God for Peyton. He's always there to make you feel a bit better.
"Sorry about breakfast," I apologize. "I overslept and my brother drove this morning."
At the mention of Ethan, Peyton's eyes widen.
"He was in my homeroom this morning," he tells me, wanting to share some good news. "He looked a lot better."
I nod, a small smile on my lips. "Yeah, he did. Thank god."
"Same can't be said for you," he tells me.
"Gee, Evans, you're such a charmer."
"You know what I mean," Peyton tells me as we sit in our regular desks. "You always look good, Ave. Just... you look like you got hit by a truck last night."
"You could say that," I mutter.
"Hey guys," Beck greets us as he sits in his desk. "You ready for the quiz?"
I groan in realization.
Ugh, of course we would have a quiz on today of all days. I completely forgot about it. I was going to study after I got off work last night, and that obviously didn't happen.
But it's fine. I will not let something like this affect my grades. I am a strong, independent woman who handles her shit.
Mr. Holden passes out the quiz as soon as he walks into the classroom, giving us no time to study a little more.
After doing what I could on that quiz, the class is half over, and Mr. Holden begins to lecture.
Again, I thrust myself into the lecture and focusing on my notes so my mind doesn't wander. I know that lunch is coming up and I can't think about seeing Sin right now.
The lecture ends as the bell rings, and Peyton, Beckett, and I walk toward the cafeteria as usual. We get our food and sit down, and we're the first ones to the table.
My heart pounds as I wonder if Sin will show up. Maybe he ditched today. No, that would be too convenient. My luck doesn't have that kind of track record.
I don't even know how I'll feel seeing him. I do not want to cry in front of all my friends. I might, however, blow up and yell at him, or maybe even ignore him completely. I'm not sure which of these options is the most petty.
"Hey, guys," Skylar says as she sits down. Her hair is a new vibrant purple, rather than its normal multi-colored pastel strands.
"I like the new hair," I tell her with a small smile, the most I can manage with the anxiety pulsing through me.
"Thanks, Ave," she says, returning a smile. "I can do yours sometime if you want!"
I don't reply. Instead, I just take a bite of my sandwich and try to listen to Peyton's conversation to distract me.
Taylor and Aubrey join the table next, and I immediately ask them both to sit beside me. They usually sit by their boyfriends, but they must notice how desperate my tone is or how bad I look, because they happily agree.
"What's with this hobo chic look?" Aubrey asks, looking over my outfit.
"It's been a long day," I say simply. "Or couple days, I guess."
"Did you have to work last night?" Taylor asks. "I swear, you work way too much. You should ask for less hours."
"Maybe this trip this weekend is exactly what you need to decompress," Aubrey suggests. "I don't know about you guys, but I am pumped. I heard there's going to be a fall festival near there on Saturday. Maybe we can go!"
"Isn't it a little late in the year for a fall festival?" I point out.
"It's California," she retorts. "We do weird shit. Just go with it."
I shrug, going with it.
"Where were you this morning? Did you get here late?" Aubrey asks. "Sin kept asking us all if we had heard from you. He seemed kinda worried."
So I guess that means he didn't ditch school today. That's my luck for you.
"Um, I just overslept. And my brother drove, so I was nearly late. But I'm fine," I assure her.
She smiles, and Peyton makes another crude joke upon noticing my shift in attitude. I smile, thankful for the effort, but it doesn't last long.
My rising mood plummets as soon as I see Sin enter the cafeteria. He looks at our table, and just as Emily's did a couple days ago, his eyes zero in on me and he strides over to the table.
"Haven," he starts, and I look down, shaking my head, unable to meet his gorgeous green eyes. "I need to talk to you."
"I don't want to hear anything you have to say," I say, still not looking at him.
I can tell our friends clearly sense the tension between us, and they all go silent, watching.
"Please," he pleads. "Just let me explain."
"No." My voice is loud and clear, and I look up at him angrily as I argue against him. I don't want him to explain and try to justify what he did or convince me he didn't do anything.
"Haven, it's not a big deal. If you'd talked to me last night, you'd understand," Sin assures me in a strong yet lovely voice. Normally, I'd find that tone assertive and hot, but now it just pisses me off.
He doesn't think this is a big deal? Not only did he lie about where he worked, he's been hurting my family behind my back and thinks it's 'no big deal.'
"Not a big deal?!" I repeat through gritted teeth, standing up now. "You think this is no big deal?"
