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

over the weekend, I resign myself to another useless school day where I retain fucking nothing.

My mind circles with Tiffany’s warning and how terrible she looked. What could my fan possibly know that would have kept Tiffany under his thumb for all these years? And who else has he blackmailed? It could be everyone for all I know. Shit.

And Nate? I knew he was part of the boy’s game, but I guess I didn’t want to consider him as my stalker, although in some ways, it makes sense. He’s been angry more times than I can count over my relationship with Colt.

Sometimes when he doesn’t know I’m looking, he has such a dark look on his face, and it’s disturbing. Is he taking the game to the next level? Maybe he’s more invested in winning than the others? If so, he really is a creep, to say the least.

By lunch, I’ve decided to do a little sleuthing, Tiffany’s suggestion about Nate weighing on me. Besides, I have nothing better to do because, at this point, my only fucking friends at this school are presently sitting at the table with Colt.

Since Nate is one of the three who played their cruel games, it means he had direct contact with both Portia and Sarah - it would make sense for him to have taken the game next level, but it still leaves me unsettled.

Avoiding Colt, who’s still distant, I ignore the goosebumps rising on my arms at his proximity, an anomaly that happens whenever he’s nearby. It’s both annoying and exhilarating.

If we never work out, I’m screwed because I can’t get enough of him, and these days it feels like he’s slipping further away, despite his claims for me to wait.

Since I can’t be anywhere near Colt without slowly dying inside while simultaneously panting like a dog in heat, I approach Nate and his friends glumly. I’d rather be anywhere but here, and it’s with no little hesitation I give Nate a hesitant smile. I’ve got nothing to lose at this point, and Nate may have the answers I seek.

He eyes me with a weird look as I approach and smiles, but even so, I can see the distrust shining behind his eyes. It makes me sad that this is where we’ve come to because I thought he was a really fun and friendly guy.

He was the only one who seemed to like me because of me, except apparently even that was a lie. Tiffany’s words about things not being as they seem skip through me, and I’m reminded grimly, they genuinely aren’t. I’ve been part of a fucked-up game since I got here, and I still feel like I’m missing pieces of the puzzle.

I need answers, and I don’t know how else to get the information I seek except to go straight to the source, although I’m not sure of my strategy since I can’t exactly ask him outright.

Hey, what's for lunch? By the way, are you my stalker?

Yeah, no.

“Can I sit?” I ask.

He looks me cautiously over, and I try to maintain a placid expression while waiting for him to agree, and when he nods his head, I pull out a chair and settle beside him, glancing around at his friends. They mostly ignore me, probably because I’ve not put much effort into getting to know them and shame burns through me at that, but I ignore it. It’s not like I haven’t had other shit on my mind!

“So,” I say, clearing my throat awkwardly, “how have you been?”

“Why are you here?” he demands.

Okay, so no subtlety then, right.

“Look,” I say, taking a deep breath, “what you did was wrong, but maybe I should have allowed you to explain.”

Although true, the half-lie rests bitterly on my shoulders. I don’t like all the lies, but I’m tired of the deception and not above it with these assholes.

With a grimace, he looks away. “Fine. Fair enough. I agree it was wrong. There’s nothing I can say to make that better. We’ve just been doing it for so long. I guess I thought it was normal.”

“How long?” I murmur, disturbed by his belief this could ever be normal.

“Since forever, it wasn’t always girls. It was everything. We were bored and stupid. It became about girls with Portia because we all liked her,” he says grimly.

“And Sarah?”

“Well, like I said. We were stupid. It was only meant to be a contest to see who could win the girl, but Sarah was psycho, and with her, it became so much more. She was playing us all, just like we were playing her. It was fucking crazy.”

“How? How was she playing you?”

“She knew stuff about all of us. It wasn’t until after the fact I realized she was getting the info from Buck.”

“Buck?” I say, surprised although I shouldn’t be.

Colt mentioned that the information came via his wicked stepbrother. I guess with all the other surprises, it slipped my mind.

“Yeah. Sarah was fucking him, too. The bitch got around,” he huffs.

Buck? Just what was she trying to achieve? If she genuinely wanted Colt, why would she sleep with his half-brother? It doesn’t make sense. Something is missing.

And how did she get caught up with my fan? Unless it truly is Nate or Buck.

With a shiver, I lick my lips. “What about Portia? I heard she was playing games too?”

He laughs, but the sound is bitter. “Portia was an amateur compared to Sarah, but she liked being wanted by all of us, and she used that as a weapon.”

“Then, why me?” I ask through dry lips. “Why didn’t you stop after her and Sarah? Especially after what she did?”

“Because,” he says quietly, “Colt always got the fucking girl. It was my turn to win!”

“Win? So, it wasn’t about me at all?”

“Not at first,” he says grudgingly, “but when Colt tried to back out, I got curious. And you were...you.”

“He tried to back out?” I ask, turning my head his way to find him staring between Nate and