Reckless Hate: A Bully High School Romance (enemies-friends-enemies-lovers-enemies) (Westbrook Blues Book 1)

by Thandiwe Mpofu

  “How do you know. . .you know what never mind. What about cheerleading? I always wanted to do cheerleading.”

  Should have kept my mouth shut about that because Kim’s eyes light up in that instant. “Bitch, me too!” She gasps, looking at me with delight as terror fills my insides. I was really hoping she would say no. . .

  “No, Kim. I’m not. . .”

  “Yes! We’ll do it together. We’ll sign up to do everything that bitch is doing and then sabotage her completely and embarrass the hell out of her as we go.”

  “That is so unoriginal.” I say with a laugh. “You can’t use Mean Girls as a guide.”

  “Raea, mean girls has nothing on my dark talents. And besides, she already started it. Used condoms, she put used condoms, I can’t use that damn locker ever again!”

  “Okay, I see your point. Let’s go for class. You can use my locker for now.”

  We both stand and I gather my bag and everything, wiping away the ruined mascara away from my face with a wet wipe, curtesy of the Westbrook Blues High girl’s bathroom. Seriously, this isn’t a school at all.

  “And sign up for cheerleading?”

  I groan, thinking of all the hours that shit will require and not to mention the fitness and all.

  “Only if we sign up for girls basketball.”

  “You are kidding right?”

  I smile at her, feeling victorious as we walk out of the bathroom, straight to AP Calculus with her sulking, giving me the pros and cons—mainly cons—on how her ball game skills are awful but if we want to do this Brittney take down, we have to get the roots. And the roots, are found in basketball. But I won’t tell her any of that yet.

  “Are you girls high?” Noah’s voice comes out of nowhere as he forces himself between Kim and I as we wait in line at the buffet table during lunch.

  “Wouldn’t you want to know.” Kim rolls her eyes, shrugging away Noah’s arm that had somehow found its way around her shoulders.

  I’m fully aware of Noah’s gaze on me. I haven’t seen him since the epic showdown on Monday at the Brooks safe house and I honestly don’t want to talk about it at all, so I ignore him, plating the tacos that I decided to eat for lunch today.

  But Noah, being Noah, doesn’t care if I want to talk to him or not.

  “You know, Blue Star, when I said you should eat more, I never thought you would listen to me.” He says with a chuckle.

  “Go hang, asshat.” Kim answers, and proceeds to get a double cheeseburger for herself. “I’m so hungry after this morning. Did I tell you I almost dozed off in French today.”

  “Why are you even taking the damn class anyway?” I ask her after a while, both of us ignoring Noah and well, he is getting pissed off about it.

  “Didn’t I tell you that I want to go to France for a full summer. Oh yeah, we need to go job hunting today!”

  Oh yeah, there is that too.

  “Wait, what job?” Noah demands, this time his tense features are hard to ignore.

  “Not that it’s any of your business, tooth fairy, but Raea and I are going to be more involved in our extra-curricular activities.” Kim answers as we begin walking over to the back of the cafeteria where our table is.

  I can practically feel all eyes on us, but I think I’m still riding the high from earlier so I don’t care. I don’t even notice Brittney and the frost in her eyes. I bet she wants me to drop dead right here and now. Poor girl, she doesn’t even know what’s coming.

  “Oh baby, if you want after school activities, all you had to do was hop into my car, show me those skills of yours.” Noah answers, with a smirk on his face making me roll my eyes.

  “No, fairy. We are actually going to join clubs and sports.” I tell him, then take a bite of my tacos.

  “We start today actually.” Kim interjects, with a serene evil smile on her face.

  “Yeah, like what?” Noah grabs some of my tacos, quickly shoving them into his mouth like a damn. . .boy.

  “Like cheerleading.”

  Noah chokes on the tacos.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  ACE

  KEEP YOUR DAMN HEAD down.

  Focus.

  Watch the damn ball.

  I need a drink.

  Fuck.

