Fractured [SHAWN MENDES]

~12~

"An extra large pizza? You must be hungry!" Patricia exclaimed when Taryn set the box on the kitchen table.

"You're hilarious, Mom. Actually...you need to take however many pieces you want, and then I'm taking the rest with me to Shawn's."

Patricia felt the uncomfortable pang of concern that had been coming on whenever Taryn brought up Shawn. "I know you said nothing was going on between you, but I'm starting to suspect you're hiding something."

Taryn grabbed a plate from the cupboard and handed it to her mother. "We stayed up late last night talking, and tonight we're finishing the conversation. That's it. He's not interested in me that way."

Tricia clucked her tongue. "And if he was interested? Would you be feelin' the same?"

"How many slices do you want? I'm running late."

"Two. You know I like Shawn a lot, right?"

Taryn put two large pieces on the plate and avoided her mother's piercing gaze. "Mm hm. I know."

"You need to be careful with a man like him, love. You could end up hurt."

"A man like him? Do you mean someone famous? Or is there something else about Shawn that you feel you need to warn me about?"

Patricia hadn't planned on having this talk with her daughter so soon, but now that it started, she figured she should be honest. "He committed a pretty serious crime. I have no issue welcoming him into my bar and into our lives as a friend, but I don't know that I want him to be the father of my grandbabies."

"You're being ridiculous! I'm spending time with him as a friend and you're jumping ahead to me having children with him? And you were the one who said he'd done his time and deserved a second chance!" Taryn's face was flushed red with anger.

"I still believe that, but that doesn't mean I trust a felon with my daughter," Tricia explained. "Look at your stepfather..."

Taryn picked up the pizza box and glared at her mom. "Don't you dare compare him to that asshole!"

She left without saying another word.

******

"Thanks for dinner," Shawn said as he put the two plates in the sink. "The pizza was delicious."

"You know what they say...the greasier the pizza, the better it is."

He laughed. "Have you ever had genuine New York pizza? You'd love it."

"I lived in New York City for six months, actually."

"Really? When?"

Taryn washed her hands and dried them. "I ran away from home in high school."

There was something about the way she said this that let Shawn know not to ask about the circumstances. They got settled on the couch after he refilled their glasses with the red wine he'd picked up that afternoon.

"So I do have a couple questions," Taryn said.

"I thought you might."

"First, what happened to the ring? You said you'd put it on the passenger seat. Did you grab it before you pushed the car down the hill?"

"No, I didn't. It was lost in the rubble."

"Or someone on the construction crew got a very nice bonus," Taryn joked. "My other question has to do with turning yourself in. You could have claimed that the car popped out of gear when you were parked at the top of the driveway getting the ring. Obviously that might have looked a bit suspicious, but it would have been hard for them to prove that you'd done it intentionally."