Bully Me (Bully Me #1) (15 page)

Her dad forced a smile. "I know, honey. I'm grateful to him. I really am."

Kaine closed her eyes and sat back, wishing she could press rewind on life and take this entire day away.

After they got home, Nancy went to pick up Logan from Jane's, leaving Tom, Kaine and Shane alone. "Sit," Tom ordered, pointing at the couch. Kaine and Shane sat down, careful to leave a little bit of space between them.

Tom sighed, pinching the space between his eyes. Kaine knew that was his aggravated move. "Kainie, are you ok, sweetie?" He asked.

"Yes," Kaine said softly. "I mean, no, not really right now. But I will be."

He nodded. "Here's the deal. I understand that you kids have taken a shine to each other. That's fine. I'm glad you seem to care for my daughter so much," he said to Shane. "But no sex under my roof. At all. Ever. Do you understand?"

Shane and Kaine nodded seriously.

"Fine," Tom said, leaving the room. Shane let out the breath he hadn't known he was holding. That hadn't been as bad as he had thought. Nancy came back with Logan, who immediately jumped on top of Kaine. She gasped, wincing in pain. Shane gently pulled him off of her. "Kaine has a boo boo," he explained. "So we have to be very gentle with her for awhile." Logan looked at her curiously. "Your face is dirty, Kainie."

Kaine almost laughed. "It's called a bruise. Like you get on your knees when you fall. Only mine isn't bleeding."

"Did you fall?" Logan asked. Kaine didn't want to lie to him, but couldn't come up with a way to tell him what had happened. "Yes," she answered. Logan seemed satisfied by her answer and ran off to find his mom.

Dinner was quiet, with nobody knowing quite what to say. Kaine excused herself and headed up to bed early.

She opened the door to her bedroom and felt herself start to tear up. All she could see were the pictures of her and Shane together, doing private things, put on display for Camden to look at and do god knows what with. Thinking about Camden getting off to her and Shane having sex made her nauseous, and she ran to her bathroom and threw up the dinner she had eaten. She put her head on the toilet seat and cried until a pair of strong arms lifted her up and carried her out of the bathroom. Shane brought her to his bedroom and laid her on the bed. "Take my room tonight," he said. "I'll take yours."

Kaine nodded gratefully, glancing around at the ransacked room.

"I was looking for a camera," Shane explained, following her gaze. "I didn't know if he had put one in here too. I searched everywhere, and there's nothing."

Kaine had changed into her pajamas when she got home, so she was grateful she didn't have to change again. She wondered if she would ever feel like she wasn't being watched again.

Shane left her alone with her thoughts. She was exhausted, but every time she closed her eyes, she saw Camden's hateful face looming over her. She cried herself to sleep, wondering how she could have been so wrong about Camden.

"You're gonna fuck me like you fucked him."

Camden's face leered over her, glaring at her angrily. "You're gonna fuck me. Fuck me, Kaine," he said.

"SHANE!" She screamed.

Camden pulled out a condom and opened it. "I know you like it rough," he muttered, sliding the condom over himself.

"SHANE! HELP ME! SHANE!"

Shane heard Kaine's screams and bolted out of bed, running to the door of his bedroom. He flung it open, running to Kaine. "Kaine!" He yelled. "Kainie, wake up. I'm here." He held Kaine as she thrashed. "Shane," she sobbed.

"Shh, it's ok baby," he said, stroking her hair. "He's not here. You're ok."

Kaine cried as Shane comforted her. Tom and Nancy appeared in the doorway, concerned.

"Kaine, what happened?" Tom asked.

"Nightmares," Shane answered for her.

"What's she doing sleeping in your bed?"

"I gave her my room," Shane said, trying not to be irritated. "She didn't want to be in her room knowing that's where she was being watched."

Tom watched Shane comfort Kaine for a minute, feeling helpless. He was happy that she felt safe with Shane, but it was hard for him to see that his little girl didn't need him. Tom and Nancy reluctantly left, leaving Shane and Kaine alone.

Shane held her until she calmed down. "Lay down, babe. I'll lay with you until you fall asleep," he said, gently laying her down. He wrapped his arm around her and she clutched it, as if afraid to let go. "Want me to tell you a story?" He asked.

Kaine gave him a small smile and nodded.

"Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess named...Kayla. She was the sweetest and prettiest girl in all the land. She was so beautiful that she caught the attention of an ogre named Shawn."

Kaine giggled and snuggled closer to him, and Shane was happy that his ridiculous story made her so happy.

"Shawn thought that Kayla was the prettiest girl he had ever seen. But there was no way she would go for an ogre like him. Even though for an ogre, he was really, really handsome."

"Mm hmm," she agreed.

"So Shawn started teasing Kayla, making her sad and hurting her feelings. Even though every time she cried, he felt awful. But he couldn't bring himself to tell Kaine...I mean Kayla...how he felt. Until one perfect day, fate brought them together. Shawn told Kayla how he felt about her, and even though Kayla was still hurt, she was so sweet that she was able to look past Shawn's ogre behavior and see that he was deeply, madly, and completely in love with her. And by some miracle, she fell in love with him too. And they lived happily ever after."

He glanced down at Kaine, who was sleeping with a small smile on her face. He laid with her, intending to get up after a few minutes, but ended up falling asleep next to his princess.

Shane woke up the next morning to someone tapping him on the arm. He opened one eye and saw Tom staring down at him.

Shit.

He carefully eased his arm from Kaine's hold and sat up. "Sorry," he whispered. "I fell asleep. I swear to God nothing happened."

Tom nodded and motioned to the door. Shane carefully got out of bed and followed him out, glancing at Kaine one more time. The bruises on her face were now a deep purple with yellow forming around them. Shane followed Tom to the kitchen and sat down, dreading the conversation that they were about to have.

"I'm really sorry," Shane started. "I didn't mean to fall asleep. I was trying not to wake her up."

Tom looked at him for a minute, making him squirm. "I understand," he finally said. "I'm glad she didn't have any more nightmares. And I'm glad she can find comfort in you. I'm just having a hard time adjusting."

"I get it," Shane said. Tom gave him a look that clearly said "don't interrupt." He shut his mouth and waited for Tom to continue.

"After Kaine's mom died, she had nightmares too. I was always the one to comfort her. It's my job as her father to keep her safe and happy. I feel like I failed her yesterday."

"You didn't..."

"Don't interrupt me."

Shane shut his mouth and waited for Tom to continue.

"I know that Kaine's not a little girl anymore. She'll be going to college next year. And I can't baby her forever. But it's tough for me as her father to see that I'm not the one she turns to when she's hurting. On the other hand, seeing her hurt like this kills me. And if you're what she needs to be happy, I guess I'm ok with that. But I meant what I said," he said, giving Shane a stern look. "No sex in the house. Your mom and I can't be around every minute of the day to watch you two, and I'm trusting that you'll respect my rules enough to comply."

"So...you're ok with us dating?" Shane asked hopefully.

"I guess I'll have to be," Tom said, sitting down. "Otherwise you'd go behind my back and do it anyway."

"I wouldn't..."

"Yes you would," Tom interrupted. "I was young once, remember? Besides, I trust that you have Kaine's best interests at heart. She could do worse," he said with a small smile.

Shane felt like a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders. "Thanks, Tom. I promise I'll never hurt her. All I want is for Kaine to be happy."

"Then we're in agreement," Tom said, standing up to pour himself some coffee. "Although, I'm kind of confused. I didn't even think you two really even liked each other when you moved in here."

"She didn't like me," Shane said, grinning. "I was already in love with her."

"Why do you think she didn't like you?" Tom asked.

"Because I was a jerk," Shane answered honestly. "I'm sure my mom told you about my...ah...problem."

Tom nodded, letting him continue.

"I was always angry. Lashing out at everyone. Even teachers. Going to rehab was the best thing I ever did. Though at the time the withdrawal was hell. Speaking of steroids...what's going to happen to Camden?"

"Rehab, for sure," Tom said. "Beyond that, I'm not sure. If it was up to me, he'd be castrated." Shane agreed that was a good idea.

"So, I know this is weird thing to ask of you, but could you stay home from school today? There's no way Kaine's going in today, and Nancy and I have piles of work to do at the office since we took yesterday off. I don't want her here by herself."

Shane was more than happy to stay home with Kaine. He wanted to crawl back in bed with her, but decided not to tempt fate. He went back to her bedroom and laid in the empty bed.

