Hate Me (Black Mountain Academy)

by Ashley Jade

“The Devil hath power To assume a pleasing shape.” ― William Shakespeare, Hamlet

I met Trenton Knox once when I was eight. Given he pushed me so hard into a swing set he knocked my front tooth out and then tackled me to the ground while I was crying and took a pair of scissors to my ponytail…it didn’t go well.

Words die in my throat when he tilts his head and those intense eyes—one cobalt blue and the other emerald green—slice through me like a hot knife through butter. I’ve seen those haunting eyes before. Dread has my stomach coiling because I know exactly who I’m staring at. Trenton Knox.

I hated her face and the stupid freckles lining the bridge of her nose. I hated her smile and her crooked teeth. I hated the carefree way she giggled and how the wind blew her long red hair as she swung on the swing. I hated the way she looked at me when our gazes collided—like she could see all the demons taking up residence in my black soul. I hated her for prying and asking shit she had no business asking. I hated her for breathing the same air as me. I hated her for existing.

His rough voice is a menacing rumble in my ear. “Because I knew you’d be in pain.” A cold sweat breaks over me and a weird twist goes through my chest when his tongue darts out and he licks my tear-stained cheek. “And I wanted to see it.”

But then she’d know the truth. That as much as I loathe her with every fucking fiber of my being… I’m also completely fucking drawn to her. And I know deep down she feels the same. We’re like two magnets…the electrical currents running through us simultaneously repel and attract one another. I fucking hate it. Hate her.

“Just because their perception of you has shifted, doesn’t mean yours has to.”

“To answer your question from earlier, you don’t get to fuck with Aspen because she’s mine.”

He pounds the steering wheel with his fist. “I want you to want me to leave my wife. I want you to ask me how my day is going because you care about me. I want you to let me take care of you.” His voice lowers a fraction. “I’m in love with you, Aspen.”

Pain etches across her face. “Why are you doing this to me?” That’s where she’s wrong. I’m not doing it to her… I’m doing it for her.

They say strays always come back... But this time, I’ll be the one coming back to you.