Page 5 of His Untoward Hate

“And one thing, I need your savings for the party,” said Mitch as if it were just a simple request.

“What?” he asked in astonishment. “Are you serious?”

“You think I am joking?” she said seriously, and when it became clear that she was serious, he slumped his back against the passenger seat.

“You’re too much, Mitch. You know I am saving to buy a laptop for college,” he almost begged her to change her mind.

“Okay, then,” she said in a snarky tone. “You leave me no choice but to tell the whole school about your great obsession with Jasper Granger, and then the bullying gets worse, and Sky will bury you alive. How ‘bout that?” she threatened.

This was why she offered him a ride to school out of the blue, because she wanted something from him. He should have known better. But one thing was for sure: he could not argue with Mitch anymore. She was the only person who knew that he had a huge crush on Jasper Granger. He was so helpless and completely caught off guard. He wanted to cry his heart out in frustration, but surprisingly, anger dominated inside him. He never got angry easily. Hence, Jude could not express it verbally or in action. He knew that he was weak. He always got lost, so he just stayed silent and kept everything inside.

“Besides, I’m going to pay you, so don’t worry,” Mitch added.

Jude did not respond anymore. He already knew that she would not pay him back. The rest of the ride to school was very silent. Mitch made sure to drop him a kilometer away from the school so nobody could see them together, and so Jude still had to walk. He did not complain and just stayed silent. He already had no energy left to think about things he could not control at the moment. He still could not get over the idea that his sister would use his savings only to spend them on a nonsense party in their parents’ house on a Friday night, which he had already set as his time to get a full eight hours of sleep after a week of exhaustion and deprivation.

Jude had been saving half of his small allowance for quite some time now to get a laptop, especially for college, where it would be often used. He sometimes did part-time jobs on weekends and some side hustles after school to add to his savings. It was just unfair because all the things that Mitch would ask their parents for would always be granted, while Jude had to work hard to get the things that he needed, and now, she would only get the money that he had worked so hard for these past years.

Then again, what other choice did he have? No matter how hard he tried to defend his ground, Mitch would always find ways to get everything she wanted. After all, she was his elder sibling.

Jude shoved his thoughts away and focused on walking. Along the peaceful sidewalk, his heart almost sank when he realized something. He felt like he had lost all his blood suddenly when he looked at the time on his watch: “7:05”.

Panic immediately surged through him.

By the time he reached the school, he was out of breath, drenched in sweat, and on the verge of tears. He paused for one second and took a mouthful of breath before he started to make his way to the back of the campus, picturing himself out already: Sky was holding his internal organs, leaving him lifeless on the ground.

Jude was trembling with fear as he marveled at the secluded area behind the school, out in the woods. The sound of small dead branches from the surrounding Gmelina trees breaking every time he stepped on them felt like a crack of his own bones. The place was eerily quiet; no one else was there, although he could hear a few insects buzzing somewhere, birds chirping, and crickets crying not too loudly from afar. He turned his track carefully, searching to see if he might have stepped on some scorpions, a cobra, or some venomous snake. Snakes, his biggest fear.

And then, he saw him.

Sky stood leaning against an old tree, his side facing him. His right hand was in his pocket, and the other had a lit cigarette between his fingers. Jude wondered why he wanted to meet him there all alone.

Where are Julius and Kevin? Does he want to kill me in secret? Jude hardly gulped at his own thoughts.

From a distance, Jude noticed that Sky was only wearing the white long-sleeve top tucked into his dark blue pants, and his blazer was nowhere in sight. He did not know why, but he thought Sky looked really cool from this distance, especially in their uniform, which really looked good on him. It was like it was made for him in the first place. It fit perfectly on his muscular frame. Though the fabric was crumpled and he had a lot of tattoos, he pulled it off effortlessly. He had never really noticed that he had a good build—very masculine, with a prominent, well-defined butt.

Jude watched him sucked the cigarette as he lifted his head a little to blow the smoke into the air. He had never checked Sky out like this before, and in all honesty, Jude could not deny that Sky really looked hot this time.

Really? What am I thinking? Jude mentally slapped himself for his nasty thoughts and how he always crossed boundaries these days. He quickly withdrew his gaze before Sky could notice.

For the millionth time, he was debating whether to continue to approach him or run away. Yet, he knew that the worst thing would happen if he ran. Without wasting any more time, he stepped forward, wobbling. With every step he took, he felt like he was about to faint. He could feel Sky’s gaze land on him from afar, which seemed to pierce deeper and deeper as the distance between them vanished.

“You’re sixteen minutes late.” Sky’s voice was deep and hoarse.

The moment Sky spoke, Jude’s heart wanted to get out of his chest. His hands were shaking tremendously, and he was doing all he could to control them so the finished work would not spill onto the ground.

“What did I say yesterday?” he asked.

Sky detached himself from the stem of a big Oak tree and approached him. He threw the remaining cigarette on the ground, stepped on it, and crushed it with some force using the tip of his Tic Tac shoes.

“S-even s-harp,” Jude stammered, his heart climbing to his throat.

Jude was about to cry.

Sky walked to him slowly, and every sound of twigs cracking was like a broken skip of Jude’s heartbeat. Without warning, Sky grabbed his collar, yanking him forward.

“Are you aware of what time it is now?” Sky asked, tightening his grasp on the hem of Jude’s collar.

Sky was too near, his lips almost touching Jude’s nose. Jude, with all his resistance, tried to look to the side. The stinky air from his mouth made his face crease, but he immediately pushed it away before Sky could notice it.