Hate So Good: A High School Bully Romance (The Hate Series Book 2) Nina Lincoln (latest novels to read TXT) 📖

Every time I turn a corner, I’m barraged, and I’m weary. From my dad's cruelty in taking Mom's life to the rich bitch accusations I received the moment I stepped foot on campus, my stalker, Colt’s cruelty - it has to end somewhere, right? I’m not sure my poor heart can take anymore.

Besides, I don’t think I will ever get the sight of her hand caressing his chest out of my head again, even if he looked repulsed and heartbreakingly vulnerable. I guess I now know why he hates rich bitches.

How very sad.

My thoughts circle round and round with no answers, and I only emerge from my cloud of misery when the sun sets and shadows appear on the horizon. Apparently, it’s going to rain. Go figure.

Trudging back to my car grimly, I slow to a stop when I spy Colt leaning against the hood with a blank expression, and my pulse stutters painfully before racing through my veins.

I’m not ready for this conversation, but I probably never will be.

Stepping forward hesitantly, I stand before him at a loss as to what to say.

Sorry?

It sounds so lame, and for the first time, I realize I’ve only been thinking about myself. This must be incredibly painful for Colt.

“Hey,” I whisper, dropping my gaze to my feet because it’s physically painful to see the starkness behind his eyes.

“Hey,” he says gruffly.

“So, this is why you hate rich bitches,” I whisper painfully.

Sighing, he stands from the car and runs his hands through his hair. “I wish you had never seen that.”

“Why?” I ask painfully, hurt he would still want to keep his most important truths from me.

He snorts and turns away, “I know you’re disgusted, hell I’m disgusted, but fuck Finn…”

Bewildered, I stare at his back before saying softly, “I’m not disgusted.”

“Really?” he says, swinging back, “Because you could have fooled me.”

“Colt, I was confused. You lied. Again. And she touched you…”

Swallowing down bile, I drop my gaze, “I shouldn’t have left. I’m sorry...she…”

“She what? Fuck,” he growls.

Sadly, I watch him pace away, and when he remains quiet, his mouth pulled back in a snarl, I say quietly, “Whatever it is, Colt, I don’t care. I love you.”

And I do, regardless of the circumstances, because I know he had to make tough choices the same as I, and if this is what he chose to do to survive, how can I judge him for it?

He pins me with his beautiful eyes, and my heart clenches at the pain I see there.

“Maybe. Maybe not. You see Finn,” he says bitterly, “the minute she laid eyes on me, she wanted me.”

“How old were you?”

“Sixteen.”

For a moment, I can’t process his words. I’m completely dumbfounded until they penetrate, and rage surges through me.

“I’m sorry, what?”

Lowering his head, he says quietly, “She threatened me.”

“And you slept with her?”

Nodding his head, he covers his grimace and says, “Yes. I thought it would only be once, you know, but she kept coming back. She threatened to tell my mom, well, that and cut Dad off. Mom needs him, Finn. Beyond that, he does support her with what he can. She’d lose the bookstore...everything.”

Staring into his eyes, I see the vulnerability there. He needs me to be okay with this. I am shocked, and I need time to process it, to get over the jealous rage and bile swirling in my belly, but this doesn’t affect how I feel about Colt.

Standing carefully, I step into his arms, and he stiffens, breathing deeply, before hugging me to him with trembling limbs.

Poor Colt.

We stand like that for a moment while I hide the tears brimming in my eyes, love flooding through me so fiercely it takes my breath away.

“What happened after I left?” I ask softly.

“I knew she wouldn’t listen, wouldn’t stop, so I made sure he would be there. I don’t know what’s going to happen now. But I’m done. Finn...I haven’t touched her since you. I couldn’t…”

“Oh, Colt,” I whisper, hugging him tightly to me.

“And you’re wrong,” he whispers in my ear, holding me so close, it’s hard to breathe.

“Hmm?”

“I didn’t hate you because you’re rich, Finn. I didn’t hate you at all. I just knew...I’ll never be good enough for you.”

“How can you say that,” I say, leaning back to look into his beautiful pale eyes filled with revulsion and sorrow. “You’re everything to me.”

He covers my mouth with his and sweeps me up, laying me out over the hood of the car, and we proceed to make sweet, beautiful love under the stars, with the rain bathing our bodies gently, washing away the sins of our past as we come together new.

We’re bent but not broken.

Chapter Twelve

Stopping beside the bus, I drop my bag and glance behind me at the long line of students. Although I’m dreading the memories that have surged since the notion of a camping trip came up, I’m looking forward to this time with Colt.

It’s been a long journey fraught with things most teenagers don’t have to worry about, and now that we’re out the other side, we can finally enjoy being together. All this without fear, and I’m so relieved. We’re finally free, and I can’t wait to relax with him. Well, as much as one can relax while camping. Ugh.

I got another letter from my dad yesterday, and I was proud to throw the damn thing away without looking at it. It’s progress for me. Years of being pushed and pulled into the person he wanted me to be, are hard to break, but with every day he’s behind bars, another piece of me reforms.

It’s not the old me, but something new and different, and I’m excited to have the peace I’ve craved for so long.

Maggie helped me order my cap and gown this week. It was bittersweet to do it without my mom, but I know I will always miss these milestones with her, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. She’ll always be