A Time To Heal: Seasons of Kane, #1

By Lauren Thell

Kane doesn't need the constant whispers and horrified stares to remind him of the accident that claimed the lives of three friends. He remembers every time he passes a mirror. But when his parents send him to recover at his uncle's lakeside home in Wisconsin, what began as a respite from the rumors quickly turns into a prison of solitude.

Then he meets Claudia, the only person who can't see the glaring evidence of his involvement in the tragedy. Finally, someone who treats him like a human and not a killer. With her, he can just be Kane again.

But the deeper he gets to know her, the harder it becomes to hide the truth.

A contemporary Christian YA fiction short story, 33 pages. #1 of the series Seasons of Kane.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lauren Thell
• Release date: Oct 6, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215454206

Lauren Thell

Lauren Thell is an author of Christian YA fiction full of characters who find themselves on the undersides of impossible situations. She is a professional musician, an amateur dancer, and a wannabe astronaut.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

Kane Christianson used to have the perfect face.

Smooth skin. A strong jawline. Straight white teeth. Eyes a deeper blue than that of the stormy ocean. He was the kind of guy whose name peppered the giggly, late-night chatter at all-female slumber parties. His appearance in the school hallway always prompted a show of machoism over thinly masked jealousy from the other guys. And Kane had relished the attention.

But that was before.

Before the screaming tires, the crunching metal, the shattering glass. Before the accident that claimed the lives of his girlfriend, his best friend, and his best friend’s girlfriend. The same accident that claimed his handsome face and his stellar reputation.

Now, girls still pointed and whispered, but the whispers were filled with rumors surrounding that fateful night. The boys didn’t see him as a threat anymore, and they were less subtle about how they felt. It wasn’t long before the whispers turned into taunting and someone branded him the Killer Who Got Away.

Kane didn’t need to be reminded of his part in the accident. The mirror across the room was doing a pretty good job of it now. He touched a finger to the jagged scar that stretched like a crooked highway from his left temple, down under his eye, across his cheek, and over his lips. The route ended abruptly at his chin.

His finger didn’t make it that far before he yanked it away. Looking at it was bad enough. Touching it made his stomach churn until he thought he might throw up. He would never be rid of the reminder that he had been the driver and the sole survivor.

To Kane, it was a punishment worse than death.

He tore his gaze from his reflection and glanced at his cell phone. No messages, no missed calls, no surprise. Who would call him anyway? His friends were dead. His mother had already made her obligatory call for the day. His father had more pertinent things to do than chat with his ostracized son.

When the harassment at school had grown unbearable, Kane’s parents sent him to live with his aunt and uncle in rural Wisconsin. But Kane wondered if the real reason they sent him away was because they, too, were ashamed of him. They could barely look him in the eye when they said goodbye.

His life was now defined by the scar, and its reason for being there.

He tossed his phone aside and rolled