Bully Me (Bully Me #1) by C. E. Starkweather Page A

probably used to stressed out brides.
    Finally happy with the placement of the pins, Nancy announced they were done.
    "Thank god," Jane muttered, hurrying to the dressing room. Kaine giggled. She liked Jane.
    "Your father wants me to pick up dinner for us. Chinese sound ok?"
    "Sure," Kaine said. "Should I see what Shane and Logan want?"
    "Logan always wants the chicken nuggets. And Shane isn't home. He's on a date, I think."
    Kaine felt her heart sink. Why did she care what Shane did? It's not like it was any of her business.
    Nancy called in the food and they picked it up, though Kaine wasn't hungry anymore. The thought of Shane spending time with another girl, laughing with her, kissing her...she didn't know why it bothered her so much, but it did. At the thought of kissing Shane, she remembered what he had said to her last night.
    "If you want me, you can have me."
    She gasped, and Jane turned around and looked at her, concerned. "Are you ok?"
    Kaine nodded. "I'm fine. Sorry. Just cramps."
    "Ugh," Jane said, turning back around. "I don't miss those days."
    Kaine sat back, thinking. Did she want Shane? He had been so nice to her lately. It was hard to believe that he was the same guy that was so mean to her before. Unless he was trying to get on her good side do he could hurt her again. The thought made her blood run cold. Could he really be that evil? She remembered him ripping her clothes off and her eyes filled with tears. Yes, he was capable of being that evil.
    Kaine couldn't wait to get out of the car. She didn't want to be around anyone. "Nancy, I'm not feeling so good. My cramps are really bad. Is it ok if I skip dinner and lay down for a bit?"
    Nancy frowned. "Of course. Are you coming down with something?" She asked, putting her wrist on Kaine's head.
    "No. It's just cramps. It hurts really bad. Tell dad and Logan I said hi, ok?" She gave Jay a half hearted smile and hurried upstairs to her bedroom, locking the door behind her. She threw herself down on her bed and sobbed. How could she be so stupid to believe that Shane actually gave a shit about her? She decided to do her best to ignore Shane but be cordial to him when she was forced to interact with him. She stared at the ceiling, trying to figure out why she was so angry. Shane hadn't even really done anything. Not lately, anyway. She was mad at him that she couldn't trust him, and mad at herself for ever thinking that she could trust him. Kaine cried herself to sleep, wishing that she could go back to the way things were before Shane had moved in.
     
     
    13
    With two days to go until the wedding, the backyard was almost done. Kaine, Shane and Jay had worked their asses off trying to get it ready in time. Once the lawn was mowed, it would look almost perfect.
    Kaine went inside to get a drink of water and bumped into Shane, who was on his way outside. She gave him a small smile and tried to get around him, but he blocked her path. "What's your problem, Kaine? Why have you been ignoring me for the past week?"
    "I don't know what you're talking about, Shane. I've just been really busy."
    "Bullshit," he snapped. "You've been going out of your way to avoid talking to me. You were fine before you went dress shopping with my mom and aunt. Are you jealous that I went on a date or something?"
    Kaine laughed. "No Shane, I'm not jealous. Get over yourself." She tried to push past him and he grabbed her arm. "No, Kaine. You're not walking away from me again. Not until you tell me what I did wrong."
    "Let go of me or I'll scream," she threatened.
    "So go ahead and scream. Nobody's home but us."
    Kaine stared at him hatefully. "Fine. You want to know why I'm mad?"
    Shane nodded, still holding her arm.
    "I'm mad at you because of what you did to me. You violated me, Shane. You ripped my clothes off while you stared at my naked body. You TOUCHED me. How FUCKING DARE you touch me!" She screamed, tears running down her face.
    "Kainie, I'm so sorry..."
    "Shut up!" She