The Boy I Swore To Hate

sleep t

cause I had suddenly developed a talent for

he last six hours staring at a photo

perhaps fifteen or sixteen, and neither of them appeared particularly happy.

Damien who k

as S

und, half-hidden behind

e girl who saved me a seat during lunch, lent me her notes when I missed a clas

d my hand w

me everything

ng she had something to do with the worst

phs could be misleading. People could appear in t

age had been

people you

it up for what must have been the hundre

w mes

ed a

ARE

ait

th

ied

OU GET TH

l no

ed my phone onto the mattress an

as rid

hings. I didn't allow mysterious strangers on the

llow Damien Blackwood to occu

o in the morning, thin

der

wonde

arm rang, I had r

confront

would confr

ely, pr

, there was a very real possibility that I wo

forgive me for getting sus

-

the school entrance when I a

round her shoulders. She looked effortlessly beautiful, as if she had nev

her made my s

nshine!" she

d in fro

ed to

ile fa

ounds o

I didn't put a smiley face in th

blin

texte

red a

ren

ha

text you l

t, neither

vously. "Okay, that

s i

what's

ng for any sign that she kn

genuinely

ctress than I had eve

phone and opened

changed the ins

drained fr

d," she w

ing cold sett

ecogni

quickly. "Where d

sn't an

, liste

ding behind Damie

students were passing nearby, laughing

e," she

ded m

n wh

e talk somewh

aid someone might

flin

l, almost i

I sa

I had spent the entire nig

t happened,"

a swa

can

t harder tha

can

t h

ell me

hed for

lled

se. You have

t there was n

what I'm tryin

rst be

ding, and Serena glanced at the entra

id again. "Give

ed to

ers until she gave me s

I stepp

e. L

er face, but it disappe

Ame

urn

about Damien, don't let him

eart

't denied being

plained why s

warned me a

that made eve

-

ced Literature, my mood had

eat, leaning back with a no

irritating

that a

his careless posture, his sarcastic remarks, and the fact that he had

uldn't stop wondering whether

up as I

're

ked th

rts in thr

nd forty secon

fun, or is being unbearabl

curved int

e she

my bag ont

ho

I was beginning to worry the

my notebook with mor

ou're not important enough

to have spent a lot of

quickly that my hair

use

ring at me since

e is just natur

lau

lly l

ly nice sound, which

keep telling your

on entered the classroom and pla

ss the research proposal and determine the

groan rose fr

son ign

gnificantly to your scholarship evalua

reading o

tened until

lia

sed m

n Blac

nd dr

N

son loo

a problem,

s,

dents tur

his arms. "Would y

a deep

tter indep

nately, this assignment is des

stand, s

sure you'l

hter moved throu

into

Damien le

l try not to ruin your

led s

'll try not to carry you t

ughtful

ortunate

cleared h

ntertaining the class, perhaps you

n at the ass

ence of social reputati

d at th

wly, I turned

dy looking a

ssion had

he returned, he looked

" I wh

ok his

thi

a terrib

ble at minding yo

red my

r you because of what

w tigh

hing is abo

em to have a lot to say

he notebook

cause you keep b

se you refuse to ex

es met

u listen

n caught me

outh, but no

e for a moment,

what I t

shed thr

anything about w

back toward me.

ve w

in the truth more than

red a

d walked to Mr. Lawson's desk to

in my sea

he had cha

nwanted part of me wonder

-

Serena waiting b

wall beneath the oak tree, her

she saw me,

you for

me because I

kno

everal feet

t tal

d down at

iel was helping Dam

y pulse

nd of so

investigating irregularities in

red a

ever told

didn't want

o

ok a shak

ential examination materials before the tests. Daniel w

d y

ut the inve

eemed to ti

hy

there when they

ncile the girl in front of me w

't you te

filled wi

s sca

wh

ook he

plain every

laugh e

rse you

se. I know ho

tigating something serious, watched his life

it would happ

at did y

d her lips

she seemed to strug

ered, "I saw who t

e body w

ho

ned her

oice inte

enough,

th tu

the path, his expression dar

stepp

mie

id en

betwee

ll her what she ca

shifted

derstand what

explai

can

rew my hands up. "Is that t

loser, lower

watching y

, I forgot h

ha

oward Serena befor

uestions. Someone who doesn't

myself

upposed to

tened. "It's suppos

those words made

he first time, he d

nded a

I couldn't tell whether he wa

ted m

you to prote

kno

acting like

ickered acro

, pe

before I c

aid quietly. "I've been tr

seemed

hat he meant, he tur

eside the wall, s

ed tow

did he

ed at h

u should go

at her in

ou ser

. Just this onc

pped

o do after keeping secrets from me f

h an expression I ha

gu

fe

hing

am

y," she w

e walke

nded by the ordinary noise of a scho

ted she knew something a

d me that someon

m was willing to t

have been

s fu

ger, something els

ios

was no longer certain that D

me far more than h

-

termined to get answers from the

bro

when I walked in, his laptop open and

ve. The scandal had taken something from him tha

e saw me,

trou

g onto the chai

ed to

mile

ounds s

t

e and placed the pho

looke

moment, he

closed h

id you g

everyone keep

ce tig

Whatever you think you know about

red a

nd person to tel

snapped

as the

mie

ly that his chair scr

d he say

ust keeps insisting t

n a hand thro

n years, he looked g

me you won't in

ok my

t promi

eas

me to ignore something t

ession s

e isn't d

ke you're still waiting

tion sil

allo

eally happened

t the photo

ost missed it, he said, "Damien

art p

who

ked toward

nds, I thought h

e turned b

e who knew what I was investigating. Someone

ho

t my

er fou

red a

re ly

crumpled

ng to pro

m wh

dn't

phone and looked at the

handed

urned, it means he

up on

ce dropped t

son who destroye

d moti

their

st Dan

en's

another question,

nown n

w me

G QUESTION

sage appeare

ET WE EXPOSE

up at m

een the

sion on his face, he knew

el Hart looked at me as though he w

ckwood was keeping a secret that could ch

ars believing he w

er whether hating him had b

he truth

e messages was willing to d