“Don’t worry about them, OK?” he murmured softly, raising his eyebrows daring me to disagree. I gave him a weak smile, nodding, and he flashed his cocky crooked grin at me as we pulled into the lot. I stared out the window towards a large group of students lounging around before the first bell sounded, staring at the car with their mouths slightly agape. Some were leaning in to murmur to their friends, causing them to turn as well and glance in our direction.
I stole a look at Kane, and he was the perfect picture of calm. His face was relaxed as he maneuvred gracefully into an empty space, seemingly unaware of all the eyes firmly locked on his car. He still had hold of my hand, and as he turned the engine off, he turned to me and stopped me from opening the door.
“Let me do that,” he said softly, whilst he unbuckled his belt.
“Why?” I enquired. I was perfectly able to open my own door, and Kane doing it would draw even more attention to us. He raised an eyebrow and smirked at me.
“Can’t I even open the door for my girl?” His voice sounded innocent, but his sexy smirk gave off something different altogether. I smiled warmly at the endearment, my stomach flipping at the thought of him actually calling me His Girl. I took a deep breath and nodded at him and he grinned, his bright chocolate eyes swirling with intense emotion. Then he opened his door and casually jogged over to my side.
I took a deep breath trying to calm my nerves as he opened the door and held out a hand. I eyed the hand warily, my eyes darting around me self-consciously before resting on Kane. His stare was reassuring, silently telling me that he was there for me, giving me the final push of strength that I needed to face what today was bound to bring.
I took his hand and he pulled me out of the car, shutting the door softly behind me. I smiled coyly up at him, refusing to concentrate on anything else but his face at the moment. My heart was hammering, my mind working overtime, reeling with the whispering and looks we were probably getting. I squinted my eyes closed, wishing that I could become as calm as Kane and will myself not to care about the others.
Suddenly I felt myself being pushed up against the car, Kane’s sweet, mind-numbing scent filling my senses as he pressed against me, and I snapped my eyes open as they locked directly with a pair of burning, deep-brown ones.
“Trust me, Suranne,” he whispered, and I was reminded of yesterday in the park, when I had said the exact same words to him, trying to reassure him that I wasn’t going anywhere.
Now he was returning the favour.
He ducked his head and pressed his lips gently to mine. My ears registered a string of shocked gasps around us, as, for the first time, they saw Kane actually kissing someone on the lips.
My chest swelled with a pool of pride as I thought about how that Someone was me.
Kane had obviously realised this also, and pulled away from me, smirking yet breathing heavily. I grinned at him, a new sense of happiness spreading through my entire body.
“I trust you,” I murmured back, and gripped his hand tightly knowing that, with him next to me, I would be able to face anything this day decided to throw at me . . .
21. REVELATIONS
Kane
“I trust you,” she murmured to me, and gripped my hand tightly, turning us slightly towards the school building but still keeping eye contact with me. I knew she was nervous as hell, but I had repeated the same words she had used on me yesterday, knowing that if she could heal me in ways I couldn’t explain, then maybe I could do the same for her. It seemed to work.
I smirked back at her, brushed my thumb over the back of our intertwined fingers, and ran my other hand through my hair. I had styled it as usual this morning, but it always ended up all over the place by the end of the day. Before, I would get pissed about the habit I had, but Suranne had told me she liked it better, so I wasn’t gonna complain.
I thought back to yesterday, and how, for the last three years, I’d felt like something was missing, and that I’d finally felt complete when she was there. But reality had smashed down on me like some huge rock as soon as I got home from our day at the park. I had walked in to find Ashley in the kitchen on her knees, sobbing and wiping her face, my eyes zeroed in on the small amount of blood that coated her fingers and the shards of glass scattered on the kitchen floor.
I ran up to her, not caring that I had left the front door wide open, and fell to the ground, gripping her shoulders tightly.
“Ashley, what’s wrong?” I asked erratically, not really needing her to reply. I already knew the fucking answer.
She had lifted her face and stared at me with wide eyes holding a huge ocean of gut-wrenching pain. Too much for someone who was only twelve years old. I cursed myself for not being there, too busy smiling and feeling happy like a selfish dick while my little sister had to deal with the burden of our mother who was, at that moment, spewing her guts in the upstairs bathroom.
“When’s it going to stop?” she breathed and her small, round and once-joyous face looked haggard and sad. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying and her face shone from the wet tears sliding down her cheeks.
I sighed heavily and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her to my chest and resting my chin on top of her little head, rocking us back and forth slowly.
“I’m sorry Ash, I’m so sorry. I wish I could fix it, believe me. I’m trying, OK? I need you to stay strong for me, I know you’re already trying so hard, and you’re doing great, trust me. But I need you to hang on just a little longer, OK?” I whispered, kissing her hair lightly as she sniffled and nodded weakly against my shirt.
I pulled away from her, inspecting her hands for any bits of glass as I grabbed a dishcloth and gently wiped away the blood. She winced slightly, her face turning into a grimace as I grabbed some disinfectant and dabbed it over the cuts.
