Bully Me (Bully Me #1) Page 5

  “He’s not angry," Kaine defended him. “The only time I’ve seen him angry is when you’re around. And I can’t say that I blame him, after what you did."

  For a split second, Shane’s face fell into an almost remorseful look, then immediately back into the cocky smirk. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you when he tries to date rape you."

  Kaine had enough. She stood up and grabbed Camden by the hand. “Daddy, are you done interrogating him?"

  Her father smiled fondly at her. “I was just talking to him, honey. And yes, we’re done."

  Camden stood up. “I should get going anyway. It was nice meeting you all. Kaine, I’ll pick you up at 6 tomorrow."

  Kaine nodded, mentally rifling through her outfits in her head. She didn’t have much that fit her anymore. She’d have to go shopping again.

  She walked Camden out then sat back down with her family. “Did you like him?" She asked her dad. He nodded. “He seems like a good kid. And he seems to really like you. He couldn’t take his eyes off you."

  Kaine blushed. She had noticed that Cam had been strangely clingy to her today. It was nice that he felt so protective of her, but she didn’t need a babysitter. She needed to be able to take care of herself. They finished eating and continued moving and unpacking, until almost everything was put away. Kaine’s muscles were burning, and everybody was dirty and exhausted. Logan had fallen asleep on the couch.

  Kaine trudged upstairs and fell into her bed, falling asleep instantly.

  The next day Kaine woke up happy, until she remembered that Shane was living with her, in the next room. “Fuck me," she mumbled, rolling out of bed. She took a shower and wrapped herself in a towel. She was about to open her underwear drawer when she saw a piece of red lace hanging out. She yanked open her drawer and gasped. Someone had obviously gone through her underwear. She slammed the drawer shut and stormed to Shane’s room, pounding on the door.

  “Come in!" He yelled sleepily.

  She opened the door and stalked to his bed, trying not to look at his well defined bare chest and noticeable erection.

  “Don’t go through my stuff, Shane."

  “I didn’t touch your stuff," he mumbled. “Go away."

  “So you didn’t go through my underwear drawer? Because someone did. And I doubt it was Logan."

  “Don’t flatter yourself. I don’t give a shit what your granny panties look like. Why don’t you ask Camden?"

  “Camden wouldn’t do that. He’s respectful, unlike you. Stay out of my stuff," she repeated, storming out and slamming his door.

  Kaine flopped back on her bed in frustration. He hadn't even been here for a day and he was already finding ways to frustrate her. She was about to text Lucy to go shopping until she remembered that Lucy was visiting her grandparents in Florida for the next week. She texted Kelsey instead.

  Shopping today?

  She got dressed and went out for a run. Ohio in the summer morning was so beautiful. She wasn't looking forward to running in the winter. She could use the treadmills in the gym, but that wasn’t nearly as fun. Kaine ran for a mile then walked back home, enjoying the summer breeze. She ran into Shane on her way inside.

  "Where were you?" He asked.

  "I went for a run." She said, breezing by him. She figured he was doing the same, but didn't care enough to ask.

  "Hey," he said, catching her arm. She glanced at him, then her arm. "Let go of me," she said quietly.

  He dropped her arm. "I really didn't go through your things. I wouldn't do that."

  She glared at him, disgusted. "Oh, right. Mr. Morals over here. No, you'd never do anything to invade my personal space or privacy. I don't know what I was thinking."

  He sighed. "Kaine, I'm sorry about that, ok? I'm sorry that I picked on you so much. And I'm sorry for touching you. I didn't plan on that. I just..." He looked away, ashamed.

  Kaine didn't buy it for a second.

  "Yeah? You're sorry? Well guess what. I don't believe you." She turned around and stormed inside, not waiting for a response. Grabbing her phone, she checked Kelsey's response.

  Sorry can't :( out all day.

  "Fuck," Kaine muttered. Friends with boyfriends were no fun. She supposed she could go by herself, but as someone with no fashion sense, she never knew what looked good and what looked awful on her.

  She sighed and trudged downstairs, dejected. Her dad, Nancy and Logan were sitting at the table eating. "Morning, Kainie. Looking forward to your big date?"

