Make Me (Bully Me #2)

by C. E. Starkweather

"Kainie, you can barely stand," he said. "You're going to go to the hospital, and they're going to help you. I'm going to get Adam, and we're going to meet you there."

  She shook her head furiously. "Don't leave me. Please."

  "Ok," he immediately said. "I won't. I'll have Jay bring him."

  She breathed a sigh of relief and closed her eyes.

  "When's the last time you ate?" He asked quietly.

  "I just had some toast," she said weakly.

  "What about before that?"

  "I don't remember," she mumbled.

  He caressed her face. "You're so thin. Did he starve you?"

  "No. I mean yeah, at first. But then I couldn't eat. I thought..."

  "It's ok," he said. "Just relax. The ambulance is on the way."

  She nodded weakly and laid with her head on his lap.

  "Everyone misses you," he said, trying to keep her awake. "Once we get you home, we should have a big party. We'll have our parents, Jay, Logan, Lucy, Layla...who else?"

  "No party," she murmured. "Just you."

  "Well I'll be there too."

  "Just you and Adam."

  He looked down at her, wondering what Camden had done her to make her seem so broken. He feared that he already knew the answer.

  Finally, the ambulance pulled up and wheeled out the stretcher. "What took you so long?" He snapped, watching as the EMT took Kaine's vitals.

  "If you have to ask that, you didn't take the road here," the EMT retorted as he shone a light in Kaine's eyes. "How is she?" Shane asked nervously.

  "Vitals are pretty good. We should see improvement after we get her started on an IV," the EMT assured him. "She's pretty severely dehydrated. Have you been eating?" He asked Kaine. She shook her head as he moved her to the stretcher. Shane climbed in the back of the ambulance with her and held her hand. "I love you, princess," he said softly. She closed her eyes and gave him a small smile. "I want Adam," she mumbled.

  "I'll call Jay as soon as I have service," he promised, bringing her hand to his lips. "You're ok, baby. You'll see Adam soon, and Camden Lawson won't ever put his hands on you again."

  She closed her eyes and kept them closed for the rest of the ride to the hospital.

  Shane watched as the nurse attached an IV to Kaine. "Is she ok?" He asked nervously.

  "We'll work on getting some nutrients back in her body. She's pretty weak. The doctor will be in to give her a full exam in a few minutes."

  Shane held her hand to his face and waited until the doctor came in. "Hi, Kaine," he said, smiling at her. "How are you feeling?"

  She gave him a small smile. "Tired."

  "That makes sense," he said, looking over her chart. "You've been through a lot. Can you tell me what happened?"

  "He kept me in a small room."

  The doctor waited when she didn't continue. "Is there anything else he did? Any other injuries you might have?"

  She shook her head. "Would you mind giving us a few minutes?" The doctor asked Shane quietly. He looked at Kaine. "Baby, I'm going to go outside for a minute, ok? I'll be right back when the doctor is done."

  She started to shake her head. "I'll literally be right outside the door," he assured her. "I'm not going anywhere. Don't worry."

  She looked at the doctor and gave him a small smile. "Don't go far," she pleaded. He knew how she felt. The thought of leaving her even for a minute made his heart hurt. The only reason he agreed was to get Kaine to talk to the doctor. He was afraid that there were things that she was too embarrassed to say in front of him. He took a few deep breaths as he left the room, squeezing his eyes shut.

  "Daddy!"

  He turned to see Adam running towards him. "Hey, buddy," he said, picking him up and swinging him around.

  "What's going on?" Jay asked quietly.

  "I don't know," Shane said, frustrated. "I have no idea what happened to her. She's ok. Physically, she's ok. The doctor is in there with her right now. I'm kind of terrified to find out what he did to her."

  Jay blew out a breath. "This guy is in custody?"

  Shane nodded. "Yeah. Listen, try not to act shocked when you see her. She's lost so much weight."

  The doctor opened the door and motioned them inside. Kaine's eyes filled with tears when she saw Adam. "Oh my God," she sobbed, holding her arms out. "Mommy!" Adam cried, squirming out of Shane's grip. He climbed onto Kaine's bed and she held him, crying quietly.

