LOGIN"Do you hate me?" He asked, nibbling my ear with his teeth. I couldn't form words. I felt... I didn't know what I was feeling. A minute ago, I was sure I hated him but now that he's so close, so close that I could feel him breathing on my skin, I wasn't sure. "Do you hate me?" He asked again, his voice a low growl in my ear. "I...I..." I tried to form words but ahis lips left my ear and trailed kisses down my neck. “I need words,” he whispered. “Tell me you hate me.” My fingers tightened on his shirt as he continued. “Say you hate me, and I’ll stop right now and walk away.” What? There was a pause, I still hated him but I don't want him to stop.. “Don’t…and I won’t be responsible for what I do next.” Lena Hartwell is a girl who has been bullied all her life for being plus size. After the sudden death of her father, her family falls deep into debt, forcing her to accept the highest paying tutoring job she can find to support her Mom. The job turns out to be tutoring one of her bullies, the school’s hottest quarterback, Jace Dawson and despite hating him, she takes it the job because her family is at risk of losing everything they have left. What happens when the hatred they have for each other slowly turns into something darker, when forced proximity turns every argument into temptation? He is everything she is taught to fear. She is the weakness he was taught to crush. And when one forbidden moment shatters the boundary between hate and desire, will Lena be able to walk away from the boy who might ruin her life?
View MoreYou know that feeling of staring longingly at something inches away from touching or reaching out to…. but can’t get..?
That’s how I felt watching the cheerleading team practice. You might wonder why I couldn’t join them or what was holding me back….well a lot.
For starters I obviously didn’t fit in or so I was told, I sighed as Alison’s shrill voice pierced the air as she yelled unfiltered insults to one of the girls who fell behind in step.
Alison was the queen bee of my school. She was the dream of most boys here. Not short, stunningly gorgeous, long sexy legs, and perfect shape and figure but she was mean as a stray cat.
She was one of the reasons I couldn’t join the cheerleading team. Alison had been a thorn in my side constantly reminding me of how quaint my background was compared to hers, she was the daughter of the most wealthy, renowned and dangerous billionaire in the city and she was someone you obviously didn’t want to mess with
Yeah, now she made sure to make my own life hell
Like how bad could things get?
I watched them practice for nearly an hour and managed to slip away before Alison could notice me staring like a mesmerized deer
Shit!
In my curiosity to watch them practice I forgot that Alison and her crew of mean girls just like her loved to find me and bully me. Now that I had the chance to flee I had waited and had been watching her practice
I ran for my locker and pulled out my bag and my things and stuffed them in as I closed my locker. Alison's face popped up and I screamed behind her was five of her mean-girl gang, glowering at me.
“Look at what we have here babes? Lady Lena of where again….oh you live in the slums” she said and behind her the other girls laughed.
I held in my breath and tried to step around her but she blocked my path and she grinned revealing dazzling white teeth
“Can I pass?” I said timidly which only seemed to make her amused.
“Why? There’s nothing at home for you, there’s no need to rush, we're having fun right?” She purred and I resisted the urge to push at her.
“I have homework to do Alison” I replied and she pouted.
“Awwww…..genius no you do not” she brushed a strand of hair from my face and I backed off
“What do you want with me Alison? What did I do to you?” I whined and she chuckled. She smiled like she was really concerned and if I didn’t know her well I would have thought she was
“What do I want sweetheart….just fun” she grinned “you know, I saw you watching me practice were you staring at my butt”
I closed my eyes and turned away “No”
She scowled “You don’t like my butt?”
“Alison I…..”
“You bitch” she shrieked and grabbed me by the collar and slammed me into the locker “You ugly piece of junk do you think you’re better than me?”
My head snapped back against the metal, a sharp pain rang through my skull.
Before I could respond, she yanked me forward and shoved me again. The girls behind her inched closer, blocking any escape route.
"Tracy, get your phone out," Alison commanded, not taking her eyes off me. "Record this. I want to remember every second."
My heart dropped into my stomach. "Please don't—"
"Please don't," she mimicked in a high-pitched voice. "Please don't what? Please don't show the world how pathetic you look? How you stuff your face every lunch while the rest of us actually watch what we eat?"
Tears burned behind my eyes but I refused to let them fall. I wouldn't give her that leverage. I'd learned that lesson a long time ago—crying only made Alisson even more of a mean person
"Look at me when I'm talking to you!" Alison grabbed my chin, her nails digging into my skin hard enough to leave marks. "What? Nothing to say? The great Lena Hartwell, top of every class, teacher's pet, thinks she's too good to even look at me?"
"That's not true," I whispered.
"Then look at me."
I forced my eyes to meet hers. Up close, she was even more beautiful which was ironic considering her evil nature.
The flawless skin, perfect teeth, not a single hair out of place and those cold blue eyes that showed how much she was enjoying making my life hell
"You know what I think?" She tilted her head, studying me like I was something stuck to the bottom of her shoe.