  "Dad, it's not a 'big date.' We're just going to dinner. And I have nothing to wear."

  Her dad laughed. "How do you have nothing to wear? You just went shopping a few weeks ago."

  "Those are too big on me now. I only bought one outfit because I knew I would lose more weight."

  He shrugged. "So go shopping again. You can take my card."

  Kaine's dad didn't mind her going shopping with his card. She was never wasteful with money and she rarely ever bought anything for herself. "I guess. I suck at picking stuff out though."

  "I can go with you," Nancy offered.

  "Really?" Kaine raised her eyebrows. "You're not too busy with wedding stuff?"

  Nancy shrugged. "There's always tomorrow. Besides, it's early. We can do that later."

  "Ok. That sounds great." Kaine was nervous about spending time alone with Nancy, but figured that since she was going to be living with her she should try to spend time with her. Besides, she seemed like the opposite of Shane. "When we get home I can help you with wedding planning. I'm not great at girly stuff, but I'll do whatever you need me to."

  "That'd be great," Nancy replied, giving her a small smile.

  8

  "Would you ever wear something like this?"

  Kaine raised her eyebrows at the black and grey swirly dress. "It's too short."

  Nancy rolled her eyes. "Just try it. If you don't like it, fine. But I think it'll look perfect on you."

  Kaine took her pile of dresses to the dressing room and stared trying them on. The first one was a royal blue hi low dress. It fit nice, and the color was great with her skin and eyes. The second was a lime green shift dress that barely fit over her hips but was huge around her waist. She was way too curvy for that one. She tried on a couple more unsuccessfully, until she tried on the black and grey dress that Nancy had picked out. Nancy was right. It was perfect. The cut was flattering and slimming, and the length was just above her knees. She spun around a few times, enjoying the flow of the skirt. She poked her head out of the dressing room. "What do you think?"

  Nancy's eyes filled with tears. "Oh Kaine, it's perfect. Just right for your first date."

  Kaine ended up with the two dresses, a few tops and a couple pairs of jeans. Nancy was ecstatic to have somebody to shop for. "I've always wanted a little girl," she told Kaine. "I love my boys, but I've always wanted someone to shop with and get our nails done. Thank you for letting me be a part of your first date."

  Kaine assured her that the pleasure was all hers. Clothes shopping was something she never got to enjoy with her mom. They found some cute, cheap costume jewelry and some boots. By the time they were done, they were exhausted.

  Kaine unloaded her bags. "What do you need help with?"

  Nancy pulled out her checklist and sighed. "Everything."

  Kaine looked over the list. "This isn't too bad, Nancy. It looks like all you have left is fixing up the yard and getting the decorations together. Why don't you figure out what you want and I'll get started on the yard?" Nancy agreed, and Kaine started on the yard.

  "Fuck me," she muttered, surveying the yard. The shrubs that surrounded the yard were overgrown. The white fence was covered in moss and vines. The perimeter, which was once beautifully manicured, was rampant with weeds. The lawn was in desperate need of mowing, which was the least of the problems.

  Kaine grabbed a wheelbarrow and gloves and started on the weeding. She was trying to psych herself up for her date with Camden tonight. She'd had a crush on
Camden for years. But for some reason, she wasn't that excited about seeing him tonight. Maybe it was because he had been so clingy lately. She understood his mistrust of Shane, but she didn't need him to treat her like a paper doll. She could take care of herself. She shook her thoughts away and decided to give Camden a fair chance. He was a nice guy, and she was going to have a good time tonight.

  She sensed a presence behind her and turned around. A shirtless Shane stood with hedge trimmers, grinning at her. "You look like you need help."

  Kaine didn't respond. All she could see were the hedge trimmers in his hands. The last day of school. Shane, smiling evilly at her, cornering her, ripping her clothes off…

  "Don't," she whispered, crawling backwards away from him.

  The smile fell from Shane's face as he tossed the hedge trimmers behind him. "Kaine...I'm not going to hurt you."

  He crouched down in front of her as she crossed her arms over her chest.

