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

by Thandiwe Mpofu

  “Alex, dude.” I ignore Emmett, my gaze clearly focused on my target. I’m not into hitting girls but for this some bitch, all bets are off the table.

  “Dude, stop for a second and think.” Emmett blocks my path for the second time. He’s now getting on my nerves now. I have all this angry energy within me and I need to deal with it before it eats at me again. Since Star has been back, life as gone to shit.

  But right now, Brittney. . .

  “Get the fuck out of my way.” The words are clipped, brutal and rough. I don’t want to push him, Emmett is a huge mother fucker, the best linebacker we have but surprisingly light on his feet since he dribbles a basketball like nothing else I've ever seen.

  “No, you are not going to show her the devil inside. We have a window of opportunity here.” Noah says, coming to stand beside Em, like a united front.

  By then, the boys all over the football field have paused, watching the drama unfold. I look up and straight to the pair of eyes that I would feel on me from anywhere. Even beyond death, I would know that she is looking at me.

  Her eyebrow is raised, watching me. I know she can see that something is wrong. I look at her, then at Brittney who is now looking over at us as well. As soon as she sees that I’m looking her way, she smiles, and strikes a pose that she thinks looks sexy and inviting.

  I ignore her and look back at Star. She cocks her head to the left as if she is studying me, her hand reaching up to the pendant around her neck over her sports wear. We stare at each other, the entire world falls away as I look at her. I swear, she holds my life foam, the reason I’m still alive, in her eyes.

  From over here, I can feel her penetrating gaze searching me, watching me, gauging me for something. I blink, and break gaze, stepping back away from Em and Noah.

  “Speak.”

  “If Brittney knows something, letting her see that we know about it will make her run.” Noah quickly explains. I turn away from Star’s searching gaze, I can’t handle it right now.

  “So what, I’ll fucking find her.”

  “Yeah, her father is Phoenix corps.” Emmett informs.

  “Fuck!”

  The fucking Phoenix corps are a group of super extreme vigilantes that do some shady as hell shit in the underbelly of America, including here in Westbrook. If Brittney wanted to disappear, she could do that so damn easily that we wouldn’t find her at all. Not to mention, her fucking father might just kill me. I know if they want someone dead, it will happen.

  “George did his research.” Noah reminds me. George and Emmett did all the fucking research on Brittney Pace. Does that mean that George found out about what happened to Raea? He was so damn obsessed with finding out who attended that party four years ago when meanwhile, the rest of us—myself included—just thought it was a break-in.

  My girl was fucking raped and I didn’t pay attention to any of the signs! It was right there! I should have fucking seen it all but I fucking didn’t!

  “Fuck!” I explode.

  “Dude, we need to get a plan together.” Noah states with a serious expression on his face. “I need that bitch dead and buried but we have to be smart about it.” He looks over at the cheerleaders as he says that.

  “Yeah, destroy them all! That’s the fucking plan.”

  My mind is racing, my entire body feeling tense.

  My mother.

  Star.

  The Phoenix corps.

  Fucking Brittney.

  My Blue Star that I didn’t protect.

  “One step at a time asshat. We start with the immediate future. Your mother.” Emmett calmly states, watching me with a careful eye. I’m pacing like a goddamn caged animal.

  I hate this feeling that I have. I hate it so bad. But Em, as always, is right.

  “Whatever is going to happen tomorrow night has everything to do with her.” Emmett echoes the thoughts in my head.

  “Well, shit.” Noah says.

  Shit is right and I don’t think it’s going to be good news for me. If Denise and Philip King are involved, it’s never good. But that doesn’t fucking matter, I am after all, their spawn so as always, I’m going to fuck shit up.

  “What’s the plan?” Noah questions. We walk back to end zone where the team has gathered to discuss plays.

  I look over my shoulder, at the same time that Star looks at me. We hold the stare until she turns away. Looks like I know what I’ll be fucking doing tonight.