"What's going on?" Taylor asks, her voice concerned but timid.
Kace puts a hand on her shoulder, shaking his head.
"I want to know what's going on, too," Aubrey agrees. Beckett tries to do the same as Kace, but she shakes his hand off and glares at him. "Whatever it is, I think we have a right to know."
"You're right," I agree. "You do. And so did I."
Sin looks at me, unsure of what I'm going to say.
"I think everyone deserves to know what Sin does for a living," I say loud enough for all my friends to hear, but I say it while staring at Sin. "Do you want to tell them? Or should I?"
Everyone at the table looks riveted, yet somewhat concerned.
Aubrey, Taylor, and Skylar look totally confused. The boys all share a knowing look, and I even sense a small tinge of guilt among them.
Sin sighs, but he glances around the table and gives in. "I'm a dealer at an illegal casino downtown."
Taylor gasps, and Skylar looks equally shocked. Aubrey even widens her eyes in surprise. The guys, of course, all knew, but they look uneasy at the truth being out.
"And the guy who runs it," I finish for him. "is Archer Greystone's father."
"You're kidding me," Aubrey says. "The guy that attacked you?"
I nod, forgetting my friends for a moment and looking back at Sin.
My entire body nearly shakes with anger. Seeing him here, in the flesh, act as if it's not important that he conspired with the Greystones to hurt my brother and take all his money.
"I have to hand it to you, Sin," I say, still clearly angry. "You really put up a great front. The whole 'caring friend who looks out for everyone even though he has a tough exterior' look worked really well for you. You had me going for quite a while. I really, really thought you were a good person underneath all the leather and tattoos."
"What are you talking about?" he asks, squinting at me. "Why are you so freaked out by this? Me working there is no different than you working there."
I scoff out of outrage. "Are you fucking kidding me? I was forced to bring people a couple of drinks, for an hour, one night. You work with a bunch of manipulative criminals who are out to hurt my brother!"
Sin's face drops out of realization.
He didn't know that I knew about Ethan's situation. I'm sure he and all his 'business associates' told Ethan to keep quiet about it.
"I can't do this right now," I say, reaching down to get my bag before I cry again. "I've got to get out of here."
I'm not going to make a scene in the middle of this cafeteria for the second time this week. I need to leave before I can't stop myself.
I rush out of the cafeteria, but I hear a couple people shouting my name and following me.
"Haven, wait!" Taylor shouts once I'm outside. There's no one around, and with the fresh air, I feel like I can breathe better. "Please, slow down!"
I stop running away, turning to look at her as she follows me. Behind her, I see Aubrey and Peyton following.
"Guys, please, I can't do this right now," I say, my voice cracking.
"Haven!" Sin's voice rings out, cutting through the air like a knife. He rushes over to where I am, our friends stepping out of the way to watch.
"Sin, please stop," I tell him, shaking my head. "I don't want to hear any more of your bullshit. You've been a part of that god forsaken place for who knows how long, and you've been knowingly screwing over my brother! Taking all of his money, practically drugging him so you could convince him to borrow more. I can't believe I ever trusted you."
"That's not what happened," Sin replies, pushing his hands through his hair out of frustration. "It wasn't... that wasn't me."
"I can't believe I ever let you in! To my home, my family, my life," I shout, pulling at my own hair and fighting back tears as the horrible realization sets in. "I can't believe I let you around my family and I mean... I watched you pretend to care about my siblings, helping Destiny eat and joking around with the twins. You really had me going."
"I do care about your family, Haven. I care about you," Sin replies, his voice strong and loud and full of lies.
I shake my head. "How can you stand there and say that to me?!"
"Because it's the truth!"
"No! No, it's not the truth. You can't claim that you care about me or my family when you've gone to absolutely extreme measures to ruin my brother's life."
"If you'd just let me explain, Haven, I can-"
"I don't want to hear any of your excuses. I don't want anything to do with you!"
Sin steps back, looking a bit hurt, then that stupid impassive scowl covers it up again.
"You know, after everything we've been through—after everything I told you about my past, about him, how much I let you into my life, I really thought I could trust you."
Sin's hard look twitches, as if it's not so easy to keep it up anymore. His eyes give away a bit of emotion, but I can't decipher which one.
"But I could never trust someone who would knowingly hurt my family."
I turn to walk away, a couple tears falling despite my best efforts, and I immediately wipe them away as I feel Taylor's hand on my back, leading me back to the main building up the hill.