Bully Me (Bully Me #1) (3 page)

"Yeah," Kaine replied. "Which is actually the reason that I missed the bus. I wouldn't be surprised if he did it on purpose to make me late. I don't believe him for a second."

He nodded. "Good. Don't."

She furrowed her brow, trying to figure out why Camden was so sure that Shane was full of shit.

As if reading her thoughts, he said, "I don't trust the guy. You don't do what he did to you today and be truly remorseful two hours later. He's dangerous, Kaine. Just be careful, ok?"

"Ok," she whispered, her good mood disappearing. What did Camden think was going to happen?

He turned onto her street. "It's this one on the right," she pointed. He turned into her driveway.

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

"Wait," he interrupted. "Give me your phone."

She hesitantly dug through her bag and pulled her phone out, handing it to him. After a minute, he gave it back. "Here. I put myself in. If he bothers you, let me know. I'm only two streets away."

She couldn't help but smile. "I'll be ok. But thanks. I'll see you around."

After texting her brother that she got a ride home, Kaine flopped down on her bed, thinking about Camden. She was sure that he didn't have any romantic interest in her, but it was nice that he seemed to care about her. Even if it was only as a friend. She had liked Camden for a long time, but was too shy to talk to him. At least something good had come out of Shane's humiliating "prank."

She got up and stripped off her clothes, studying her body in the mirror. Her face was her best feature, not really matching her body. Her face showed no signs of chubbiness. Her cheeks were slightly rounded, but not too bad. At least she only had one chin. She always looked bigger than she was, being large chested and wearing oversized shirts. She actually had a pretty nice shape to her body, even though it was covered in fat. She sucked in her stomach and looked a lot better. She laid down and did as many sit ups as she could do, which was sadly only 10.

Trying not to get discouraged, she put on shorts and a tee shirt and went downstairs to find a healthy snack. She rummaged through the cabinet and found potato chips, twizzlers and cookies. Almost out of instinct, she reached for the cookies before stopping herself. She sighed, deciding that she would just go hungry until she had a chance to ask Jay or her dad to take her food shopping. She went back upstairs and laid back down, turning on the TV. A few minutes later, the front door opened. She ran downstairs to greet Jay, who had bags of food. "You went shopping?" She asked incredulously. Jay laughed. "Don't be so surprised. My new job is at Nika's Market. I get a 30 percent discount on groceries. Their shit is so overpriced that it comes out to about the same cost as the Stop and Go." He pulled out groceries and handed them to her. "Help me put this shit away."

Jay had bought mostly junk food, but had also bought bananas and apples. He, like their father, could eat whatever he wanted and not gain an ounce. She finished putting groceries away and unpeeled a banana. "I was going to ask you to take me food shopping tonight, but can you grab a few things for me if I make a list?"

Jay sighed as though she had asked him to run a marathon. "What's wrong with what I just got?"

She laughed. "It's all crap, Jay. I'm trying to lose some weight this summer. I need real food."

He rolled his eyes. "Fine, make a list. How'd you get home, anyway?"

"Just a friend. When did you get a job?" She changed the subject.

He shoved a handful of chips in his mouth. "Today was my first day. Dad said I can't laze around the house all summer. It's bullshit. Not like we need the money."

"Jeez, I hope he doesn't want me to get a job."

Jay shrugged. "That's the good thing that comes from not driving. Dad works too much to worry about hauling your ass around."

Kaine phone buzzed and she knew it was Lucy. Nobody else texted her besides Jay and her dad's occasional two word attempt at a text message.

Come over! My pool is lonely!

Kaine smiled and texted her back, asking her address and hoping she lived close enough to walk.

"Who's that?" Jay asked, peering over her shoulder. "A boy?"

"No, nosy. Just a friend from school. I'm going swimming at her house. I'm just trying to find out if she lives close enough to walk."

"Well, I can't drive you. I have a date," Jay proudly announced.

Kaine rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure you do." Girls surrounded Jay everywhere he went. He had the same grey eyes and light blond hair that she did, and a tall muscular body to go with it.

"Don't be jealous, Kainie. It's not my fault I'm irresistible."

Kaine burst out laughing. "Oh my god, go get ready."

Jay left the kitchen as Lucy texted her back with her address. It was only about a 10 minute walk. "Thank god," she muttered, happy that it wasn't on the other side of town like her school was. Kaine ran upstairs and grabbed her swimsuit, yelling to Jay that she was leaving.

