Fractured [SHAWN MENDES]

~56~

Shawn was worried about Taryn, which was why he was sitting at a table in The Good Luck Lounge having a cup of coffee with Patricia three days after Christmas. His girlfriend was at her apartment, and he knew she wouldn't show up at work for at least another hour.

"I just wish she'd talk to me about how she's feeling about her dad," he said. "Every time I bring him up, she shoots me down immediately."

Tricia nodded. "If it makes you feel any better, she won't talk to me, either. When she called and gave me the news, she sounded so strange...almost robotic. I started crying but she didn't show much emotion at all. She was like this before, back when she learned what Richie had done. It's like she crawls inside herself and won't let anyone in."

"At the same time, she puts on this good show of being happy when she has to. You'd never have known she was going through something at Christmas. She was laughing and seemed to be enjoying herself, especially when she was playing with Micah."

"I think all we can do is give her time and hope that she'll talk to her therapist about it if she won't open up to either of us," Tricia said sagely.

The bell on the door of the bar chimed, and the subject of their conversation walked in. Taryn was thoroughly confused at first to find her boyfriend and mother together, but the guilty looks on their faces told her that they'd met to discuss her. "If you have something to say about me, I'd appreciate it if you said it directly to me instead of having covert meetings behind my back," she snapped.

"Sweetheart, it's not like that," Tricia insisted.

Taryn walked over to the table. "No? You aren't sitting here talking about me? If I had to guess, I'd say that this is related to Ford's death."

The fact that she referred to her father by name wasn't lost on Shawn or Patricia, and the two exchanged a quick glance.

"I came in to meet with your mom, so if you want to be mad at anyone, it should be me," Shawn said.

"You're always meddling." Her exasperation was obvious.

"In this case, it was because I'm concerned. You're not yourself and I wish you'd talk to me. Believe me...I would not be here if you were willing to have this conversation with me."

"So what have the two of you concluded during your coffee chat?"

Tricia took this question to take a little heat off Shawn. "We think you're suppressing how you feel about your dad's death. That's not healthy, and we are worried about you."

"He left when I was a child and never looked back. The only thing I ever got from him was his DNA! How am I supposed to be reacting? Are you really condemning me for not falling apart when a virtual stranger died?" she asked.

"There's the letter..." Tricia said softly.

Taryn's face went from angry to sad. "You're judging me for not responding to him before he died?"

"No, baby," Shawn said as he stood up and wrapped his arms around her. "No one is judging you for anything, but your mom brings up a good point. If you're feeling guilty about the letter, maybe it would help to talk about it."

"Guilty. You both think I'm guilty," she said before pushing Shawn off her and going behind the bar. "I don't want to talk about this anymore."

Tricia and Shawn exchanged another look. He then walked over to the bar and sat down. "Why are you here so early?"

"I had a meeting with Scott Pierce, the lawyer. I signed off so that his firm can act as executors of the estate, though given my dad's history, it seems ridiculous that they are even going through the whole escrow process. Now that I've given them permission, they'll do what's called 'discovery' to uncover any assets or liabilities. So far they only know of his pick-up truck, roughly $500 in savings, and some clothing as assets."

Tricia joined them at the bar. "I wouldn't be surprised if your dad had a couple thousand dollars squirreled away somewhere, though I'd also not be surprised to find out he had a bunch of debt. He was terrible with money when we were together, and my father had to bail him out of gambling debts several times."

"If he had debt, does that become your responsibility?" Shawn asked Taryn.

"Scott covered that today. Apparently all debts would be paid as much as possible by liquidating his assets, but anything beyond that isn't on me."

"That's a relief," Shawn mumbled. He knew that Taryn was pretty strapped for money, especially after an expensive car repair a couple weeks ago which she refused any assistance on. He wanted to buy her a new car for Christmas, but she'd set a limit just like she had on her birthday. He'd ended up giving her a bar stool for her future brew pub. She'd shown him a photo of one she loved from a catalog several months earlier. He told her on Christmas morning that it was the first step in owning and running her own business.

"I'm going to sit down and go over the food and alcohol order for New Year's Eve, so if you need me just holler," Tricia said.

When she was gone, Shawn leaned forward towards Taryn. "I missed you last night. Can you stay at my place tonight?"

"Julie and I started watching a short series on Netflix and I promised her we could finish it when I get home."

"I leave tomorrow for two days in New York, remember? If you don't stay over, then we won't be together until New Year's Eve and god knows we'll be exhausted after working the party."

She shot him a pointed look. "I'm so sorry I'm not around as much for you, but I told you that getting my own place would be like this."

Taryn wanted to add that if he wanted her to sleep over with him every night, maybe he should have fucking asked her to move in. She would have happily paid him rent rather than Julie. It was petty, but one reason she wasn't spending every night with him was that he wanted all the perks of having a live-in girlfriend, like sex almost every morning and night, without making the commitment of cohabitating. It wasn't fair to her.

"I know, but you used to stay over every night," he whined.

"And my other option used to be an uncomfortable fold-out couch."

"You were using me for my bed?"

Taryn shook her head. "No! But this is a different situation."

He sighed. "Fine, but you have no idea how sad I am when I crawl into an empty bed."

"Are you excited to go to New York?" She changed the subject since they were going in circles.

"Kinda. I'm looking forward to hearing where Kyra took my song, but I'm also a little nervous about being in a meeting with Universal Music execs. Andrew wants to put the idea in their heads that I'd be open to a new recording contract, though maybe under a different label than Island so that I can have a fresh start."

"It's pretty big of you to not hold it against them for dropping you."

"It was justified. I'm not that optimistic that they'll want me back, though I guess it's a start since they are letting one of their artists record a song I wrote," he said. "I should get going. I'm headed to Pickering to have lunch with my family. Want me to bring you some leftovers on my way home?"

"Thanks, but you don't have to come all the way back here. I'll just have Reagan make me a snack if I get hungry."

Shawn's face turned serious. "Would you mind coming out from behind the bar for a second?"

She looked at him quizzically but did what he asked. "What?"

He got off his stool and pulled her into his arms for a tight hug. "It's never an inconvenience to come see you. In fact, sometimes I sit alone in my condo and think of reasons to pop in while you're working. You loved my mom's chocolate cream pie. If there's any left, I'll swing by with a slice of that or something else yummy. Maybe I'll even stay and have a beer, just to spend more time with you."

Taryn swallowed the lump in her throat that tended to appear whenever she felt remorse. "Shawn...maybe I'll sleep over at your place after all. I might not get there until late; is that okay?"

He leaned forward and gave her a long kiss. "You're worth waiting up for."