Read Kane Richards Must Die Online
Authors: Shanice Williams
Kane Richards Must Die
Shanice Williams
Kane Richards Must Die
Published by Lands Atlantic Publishing
www.landsatlantic.com
All rights reserved
Copyright © 2011 by Shanice Williams
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
ISBN 978-0982500521
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the author or publisher.
For Martin,
Regardless of the future,
he was there when I needed him.
Chapter 10 WORDLESS COMMUNICATION
Chapter 12 CRUSHED EXPECTATIONS
Chapter 14 THOUGHTLESS PAYBACK
Chapter 19 THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM
Chapter 20 RETURNING THE FAVOUR
Chapter 22 THE STORM APPROACHES
Chapter 23 THE POISON AND THE ANTIDOTE
Chapter 24 UNSPOKEN WORDS OF LOVE
Chapter 26 FROM NERVOUSNESS TO HAPPINESS
Chapter 27 DROWNING IN THE BITTER DARKNESS
Chapter 28 A DARK CASE OF PATHETIC FALLACY
Chapter 29 THE FINAL SNAP OF A WITHERED ROPE
Chapter 31 FROM THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN
Chapter 32 A FLOODGATE FINALLY OPENS
Chapter 35 REALITY COMES CRASHING BACK
Suranne
A
s I drew up to the secluded school building the butterflies started. Everyone here probably knew each other and had their own group of friends. I would be the odd one out. The new girl with the strange accent.
Two weeks ago, my mother’s employer sent her to Greece on an extended assignment. She didn’t trust me to be home alone, so she sent me to America to live with my Aunt Clacy. At first I was looking forward to spending time in the big U.S. of A. but when I got to school my courses were all screwed up. I thought back to when I first found out.
“What?! . . . this could mess up my graduation,” I’d fumed; I had already lived through sixteen years of damn school. I would be finished after this semester if I were back home.
“Well, hopefully it’ll all get worked out, it’s only for a few months. I wouldn’t fret too much,” my aunt shrugged. Although she still had her British accent, there was a slight twang starting to form in her voice.
“But I’m nearly seventeen! They’re not even transferring all of my credits!” I pouted, folding my arms.
“Well, things are different here, I’m afraid.” She patted me on the back and then went to her office, leaving me on my own.
I gave the building another once-over before sighing and pushing myself through the door. There was a small reception area, with a couple of worn, padded leather seats in the left corner and a desk on the right. A chubby brown-haired woman with big glasses peeked up at my entrance and then quickly went back to work. I walked over to her desk and cleared my throat.
“Umm, hi . . . I’m Suranne Williams, I’m meant to be starting here today.” I smiled nervously and twirled my hair anxiously waiting for her reply. She looked up and cocked her head to the side slightly.
“British, huh?” She eyed me up and down, curiously. I just smiled and nodded once. By the time she found my paperwork, the bell had rung.
“I’ll show you to your first class,” she announced and then mumbled something that sounded like “eat you up for breakfast.” I sure hoped my hearing was playing tricks on me.
Leaving the small office area, she led me down a hallway that had lockers on each side and doors to various classes.
“Well, class has already started, and you’re in . . .” she unfolded my timetable and squinted through her thick spectacles.
“English,” she confirmed with a nod, before turning down yet another hallway and stopping outside a door to a class. She handed me the folded paper and sighed, “At the end of the day, come back to the reception and we’ll get the rest of your details.” Then she opened the door and ushered me in. My heartbeat raced and my stomach did flips as the whole class turned to stare at me.
“Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Case. I have the new student here.” She smiled at him adoringly. I frowned as I looked at her beaming face. Looks like someone has a crush, I thought.
“Ahh yes. Suranne, am I correct?” The tall man with mousy brown hair and grey eyes smiled down at me warmly whilst handing me my books.
“Umm, yeah, that’s me,” I murmured sheepishly. A rush of whispers erupted around the room, and when I turned, the whole class seemed to be gazing at me with expressions of curiosity and amusement.
“Well, I’ll leave her in your very good, capable hands then, Mr. Case,” the reception lady announced before leaving the room.
Mr. Case placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder and led me to a desk at the far right end of the class. The guy sitting next to the empty desk grinned at me as I approached. I smiled back shyly, sat down, and placed my books on the desk.
“Hey, I’m Lawrence.”
I turned to him and smiled. Up close, he was much better looking than I’d thought, and as he smiled back at me I could feel my face warming. He had spiky black hair and lightly tanned skin, with blue eyes, and a silver stud in his left ear. He wore a plain navy shirt and jeans with black trainers, which all looked good on him.
Mr. Case called everyone’s attention and I turned my head back to the front of the class, but he mentioned something about Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. I had already studied the book two years ago. I sighed and looked down at my hands, twining them absently as he spoke.
Suddenly the bell sounded and everyone bustled about gathering their things. Lawrence stood up next to me and smiled as I rose from my chair.
Mr. Case stopped me as I walked past his desk. “Suranne, if you have any trouble keeping up, just let me know and I’ll try and explain everything best as I can.”