She found Lucy's house easily and knocked on the door. Lucy opened it almost before she was finished knocking. "Hey! Come on in!"

Kaine followed Lucy through the house and out the back door. "Holy crap!" She exclaimed.

"I know," Lucy replied. "Isn't it awesome?"

Lucy's pool was huge, with a diving board and lounge chairs surrounding the pool. "Can I just move in?" Kaine asked, laughing.

Kaine changed into her suit and gently lowered herself into the pool. She tried not to be jealous of Lucy's thin body. "Why do you want to join a gym anyway? You're so thin already."

"For exactly that reason," Lucy said. "I wasn't blessed with natural curves like you. No hips, no boobs, no ass. I want to talk to a trainer and see if there's anything I can do to tone up so I don't look like Miley Cyrus anymore."

Kaine laughed. "I wish I could give you some of my curves. I'm sick of them."

"Camden seems to like them," Lucy teased. Kaine felt herself blush.

"I knew it!" Lucy cried. "You like him."

"I might have a crush on him," Kaine admitted. "But he's just a genuinely nice guy. He gave me a ride home after I missed the bus today."

"What?!" Lucy shrieked. Her enthusiasm was contagious. Kaine found herself giggling. "I missed the bus because of Shane. He didn't do anything bad. He just apologized for being a dick. Which I don't believe for a second, but whatever. Anyway, they had both gotten detention for fighting, so I was about to walk home when Camden stopped me and offered me a ride. It was so sweet of him."

"That's so romantic," Lucy said dreamily. "I didn't know you took the bus. I would have brought you home."

Kaine shrugged. "I don't mind the bus. I mean, when I actually make it. But I don't think Camden actually likes me. I think he was just trying to be nice."

"I don't know, Kaine. That was pretty sweet how he defended you today. Why is Shane so mean to you, anyway?"

"I honestly don't know," Kaine answered. "He just always has been. I can't figure him out. He's not just mean, either. He's hateful. The look in his face when he was touching me was..."

"Wait," Lucy interrupted. "He touched you? Like how?"

Kaine bit her lip. She hasn't meant to tell anybody what Shane had done, but she could already tell that Lucy wasn't going to drop it. "You have to promise not to tell anyone, ok?" Lucy nodded. Kaine told her about being dragged into the classroom and stripped.

"He looked at me like I had ruined his life. He was SO mad, Lucy. And I can’t figure out why. Before he left he grabbed my breast. Thank god that's all he did. That's when Camden found me. He gave me his jacket so that I had something to cover myself with until I got to my gym locker," she said, remembering that she still had Camden's jacket in her backpack.

Lucy stared at her in disbelief. "I can't believe he did that. And he actually put his hands on you. Why didn't you tell anybody?"

Kaine sniffed. "What's the point? Best case scenario is that he gets in trouble and everybody hates me because golden boy can't wrestle anymore. Worst case scenario is that it's my word against his, he denies it, and I look crazy and desperate. It's not worth it, Lucy. Besides, it's the summer. I'm looking forward to two and a half months without worrying about how Shane Ellery is going to humiliate me today."

Lucy and Kaine swam and talked for awhile until it started to get dark. "Do you want a ride?" Lucy asked as Kaine put her clothes on over her swimsuit. "Nah," Kaine replied. "It's only 10 minutes. I'll be fine."

Kaine walked home in a happy cloud. What started out as a horrible day had turned into a wonderful one. She had a blast swimming with Lucy. Tomorrow morning Lucy was going to pick her up and they'd sign up for gym memberships. Halfway home, Kaine started running. By the time she reached her house, she was gasping for breath and holding her sides, but she had done it. She walked inside feeling great. "Hey, dad," she gasped.

"Hey, pumpkin. Why are you so out of breath?"

"I ran home," she managed. Her dad chuckled. "Home from where?"

"Just a friend's house."

"A friend? Really?" Her dad asked.

"Yes, dad," she snapped. "Is that so hard to believe?"

Her dad held up his hands in surrender. "Not at all. You don't usually go out, is all. So who's this friend?" He asked.

"Her name is Lucy. She goes to my school. She's new. And the best part is that she has a pool. So now you don't have to put one in."

