Peace, Love, & Pogo Sticks

We Found Each Other Again

"I almost just blew it," Shawn said in panic the second that Camila picked up his FaceTime call. "I almost just completely blew it."

"Do I even want to know what you're talking about?" Camila chuckled.

"I was on the phone with Brian...he was telling me all about the honeymoon and how great Hawaii was and when he mentioned Bristol getting stung by a jellyfish I almost said 'yeah, Camila told me'..."

"Shawn!"

"I didn't though! I caught myself and I didn't say it. They're both still blissfully unaware that we're talking again."

"Good," she sighed. "So...have you had any luck finding a place in Miami?"

"I've been looking and there are a few different apartment buildings that have caught my eye. I might text you the addresses so you can go check them out for me before I commit to anything."

"I'd be happy to," Camila said as she flashed a smile at him through the phone's camera that immediately made him blush. "Have you told your family that you're moving to Miami yet?"

"I haven't," he admitted. "I actually wanted to ask you about that...are you okay with me telling my family that we're talking again? I'm confident in my ability to hide this from Brian but I don't think I can hide anything from my mom."

"I guess they can know," Camila said with a shrug. "It wouldn't make much sense that you'd be moving to Miami otherwise."

"I'm glad you said that because I truly had no idea what I would tell them." He let out a sigh of relief. "And I'm going over there for dinner so I'll probably tell them tonight."

"I miss your family," Camila said quietly.

"They miss you too. They didn't really talk about you much when I was around because they knew how much it hurt but I know they were really disappointed that things didn't work out between us at the time."

"Do they know...why...we broke up?" she asked cautiously.

"Yeah," he breathed out, the guilt he felt evident on his face. "I told my mom everything. I assume she told my dad and Aaliyah. Well, I know Aaliyah found out because she was beyond pissed at me. I still don't think she's fully forgiven me...not that I can blame her." The look on his face as he talked broke Camila's heart.

"Have you forgiven yourself?" she asked him. He sighed and shrugged.

"I've forgiven myself...but I don't think I'll ever not feel like shit about what I did. Nothing can describe the pain of fucking up to the point where you lose the love of your life. Knowing that the only reason for your unhappiness is yourself...that shit hurts."

"If two people are meant to be together, they'll find their way back to each other at some point," Camila said with a hopeful smile.

"I'm glad we found each other again."

"Me too."

Later that night, Shawn was driving to his parents house just outside of the city. He nervously tapped his fingertips on the steering wheel of his car. He wasn't sure why he was so nervous; he knew his family was going to be ecstatic that he and Camila were going to give their love a second chance. He pulled into the driveway of their house and parked his car, sitting there for a minute before going inside to prepare himself for the conversation he was about to have with them. He walked in the front door and was immediately greeted with the overwhelming scent of his mom's famous chili.

"Hey loser," Aaliyah said from the couch as she watched Friends on the TV.

"Aww, how's my favorite little baby sister?" he said as he walked over to her and hugged her tight, kissing the top of her head. She scrunched her nose up in disgust and tried to wiggle out of her older brother's arms.