  "Can I talk to you for a minute?" The doctor asked Shane. He nodded and followed him to the hallway. "She claims she wasn't raped," the doctor said quietly. "I did a test, and if she was, it wasn't recent. There are no signs of trauma."

  Shane closed his eyes. "I want to believe that so badly, but I'm having trouble. I just can't believe he would have her for all this time and not hurt her."

  "I did a few tests regardless. Besides being dehydrated, she seems to be in decent shape. Don't be concerned if she's lethargic for a few days. Keep her eating small meals every few hours. We're going to keep her here until she doesn't need the IV anymore. Don't let her tell you she's not hungry."

  Shane glanced back in the room. Kaine was still holding Adam tight with her eyes closed. "Is there anything else?"

  "Right now? No," the doctor said. "I'll run the blood test and let you know. Go be with her."

  Shane gave him a half smile and went back in the room. He had to smile at Jay making faces at Adam. Adam was laughing hysterically.

  "Don't get him all excited," Kaine scolded Jay. She still looked exhausted, but seemed to be a little more alert.

  "That's my job. I'm the fun uncle. I get him all riled up then give him back to you. Right dude?" He asked Adam.

  "Right!" Adam yelled. Kaine rolled her eyes and held her hand out to Shane. He took it and smiled at her. "Hey," he said quietly to Jay. "Can you take Adam to the cafeteria and get him something to eat? I need to talk to Kaine for a minute."

  "Sure. Come on, dude. Let's see if we can find some ice cream."

  The mention of Adam's favorite treat was enough for him to forget about what was going on. He jumped off of Kaine's bed and ran out the door with Jay chasing after him. Kaine watched them leave with a pained look on her face.

  "Babe, he'll be back in a few minutes. I promise."

  She gave him a small smile. "I know. I just never thought I'd see him again. Or you. He told me you were both dead. I didn't want to believe him. But he had so much proof. When I saw you...I can't even describe how I felt. I feel like part of me is being ripped away whenever one of you leaves for even a minute."

  "Don’t ever worry about that," he said, kissing her hand. "Whenever I leave, I'll come back to you. You don't ever have to worry about that."

  She sniffed and nodded. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

  "I need to know what happened. I know it's hard to talk about, but please just tell me. I can't stand to see you suffering and not know what you're going through."

  She closed her eyes and shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it right now."

  "I know, but..."

  "I just need to rest. I can't even think straight right now. Please, Shane. Can you just hold me so I can fall asleep?"

  "Of course, babe. Just relax. I didn't mean to upset you." He gently laid his head on her chest. "I love you, Kainie. And I'm not going anywhere."

  "I love you too," she murmured before drifting off to sleep.

  21

  Kaine's eyes fluttered open as she looked around the room. Shane sat in the chair next to the bed, sleeping. She laid in bed and watched him for a minute. She still couldn't believe that he was here. "Shane," she whispered. He woke up with a start and jumped up. "What is it? Is everything ok?"

  "I'm fine," she assured him. "I just wanted you."

  "How are you feeling?" He asked, standing up and stretching.

  "Better. Where's Adam?"

  "Jay took him home to sleep."

  "Already? How long was I out?"

  Shane checked his watc
h. "Six hours or so."

  "Have you been here this whole time?"

  "Of course. I didn't want you to wake up without me here. The doctor was in a few hours ago. He wanted to talk to you, but I convinced him to let you sleep."

  "Is something wrong?" She asked, worried. Shane gave her a reassuring smile. "I'm sure everything is fine."

  She held her hand out and he took it gently. "I feel like this a dream," she said softly. "Like I'm going to wake up and I'll be back in that terrible little room with him."

  "Did he hurt you, Kainie?"

  "No. Not really. Not physically, at least."

  "I saw him hit you. I had to watch him hit you twice before I reached him. I would have killed him if the police hadn't pulled me off of him."

  "I'm glad you didn't," she smiled. "I'd be devastated if you were ripped away from me again."

  "So what did he do to you?"

