Hate So Good: A High School Bully Romance (The Hate Series Book 2)

by Nina Lincoln

  “Princess?”

  Smiling, I step out of my tent and into Colt’s arms. He hugs me tight, leading me toward the food line, and though I’m tempted to tell him about my altercation with Teddy, I decide against it because I’m still hoping he’ll come around. I don’t want things to be strained between them.

  I don’t know what else to do, but I refuse to give up hope. I’m finally free of my fan, surely, I can have my life back, and it can include the people I care about most?

  Once we reach the head of the line, we’re handed sad sandwiches with limp lettuce and a bag of chips. I’m assuming they’re all the same because no one asks for a preference.

  Sitting down by a tree, I eat my food glumly and glance around. Teddy’s nowhere to be found, and I still don’t see Ramie.

  “Everything okay?” Colt asks.

  Swinging back around to him, I muster a smile, but I already hate this fucking trip, “Yeah. Hey, have you seen Ramie?”

  Frowning, Colt shakes his head, “No. I think she and Hayden messed around last night. But I haven’t seen her since. Why?”

  Hm. Ramie and Hayden, eh? Good for her.

  “Nothing, she was just acting weird when we first got here, and I haven’t seen her since.”

  “Weird how?” he asks, cocking his head to the side.

  For a moment, I forget what we’re speaking about, mesmerized by his beauty, before I shake my head wryly and continue. Will I ever get over this guy liking me?

  “I don’t know. She said she had a bad feeling.”

  Waving his hand, he smiles, “Don’t mind her. She’s into woo woo shit.”

  “Woo woo shit?” I laugh.

  “Yeah-“

  “Hey dicks,” Hayden says, dropping beside us, Kaitlin following behind him to my annoyance. Even if I chose to believe Colt, that doesn’t mean I want bitches hanging around.

  “Hey, Colt,” she says breathily.

  Colt grunts without looking at her, and my spine tingles. Why does it feel like he’s trying too hard? Looking him over suspiciously, I ease when he glances up and winks at me.

  I’m being stupid and paranoid. I need to stop.

  “What’s next? Picking up pinecones?” Hayden mutters sarcastically as a teacher steps up and calls out for our attention.

  “Okay, students. Next up, we practice survival. How many of you have seen one of those shows? Being caught in unknown terrain can present many challenges. So, let’s make this fun. Pick a group of four. Make sure you choose well. This will be your group for the final event. Today, you’ll learn about how to use the earth’s natural gifts to get out of sticky situations.”

  Colt gives me a happy grin, and I return it wholeheartedly because he will be with me at least in this, an exercise that sounds a bit like the seventh circle of hell.

  Hayden joins our group without asking and thankfully ousts Kaitlin with a grunt to which she snorts her displeasure, but he pays her no mind. Rolling my eyes, I watch Dirk approach.

  Since our chat yesterday, he’s been avoiding me but apparently doesn’t mind joining our group for the day, and grimly he sets off with us as some burly dude with long hair and crooked teeth shouts out details as he walks.

  “What’s up with you?” Colt murmurs to Dirk, who laughs and says, “Nothing man, just been looking for pussy. Some of us are still free agents.”

  Colt chuffs, and I smile, tuning them out.

  Beside me, Hayden says, “Have you seen Ramie?”

  “No, she came back to our tent late and was gone when I got up.”

  He nods absently, but the strange look of concern gives me the heebie-jeebies. “Have you seen her?”

  “Not since last night,” he says grimly.

  “What did you do?” I demand when he refuses to look at me.

  “Nothing,” he snarls and walks off.

  With a sigh, I stare at the back of his head. So far, Ramie’s MIA, Teddy’s being an ass, Hayden’s acting unusual, Melissa bowed out at the last minute, and Dirk’s pissed at me.

  Sigh. I knew I was gonna hate this trip, but this is more than I bargained for.

  Colt slows to grab my hand, swinging it between us happily, and across the way, I spy Teddy rolling along in his chair with a grim expression. My heart hurts for the distance between us, but there's nothing I can do now but wait and hope to reason with him later.

  “What’s this?” Hayden asks, stopping abruptly.