  “Dude! What the hell was that?” Noah shouts from across the field and then jogs over to me in his cleats. I know the rest of the teams’ eyes are on me right now, well because I just fucked up a perfect play. It doesn’t really help that I’m the one who suggested the damn play to begin with and then I’m also the one fucking it up.

  “Way to go, Cap.” Some guy snickers. I look up and notice that it’s one of Myers friends who just said that. Well then, there is my punching bag. I begin walking in his direction, about to let my hands speak for me but I don’t take more than two steps before Em blocks my way.

  “Not worth it, bro.”

  “The fucker. . .”

  “Is taunting you.” Emmett finishes, shooting a look at Noah who slowly walks over, watching the group of second strings players. He doesn’t say anything, he just watches them. Silence falls over the field as soon as people notice the look on Noah’s face and Emmett blocking my way.

  It’s over for those assholes.

  The coaches scramble to diffuse the situation, but unfortunately for Dereck’s little friends, they are not at ease anymore.

  “The hell is wrong with your ass, King?” One of the offense coaches shouts from across the field. I ignore him too.

  “You’ve been off since morning. You even look drunk.” Emmett says and I look down at him with a duh look. Of course, I’ve been drinking, it happens when the girl you gave your everything to, hoping that she would see you too, shatters you in a space of a few minutes then runs away from you with tears falling down her cheeks.

  Tears that I fucking caused.

  Fuck.

  After the night we had, I thought things would be better for us but fucking hell.

  “I’m good.” I grit out, but Em doesn’t look convinced. Noah comes to a full stop right in front of me and squints at me with a smirk on his face.

  “Yeah, you are good alright. With all that ass flying in the air and stretching over there.”

  Ass flying in the air? “What the hell does that even mean?” Noah has the strangest sayings that I don’t want to hear right now.

  Emmett sighs and shakes his head.

  “Uh, excuse you. Haven’t you noticed what's happening over there.” Noah points out with a huge, satisfied grin on his face. I look in the direction he is pointing and my entire body stills as I take in the scene in front of me. It wouldn’t have made me pause any other day because nothing about those girls interests me at all, all of them interchangeable and too fucking clingy but now, now I pause.

  Even my breathing has paused.

  “What the hell is she doing?” I grit out.

  I must be seeing things now. I did drink a good amount of Jack, fucking up this practice since it started and have no idea where she was the rest of the day, afraid that if I did look for her, I would not let her go until she fucking told me that I matter to her. But I’m not drunk, but I really do need a drink.

  “Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. They decided to be more ‘active’ this senior year.” Noah explains with a loud laugh. But as soon as he notices the way that other girl, Kim, is stretched over, the smile drops on his face.

  “Fuck.” He cusses.

  “Why is she doing any of that?” I question. At one time in her life, Star was interested in sports. She was great at it but cheerleading? She has always, always loathed the damn pom poms and shitty glitter.

  “Identity crisis?” Noah breathes out, I almost roll my eyes. If there is anyone who knows themselves, it’s Star. Don’t get it twisted though, she is still finding herself and fighting me at the same time, I won’t let her. Not anymore.

  I’m going to force her to realize the truth, then drop her like she dropped me.

  Last night w
as explosive as hell. The way her sleek, sensual body responded to me. I fucking zoned out there during that spanking session, totally in tune with her. I have never fucking felt that way before. Then there is her tight body, fuck.

  Now she’s doing cheerleading? After what she said to me in my car this morning?

  “If I was to guess, it’s to fuck up with everything to do with Brittney.” Emmett says.

  “Ha! I knew there was a reason. They also signed up for the girls’ basketball team.” Noah informs. I look at him like he has lost his mind.

  “She doesn’t play basketball. Not since. . .”

  “Not since fifth grade, yeah.” Noah answers as we all look over at the cheerleaders stretching.

  There is an obvious divide over there. For one, Star and her friend are dressed completely differently from the rest of the slutty, plastic girls. They literally stand out and don’t fit in, but I think that’s the point.