“If this happens again, and I’m not here, call me, OK? Don’t try and clean this shit up yourself, Ashley. You wait for me to get home and do it.” I sighed, shaking my head and kissing her hands gently. She squirmed under my lips and I grinned at her, trying to lighten the mood. Her brown eyes glowed infinitesimally as she smiled back up at me, the sides of her eyes crinkling up like they always used to, before our mother had gone off the rails.
I nudged her arm playfully and told her to go upstairs and get cleaned up. Then I picked up the shattered remains of yet another glass and dumped it in the trash. That night I made a promise to myself that I was going to stay home after school and really try and sort this shit out before it got any worse. Which meant the mornings and school were the only times I would be able to be with Suranne, and I planned on savoring that as much as I could.
A gentle squeeze of my hand brought me back to the present and I looked over at Suranne. She was frowning up at me, her face etched with concern. I smiled weakly back at her, and squeezed her back, silently trying to tell her that I was alright. She smiled back at me, and I felt my breath hitch and my heart beat faster.
I’d never get over the effect she had on me.
I pulled my eyes away from her face and they widened as they met what was staring back at us. It seemed like the whole school had stopped what they were doing and were turned to us, their entire concentration fixed solely on our joined hands. I heard Suranne take a deep breath and I snapped my eyes back to her face. She was staring up at me all wide-eyed, looking like she was about to pass out.
I leaned in and kissed her temple lightly, trying to reassure her that it was OK, and gently tugged her hand towards the school building. It seemed to snap her back to the present and she smiled weakly up at me, following me as we slowly walked past the gaping idiots just standing, or rather, glaring at us both.
“Everyone’s staring, Kane,” she whispered to me, leaning her head close to my shoulder. I let go of her hand and wrapped my arm round her waist possessively, shrugging at her words, because I didn’t particularly give a shit.
“Let them,” I said simply as we reached the building and walked past the office. Even the recep
tionists were eyeing us curiously, and I glared at them, telling them with my eyes to mind their own damn business.
Suranne sighed and dropped her head on my shoulder as we walked. I held her more tightly against me, loving the sexy curve of her waist beneath my fingertips as that edible smell of her hair drifted up my nose.
She was too damn sexy for her own good.
As we reached the end of the hall and turned towards the end of the building, I spotted Lawrence with his back to us. He was with Jake and Devon, the two other guys who I usually practiced basketball with. Jake nudged Lawrence as soon as he spotted us and I could feel Suranne tense up slightly, which meant that she had noticed it, too, but by that time it was too late. Lawrence was already turning in our direction. I heard Suranne suck in a sharp breath and seemed to hold it there as his gaze lingered on the two of us, then narrowed when he looked down and saw my hand on her hip. As he continued glaring at it, his jaw clenched and his hands balled into fists.
Suranne suddenly planted her feet and stopped dead next to me. I looked down at her frowning, a panic surging through me thinking that she didn’t want to be seen with me or some shit, and I subconsciously got angry. I had risked a lot more than she had by walking into this damn school after I’d just kissed her outside.
“What the hell are you doing?” I asked, glaring down at her. Her wide gray eyes snapped up to mine, widening in shock at the angry tone in my voice.
“I—I . . . This is my class,” she stammered in a weak voice, her accent drawing out the word class in a way that sounded too hot for words.
I looked behind her, and spotted the class door that plainly said English in bold letters above it. I had been so focused on Lawrence that I hadn’t even realized we had reached her class, and I had snapped at her for no goddamn reason.
I half groaned, half sighed, and ran my hand through my hair, smirking slightly when I noticed Suranne following the movement with parted lips. She loved that crap.
“Shit, yeah I’m sorry. I didn’t realize,” I mumbled, feeling like a jerk for having to apologize to her twice in the space of two days for acting like a complete dick. She smiled back at me reassuringly and nodded. I saw her eyes flicker to my lips before returning back to my eyes, a soft shade of longing in them, and I smiled warmly at her, knowing that regardless of where we were I wouldn’t be able to deny this girl anything.
I leaned down, and noticed her eyes widen as she realized what I was about to do. She shifted nervously as my lips got closer to her own.
“Kane . . . really? Like, here?” she murmured, her eyes flitting nervously around her and I grinned, still ducking my head closer till our lips were an inch apart.
“Yes, here,” I whispered, brushing my lips against hers softly and immediately feeling that jolt zing in my lips and tingle down in my chest, surprised that I got the same feeling each time I kissed her.
She sighed softly and parted her lips for me, moving them gently with my own, then I pulled away and grinned crookedly at her, winking and brushing the hair off her shoulder as she just looked at me, breathing heavily.
“I’m taking you home after school, so don’t let me see you with Lawrence.” I raised an eyebrow to make sure she understood. Her face twisted into a grimace at the mention of his name, and I could tell she was nodding at me reluctantly.
“Isn’t he supposed to be your best friend?” she breathed gently.
“I don’t care who he is. He’s not gonna try and mess with my girl.” I smirked, and saw her eyes gleam as I called her “my girl.” With a soft chuckle I kissed her cheek, then walked away to get to my own damn class before my teacher got all pissy.