  Circling him, we spy a bloody lump of fur and flesh, and my gorge rises as I try to ascertain what type of animal this was, but my horrified brain is coming up blank.

  “Dead animal, man,” Dirk says casually, and Colt slowly nods his head, but he’s got a weird expression on his face.

  When he spies me looking at him, he smiles reassuringly, but I can’t erase the look and shiver in the sunshine. What’s he thinking?

  “Okay, folks gather around. Let’s talk survival,” our guide says enthusiastically.

  Halfheartedly we circle him, a bunch of city kids with no interest in the wilderness as he walks us through how to start a fire, what trees might be used for ground cover and shelter, and my personal favorite - how we could drink our own pee if we're dehydrated. Which gross.

  Just how far are the faculty planning to go with this farce? Ugh.

  After we’re set free for the evening, Colt pulls me into the trees, leaning me against one and kissing me heatedly. Returning the favor, I open my mouth on a moan, and he smiles against my lips as he grinds against my core.

  “I’ve been thinking about this all day,” he groans, licking into my mouth.

  “Mm,” I moan.

  Quickly because we don’t have much time, Colt drops my pants, licks me up, and suckles my clit into his mouth as I cover my mouth to stifle my moans. Bucking into his face, he brings me to orgasm easily and spins me around to face the tree, entering me quickly.

  We both grunt, frenzied, and I moan low in my throat as he slams into me, his need an aphrodisiac like no other. Grunting, he runs his fingers over my clit, and I spasm again, glancing up through dazed eyes as I tip over the edge.

  Wickedly I wonder if whoever I just spied walking by was watching us, but I’ll have to dissect it later when my body isn’t surging with a delicious orgasm.

  Colt groans behind me and collapses against my back, panting against my neck, as he squeezes me to him tightly.

  “Who’s over there?”

  Giggling, I pull away, buttoning up my pants as Colt groans and does the same, grabbing me up and kissing me heatedly when we’re done. We break away just as a teacher emerges through the trees with a suspicious look and with an innocent smile, I pass him, with Colt, on my heels - my body still buzzing with pleasure as we emerge into the camp and head to the fire.

  *****

  It’s late and dark, and we’ve been roasting marshmallows over the fire and telling scary stories. There are at least fifty of us kids spread out, but I still don’t see Ramie. I even checked our tent, but she’s not there.

  After a quick foray into the trees to pee, after which I hopped back into the clearing with a shiver, I search out Teddy. Despite our last interaction, I’m worried, and I hope he has a good explanation for Ramie’s absence.

  “Teddy?” I ask softly, approaching him tentatively.

  He turns to look at me, and in the light of the flickering flames, his features put off a ghostly glow.

  “Yeah?” he asks heavily.

  “Um, have you seen Ramie?”

  Glancing around, he shrugs, “No, but I’m sure she’s around here somewhere.”

  “It’s just - I haven’t seen her all day-“

  “I’m not her keeper. She’s probably off getting fucked,” he says crudely.

  “Okay…”

  Taken aback, I walk away, wondering where my lighthearted friend went. This new Teddy is so at odds with what I know, and I’m questioning everything about it and him. Where’s the boy who worries so for his sister?

  “What’s
up?” Colt asks when I sit beside him, grateful when he chases the chill away by putting his arm around me.

  “I don’t know. I just haven’t seen Ramie. Do you think I should tell a teacher?”

  Hayden’s head flies up at my statement, and he looks around as Colt cocks his head to the side.

  “Maybe we should ask Teddy?” he murmurs.

  “I did. He wasn’t interested,” I say flatly.

  Colt searches my gaze and slowly nods. “Maybe wait and see if she comes back tonight?”

  Nodding, I stare off into the distance, my stomach clenched tight. I guess I know what Ramie meant when she said something terrible was coming because I feel it bearing down on me. I just wish I knew what.

  *****

  Glumly I head to bed alone, less than thrilled to be sleeping by myself despite a sea of tents and other people surrounding me. Colt gives me a searing kiss that curls my toes beforehand, but the thrill has faded by the time I enter my empty tent.