  Just watching Star cleared my head. I know she is mad at me but I won’t let her ignore me or worse run. Not from me. Not ever again. She has run from me enough and this morning was the fucking last time.

  “The plan is always the same, never changes.” Emmett says and I grunt in response. I look over at Noah who catches my gaze.

  I don’t have to say a word because he gets it immediately. We haven’t done this in over a year but it’s about time we fuck shit up, this time, we’ll do it on a large scale, after we bag Springs High School of course.

  “Yeah, that’s the shit I’m talking about!” Noah hollers and then turns to face the team.

  “Yo! Party tomorrow night up in the King hills!”

  A thunderous like ripple effect goes across the field, spreading to the rest of the students around like a wild fire. I’m sure before ten minutes is up, everyone who goes to Westbrook Blue High will know that there will be a party, at my house.

  If Denise wants to play, I can give her the playing field.

  As for Brittney, I’ll talk to Star about her. It looks like she wants to deal with her on her own. Not that I’ll let her do anything alone.

  “I don’t know if that’s the right thing to do.” Emmett, always the voice of reason says after a while.

  I look at him. In the four years that Star had been gone, the guy never really spoke much, all he did was fuck shit up. All the time. I can’t help but think that Star’s return has somehow also returned Em’s ability to speak up.

  The guy is usually so damn silent, intimidating the hell out of people just from his huge size and the way he carries himself. Silent, but lethal. A volcano of angry energy. But then again, I was never like this either in all my high school years. Never this fucked up just by the thought of a certain brown eyed Star or her touch that sets a slow fire in my soul

  “Yeah, I think it’s high time we find out what exactly is happening around here.” I answer. Having a party at my house is a kind of reckless that I have never done but I know it will get the response I need to get to the bottom of shit.

  Em doesn’t say anything after that. At that very moment, a certain Coach’s eyes land on us. He isn’t smiling, eyes hidden by those fucking shades, looking like a damn police officer.

  “What’s his problem?” Emmett questions, noticing him too.

  “His son, most definitely.”

  After Saturday night and that fucking party, Dereck fucking Myers was arrested and charged with illegal possession of drugs, underage drinking as well as—will you look at that—sexual assault charges. Not that I didn’t have other plans for the shithead even if he wasn’t arrested but his father is now my current problem, piling up on the ones that already exist.

  “Heard he wants us to be kicked off the team for planting those drugs in his son’s car.” Em informs. “And he’s a few steps closer to being head coach.”

  I watch as Myers senior—no way am I going to acknowledge his shady ass as a coach—watches the three of us right back. You can just about see the anger in his eyes, much like his son.

  “We don’t have time for this shit.” Noah cusses, looking over at the field across from us.

  “We’ll deal with his ass when the time is right. For now, let’s do this.”

  So, we practice for the rest of the afternoon, adrenaline pumping high for the game tomorrow and an epic, never been done before, party in the Kings Hills.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  ASTRAEA

  “YOU SEE, IT WASN’T so bad.” Kim’s voice filters through the s
peaker of my phone.

  It’s close to seven at night, my entire body aches in places that I NEVER knew it could. I know this is just the beginning, the real pain will kick in when the sun comes up tomorrow. I can’t believe I allowed Kim to talk me into this fucking cheerleading bullshit just to deal with a bitch that couldn’t keep her eyes off of me. Fuck, I’m mad at myself for even suggesting this madness.

  You see, training in self defense is good and I’m good at it somewhat but being tossed in the air, and moving super fast for a certain period of time all while smiling? No, that’s not me.

  Or keep her trap shut.

  “Kim, I can’t move. My thighs are going to be a bitch tomorrow.” I groan, laying on the makeshift bed that I created on my balcony. I have a heat pad covering my back, laying on top of it but the fucking thing isn’t going to ease the pain that I know is coming tomorrow.

  “Don’t be so dramatic Raea, you were a natural.” Kim says with a laugh and I roll my eyes.