"Oh, good. I was running out of excuses." He teased.

Kaine rolled her eyes. "Why are you still dressed?" Her dad was usually out of his suit and into sweats within 5 minutes of getting home.

"I'm going out. I left you food in the fridge," he said, checking his watch.

"Nancy again?" Kaine asked. His father has been seeing a lady named Nancy for a few months. While Kaine didn't like the idea of her father dating, she realized that it was selfish of her to get in the way of her father's happiness. She had met Nancy once and she seemed nice enough.

"Yeah, Nancy again. We're going to try that new sushi place by the mall.

Kaine wrinkled her nose. "Gross. Hey, can I have like $30? Lucy and I are joining a gym tomorrow."

His face lit up. "Of course, honey." He ruffled through his wallet. "Here's $50. In case it ends up being more."

"Thanks, dad," Kaine replied dryly.

"That's not what I meant, Kainie. I'm just happy you're doing anything."

"I know, daddy." She kissed him on the cheek. "Have fun tonight."

Kaine opened the refrigerator and sighed. "Dinner" was half of a cold pizza. How was she supposed to lose weight when there was so much junk in the house? She grabbed a small piece of pizza with an apple and a banana. After eating it, she was still starving. She laid down and willed herself to sleep, thinking about the cookies in the downstairs cabinet.

Kaine limped out of the gym, covered in sweat. "That was fucking horrible."

Lucy was in better shape than Kaine. "Come on, it wasn't that bad. Even though you feel awful, don't you also feel good?"

Kaine had to admit that she did. There was a certain feeling of accomplishment that came with pushing your body to the absolute limit. They spent the rest of the day relaxing in Lucy's pool.

The next few weeks fell into a comfortable routine, with Kaine and Lucy going to the gym 5 days a week and hanging out by Lucy's pool the rest of the time. They were spending most of the summer together and having a blast. It was by far the best summer of Kaine’s life. The best part was that she could feel herself losing weight. Her stomach was flatter, her legs were starting to look leaner, and she had stopped craving junk food all the time. Her pants were staring to get baggy, and she swore her cheekbones were more prominent. Better than that, she felt good. She had more energy and self confidence than she had ever had.

Saturday morning, Kaine rolled out of bed and threw on her jogging suit. She galloped downstairs to her dad and Jay sitting at the table. "Morning!" She said cheerfully. Her dad gave her a half hearted smile. "Morning, sweetie."

Jay was glaring at her dad. Something was wrong. "What's going on?" Kaine asked cautiously.

"Sit down, Kainie. We need to talk," her dad said.

Kaine reluctantly sat down, bracing herself.

"I have some news," her dad started.

Kaine's heart started to pound. Was he sick? She had already lost her mom. She couldn't lose her dad too. Jay was 20, but where would she live? With her Aunt Teri?

Her father interrupted her thoughts. "Nancy and I have decided to get married."

"What!?" Kaine shrieked. Her dad sighed.

"I was hoping you two would be happy for me."

Kaine was stunned. "I'm sorry daddy. I'm just surprised is all. I mean, we don't even really know her. What's her last name? What does she do? Does she have any kids? Are we moving? I don't want to move."

"Is she a gold digger?" Jay interrupted.

Her dad held up a hand. "No, Jason, she's not a 'gold digger'. She's a lawyer at my firm. Her last name is Marcucci. She has two boys, one about Kaine's age and a six year old. And we're not moving. They'll be moving in here with us."

"Moving in here?" Kaine cried. "Where are they going to stay?"

"There's plenty of room, Kainie. There are two spare bedrooms that nobody uses. Besides, you're going to be going to college next year. I realize that this is a big change for you. But Nancy and I are in love."

Kaine blew out a breath. "When are they moving in?"

"Sooner rather than later. We're getting married at the end of August."

"Dad, are you sure about this?" Jay asked. "This is kind of sudden, don't you think?"

"I'm sure," her father firmly replied. "I don't want you to think that I'm trying to replace your mother. I could never replace her. But Nancy and I have fallen in love, and this is going to happen, whether you want it to or not."

Kaine jumped up and hugged her father tightly. "I am happy for you, daddy. It's just...not what I was expecting. I'd like to get to know Nancy and her sons." It was the last thing she wanted, but she did want her dad to be happy. And if this was what he wanted, then she would try to play nice.