  Settling into my bag, I stare at Ramie’s empty one, and my stomach clenches uncomfortably. I just hope she’s out having fun because if not, she’s been gone an entire day.

  Worry has me tossing and turning for hours before I finally pass out, shivering in my bag only to wake in the middle of the night to the sounds of something or someone crying out in agony.

  The painful desperate sound sends a chill down my spine, and lights click on outside the tent as people step out, mumbling amongst each other.

  Not to be left out, I hurriedly pull on my hoodie and emerge, looking for Colt immediately. He’s already walking toward me, and with relief, I step into his arms with a shiver.

  The sound is now gone, as though it were the last throes of a death wail and the eerie silence that follows sends chills down my spine.

  Our survival guide from earlier walks through the crowd, saying, “It’s alright. It was a wild animal. These things happen.”

  Even if it was, the terrible noise makes me feel all kinds of awful for the animal that met such a painful end.

  Tilting my head back to Colt, I whisper, “Ramie never came back.”

  Grimly he looks me over and nods before leading me to the nearest teacher. Ms. Klein is a thirty-something woman with a perpetually pained expression who most times seems as though she hates us, making her career choice all the more bewildering.

  She’s also the last person I want to tell, but currently the closest.

  Looking us over suspiciously as we stop before her, her mouth curls in a disapproving line, and I’m about to keep going when Colt ignores her and pulls me forward, saying, “Ms. Klein, Finn’s been sharing a tent with Ramie Boswell. But Ramie hasn’t been back since last night, and we haven’t seen her since yesterday.”

  Ms. Klein’s nostrils flare, “I’m sure she’s sharing with someone else.”

  “I haven’t seen her at all. I’m worried,” I insist.

  She opens her mouth to argue, but thankfully another teacher walks up, and Colt repeats our story. This teacher is more concerned, and soon we’re all lined up to take attendance.

  A few students glare my way, but I ignore them. This is serious shit! What if she’s lost or something worse? Assholes.

  They go down the rows, counting heads and checking our names off on a list until, once finished, the teachers congregate in a circle. Standing toward the end, I hear them muttering about Ramie and another student named Jon Hawley, speculating they’re together.

  “Who’s Jon Hawley?” I ask Colt.

  Shrugging, he asks Hayden, who also shrugs. Would Ramie take off with some guy nobody knows?

  “Alright, everyone, back to your tents!”

  I consider arguing, but there’s not much I can do in the middle of the night, instead I hug Colt goodnight before laying back down grimly and staring at the ceiling until dawn.

  When the sun finally peeks over the horizon, I sit down by the fire and stare blindly into the flames waiting until the students start rising, my brain numb, but my heart cold.

  Searching out Hayden, I find him coming back from the trees and waylay him, rolling my eyes when he says with a smirk, “Finally, change your mind, Princess?”

  “Haha,” I mutter. “The first night we were here, did you spend it with Ramie?”

  He shifts on his feet and glowers. “Maybe.”

  “This is important, Hayden! The last time I saw her or heard her anyway, she came to the tent late that first night.”

  Shrugging, he looks over his shoulder. “You heard the teacher. She’s with Jon Hawley,” he sneers.

  “You believe that?” I ask impatiently.

  “Yeah, I do!”

  “Then, where are they? Having a three-day orgy in the woods?”

  Colt steps up behind me and lays his hands across my shoulders and leaning against him, I take comfort in his presence.

  “Well, then what?” Hayden asks, exasperated.

  “What if she got lost?”

  “Then, the teachers will figure it out! What do you want me to do?”

  “Not be a dick,” I mutter, stalking away in a huff.

  Unfortunately, I walk straight into Teddy, who looks me over with a mercurial expression before saying, “I owe you an apology. I’m sorry. It's clear Colt cares about you, and I was acting like a jealous dick.”

  Smiling halfheartedly, I murmur, “Thanks.”

  To be clear, his apology sounds disingenuous at best, but the middle of a fucking camping trip isn’t the place for a confrontation. I have no room for naysayers, and Teddy will either get the picture, or he won’t be my friend.

  I’ve had enough of the ridiculousness. I’m ready for real friends or fucking nothing.

  “Did Ramie turn up?” he asks.

  “No, I told the faculty.”

