Hate So Good: A High School Bully Romance (The Hate Series Book 2) by Nina Lincoln (best fiction books to read txt) 📕

Glancing away, she gazes over my shoulder with a thousand-yard stare. “Ben.”

“Ra-“

“I knew he was dangerous. I knew something was coming, but I did nothing.”

“Knew...what?” I ask with a sinking sensation in my stomach.

“That something bad was going to happen,” she says simply.

“Did you know he was going to come after me?”

Meeting my stare, she slowly shakes her head, and my breath leaves me in a whoosh. “Ramie, if you didn’t know, what could you have done?”

Smiling sadly, her eyes turn cold as she says, “What I should have done a long time ago.”

Standing before I can ask, she stalks off to the bathroom, and I stare after her bewildered, contemplating following, but maybe she just needs time?

Turning back to the table, I spy Hayden staring after Ramie with a strange expression, but when he senses my gaze, his eyes drop into a blank stare, and he curls his lips into a smirk. Rolling my eyes, I look away, but I’ll not soon forget his interest.

When my phone buzzes in my pocket, I pull it out absently, only to gaze with horror at the text.

Did you like my gift?

Glancing around, I spy nothing out of the ordinary.

Finn: Gift?

Why yes, dear Finn, I couldn’t let her threaten you

Finn: Who?

My fingers tremble as I type out the response hoping he doesn’t say what I think he’s going to. I don’t think I could bear it.

Sarah

Dropping my phone, it crashes to the floor with a thwack. Colt turns to me with a questioning expression that turns to concern when he sees my face.

Clutching my cheeks, he says urgently, “What? What is it?”

Spying all eyes on us, I shake my head slightly, and Colt pulls me from the chair, leading me down the hall toward the back exit and the bathroom.

“What?”

“He texted me...about Sarah.”

After this, I burst into tears, clutching him to me when he wraps his arms around me. Did this crazy fuck really take Sarah? For me?

The knowledge weighs on my chest like a ton of bricks as hysteria circles my spine, and I clutch onto Colt tighter. What if it had been Colt? I couldn’t bear it.

“Okay, okay, sh,” Colt says, brushing my hair back from my face.

“What’s wrong?” Ramie asks behind us.

Pulling away, I glance at her face as she looks between us uneasily, and I straighten, wiping my face. Enough.

Militantly, I grab Colt’s hand and lead him back to the group while Ramie follows behind reluctantly. Once we reach the table, I slam my hands against the cheap Formica to get everyone’s attention.

“Finn,” Colt says in a warning tone.

Shooting him a glare, I look back to my audience when he raises his hands in surrender,

“Listen up,” I bark, which probably isn’t necessary because all eyes are already on me. “I’m done with this shit! Some stupid fuck thinks he can scare me? Well, no more. Now, if you’re my fucking friends, y’all better start throwing out ideas.”

“Ideas?” George asks, looking me over cautiously.

“Yes, you’ve all been friends forever, surely you must know who the creepy fuckers are? Who would have Ben working for him? Who would hate Sarah?”

“Sarah?” Hayden asks, his chair dropping to the floor.

“Yes, if I’m to believe the sick fuck, he’s the one that took Sarah. For me.”

The silence after my statement is deafening as Ramie whispers beside me, “For you?”

Sighing, I sit in my seat and rub my temple. “Yes, Sarah came to my house right around the time she disappeared.”

“Why didn’t you say something?” Colt growls.

“Because I thought you were fucking her,” I snap but soften my gaze when he reels back as though slapped.

“What did she want?” Dirk asks.

“She threatened me. She was super weird, going on about Colt. Chased me down the street with a knife before she gave up and said something about letting him take care of me. At the time, I thought she was talking about Colt. But what if this mysterious guy she was hanging out with was my fan?”

I’m met with dead silence as they all stare at me with disbelief.

Beside me, Ramie says, “She’s a snake in the grass, always has been. But this?”

Hayden slowly nods, “Yeah, but she was into some stupid shit. Constantly scheming, causing trouble, and she was super secretive.”

“She threatened me,” Dirk says reluctantly.

“What about?” Colt asks, his face is ashen.

He’s been remarkably silent during this conversation, and I worry he’s about to fall down the hole and retreat as he often does, but this is important, and I’m not willing to back down.

Dirk shift’s uncomfortably, and I wonder if this is when he plans to recap his whatever with Colt’s half-sister, but Colt’s phone buzzes, and he glances down before standing abruptly, “It’s my mom.”

We all watch as he walks away before tuning back into our conversation. “Maybe it’s farfetched, but we have to consider Portia too,” I say.

Hayden shifts uncomfortably, and I zero in on him with narrowed eyes. “What?”

I can see he’s gearing up to lie, and my mouth pulls back in a snarl, “Just fucking tell me!”

Glancing behind us to where Colt’s standing on the sidewalk speaking into his phone, he says grimly, “Portia was pregnant.”

“Come again?” I ask.

Sighing, he runs his hands over his hair and mutters, “When she disappeared, she was pregnant.”

“How?” I whisper. When Hayden gives me a heated glare, I raise my hand and say, “How do you know?”

“Because she told me.”

“Why?”

“Because she was playing us all, and she didn’t know who the father was,” he says firmly.

“Us?”

“Me. Colt. Nate…”

Portia was pregnant? And Colt…?

My mind spins at this new revelation, and I jump from my chair, walking back to the bathroom rapidly. I need a moment to process this without all their fucking eyes on me.

Slamming into a stall, I lean against the flimsy wall and take deep breaths. It shouldn’t matter. This was long before me, but knowing he got someone else pregnant or maybe did creates a cavern of pain in my chest that hurts - badly.

Not to mention