Soulmates. (Harry Styles) -completed-

♥-chapter twenty-three-♥

I walked into Wrickenridge High at eight thirty flanked by Harry and Niall. It felt strange: I'd only been away for a few weeks but it could have been months. As I anticipated, I attracted guilty intrigued stares. I didn't need to read their mind to know what they were thinking: There she is - the girl who was kidnapped. Cracked up, we hear. Gone crazy.

After he heard my thoughts, I felt Harry's hand comfortingly on my shoulder, drawing circles. 'That's not true, Kenzie,' he murmured in my ear. 'No one thinks your mad. They understand.'

We walked into the office to register my return. Mr John practically leapt the desk and gave me a hug. 

'Little Kenzie! You're back! We've all been so worried!' He wiped a tear from him eye and sniffed, part genuine, part enjoying the drama. 'Are you quite sure you're ready to come back?'

'Yes, Mr John.'

He gave the Styles an assessing look. 'You're going to make sure she's all right?'

'Yes, sir,' promised Harry.

'You do that.' Mr John handed me a card to take to my form room. 'Now, run along with you. You don't want to be late on your first day back.'

And that was what it proved to be like: everyone was bending over backwards to help me settle in again. Even Charlie and her Vampire Brides were nice to me, as if I'd break and shatter into a million pieces if they said something cruel. Weirdly, it made me miss their stupid bunny comments. Everyone was so kind and I felt welcome - then again, I don't know whether that's because they feared Harry if they didn't make me feel welcome. But I had been accepted as belonging to the school and they were looking out for me as one of their own.

At lunch, I went along with Harry to music practice. I wasn't expecting to do more than watch but Mr Kennedy was having none of it. He put me back on piano.

'But the concert's next week!' I protested.

'You're right. Plenty of time to practise and learn - any piece of your choice.'

'You're expecting me to perform on my own?' I looked round the room hoping to find some support from my fellow students but even David was grinning at Mr Kennedy's tacticts.

'You were expecting not to? Why learn an instrument if you don't want to be heard?' asked the teacher.

I didn't think he'd understand the pleasure I took in playing for myself so I kept quiet about that. 'I'm not sure I'm feeling up to this, sir.'

'Nonsense. Best response to a hard knock like you've had to fight back.'

I suppose I shared the philosophy. 'OK, I'll have a think about what I'll play tonight.'

Mr Kennedy looked behind him where Harry stood, saying over his shoulder. 'You'd better do more than look. Your name is already on the programme. I told David to put it back on as soon as I heard you'd come to school this morning.'

                                                                ***

Ethan was lounging against his car at the end of school, waiting for us to emerge. He had some bad but not entirely anticipated news for me.

'Maria Tosh - better known as Maria Tosh Kane.' He displayed a photo of Daniel Kane's daughter on his laptop as we sat at the back seat of his car. 'She married an Italian Count but she dumped him two years ago and joined Daddy's empire. Lucky escape for him, I'd say.'

So my instincts had been right. ''That meeting Dean has about moving to Vegas - it's them, trying to get to me through my parents.'

'And through you to us. The Kanes' score with the Styles has grown longer since we took out two of their men at the warehouse. It might be the lead we're looking for.'