by Harmony Grey
A sharp pain stings my chest wall, radiating up and around my shoulders as she jabs her finger into me. I want to shove her off me, to tell her that she’s messing with the wrong person, but I can’t.
My body is still rooted to the spot, frozen with shock of all the dramatics I’ve faced in the last hour and my throat tightens against my will, stealing me of my voice.
Instead, I’m now forced to watch as she saunters off in Kane’s direction.
What a fucking day and I’ve still yet to make first period.
I knew I should have avoided this place until Monday.
CHAPTER EIGHT
OLIVIA
Now that Kane, my should be mentor has decided to pin me up and kiss me, and then ditch me just as fast, I had no choice but to try to find my own way around this monstrous school. The place is like some crazy ass Gothic maze and the map they provide you with really doesn’t live up to the real deal.
It was a task and a half, but I did it. I pushed through, and I pushed through by myself.
I quickly decided it was probably best to keep myself to myself and keep my head firmly down to the ground. The last thing I wanted was to draw anymore unwanted attention to myself. All I could do was try to keep moving through the crowds to get to my classes while praying relentlessly for the day to end.
Eventually, after what felt like a lifetime of pure torture, filled with endless amounts of heated glares wherever I went, the time to leave finally arrived.
I don’t think I’ve ever been so relieved to get out of a place so fast and that’s saying something. I know I won’t be escaping this place forever and I’ll have to come back on Monday but if I’ve learned one thing today then it’s that the whole population of Manorcroft High is filled with nothing more than a bunch of self-entitled spoilt little brats. I honestly think I would have preferred to have stayed back at the house with my mom, even knowing I would have been forced to listen to her babble on about her perfect new life, and I wouldn’t want to endure that kind of torture for anything, so it kind of speaks volumes about how I found my first day of school.
Not only did I have to survive the endless hours of being surrounded by a bunch of good for nothing ass-hats, I also had to deal with the heated gaze I could feel burning into me every five seconds from none other than Kane Egan—the dark and dangerous soul who had me pinned up against a wall knowing full well I had nowhere to go while he completely took advantage of me and my unfamiliar surroundings just so he could get one over on his cheating girlfriend.
I quickly learned that Kane Egan isn’t just a hot jerk. Oh, no… apparently, according to the heated whispers around the school he’s none other than the King of Manorcroft High. He’s also the very much idolized Captain of the school’s football team, which means he gets to do whatever he wants whenever he feels like it and no one so much as bats an eyelid. And yes, that obviously includes using me as a meaningless pawn in his sick and twisted games. By the sounds of things, I haven’t been the first and I’m wise enough to know I won’t be the last victim on his tick sheet.
I guess it doesn’t matter that I’m human too, so long as he gets to act out his revenge on his slut of a girlfriend. Or whatever it is she’s supposed to be to him. I might not know much right now, but one thing I do know is that Kane Egan, dead set on making some kind of point has now made it a whole lot harder for me to try and make a friend around here.
He caught me off guard earlier, I’ll admit it. I couldn’t possibly deny it, but there is no way something like that will ever be happening again because from this moment on I plan to stay as far away from him as physically possible. And it’s not because his psycho bitch Taylor has warned me away from him—it’s because I know Kane Egan is no good for my health or my fragile heart.
I can already feel the heat of my frustration bubbling deep within me when I finally come to a stop at my mom’s truck. I‘m surprised I don’t have a heap of missed calls from her giving me a lecture on stealing her wheels, but then I bet she hasn’t even noticed if me or the truck has gone.
The cold air ripples through me, burning my skin and my fingers and toes are already numb. I’m not used to these kinds of temperatures and it’s quite a shock to the system. Trust my mom to pick the coldest state to start over—in the middle of fucking winter. I swear if that woman had a brain, she’d be dangerous. As I reach out to open the door, I hear the faint sound of footsteps coming up behind me. I really hope it’s not that Queen bitch Taylor. I’ve somehow managed to avoid her for the most part, but there’s still been moments where she’s shot death daggers in my general direction while she’s been surrounded by her bitch crew.
I get that she’s pissed. But I have no idea what she wants from me. I mean, I already apologized to her for something that wasn’t even my fault. And it’s not like I knew or had any control over what Kane had planned in his twisted head or what was about to happen. I’ll openly admit, it’s totally understandable and well within reason that she’s pissed and it’s a no-brainer that the two of us will never be the best of friends but surely, she should give me some kind of break and direct her anger at the real troublemaker in this fucked-up situation.
Kane fucking Egan. The guy who seems to be at the root of all my current issues.
A sense of dread descends on me just before I jump out of my skin. I try to scream when I feel an icy-cold hand clamp down on my mouth, only allowing a small, low and barely inaudible muffle to escape me.
“Scream and I’ll have to hurt you.” A deep voice rumbles in my ear over the loud frantic thud of my heart. Panic and fear are quick to set in, crippling my body and I almost fall into a messy heap on the floor as my legs choose this moment to give up on me. Man, I bet he would love nothing more than to watch me fall and crumble at his feet.