Kaine woke up, confused, until she remembered she had slept in Shane's bed last night. She sat up, looking at her arms. Giant purple bruises covered her wrists and arms. She shuddered, remembering the anger in Camden's face. She got out of bed and went to her room, gasping in surprise at Shane laying on her bed. "I thought everyone was gone," she said, holding her hand to her chest. "What are you doing here?"

"Your dad asked me to stay home," he said, holding his arms out to her.

"Hold on," she said. "I have to brush my teeth before I go within 5 feet of you."

Kaine went in the bathroom and saw her face in the mirror. Tears filed her eyes, but she blinked them away. She was sick of crying. She brushed her teeth and washed her face gently, putting her hair back and climbing into bed with Shane.

"I had a nice conversation with your dad this morning," he said, twirling her hair around his finger.

"Oh, God, what did he say?" Kaine asked nervously.

"Nothing bad. He said it was ok that we were dating. But I still can't have sex with you."

"Here or in general?"

Shane laughed. "I didn't ask. I don't think he would have liked that question."

"So, in theory, we could go outside in your car and you can fuck me in the backseat?"

"Jesus, Kaine," he groaned. "Don't talk like that. I might take you up on it."

"So come on," Kaine said, grabbing his hand.

Shane didn't move. "Kaine, stop it."

Kaine glared at him. "So what, you don't want me anymore?"

"You know that's not true."

"So what is it then?"

He sat up and looked into her eyes. "I'll always want you, Kaine. Always. But it's too soon. What if you're not ready? What if we start doing it and you start to cry? And then you always look at me and think of the guy who fucked you after you were almost raped and covered in bruises and you can't stand the sight of me? No," he said, shaking his head. "I can't have that happen."

Kaine was silent for a second. "Fine," she finally said. "But I can't wait forever. I get that my dad doesn't want us doing it in the house, but he can't stop us from having sex at all. I mean, you're my..." she trailed off. Shane grinned at her. "You can say it."

"You're my boyfriend. God, that sounds weird. Shane Ellery is my boyfriend." She giggled. "Lucy was right. My life is a soap opera."

He laughed. "Yeah, that's mostly my fault. But I'll tell you what. If you want to have sex on Friday, and you really, absolutely feel like you're ready, we can do it. Ok?"

"Oh, I'll be ready," she said, straddling him. "I hope you're ready for me."

"I'm always ready for you. But for now, let's just cuddle, ok?"

Kaine put her head on his chest and he wrapped his arms around her, loving the way she fit perfectly in his arms.

Kaine went back to school the next day. Her father wanted her to take more time off to heal, but Kaine didn't want to fall that far behind on the first week of school. The bruises on her face were mostly yellow, and she was able to cover it up decently with make up.

Shane pulled into the parking lot and stopped the car. "So what are we telling people?" He asked.

"Nothing," Kaine answered. "Hopefully all they think is that I was sick yesterday and Camden is sick too. Which I guess is technically true," she said bitterly.

"And that you're my girlfriend," Shane said, lacing his fingers with hers and kissing her hand. Kaine smiled. "Yeah, that too."

They got out of the car and Shane took her hand. "People are staring," she murmured.

"It's just cause we're both so hot."

Kaine giggled and walked inside with her arm in Shane's.

"So, you and Shane, huh?"

Kaine looked up at the voice and saw Darlene Hawkins smirking at her.

"Yeah. Who'd have thought," Kaine responded.

"Well, I think it's great. I'd love to live with my boyfriend."

Kaine laughed. "Yeah, that part is pretty awesome."

Kaine talked to Darlene for another minute until the bell rang. Maybe today wouldn't be so bad after all.

Lucy met Kaine outside of English. "It looks ok," she said, inspecting Kaine's face. "Nobody would notice it unless they knew what they were looking for."

"Thank God," Kaine said. "I didn't want to have to make up any stories. They'd think it was Shane."

"I still can't believe Camden did that. I had no idea," Lucy said. "What a piece of shit."

"Seriously," Kaine agreed.

"So what's gonna happen to him?"

"I honestly don't know. All I know is that I want him to get help and I want a restraining order. I don't ever want to see him again."

"I don't blame you. At least you have Shane. I never thought I'd be on his side."