  “I fell over five times, you didn’t even waver with all those fucking back-flips and shit.” I complain, thinking back to just how graceful Kim moved, impressing the cheer team making sure to rub it in Brittney’s face.

  “I did gymnastics before, at another time in my life.”

  “Yay!” I sarcastically roll my eyes. “You could have told me that at least.”

  “Girl, relax. We don’t have to participate on the game tomorrow.”

  And thank all the gods for that. I don’t think I’m ready to make a fool out of myself in front of a full stadium filled with eager football fans from Westbrook Blues High as well as Springs High. I don’t think I’ll even. . .

  “We are going to the game though!”

  Damnit! Just when I was about to finish my thought and tell her that I won’t be going, she goes and says that.

  I don’t think I can take the anxiety of being in front of large crowds of unchecked people. Not without my pills at least.

  “Kim. . .” I start but she cuts me off.

  “I know that tone and no way in hell are you not going. We are going and we are going to make sure that Brittney sees us.”

  “Why are you doing this to me?” I groan.

  “Because you need to get out more and besides, I’m campaigning tomorrow night.” She says, trying to hide her excitement.

  “Let me guess, Noah’s idea?”

  “Yeah. You know, after practice today he just looked so damn. . .”

  “Angry.” I finish for her. I noticed that as well. All three of the boys were silent, tense and brooding. They didn’t stop for anything or anyone after their practice. They just left like some damn gods. Noah dropped Kim and I home but he never said a word during the drive to both houses, not a single joke so Kim and I just conversed together.

  I think back to the way Ace looked at me, the way he stared at Brittney, then back at me. I could see the gears working from all the way I was. Those boys have a war brewing alright. Does it have anything to do with George though?

  “Yeah, so angry. Noah is a fucking mystery.” Kim huffs.

  “You have no idea.” Noah is a complicated human being, and I hate to admit it, but I don’t really know him anymore. I need to rectify that. I grab my phone from beside me, where Kim is on speaker and shoot Noah a text, not knowing what kind of response I’ll get.

  ME: Wanna hang out?

  x. Raea

  I watch as the dots begin dancing immediately, like he was waiting for that text.

  NOAH: On my way babes. Fried chicken?

  #fairiesareflyasf

  “What?” Kim’s voice comes through. Looks like Noah is in a better mood since this afternoon. Maybe he played video games or he did some shady things with Emmett and Ace.

  “Huh?”

  “Why did you just laugh?” Did I just laugh?

  “Oh, I’m texting Noah. Hey, do you want to come over?” I ask her, it looks like we are hanging out with my favorite fried chicken so might as well make a night out of it.

  “That’s a bad idea.” Kim says but I can hear her moving around.

  “Yeah, and why is that?”

  “It’s a school night and I really want to fuck Noah out of my system and you. . .”

  “Whoa hold it right there. You said you want to what?” I sit up, did I hear that wrong too?

  “Come on Raea, don’t act so clueless. You know he wants to fuck me, and I just so happen to want to do that too. . . with him.”

  I’m speechless, utterly speechless.

  “Do you guys. . .”

  “No, we hardly talk because of all the tension between us. But. . .”

  “You can’t stay away from each other.”

  See, I know this might sound amazing as all hell but Noah and Kim fucking will just destroy both of them to be honest. For one, Noah is a fuck boy, and doesn’t care, but he has a strategy about that too.

  He will make you fall in love with him, I've seen it happen. As soon as you fall for him, he will break your heart.

  That’s a matter of inner issues. As for Kim, she doesn’t need that right now. She can play anyone just as good as any fuck boy, hell she has a long list of guys that call her claiming to ‘want her back’ but she doesn’t do commitment. She’s got her own issues.

  “Kim. . .” I start, running a hand through my long hair. I need to cut it.

  “You think I’m crazy?”

  “No, I don’t think that at all. You are badass to be honest. A lot of Westbrook bitches are really jealous of you, just from the way you carry yourself.”

  “Yeah, but you are the badass, I don’t fucking give a damn about you girl.”