“Umm, thanks, but I’ve already studied Shakespeare so, I’ve kind of done it already.”
“Including this play?” Mr. Case asked, raising an eyebrow.
I nodded sheepishly and made an exit. Lawrence was standing outside the door waiting for me.
“What are you doing?” I asked, wondering why he was still there.
He raised his eyebrows innocently and smiled at me. “I was just gonna show you to your next class, didn’t want you getting lost,” he reassured, motioning with his hand for me to follow.
“Oh, thanks,” I mumbled.
Breathing a quiet laugh he changed the subject, asking me about my last school and how long I’d been here as we made our way to the next classroom together. We talked about how different it was here for me, and he smiled when I mentioned that I should be getting ready for college. I felt completely relaxed when talking to him and even started laughing at some of his comments. When we entered our next class, the teacher hadn’t arrived, so everyone was chatting. Their attention diverted to Lawrence and me as we sat at our desks. All of a sudden there were crowds of people around us, all speaking at once.
“Hey, you’re Suranne right?”
“Hey, I’m Kate.”
“What’s it like?”
“Do you like it here?”
“I hear you’re from London.”
“Wow! I’ve always wanted to go there!”
I stared at the different faces, speechless, not sure which question to answer first.
Lawrence chuckled next to me, “Give her some room guys, she’s only been here five minutes.”
“Yeah, well it might be our only chance. Kane’s in her next class,” a girl with long blonde hair said. She looked at me with green eyes and smiled.
I heard Lawrence groan and rub his temples with his hand. What was with that? Kane? Who’s he, what did she mean by it may be her only chance?
“Hey, I’m Kate.” The blonde spoke again, pulling me from my reverie and shaking my hand.
“Who’s Kane?”
I heard a couple of girls from behind Kate sigh dreamily as I mentioned his name and I guessed he must be pretty popular with the ladies.
“Kane Richards is—”
“An asshole, stay away from him,” Lawrence interrupted her, sounding irritated.
“Dude, he’s your best friend,” I heard a guy mutter from behind me before Lawrence shrugged.
“So? Doesn’t mean it’s not the truth. She should be warned.”
“Anyway,” Kate interrupted impatiently. She seemed angry at how the conversation had progressed; she grabbed a chair and pulled it up towards our desk.
“Whatever you do, don’t engage with him in any form whatsoever,” she warned, looking at me severely.
“Yeah, like don’t speak to him, don’t sit by him or nuthin’, ’cause once you’re sucked in, then bam, it’s too late,” Lawrence continued.
Kate nodded at his words and then jabbed a thumb behind her at the two girls, who still seemed to be in a dreamy state.
“Otherwise you end up like them,” Kate said, rolling her eyes. The guy behind me, who’d spoken before, chuckled. “Come on you guys, she’s new. You know Kane’s gonna get his hands on her either way. The fact that she’s fresh meat don’t help.”
I turned to glare at him but he just grinned and winked at me before being punched in the gut by Lawrence. I smiled vindictively and turned back in my seat.
“How will I know which one he is?” I asked, puzzled by how serious they all were, like he was some ax murderer or something.
“Believe me, you’ll know,” Lawrence muttered next to me, looking sad and frustrated, but I just shrugged and let it go. The teacher came in then and the group dispersed to their desks. Kate was the last to go back to her seat. “I’m in your next class, you can sit next to me,” she whispered, then she turned and walked away like the others.
“Won’t you be there?” I asked, turning round to face Lawrence. He stared at me before he spoke.
“Yeah, but I’ll be with Kane, and he’s usually the last one in, although . . .” he paused and stared at me thoughtfully, “when he realises you’re in his class he’ll probably be there first.” He sighed and shook his head infinitesimally, disappointment the main expression on his face.
“Is he some kind of misogynistic womaniser or something?” I whispered to Lawrence. He chuckled darkly. “You could say that,” he muttered, ducking his head in his book.
Throughout the lesson I pondered this Kane Richards, wondering what kind of a reputation he had gained for himself and what would happen to me if I got caught up in him. I was nervous as I made my way to my next class. People stared at Kate and me as they walked past, but every time I glanced at her, she just smiled back warmly.
When we arrived, people still stared, smirking and muttering something to their neighbors. Kate sat down, and I went to join her. I decided to ask her a few quick questions of advice before Casanova came into the room.
“What do I do if he talks to me?” I whispered to her. She was texting on her phone and she just shrugged without looking up.
“Ignore him,” she said simply.
Right, so I’m to just ignore this guy if he talks to me? I mean, I didn’t know about her, but I was brought up knowing that if someone speaks to you, it’s generally rude to just ignore them. I tapped my fingers against the desk, watching as the class slowly filled up with students. Even though Lawrence claimed I would know who he was, I wasn’t so sure. All the guys seemed pretty normal to me.
Just then the class door opened again and in stepped three guys. One of them was Lawrence. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him staring at me, probably appraising my expression, but at the time, I was completely focused on someone else. On him.
Yes, Lawrence was definitely right. Without a doubt, I knew I was staring Kane Richards in the face.