Nothing But Hate

Chapter Nine

Tucker didn't get much sleep the night before, and he had a heavy lunch so he decided to take a nap. Tucker was one of those people that fell asleep in the blink of an eye, and could even sleep through a hurricane. But when his phone continued ringing after the third time, he groaned as he accepted the call and put the phone to his ear, not bothering to see who was calling him.

"Hello?" Tucker said groggily. What was up with everyone wanting to talk to him when he was half asleep?

"Hello, Tucker." The caller replied. Tucker recognised the voice, even though it was much deeper on the phone. He opened his eyes just a little, removing his phone from his ear to look at the screen. It was an unknown number, so he had a pretty good idea of who the caller was.

"Kaufman? Why are you calling me? How'd you get my number?" Tucker snapped.

"Same way I got your address."

"You realise how fucking creepy this sounds, right? What are you, a stalker? Why didn't you just ask me for my number?" Tucker rubbed his eyes, he shifted on his bed, laying on his back now.

"Would you have given it to me had I asked?" Callum questioned back.

"No," Tucker deadpanned, "And that would be because I don't want you contacting me. Consent and boundaries are a thing, you know?"

"I apologise," Callum sighed, "I want to have dinner with you."

"No."

"What will it take for you to give me a chance?" Callum asked.

"First of all, if you want to have dinner with me, you ask me. You don't tell me or order me. You ask." Tucker replied, already annoyed at the other man's sense of entitlement.

Tucker really didn't have anything personal against Callum. Not initially, atleast. In fact, most of the times that they'd talked, Callum was nice and polite, somewhat ignorant, yes, but polite nonetheless.

Apart from their last conversation where Callum offered him a job. Tucker had felt severely insulted by that, and he felt annoyed even more so because Callum probably didn't even realise why it was so demeaning for Tucker. Especially when he said he would pay Tucker any salary that he demanded.

Tucker's mother was a teacher at one of the top private schools in the state. Despite them not being rich, Tucker and Paige did their schooling from there all the way till middle school. The school was filled with rich kids, Paige somehow managed to blend in, but Tucker always stood out like a sore thumb.

He hated going to that school, he hated the looks and the whispers. He hated being the "son of the maths teacher" and the "financial aids kid". He wasn't bullied, Tucker had always been the tallest kid in class and played a fair amount of sports, and the school did have strict anti bullying policies in place. But the overall environment made him feel like an outsider.

Which is why he begged his parents to go to public school. They gave in, his father had been more understanding because he knew that apart from not belonging to the same social strata of the kids in school, his son was the minority because of his mixed race as well.

His mother took a little more convincing, but eventually she gave in too. Even though Paige didn't face the same troubles that Tucker did, because she was generally just very good with people, and was extremely likeable, she stuck with her twin and went to public school as well.

However, after two years in public school, Tucker decided to go back to his old school his junior year. His family was confused, since they could see how his new environment had affected him very positively. They didn't understand why he'd want to go back to a place that he hated. But as Tucker grew up, he was becoming more and more determined and ambitious, and be refused to let anyone deter him from getting what he wanted.

Tucker didn't want to feel like he was running away from his problems. He wanted to face them head on. So, he went back, and this time he didn't care to stop and listen to the whispers, and he learned to not just ignore the looks, but to look back. He spoke up, was a part of the student council and several clubs, was at the top of his class, and was an overall outstanding student. All of this resulted in him getting a full ride to college.

"Okay, will you go out to dinner with me? Tonight?" Callum asked this time.

"No," Tucker chuckled, "You really thought it was would be this easy?"

"No. I don't like easy, anyway." Callum replied, and Tucker could almost imagine the man smirking at this line.

"Don't call me again, Kaufman." Tucker said, before hanging up the call. Tucker noticed how this was becoming a pattern, him always walking out on the other man, and now hanging up without listening to what he had to say.

Not caring in the slightest, Tucker went back to sleep.

***

should I come up with a cast or are you guys content with picturing them on your own?