  “Girl, so are you!” We both laugh, ignoring the weight of the conversation around us. If Noah wants someone, he’ll get her. If Kim is down for it, then I don’t think anything I say will stop them.

  Noah and Kim. If that isn’t a recipe for disaster, then I don’t know what is.

  “But you are coming over still, aren’t you?”

  “Raea. . .”

  I sigh. I invited her to begin with, I can’t take it back now. But I feel so damn shitty about it.

  “I don’t have to come if you don’t want me to. . .” Kim says but the need in her voice, it’s almost like she does want to come, leave home. I have noticed that she never actually wants to go home.

  “Pack a bag with your uniform and everything. Let’s have a sleepover.” I have seen the shadows in Kim’s eyes, I can sense that she is going through something but it isn’t my place to ask or probe around.

  “Really?” She falters on the line.

  “Yeah, let me have Noah pick you up. He’s getting fried chicken from the best spot in town—The Haven!” I force my voice to be cheerful. I know what it feels like to go through a bad patch and being alone whole going through it is so damn painful. I don’t want Kim to do that. I quickly shoot Noah a text and he replies immediately.

  NOAH: Baby Blue. . .

  Looks like Noah is going through the same dilemma as Kim.

  ME: Please. I just want a good night, catch up with you. You know I miss you.

  NOAH: Anything for you, but don’t hold it against me if I smash her. Be there an hour.

  Oh God. I didn’t think this one through, did I?

  Besides, she was there for me—albeit with a joint—this morning when I broke down in that lavish bathroom. The days are moving in a weird ass way but I don’t care.

  “Well, I do need to try this chicken!” Kim says. “Did you hear that there is a party after the game tomorrow?”

  Yeah, who didn’t hear about the huge King hills party? I wonder if Ace is throwing that party to combat his mother’s dinner tomorrow night. My own mother doesn’t even know how to act right now. As soon as I got back home, she pounced on me about the damn dinner. How I have to be on time and that she laid the dress I have to wear out.

  Why the fuck would she do any of that?

  “I did. Are you going?” I question, hoping that she will say
yes. If there is a party then I can find a way to slip out of that dinner and maybe the party too, if Kim can cover for me. I need to visit George’s grave.

  “Uh, I was. . .hey, see you just now, Noah is here.”

  Already? Looks like he does want to fuck her.

  Shit.

  “Okay, see you. Don’t fuck Noah!” I warn, but I know my warning falls on deaf ears as she chuckles in that haughty, sexy chuckle that only Kim can pull off.

  She is going to let Noah fuck her.

  I scroll through my contacts and find Emmett’s number in there. My thumb hovers on the call or text options. Sigh.

  Emmett is a tough person. I saw the way he was looking at me at school today. Like, he wanted to talk but I know he didn’t want to hurt me with his words. I could see the perfectly concealed tornado behind his pale green eyes. We hardly talk though and it breaks my heart.

  I press the icon to call. I need to hear his voice right now.

  “Raea.” His deep voice filters through. I hadn’t noticed that he had picked up already, I was counting on him not picking my call at all.

  “Hey.” Is all I say. My tummy is full of nerves.

  What do I say? How do I say anything? This boy—I mean all of them—have read my medical file from four years ago. They know, in great detail, the ordeal I went through. I don’t want to hear what they think of me. Which is why I avoided Noah.

  Ace—I can’t ignore that force even if I wanted to. And I don’t want to. For some reason, I still want to see him, be around him—even after this morning.

  “Are you alright?” He questions, his voice smooth like honey.

  “Yeah.” I hug myself, standing up. “I just wanted to ask if you wanted to hang out with me right now?”

  His breath hitches over the line. In that moment, the hairs at the back of my neck stand up on end, goosebumps start forming. My palms become sweaty and the wind blows his scent to me.

  He’s here.

  “Who is going to be there?” Emmett asks but all my senses are sharp, attuned to the presence of someone else behind me, but I manage to reply.