Hateful Lies: A dark high school bully romance (Stonehaven Academy Book 1) Read online

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  HATEFUL LIES: A DARK HIGH SCHOOL ROMANCE

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Epilogue

  This is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, places, events, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons—living or dead—is entirely coincidental.

  HATEFUL LIES copyright @ 2021 by Nora Cobb and Scholae Palatina Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.

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  OTHER BOOKS BY NORA COBB

  MONTLAKE PREP SERIES

  NEW GIRL

  OUTCAST

  REPRISAL

  REVENGE

  MERCY

  ELITES OF REDWOOD ACADEMY SERIES

  CRUEL BOYS

  BRUTAL BOYS

  SAVAGE BOYS

  VICIOUS BOYS

  WICKED BOYS

  KINGS OF WEISSMORE ACADEMY

  RUIN ME

  HATE ME

  LOVE ME

  HATEFUL LIES: A DARK HIGH SCHOOL ROMANCE

  BOOK ONE OF THE STONEHAVEN ACADEMY SERIES

  There’s one rule at Stonehaven Academy:

  Know your place.

  Poor girls like me aren’t supposed to fight back.

  I’m supposed to keep my mouth shut.

  And let them do whatever they want to me.

  Bryce, Justin, Pierce, and Wyatt are the kings of Stonehaven Academy.

  The four of them spent all summer tormenting me.

  All summer trying to break me.

  I thought I’d never have to see them again.

  Until the father I never knew forced me back into their world.

  Now, I have to attend the same prep academy as my tormentors.

  A place where I can’t escape their rich perfect faces.

  Where I’m surrounded by their rock hard bodies

  They made it clear to me on day one:

  I’m on their turf. And I’ll have to play by their rules.

  They want to destroy me.

  But I won’t make it easy.

  And when I’m done, I’ll make them understand:

  I’m not in here with them.

  They’re in here with me.

  Prologue

  Astrid

  I’m barely cognizant when I hear the doorknob turn, and Justin looks inside the room. First at Bryce and then at me. His eyes widen as he takes in my bare breasts. I raise my hands to cover them, and Bryce steps in front of me.

  “Christ, she’s burning hot,” mutters Pierce as he peeks into the bathroom. But he waits in the doorway as Justin enters the room.

  “Watch the door.” Justin’s voice is deep and husky as he unzips his fly.

  “Get out!” shouts Bryce. “Get the fuck out now!”

  Justin scowls at Bryce. “You always pull this shit by being greedy. It was my idea.” Justin grabs my arm, and I stumble, trying to cover my breasts. “It’s my turn, and you’re getting out.”

  I reach for my shirt on the floor and lose my balance, tripping over my feet as Bryce tries to yank me away. I land on my knees on the tile floor and wince in pain. But I forget the stinging pain quickly when Justin yanks his cock out and points at my face.

  “Come on, Astrid,” he whispers, “Put it in your mouth.”

  I turn my head away, and Bryce pushes Justin back. But Justin still has a firm hold on my upper arm, and I can’t get up onto my feet.

  “Get off her, Justin!” shouts Bryce. His face is flaming red from his forehead to his neck as he shows his teeth.

  “Stop wasting my time!” shouts Justin.

  Justin takes the tip of his cock and rubs it along my cheek, leaving wet line on my skin. I lift my chin, and I’m about to threaten him. To tell Justin I’ll bite it if he tries it again, and then it happens. His eyes shut, and he groans. Holding his dick, he shoots a stream of cum in my hair.

  I scream, but that’s a mistake. Bryce punches Justin in the chest, and finally, he lets go of me and stumbles backward into Pierce. I curse as the cum drips off my hair. I grab my shirt, trying to wipe the sticky mess off me.

  “You asshole!” I scream as Pierce pushes a shaky Justin off him.

  “I’ll fuck you up for this!” Bryce shouts. “You’re just like your bastard of a father.”

  Bryce tries to touch me, but I smack his hand away. The sound echoes off the tiles. Bryce steps back quickly, and his eyes widen at something outside the door. His look is borderline fearful, and then it transforms. His eyes narrow, and his lips curl like a coyote about to go in for an easy kill.

  “What the fuck are you doing in my room?”

  The shirt bunched up in my hands, I freeze. It’s Wyatt’s voice, and I don’t want to move. I don’t want him to see me like this.

  “You missed the meeting,” Pierce laughs. “It’s initiation, but I’m afraid our pledge failed.”