  Star doing this is her act of rebellion, but why? What is she looking for?

  “Not after that whole humiliation caused by. . .Brittney.” Emmett finishes as the rest of the football boys stop to watch what we are looking at. And it’s a feast of hot asses in the air but she’s got my fucking attention. She has all of my attention, as well as getting attention from the rest of these motherfuckers in the process.

  “Aye, stop staring and let’s try this shit again!” My voice booms from across the field. The boys shake out of their stupor and try look anywhere but at the fucking cheerleaders. They all know that Star is off limits. I don’t fucking care if they can’t help themselves, I’ll gouge their damn eyes out with a toothpick if I must.

  She is mine!

  But I can’t, for the life of me, forget what she said this morning. I can’t shake it even if I tried and it just fucking makes me angry each time.

  “Get back in line, let’s try this shit again.” I grit out. The freshman and sophomores get back in line, ready to try the play again. I won’t let her fuck up with my game, not again.

  But, like she is controlling everything, I fuck it up again.

  “Dude, get your head in the game. We have a game tomorrow.” Noah shouts at me again, Emmett just looks at me with a raised brow but I ignore them all.

  “King!”

  “Sorry, coach.”

  Today just isn’t my day. I don’t want to think about the damn Xanax pills that she takes—the same drugs that killed George.

  George who should be here calling the damn play on this damn field. I don’t want to think about what Star said about my mother but the more I think about it, the more I have questions. Why would my ass-bitch of a mother be at the hospital? I never saw her there. Marie didn’t say anything about my mother being there that night of that day.

  Star blames me for forcing her to leave. Does that mean she never wanted to leave in the first place, that she was forced into it? But by who? She believes that I wanted her to leave. The fuck would I want that for? I mean, I fucking spent the night in the hospital right beside her but my clothes all reeked of gasoline and smoke, I had to get rid of the evidence before the police showed up to question her. When I came back, she was gone.

  One thing is clear though, I never talked to my fucking mother about anything.

  “What’s going on, man?” Emmett asks when we take a break, forty minutes after I manage to force myself to get my head back in the game. We have a huge first match tomorrow, I can’t fuck it up.

  “I think Denise had something to do with this entire shit storm.”

  A pause.

  Noah jogs over to us and takes a seat on the bleachers where Em and I are seated. We watch as the eager—overeager to be honest—freshmen boys getting hazed into the team by some of the seniors. The guys know that neither one of us want to be bothered right now and no one will dare approach us. That’s how I prefer it anyway, I don’t have it in me to tolerate any nonsensical talk about parties and girls, although I do need some damn booze.

  “I wouldn’t be surprised. Your mother is a piece of work.” Emmett answers.

  “There’s a dinner tomorrow night, after the game.” Noah announces and I swivel my head to look at him so fast, I think I just gave myself a fucking headache. Yup, that Jack wasn’t the best decision I made today but fuck me, the pain needed to be numbed.

  “What the fuck are you talking about?”

  “Wait, don’t you know that your mother is throwing a dinner thing at your crib tomorrow?” Noah’s eyebrow is raised. I watch with annoyance as he gulps down his energy drink in one go, knowing damn well that I’m waiting for information.

  “How do you know that?” Emmett questions with a raised eyebrow. The things that Noah knows. . .

  “My Mum. Dudes, she said Denise invited everybody.” Noah explains. “But I have no idea why she would do that, seeing as Em’s asshole father isn’t really on speaking terms with dear old Philip.”

  I pause and chew on that.

  In the past four or five years, I have no idea how long—things have been tense around the estates. The need for absolute dominance and power has been rocking the very boat that contains the three—well, four—families that run Westbrook.

  “But wait, Denise and Amanda don’t really get along.” Noah points out.

  “Yeah, but they were all cozy at the funeral at shit.”

  “You think Denise had something to do with George’s murder?”