  “Oh. She’s gonna be pissed when she comes back,” he mutters.

  “What if she isn’t out there having fun? Aren’t you worried?” I exclaim, beyond frustrated.

  “We’re in the middle of nowhere. What could possibly happen? She’s fine. She’s just getting dick,” he says dismissively.

  “Right.”

  Thoroughly frustrated, I plop down by the fire and grimly eat the granola bars passed around. Why isn’t anyone taking this more seriously? What if she’s lost?

  “You okay, Princess?” Colt asks.

  “Yeah, I just. I don’t know. What if she’s lost?”

  “Maybe,” he says gently, taking my hand, “this isn’t about her, but you and your dad?”

  Rearing back, I search his expression, disappointed he’s taking the same line as the others.

  When he sees my distaste, he says, “Finn, you know I’ll do whatever you want, but I just wonder if maybe she’s fine and you’re projecting or whatever.”

  Standing with a huff, I walk away, and Colt leaves me to it, which is probably best because I’d like to rage at him, but maybe he’s right? Maybe Ramie wanted to be alone? Although if that’s the case, I’m gonna ream her a new one when she emerges. Not cool.

  The faculty don’t mention last night, but they’re a little grimmer than they were yesterday, and I don’t blame them, wrangling a bunch of horny teens in the middle of fucking nowhere must be exhausting.

  I know I am, and I’m only dealing with a handful of dicks.

  “Okay, class, listen up,” Mr. C, my least favorite teacher from Northside High, calls out. He’s the same dick I got stuck in a locked room with thanks to fucking Dirk.

  Mulishly, I step into the circle forming around him, my anger transferring to his fucking annoying face. I swear some of these asshat teachers became such for the sole purpose of torturing the shit out of us. Not a bad plan if you’re them.

  “Yesterday, you learned about survival. Today you get to test your mettle. We’re going to drop you in groups at different spots up the road with a bag of supplies. It’s up to you to find your way back.”

  Bewildered, I glance around. I thought this was the last part of our trip? Why are we doin
g it now? Don’t we need like more instructions or something?

  Before I can ask the question, we’re rounded up into our groups from yesterday, handed the bag of supplies, and ordered into the bus. Colt’s silent behind me as I drop into my seat heavily and stare out the window, ignoring everyone while I sulk.

  When we’re all settled, the bus pulls away, and as we pass by the entrance, I spy a police car stopped behind the last bus, two teachers stepping forward to greet the trooper who emerges.

  At the sight, icy dread slides down my spine, but I don’t mention what I saw because every single one of these jerks refuses to believe me, and I’m uninterested in another go-round of disbelief and skeptical stares.

  Five miles up the road, the bus pulls into the first drop off and four groups of students are called forward, exiting into the lot with their allotted bag of supplies.

  From my viewpoint by the window, I mutter sourly, “Is this even legal?”

  Colt clasps my hand in his, and I turn, giving him a small smile, and when his eyes light up at my look, I ease a little in my anger.

  Everything about this is too close to my experience with my dad. He never could handle disappointment well, and on the last camping trip we had together, he ruined it for me forever.

  I’ll never forget walking through the forest, annoyed and hurt at first, crying like a baby when he got angry and left me. And after a couple of hours, I seethed, wandering in what felt like circles, but by the end, I was terrified, convinced he had brought me out there and left me to die.

  When I finally found our camp, by luck, I swear, he sat by the fire, gazing into the flames casually. He wasn’t even out there looking! I sat beside him and refused to say a word, and we left the next morning. I’ve never been back.

  Truthfully, it hurt me and opened a cavern of distrust and pain I still feel to this day, but I’d like to think he knew where I was the whole time. Maybe not, but I can feel the anxiety building in the tight feeling in my chest.

  Nothing good can come from this. It feels perilous. We’re fucking high school students from the inner city, and they promised to show us more survival shit. Something isn’t adding up.

  Or maybe, I’m just paranoid. Fuck.

  The bus pulls up to another clearing, and we stand, noting we’re the last to be dropped off and the only group now. Ms. Klein of the snarky look the night before informs us we are to find our way back in the next three hours or so. Sure.