  I look up slowly, and Wyatt’s gaze is full of disgust as he looks down on me. I told him I wasn’t a slut. I made him wait. And now I’m topless in his bathroom wiping Justin’s cum from my hair. I’m shaking as my face burns from shame, and I hurriedly pull on my shirt. Justin’s already recovered, and he walks over to the door, casually witnessing the commotion he caused.

  “She failed miserably,” Pierce’s voice drags out every syllable. “Maybe it’s better that you weren’t here to see it happen, Wyatt.”

  I jump up, wrapping the shirt around me and leaving my bra behind. I push past them, gritting my teeth and knocking them out of the way as I run toward the stairwell that leads out of the dorm. Wyatt’s angry shouts travel behind me, and he’s answered with mocking laughter.

  Chapter 1

  Astrid

  2 months earlier

  “Hey, girl. You’re so rockin’ in your cute shorts with your long legs.” Nova looks me up and down with major approval.

  I give my ass a shake, and she laughs as we walk toward the front of the line. I eye the bouncer who’s blocking the metal door into the old warehouse. Teeny knows he better let us in.

  “Who’s on tonight?” I ask him casually.

  When Teeny checks us out, Nova tosses her long auburn braids over her shou
lder. “Not sure,” he replies, “but it must be special to open the Pit on a Thursday night.”

  “Mmmm.” A big hairy guy waiting in line stares at Nova’s tight T-shirt. “I’d like me some chocolate.” His gaze flicks over my legs. “With some vanilla on top.”

  Nova sucks her teeth loud enough to be heard over the booming bass buzzing from inside the building. “Please, we’re people, not a food group.” She sidles up to the bouncer, who continues to stare over everyone’s head. “Hey, Teeny, let us in. It’s dark out here and I’m cold.”

  “It’s August,” he replies in a booming voice, “and if the dark scares you, you should be at home.”

  “Teeny, don’t play me,” Nova sweet-talks.

  His gaze sweeps over her pouty lips. Nova has teased Teeny without delivering, and he should be over her. “There’s a cover if you’re not fighting tonight,” he replies, looking away.

  I roll my eyes. “Seriously? I’m bringing them in. Come on, Teeny. I’m broke. Let us in.”

  Teeny shakes his head and solidly ignores us. The man is a living wall of muscle, and no matter how fast we are in the ring, we won’t get into the warehouse unless he steps aside.

  “It’s the rich kids, right?” says Nova, hands on her slim hips. “They’re in there again.”

  Teeny nods solemnly. “They’ve taken over. Watch out, ladies. Gentrification in progress.”

  I sigh so loudly it echoes off the walls. People who pay to watch the fights call the fight club Dante’s. But people who fight to be paid call it the Pit.

  Nova flips her long braids again. My dark hair used to be that long until I hacked it off. It kept getting into my eyes while I was punishing my challengers in the main ring. Nova steps closer, placing her hand on Teeny’s massive thigh as she brushes her chest against his arm.

  “If you say yes now,” she whispers loud enough for him to hear, “I might say yes later.”

  Teeny fidgets as his Adam’s apple bobs. He’s been eyeing Nova all summer since school let out, and staying out all night is no longer an issue until September. She’s finally paying attention to him now that he works the main door. A bead of sweat rolls down the side of Teeny’s face as he grips his hands tightly in front of his crotch. Nova pouts, and Teeny scowls at me like I did something wrong.

  “Next time,” he warns us, “you both pay.”

  Nova pecks the big man’s cheek when he swings the door open for us. He glances over his shoulder as we rush inside, watching her ass bounce in her tight leggings. He says we’ll pay, but he’ll never make us.

  Weymouth’s commercial district is deserted at night. Half of the abandoned buildings are falling into disrepair, but the old cannery warehouse remains intact. I remember when my mom used to work here. The cavernous space is poorly lit, but the sound system is just fine as house music pounds against my ears. I follow closely behind Nova, keeping up so we don’t get separated in the jostling crowd. I won’t be able to find her again if I lose her. All the high schools in the county must be here tonight for this fight.

  I’m not in the ring tonight, but my feet are bouncing with anticipation while we squeeze through to our favorite spot. My body is on alert, and the atmosphere in the pop-up fight club is electric as it runs through the hyped-up crowd. Being here makes my smile widen. I love this fucking place.

  “Ladies—sugar and spice.” A lanky man grabs Nova by the waist and grips my hand. “You fighting tonight?”

  Nova’s cousin Derick tries to kiss me on the cheek while he hugs Nova to his side. Nova pushes him off. “Calm the fuck down, Derick. You’re like a dog humpin’ a leg.” I disengage myself from the scrawny man wearing athleisure while Nova continues, “One, we don’t fight each other, and two, we’re not on tonight.”