Classes seemed to drag throughout the day, and every time I sat down everyone seemed to be staring at me constantly. Was it so impossible for them to turn the hell around and carry on with their own life? And I was constantly thinking about how people were treating Suranne so that by the time lunch rolled around I was nearly jumping out of my seat to go see her, only to be ordered to practice by Coach Clapton. I couldn’t concentrate on anything else but her, totally shocked at how much I actually missed her. I had never missed a girl so damn much.
Practice lasted till the end of the day and when he finally let us go to get changed, I sprinted back to the changing room, not even bothering with a shower, but just spraying extra deodorant on.
As I walked out to the lot, my chest became warm with the excitement of finally seeing her again, and just being us, without any further interruptions. As I neared my car, I spotted her, and subconsciously smiled.
The smile soon faded.
Suranne was having an argument, and as I got closer I could hear her voice quite clearly.
“What the hell has it got to do with you anyway? I don’t understand what your problem is; he doesn’t treat me like the rest of them!”
From my angle I couldn’t see who she was arguing with, but whoever it was, I planned to put them in their place.
And then I heard her voice.
“Listen, you weren’t there, OK? I saw what it was like for the girl who was with him like you are . . . It won’t last.” She sneered back at Suranne and I closed my eyes, really hoping that nothing more would be said.
I started walking faster, trying to reach them before shit got out of hand.
“And how the hell would you know anything about us? You haven’t been there when it’s just me and him, you haven’t seen the side I have,” I heard Suranne spit, and could just imagine how her face would be twisted in anger right now.
“Trust me, I know,” I heard thrown back at her, and I knew what was coming next.
“HOW?” Suranne exclaimed, throwing her hands up in exasperation. “How could you possibly know SHIT? You keep going on about this girl who used to be with him, but how do you know anything about her?!”
And just like that, I knew this was bad. I closed my eyes, waiting for the inevitable as the parking lot became coated in silence and I heard the unmistakeable sound of Suranne’s opposition take a deep breath, before she spoke.
“Because I was that girl . . .”
I groaned and dropped my head, shaking it angrily at her words.
If I didn’t already hate Kate before she dragged out all our fucking history in the school parking lot, then I definitely did now.
22. THE STORM APPROACHES
Suranne
I nearly heaved, my chest dropping in my stomach with a large thud. I heard a familiar groan behind me and whipped my body around, glaring at Kane, who seemed to be avoiding eye contact at all costs.
But that wasn’t going to work.
“Kane?” I said coolly, my voice acidic even to my own ears as he cringed at the unfamiliar tone, his eyes lingering on the pavement.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I murmured gently. All of a sudden, these past few weeks started to make sense, the slight tension between the two of them. That day in the canteen when Kane grabbed a chair and sat next to Lawrence instead of the free seat next to Kate. The way he never conversed with her, and avoided even acknowledging her existence. The way Kate regarded him, always seeming to hate him more than anyone else.
I thought back to my first day, when Kate had been at my locker and Kane had come up behind her. Now it all made sense. Why she had been so shocked when he spoke to her. I was guessing that had probably been the first time he had acknowledged her presence in who knows how long. Even if it was just to tell her to move.
I mentally slapped myself for not realising it before. Now that I knew, it was so blindingly obvious.
Kane came closer and touched my arm, trying to tug me away towards his car, away from the crowd that was now surrounding us, silently whispering to each other about my newly discovered information.
“Suranne, let’s just . . . go, I’ll explain everything,” I heard him say softly. But before I could respond, Kate snorted and sneered at him.
“You know you’re only gonna use her, then push her away like you did me, so what’
s the point?” she spat, before focusing back on me and touching my other arm softly. “Come on Suranne, you can come back to my house and we’ll talk about it.” She smiled pleadingly at me, and jerked her head towards her car, but Kane stepped forward, his fists clenched in anger.
“Piss off, Kate,” he spat. “We don’t need your nosy ass try’n’a screw up everything for me AGAIN, so why don’t you just take your ass home and mind your own damn business?”
I just stood dumbfounded at the exchange I was witnessing between the two of them, their words confusing me even more.
“Screw you!” she screamed back at him, before waving for me to follow her. But Kane gripped my hand and halted my movements.
“Screw me?! . . . Nah, Kate. Not a chance,” he responded bitterly. “You can try pulling your innocent wide-eyed bullshit, with your two-faced smile but that shit ain’t gonna work with me.” He looked down at me, his chocolate-brown eyes pleading. “Come on, Suranne. Let me take you home, OK?”
“What shit?!” I heard her exclaim, and as I looked back at her, I could see her eyes misting over, the tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. “I loved you, Kane.”
I felt a pang of guilt at the pain that was laced in her words, and the twisted expression on her face. Once again she looked back at me, her wide green eyes still pleading with me to go with her as a lone tear slid down her cheek, but Kane just laughed bitterly from beside me, and shook his head slightly.
“Like hell you did. If you loved me, you wouldn’t have been at my damn door that night throwing every-fucking-thing back in my face.”
I felt dizzy as my head bounced back and forth between the both of them. I held up my hand, stopping Kate from replying, which probably would have kept us there all bloody night.
Kane Richards Must Die Page 9