"I think you need to learn your place. I think you need to understand that no matter how hard you study, no matter how many scholarships you get, you'll always be nothing. You'll always be the stupid girl from the wrong side of town who doesn't belong anywhere near people like us."
The locker room door suddenly swung open.
I felt a small shard of hope—maybe that was a teacher, maybe someone who could stop this—but any hope I had died the moment I saw who walked in.
The football team.
The freaking football team
All of them.
They were at least fifteen guys in their jerseys, fresh from practice, with sweat still
on their skin and leading them was none other than……
Jace Dawson.
Jace Dawson, the quarterback.
The most handsome guy in school, whose posters hung in half the girls' lockers. Jace Dawson, who I'd stupidly and pathetically had a crush on freshman year before I learned better.
Before I learned that guys like him didn't even see girls like me as human.
He stopped when he saw what was happening, so did everyone
Oh the aura
For one foolish moment, I thought maybe, he'd do something.
Tell them to all back off and leave me alone, he was the team captain, they all listened to him.
Even Alison….because she was eyeing him like candy
Instead, he pulled out his phone.
"Make room," he said casually, not even looking at me. "Tracy, angle it better. We want to see her face."
Whatever stupid, foolish hope I had smashed into tiny pieces.
LENA’S POVIt wasn’t long before we were on the road, headed home, when I sent Jace another text. Then another. My thumbs moved fast across the screen, typing and deleting, then typing again. Please answer. Just one word. Let me know you’re alive!!!Nicole leaned over, grinning mischievously while peeping at my screen. “Oooh, who are you texting? Come on, spill!”I immediately turned my phone off and gave her a weak smile. “No one.”Nicole laughed. “I bet it’s your boyfriend, Noah. Is he sending you sweet messages like ‘I miss my captain’ or planning some big romantic thing to celebrate you being head cheerleader? Is that why he wasn’t at school today? You two are so cute it’s disgusting. Tell me everything!”I forced a laugh, thinking, no way in heck was I ever letting that happen. But I didn’t say that out loud. “It’s nothing like that. Really. I was just… checking on something.”But Nicole wasn’t convinced. “Sure, sure. Keep your secrets, Miss Mysterious. But seriously, isn’t it s
LENA’S POV“What are you doing here, Nicole?” I asked, the bitter memories of our last conversation still fresh in my mind.Jake followed right behind her, looking hale and hearty, happily snacking on a big bag of Doritos as if the last 48 hours had never happened.He grinned wide when he saw me. “What’s up, Captain? Haven’t seen you in a while. You know since the whole embarrassing thing with the almost dying…”I smiled at him, genuinely relieved to see that he was okay. “Hey Jake. I’m really happy you’re doing okay now. I’m so sorry I couldn’t come see you at the hospital. I was—”Jake just laughed it off, waving a cheesy hand at me, “I get it, you had stuff going on too. It’s all good. Besides, I’m fine now, obviously.”He struck a dramatic superhero pose, flexing with Doritos still clutched in one hand. “See? Back to 100%. Ready to tackle the world… or at least the vending machine. Which has stopped working by the way, so obviously I’m going to be a major Karen about it and file a
LENA'S POVThe closing bell rang, echoing through the halls. Even though I’d spent the entire day with my head on a swivel, scanning every corner for his tall frame and messy hair, Jace didn’t show up.Sometimes I would get hit by random flashes of anger. Thinking, what exactly is he playing at by running away? Why did he do it instead of just staying to deal with what he’d done? I specifically asked him not to hurt Nosh, but he ignored me completely and did it anyway, injuring his own family to the point where he needed to be hospitalized, and now he’d run away from his family and his brother.Is he okay wherever he is? Is he safe? Has he had anything to eat all day? What exactly is he up to?I was on my way back to the Dawson house, rushing back to ask Mrs. Dawson if he was back home yet, when I checked my schedule at the last minute and realized I had a meeting with the cheerleaders after school so we could settle on a routine for Saturday.I sighed, but just like with all of m
I took my books and began the walk to class, doing my best to smile along with the adoring horde of students who waved and congratulated me.“Congrats on being head cheerleader, Lena! You were amazing at tryouts!”“We missed you yesterday!”I smiled and thanked them, hugging my heavy stack of books closer to my chest, but inside my mind there was a dark cloud hovering over everything.If Jace were here, he would’ve taken these from me, then rolled his eyes and refused to give them back. He probably would’ve been mad at me, scowling about something, but it wouldn’t have mattered because he would’ve walked me to class all the same and made sure I was comfortable.I was worried sick, angry, and in complete emotional turmoil, so much so that I didn’t know where one emotion began an the other one ended. I pulled out my phone again and tried Jace’s number. Straight to voicemail. Again.Where are you? Please… I need to know you’re okay. Why are you doing this? What are you up to?The first






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