  Kaine stared at the ceiling for a minute before responding. "He just kept me in that room and held me a lot. He threatened to rape me a few times, but he never did. I think he wanted me to want him. I don't think he wanted to hurt me."

  "How the hell did he think he was going to pull that off?" Shane asked angrily.

  Kaine shrugged, looking away. "By keeping me alone, I guess. By making me think you were dead. By making me depend on him for food and human contact. Being left in a room for days on end with no windows and nothing except a bed, dresser and nightstand is hell. What's worse is that I'm sure he was watching me. I never found any cameras, but I could feel him watching." She shuddered, remembering the skin crawling feel that she constantly had.

  "It's ok, Kainie. He's gone now. He will never, ever touch you again."

  "I know," she whispered. "He had a video of you being shot. How did he do that?"

  "I did get shot with a blank. It hurt like hell, but I’m ok. The police found the camera. I knew that was the only reason that he hired someone to shoot me. Why else would he want to shoot me with a blank unless it was for show?"

  "I still can’t believe you’re here. I love you so much, Shane. I’m so sorry…"

  "I love you too. Don’t apologize, ok? You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm going to go see if I can find someone and let them know you're up. I'll be right back."

  She watched him leave, trying to calm herself down. Being all alone made her uncomfortable. She relaxed when Shane came back a few minutes later with the doctor. "How are you feeling?" He asked.

  "Better. I'm still tired, but I'm ok. Is something wrong?"

  "You say that Camden Lawson held you captive for almost three weeks?" He asked, ignoring her question.

  She looked at Shane for confirmation. She had no idea how long she had been gone. It felt like months.

  "20 days," Shane confirmed. "Why?"

  "Congratulations," the doctor said to Shane. He turned to Kaine and smiled. "You're pregnant."

  She gasped and her hands flew to her stomach. "I am? Are you sure?"

  "Positive."

  Shane stared at her, wide eyed. "Is the baby ok?"

  "I believe you're early enough that you should have no complications if you start taking care of yourself. That being said, I'd like you to try to eat something. I'd also like to schedule an ultrasound."

  She nodded, stunned. She glanced at Shane, who was grinning at her. "We're having a baby," he said incredulously.

  Kaine laughed. "I can't believe it. I had no idea. I mean, I felt nauseous, but I thought that was just from no sunlight or food." The smile faded from her face. "Are you sure the baby is going to be ok?"

  The doctor smiled down at her. "Well the first trimester is always touch and go, regardless of your situation. That's why I'd like to do an ultrasound. I'm going to go ahead and schedule you for tomorrow morning, if it's ok with you."

  "Of course," Kaine said. The doctor left and Kaine smiled the first genuine smile that Shane had seen since she was rescued. "I love you so much," she sniffed.

  "I love you too, baby," he said as he kissed her deeply. "If we have a girl, we're naming her Jane. Or Elaine."

  "No rhyming names," she laughed. "I refuse to be that weird family."

  "We'll talk about it later," he teased. "I’m going to get you some soup, then why don’t you get some sleep? You look like you’re about to pass out."

  "That sounds nice," she murmured. Shane left the room and she put her hands on her stomach, feeling less alone. She must have fallen asleep because the next thing she knew, Shane was brushing the hair out of her face. "Wake up, baby."

  Her eyes fluttered open and she looked around, confused. "What’s going on?"

  Shane stood in front of her in a suit and tie. "You fell asleep."

  "Why are you all dressed up?"

  "I got you dinner," he said, setting her tray in front of her. "Your nurse said your stomach couldn’t handle filet mignon, so I got you chicken and rice. Also champagne would dehydrate you more, so you get water."

  She giggled. "I guess it’s the thought that counts. Why are there flameless candles?"

  "Because the hospital doesn’t allow real candles."

  She laughed and sat back, taking a small bite of rice. She knew him well enough to know that it was pointless to keep asking him questions when he clearly wasn’t going to answer.

  "Do you remember our wedding day?" He asked.

  "Of course I remember. You looked so handsome."

  "Even with my crooked nose?" He joked.