  “I can get you on,” he smiles, with ridiculously white teeth, “The purse is big money tonight.” Derick stretches his arms out wide to indicate how large. “Hey-ho, watch it grow.”

  “You’re fucking strange,” I tell him for the hundredth time. Derick laughs, shaking his twists as if I were joking.

  Nova is nothing like her cousin, or I wouldn’t hang with her. She’s been my best friend since the first day of junior high. And now, senior year is about to start, and in our neighborhood, that’s loyalty. But the two of us are like sisters with different mothers.

  “The crowd will go hot-shit crazy.” Derick tries harder to convince us. “Two hot girls—one black, one white—and they’ll throw the cash into the ring.” He then describes my looks as if I’ve never seen myself in a mirror before. “Those long legs and ripped muscles with that short black hair and those flashing blue eyes. Sweet.”

  I grab him by his oversized sweatshirt and stretch the neck out of shape. “Who’s on tonight?”

  Derick glances over toward the ring elevated on a concrete platform above the spectators, who dance around the perimeter. He yanks himself out of my grip and replies, “It’s Stockade versus a new guy called Mask.”

  Nova snorts, then laughter bursts out of her. “Did you give him that handle? Does he wear a cape?”

  Derick emcees the fights by night and falls asleep in class by day. As expected, he’s repeated two grades. “I did, but I ran it by him first.” Derick shrugs. “He cool with it.”

  “He cool with you making him a fool?” I tease him.

  “Only a fool would think Mask is a fool.” Derick shakes his head. “I’ve seen him practice, and he’s no joke.”

  A chill races through my body, and my skin rises in goose bumps when the whispering starts— Mask is in the building. No one uses real names in the ring. But I’d like to know his.

  ***

  He auditioned after hours the same night I fought, and I was invited above the ring to the catwalk to watch. The new guy wore a mask, and only the lower half of his face was visible. Grinder, who runs the underground fight club, affectionately known as the Pit, thought it was a joke, but Derick argued for the gimmick.

  “If he can fight, he can stay,” griped Grinder.

  The rule is a newbie must beat three in a row to be put on the schedule. It took two short minutes for Mask to knock out the first challenger and less for the second. His moves were fast, and his muscles were defined. I licked my lips, watching the sweat roll off his pumped biceps. His lips were lush, and I was eager to see a lot more of him.

  “You like that, Astrid?” Grinder was watching me have a girlie hard-on for the new guy.

  Sucking my teeth, I played it off. “He cool...I guess.”

  Grinder turned his attention back to the ring, and when the third challenger walked up to the ropes, Grinder shook his head once. Derick stopped the guy, placing his hand on his chest. Grinder looked at another guy, a bigger guy, who looked like a freak of nature and testosterone. My eyes widened as I sucked in air. Grinder had had a stick up his ass since the rich kids started coming here to bet on the fights. He had pressure from above to deliver a spectacle, not just a winner.

  “Him?” Derick squeaked, and Grinder nodded.

  The brute lumbered into the ring, but it didn’t faze Mask. It took longer, but he busted the guy’s lip, then repeatedly hit the same exact spot until blood was splattered on the concrete in a crazy drip design. The splatters extended in a circle that resembled spin art at the local fair.

  The brute stumbled backward and then sent out a blow that bounced Mask off the ropes. Derick looked nervously up at the catwalk, where Grinder was perched calmly on the rail. Grinder leaned back, grabbed a can of beer, and flipped the key off with the tip of his thumb.

  “Aren’t you going to call it?” I whispered.

  Grinder took a swig of his beer, filling his cheeks before sucking it down. “Why?” he drawled, “You want him?”

  My anger flashed, and my mouth reacted before my brain. “I don’t put out,” I hissed. “I don’t need the trouble.”

  “That’s not what I heard,” he replied coolly.

  I grabbed my bag and headed for the steel stairs leading down. G
rinder seized my forearm and tossed me back onto a stool.

  “Derick,” he shouted, “end it!”

  I gasped when I looked down at the ring. The brute was on the ground, holding his busted nose while Mask stood over him.

  ***

  I sigh, realizing Nova has disappeared somewhere. I look around, and my gaze stops on the mirrored wall. I know what I look like. I’m not that vain, but behind the two-way mirror is the foreman’s office. Now, that’s where the rich kids hang out while they’re slumming. Behind the smoky glass, they sit on spotless white sofas and drink expensive liquor out of chilled glasses. I lift my foot, and the sole of my chunky black shoe sticks to the floor. It’s either blood or sperm; who the fuck knows. I’ll hose it off later in the yard. I flip my finger as I walk past the glass.