I try to move my trembling body, desperate to shrug myself out of his iron grip on me and it’s nothing more than a waste of my depleting energy. There’s no way I could possibly try to overpower someone as built and as strong as Kane and he sure as hell knows it too.
“Are you scared, princess?”
The humor in Kane’s voice falls freely from his lips and I’d love nothing more than to be able to turn around and boot him in the balls. But the truth is, I do feel scared. More than I’ve actually felt in a long time, and that’s not something I ever imagined I’d feel again in this lifetime.
Although I’m quite a quiet girl, I’ve always tried to be one to stand my ground if the time has called for it. But there’s something about Kane Egan which is warning me to stay away from him. He’s definitely a lot more than I can handle. His empty green pools of darkness told me all I needed to know earlier when he had me pinned in a familiar position to this one.
Kane Egan isn’t someone to be messed with.
He’s someone to be feared.
He’s definitely someone I should steer well clear of.
He’s nothing more than a vicious monster. One who’s out for his own gains in this life, yet my heart is pounding so hard and so fast in my chest and a little foolish spark of excitement tingles at my senses, simmering deep into my veins as he presses his solid frame against my back.
I stay as still as possible as I try to regulate my erratic breathing until finally, after what feels like an age, Kane slowly relaxes his grip on my mouth and lowers his hand a little, making sure that I won’t try to scream again. Not that it would really make any difference if I screamed at the top of my lungs because the last time I checked the parking lot was dark and empty.
Maybe that’s why Kane decided to make his move. He could have come for me any time today during school, but there would have been too many people around. Maybe he decided to wait it out knowing full well it would be dark, and no one would be around to hear or save me. I suppose it doesn’t really matter either way because once again this devious monster has me cornered against my will.
“What do you want?” I ask without really giving much thought to the endless possible consequence
s to my question. After all, I don’t even know this jerk and I sure as hell don’t know what kind of nasty bullshit he’s capable of. All I really want is for him to back the fuck up out of my personal space.
In one quick motion I feel his hand fall onto my hip, and he digs his fingers in a little too hard before he spins me around to face him, and I am so not prepared for the sight looking back at me.
Kane Egan is possibly the most beautiful yet deadliest creature I have ever lay my eyes on. Everything about him, from his messy brown hair, slightly curled at the nape of his neck to his sinful emerald green eyes… eyes which have the power to capture anyone who looks into them. Beautiful demon eyes. His chiseled cheekbones must have been carved by angels, and his jawline is as sharp as a knife. Lastly, his perfect plump pink lips, which definitely look as delicious as they taste warn me to stay away from him.
It’s easy to see that nothing good could ever come from something so perfect. On the outside it’s impossible to find any flaws in his appearance. Every last inch of him, including his broad shoulders and the muscles in his back which I witnessed earlier are just a few of the things a perfect man should have, and he has everything. Yet, somewhere deep inside my mind, my subconscious and less reckless self is screaming at me not to fall for his charms. I know that Kane Egan is no gentleman. A guy like him was built and designed to shatter hearts and destroy souls. I know this and still my foolish body is refusing to listen to all the warning signs.
“You.” He whispers. His voice is clear and even, and the heat of his minty breath invades my senses and makes my head feel all hazy. “I want you, princess.” His green eyes sparkle with a hidden danger and my blood runs cold.
Kane Egan seems to be quite the seasoned predator, carefully selecting and seeking out his victims before hunting them down, hidden in the darkness, while ensuring he’s surrounded by silence. Just like a python sneaking up on its prey, luring it’s catch in with its magnetic gaze before lunging as fast as lightening to take an award-winning strike.
And that’s exactly how I feel right now. I’m frozen, barely conscious of his rapidly falling and rising chest as I’m forced to wait for him to strike—to feel the heat of his venom burning my veins before taking hold and leaving me at his feet.
“Yo, fuck face.” A deep voice rumbles out across the parking lot, snapping me out of my Kane induced trance and my body sags with relief. We’re not alone after all. “Hurry the fuck up and put your dick back in your pants. We’re leaving.”
Kane doesn’t sound all too surprised to hear someone calling after him and instead he carelessly rolls his eyes like whoever wants him is ruining his fun. I open my mouth to speak, but I quickly close it again when I realize I’ve lost my voice. He leans closer to me before clenching his amazingly sharp jaw of his in anger or frustration. I can kind of understand how he feels too. Even though a huge part of me is beyond thankful that someone has walked by and potentially saved me, I’m also a little ashamed to admit that an even bigger part of me—the one that must be glutton for punishment is feeling deflated that I won’t experience Kane’s deadly beautiful green eyes until Monday. That’s like a whole two days away.
What the hell is happening? I think to myself. Why am I even allowing wild and reckless thoughts to enter my mind? I should be shutting them down as they happen. I don’t even know this guy and I shouldn’t even want to know him, but no matter how much I try to shut it down, I can’t. I can’t contain or even try to control the wild fluttering of my heart whenever he’s this close to me.
I choose this moment to take a quick look over Kane’s shoulder, eager to see who came to my rescue. Not that I’d recognize anyone. All the students faces blurred into one today and I’m guessing they probably will for a while. It looks like whoever it was is in a rush as I just make out their tall frame disappear behind a black truck at the far side of the parking lot. I’m pretty sure I could just make out another black and gold varsity jacket.