  "Especially with your crooked nose. I remember being so happy. I didn’t think I would ever be happier than I was at that moment." The smile faded from her face. "I’m so sorry that I didn’t believe you, Shane."

  "Don’t be sorry, Kainie. I’m sorry that I ever treated you in a way to make you doubt my feelings for you. I don’t ever want you to think that you and Adam…and this little guy," he said, rubbing her stomach, "aren’t the most important things in my world."

  "Little girl," she corrected him.

  "Why do you think it’s a girl?"

  She shrugged. "Just a feeling I have."

  He grinned and kissed her stomach. "If it’s a girl, she’s going to hate me. I will destroy any boy who comes near her."

  Kaine took another bite of chicken and pushed her plate away. "I’m full. I’ll get sick if I eat any more." Shane stood up and moved her tray to the table. "I have a surprise for you," he said. He opened the door and came back a second later holding Adam’s hand. Kaine held out her arms eagerly and Adam climbed on the bed. "I missed you, baby," she sniffed.

  "Missed you too, mommy," he murmured sleepily.

  "What time is it? Should he be in bed?"

  "Probably," Shane said. "But I wanted him here for this." He took her hand and got down on one knee. Kaine bit her lip to keep from crying.

  "I know it’s cliché to say that you make me a better person, but you do. I’m incomplete without you. You are the sweetest and most beautiful woman in the world. I don’t know what it is that you see in me, but I thank God that you see it. Words literally can’t describe how much I love you. Kaine Ellery," he said, opening the small velvet box. "Will you marry me?"

  "Yes," she choked out, watching as he slid her engagement ring on her finger.

  "Right back where it belongs," he said softly. She pulled him toward her and kissed him.

  "Ew," Adam said, sliding off the bed. Kaine laughed and wiped her eyes. "Are you ready for nine months of nonstop crying?"

  "Can't wait," he said. "If I get to be with you every day, I don't care if you cry the entire time."

  "I love you," she said, reveling in the way she felt in his arms.

  "I love you too, babe. I always have and I always will."

  Kaine closed her eyes and let herself relax. She was wrong about their wedding day. She would never be happier or more in love than she was right now.

  EPILOGUE

  Kaine laid in bed with Emma lying on her chest. She couldn’t believe how big her two month old baby was getting. She didn’t
remember Adam getting this big this fast. She heard the door slam and a minute later Shane walked in the bedroom with Adam.

  "How was fishing?" She asked, yawning.

  "We didn’t catch anything. But Adam came really close, right buddy?"

  Adam nodded. "I thought I caught a fish but it was just seaweed."

  Kaine stifled a laugh. "Seaweed is better than nothing."

  "Can I hold Emma?" Adam asked, bouncing up and down.

  "Sure, sweetie. Sit down," Kaine said, sitting up. Adam sat down eagerly and Kaine placed Emma in his arms. "Make sure you hold her head."

  Where Adam looked more like Kaine with his light blond hair and grey eyes, Emma was starting to look like Shane. Her hair was dark and her eyes were bright blue. Kaine loved the scrunched look she would get on her face when she was about to cry. It looked just like Shane when he was confused.

  Adam loved Emma already. Kaine had been worried that he would be jealous, but he was so protective over her. He got upset whenever she cried and was always trying to help out any way he could.

  Camden Lawson was in jail. He was sentenced to 25 years. Kaine didn’t think it was long enough. An entire lifetime wouldn’t be long enough. As much as Kaine hated him for what he had done to her and their family, she considered it a blessing. If she hadn’t left Shane, she wouldn’t have stopped taking her birth control pills and Emma wouldn’t have been born.

  Her and Shane’s marriage was stronger than ever. They had gotten remarried at the courthouse as soon as Kaine was released from the hospital. Being torn away from Shane had made her appreciate him even more. He almost never worked late nights anymore. He always came home as early as he could to spend time with his family. Emma already had him wrapped around her little finger.

  "Babe, you ok?" Shane asked.

  She smiled up at him. "I’ve never been better."

  He sat next to her and kissed her on the head. She snuggled into him, watching Adam and Emma and blissfully loving her wonderful family.