  "Listen to me," he said softly. "I'm so sorry for what I did, Kaine. I feel like a piece of shit. And I know that's nothing compared to the way it made you feel."

  Kaine stared at him, trying to gauge his sincerity.

  "Don't cry, Kainie."

  She hadn't even realized she had been crying until she felt the wetness on her cheeks.

  Shane gently reached forward and wiped the tear off of her cheek. He let his hand linger for a few seconds, staring into her eyes. "Kaine..."

  She jumped up. "I'm fine. It’s fine. Want to gather up the weeds on the ground?"

  Shane cleared his throat. "Yeah, sure."

  Shane worked behind her, silently gathering the weeds that she pulled. She tried to ignore the electric jolt she had felt when he touched her face, or the feeling that ran through her body when she looked at his bare chest.

  What the hell was her problem?

  9

  The doorbell rang at 5:50.

  Shit.

  Why was he early? Didn't he know how long it took girls to get ready?

  Kaine hastily finished putting on her makeup. "Jay!" She yelled.

  Jay flung open her door. "What?"

  "Go let Camden in. He's early and I'm not ready yet."

  Jay grumbled and stormed down the stairs. Kaine would miss him when he went back to college in a few weeks, but she wouldn't miss his attitude.

  Kaine checked herself out in the full length mirror. She was in love with this dress. It accentuated her small waist and flowed with the curviness of her hips. She was glad that Nancy had suggested it.

  Kaine walked gingerly down the stairs, trying not to trip over her heels.

  Camden almost gasped when he saw her. He had never seen Kaine with make up or in a dress. She took his breath away. "You look beautiful," he said.

  "Thanks." Kaine smiled at him. "Ready to go?" She was eager to leave before Camden and Shane had a chance to interact.

  Shane strolled in the room.

  Oh, come on.

  "Kaine, you look nice," Shane commented. Camden put a possessive arm around her, and Kaine couldn't help but feel annoyed. "Thanks, Shane. Come on," she said, grabbing Camden's hand and dragging him out the door.

  "So has Shane been bothering you?"

  Kaine sighed. Camden had taken her to The Cask Republic, a cute little restaurant one town over. They had just sat down when he started asking her about Shane.

  "Cam, can we talk about something else?"

  "Sure," he said reluctantly. "What do you want to talk about?"

  Kaine hated that question.

  "What are your plans after high school?" She asked.

  "I'm going to go to law school," he bragged. "My dad is a lawyer, so I want to follow in his footsteps.

  "That's great," she said, waiting for him to ask what her college plans were. He didn't.

  "Yeah, I've been working at my dad's law firm this summer. It's going pretty good." He spent the rest of dinner trying unsuccessfully to impress her with stories about himself. She was bored to death. By the time the bill came, she couldn't wait to get out of there.

  "Want to go for coffee or something?" He asked hopefully.

  "You know what? I'm pretty tired. Maybe you should just take me home."

  They drove home in an awkward silence. Kaine couldn't believe that she had liked Camden for so long. He wasn't a bad guy. She just had nothing in common with him. He pulled into her driveway. "I had a really nice time tonight, Kaine."

  She forced a smile. "Me too."

  He leaned forward to kiss her and she moved her face to the side, letting him kiss her cheek.

  "Thanks for tonight," she said, opening the door.

  "It's him, isn't it?"

  She turned back, confused. "What's who?"

  "The reason you won't kiss me. It's because of Shane. Do you like him?"

  Kaine burst out laughing. "You can't be serious."

  His face didn't change and she stopped laughing. "Cam," she sighed, "it's not him. It has nothing to do with him. I do like you a lot. Just...not in that way."

  "Oh," Camden said, looking away awkwardly.

  "I'm sorry, Cam."

  He shrugged and smiled at her. "It's ok, Kaine. I can't make you feel things that you don't feel. Can we still be friends?"

  "Of course," she smiled. "Goodnight, Cam." She left his car and walked slowly inside, disappointed. She wanted things to work out with Camden so badly. She just didn't feel anything romantic towards him at all.