Of course. I mean, who else would be calling over to their King but one of his loyal and faithful minions?
I’m quickly snapped back into reality when Kane’s cold fingers cup my jaw, roughly pulling my face and attention back to him. My breath catches in my throat as soon as I see a dangerous and feral hunger dancing in his emerald eyes.
“This isn’t over, Princess,” Kane growls back at me from deep within his chest and I don’t doubt his threat for a single second. Something tells me in the short period of time that I’ve had the displeasure of being in Kane’s presence, is that he is someone who will always deliver on their threats and he certainly doesn’t strike me as the type to back off or give up at the first hurdle.
Oh, no. He strikes me as the exact type of person to keep going and going, tearing people down a bit at a time until he finally gets the outcome that he wants. And, if it wasn’t made clear enough to me before, I now know that he’s going to make it his sole mission to make my life a living a hell from this day forward.
Here’s to hoping my mom gets bored of Dean real soon. Because the sooner we leave here, the happier and safer I’ll feel.
CHAPTER NINE
KANE
“Who’s the chick?”
I could have killed Ryder for turning into the ultimate cockblocker earlier. Obviously, the motherfucker could see that I was in the middle of something, but that didn’t stop him, did it? Did it fuck. He could have happily hopped into his truck and left me to it, or if that felt like too much of a chore he didn’t need to wait around. I’m old enough to make my own way back.
“Well, maybe if you hadn’t cockblocked me I’d be able to tell you.” I reply while throwing myself down onto the sofa and open a beer, and that’s when I hear the son of a bitch sniggering at me. “Bro, do you know how blue my balls are?”
“Dude, you could fuck every single chick in school and you’d still find something to bitch about. How about a little pity for those of us who can’t get laid no matter how hard we try?”
“And you say I’m bitchin’?” I laugh and toss my lid at him and an internal triumph erupts inside me as it bounces perfectly off his head.
“Ow.” His hand rests on his temple and he narrows his eyes at me. “What was that for?” He demands, but I can still see the small traces of a smile on his lips.
“Just for being you, man.” I reply. My mind isn’t in the room and it hasn’t been since we left school. I’m still struggling to remove the perfect image of Olivia Greendale from my mind. I don’t even want her there, but no matter how hard I try to shut her out, her image just grows stronger and stronger until all I can see and think about is her. I don’t even know anything about her, so why is she taking over my mind? I have never experienced a chick having some kind of voodoo hold on me like this before. I’ve barely said more than a few heated words to her and already she’s managed to burrow herself so deep beneath my skin and now she’s festering like an incurable itch.
I know it sounds crazy as hell, but I swear when she looks at me it feels like she can see me—all of me—the real me.
The broken soul.
The damaged little boy who’s been forced to put on a brave face and a happy front at all times just so no one can witness the broken little boy who’s hiding and hurting on the inside.
I don’t want people to see me like that.
I don’t want anyone to think I’m weak. Nothing more than a soft touch who can’t get a handle on his emotions since mommy died. But she does. Olivia fucking Greendale sees all of that. She sees everything, and I don’t fucking like it. Not one little bit.
I’ve always been a closed book. No one, especially some stupid pretty chick is ever going to change that.
“Earth to Egan.” Ryder shouts over to me and he snaps me out of my thoughts and right back to the here and now. “Is everything alright?” The concern in his voice is evident, and even though he’s my best friend, I’m not ready to discuss the issues I’m having in my head about the new girl.
“Yeah.�
�� I lie, but it’s the best thing I can do for now. “Hey, are you sure your mom’s cool with me crashing here for a while? I don’t want to outstay my welcome.” I ask, eager to change the subject and hopefully remove all unwanted thoughts of the new girl from my mind.
Ryder glides his long legs over to me and lowers himself down onto the sofa and I’m grateful that I have someone like him in my life. He’s probably the only reliable person I have right now. “Are you shittin’ me? My mom loves having you over.” His eyes are wide, but I don’t miss his smile when it falters a little. Something’s up and he’s keeping it from me.
“And this is where you say but?” I reply, easing him to tell me the truth.
Ryder doesn’t say anything straight away, which makes me think something major must have gone down. But surely, he wouldn’t keep something major from me? Eventually he lets out a weary sigh and drags his free hand through his mass of blond hair. Right now, Ryder looks like he’s carrying the weight of the whole damn world on his shoulders.
“But… what about your dad?”
Totally not what I was expecting to fall out of his mouth and my chest loosens when I realize he’s not been keeping anything serious from me. “What about him?” The anger towards my father seeps into my voice. Something I’m struggling to hide as each day goes by. Sure, I know Ryder’s only looking out for me, the way that real friends do, but just the slightest mention of my father and an inferno of rage erupts deep inside me. A rage which I’ve been trying to contain for way too long. It doesn’t matter how hard I try to shut it down, the hate that I feel for him is always there, festering away, simmering just under my skin and if I’m being honest, I seriously can’t see any way back from this new level of betrayal.