  I freeze, thinking it over. My mother is nothing but a conniving bitch, who got stuck with an evil asshole bastard of a man. Together they have done nothing but conspire to take over the world. But if my father had the Fields move into the estates on the pretense of work, then he obviously had something to do with their being induced as the fourth family.

  But why? It’s been over a year and a half and I still haven’t figured out why there should be four families. Noah is also right, my mother hates Star’s mother with a passion, I think she even stalks her.

  “I don’t know but there’s something going on. My mother doesn’t care much about having some fucking dinner.” I tell them, as we drink our water.

  I look over at the field across from us where the cheer squad has migrated. Brittney is obviously not impressed with Star being part of the cheerleading team but whatever Star wants to do, fucking up Brittney’s life—the boys are down to help.

  The rest of the girls obviously don’t give a damn about the rivalry between Star, Kim and Brittney because soon, most of the cheer girls are all congregating around Star and her friend, ignoring Brittney. That doesn’t make her happy.

  “Khloe Kardashian wanna be is not happy about any of this.” Noah points out with a chuckle.

  “Yeah, that peanut sized brain of hers is cooking up something. Did you see what she did to that new girl’s locker and her car?” Emmett says quietly.

  “What the fuck are you talking about?” Noah demands, with a tense frown on his face.

  “Didn’t you see it?” Emmett questions with a raised brow. Noah is usually on top of everything that goes on around the halls of W.B.H. He is literally the king of gossip.

  “No, the whole Raea situation has me messed up. I can’t fucking function properly.”

  Yeah, join the club. I need a drink.

  “Let’s not talk about that here. Anyway, Brittney decided to have an open season on Kimberly.”

  Silence fills the air as Noah processes the information that Noah gives him. I knew about it but I though he knew what was happening. Emmett and I were not in school for two days, hunting a certain individual. We found him, he is being shipped out here by my contacts, but Noah was off the grid completely. Where he went, I have no idea.

  “She didn’t say anything.” Noah grits out.

  “Does she have to?”

  “If she knows what’s best for her. Fucking hell, you know what, I’m so done with that lap bitch you keep around.” Noah seethes as we watch the cheerleaders.

  “Nobody keeps her around because we don’t fuck with he
r.” Emmett says. “But George had a plan for her.”

  We all still, the air suddenly heavy.

  “What do you mean by that?” I question him.

  “Dude, George was acting weird all summer. You remember how he always wanted Brittney to be at the parties. The way he watched her in school as if he wants to kill her.”

  “Yeah, but why?” Noah questions.

  “That night four years ago, who was with Raea at that damn party?” Emmett questions.

  The boys are looking at us with worry on their faces, they can see that the three of us are deep in conversation, laying out all the cards. Everything and I do mean everything, doesn’t lok good.

  “She went with Brittney.” I answer, connecting the dots as I go.

  “The report said that Raea had some sort of drug in her system, I forgot the fucking name.” Emmett explains. My mind is rushing, I suddenly remember the text message that she sent me, the very message that had me catching a taxi as quickly as I could to get back to Westbrook. I never understood the need that over took me that night but I couldn’t shake the urgency.

  “That night, she said she left the party earlier because she didn’t feel right.” Fuck!

  “She was drugged at that party.” Noah grits out.

  We all look up in that moment at Raea. She stands beside her friend Kim side by side, both of them staring daggers at Brittney. My gaze zones in on Brittney’s smug face, looking like the wicked witch of the east. All I see is red.

  “She drugged Astraea.” Emmett finishes.

  I can feel the tense energy radiating within me, surrounding us. There is no doubt in my mind that she did it, I remember the first few weeks Star was gone, she was so damn happy about it. She never looked like she was upset that her ‘friend’ was gone.

  Actually, she looked almost relieved.

  “You do know what this means right?” Noah questions as we stand up.

  “She knows who molested Raea.”I finish and start walking. I remove my football gloves as I go, feeling the weight of my gear but that won’t stop me. I’m going to wring her neck right here right now.