  She opened her door to Shane sitting at the kitchen table, eating a plate of nachos with tons of crap on it. The sight was almost enough to make Kaine sick. Two months ago, she would have eaten the whole plate in 2 minutes.

  "Want some?" Shane mumbled through a mouthful of chips. Kaine shook her head.

  "How was your date?" He asked, swallowing. She shrugged. "It was ok."

  "So is he your boyfriend now?"

  Kaine sat down. "No. We're just friends."

  Shane snorted. "Good luck with that."

  "What's that mean?" She asked, confused.

  "It means that he's obsessed with you. He looks at you like you used to look at Twinkies."

  Kaine shot up. "Goodnight, Shane."

  "Oh, Jesus Christ Kaine. It was just a joke."

  She ignored him and stormed up the stairs. She wasn't in the mood for it.

  10

  The next day, she continued weeding the yard. A few hours later, Shane came out to help her. They worked silently for awhile, continuing the routine they had started yesterday. Finally he broke the silence. "Are you bringing a date to the wedding?"

  She shrugged. "Probably not. I haven't really thought about it. Are you?"

  "Maybe."

  They continued working for a few minutes.

  "Just, ah...don't bring Camden, ok?"

  Kaine chuckled. "Don't worry. I'd end up spending the whole day babysitting you two. Why do you hate each other so much anyway?"

  "I don't hate him. I even understood why he jumped me. He's just so damn easy to fuck with. The way he gets mad and clenches his fists like a monkey. It’s hilarious."

  Kaine had to agree. He did seem to get mad a lot, but usually only when Shane was involved. Then again, all of her interactions with Camden seemed to revolve around Shane.

  Kaine groaned in frustration, throwing her gloves on the ground. "We're never going to get this done. We've been at this for three whole days and we've barely made a dent."

  Shane sat down next to her. "Jay said he would help after work. Plus he has the weekend off. And I can get some guys from the wrestling team to help. We'll figure it out."

  Kaine looked around, dejected. "Why did I offer to do this again? If a landscaper didn't think they could do it in time, there's no way that we can."

  Shane pulled out his phone. "I'll call in some reinforcements. Calm down, drama queen."

  Kaine ignored him and continued working.

  Half an hour later, she heard a car pull in the driveway. Shane jumped up and ran to greet h
is friends.

  He came back with two boys that Kaine recognized but had never really spoken to, along with Greg and Kelsey.

  "Kelsey!" She cried, jumping up to give her friend a hug. "I'm so glad you're here. Are you going to help?"

  "Sure," Kelsey replied unenthusiastically. Manual labor wasn't really her thing.

  "You can help me wash the fence. It's less gross and sweaty than pulling the weeds."

  Kaine and Kelsey went inside to grab supplies while the boys got started on the yard.

  "So how's it going with Shane?"

  "Ok I guess. He's been pretty decent so far. I still don't trust him."

  Kelsey nodded. "That's probably smart. How'd it go with Camden?"

  Kaine shrugged, filling up the bucket with water. "He's a nice guy. But he acts like I'm his property or something. Like I'm a glass doll that he has to protect. At first it was sweet, but now it's kind of annoying. I don't know. We just didn't click, I guess."

  "That sucks," Kelsey responded. "Are you going to go out with him again?"

  "Probably not," Kaine said, carrying their cleaning supplies outside.

  "Oh, come on," Kelsey complained, staring at the boys.

  Kaine turned and laughed. All of the boys, including Greg, had taken their shirts off.

  "How am I supposed to concentrate with that going on?" Kelsey complained.

  "Ugh, I know. I don't think I've seen Shane with his shirt on since he moved in."

  Kelsey raised an eyebrow at her.

  "I mean, not like I care really," Kaine quickly replied. "But you have to admit that it's distracting."

  Kelsey nodded, watching the boys work for a minute before reluctantly turning around and starting on the fence.

  They worked solidly for about an hour, and Kaine was starting to feel optimistic about the progress they were making.

  "Cam!" Greg yelled.

  Kaine spun around to see Camden strolling up the yard. She gave Shane a dirty look and he held up his hands and shrugged. She sighed, forcing a smile. "Hey, Cam," she said, greeting him. "What's up?"