Perfectly Wrong

37. Report To Administration

They drive in complete silence and when Shawn pulls up into his driveway, he punches the steering wheel before getting out of the car. She hears him cursing and kicking the ground outside before he finally opens the passenger door and helps her out. Camila is able to walk and her breathing is not as bad as it was when they left the club, but he still helps her inside his house.

 “ Lay down on the couch.” Shawn says. “ I’ll get some ice.”

 Camila does what he says, laying on her stomach and closing her eyes. She feels his hand on the couch as he kneels down next to her.

 “ Shawn!” She gasps when she opens her eyes and sees his face. “ Your eye.”

 There’s a trail of blood running down his neck from above his eye.

 “ It’s fine. I’ll be fine.” He says, leaning over her. “ Do you mind?”

 Camila shakes her head as he holds the hem of her shirt, pulling it up and pressing something cold against her skin. He places the ice pack over her injury before standing up and walking out of the front door. He leaves without saying a word and Camila lays there for a few minutes, waiting for him to come back.

 She rolls onto her side, letting the ice pack fall to the couch and pulling her shirt back down. She’s preparing herself to stand up again when the door opens and her mother walks in.

 “ Camila? Sweetie, are you okay?” She throws her arms around Camila as Shawn walks inside behind her.

 “ Mom.” Camila says weakly, returning her mother’s hug as tears begin to fall from her eyes.

 Sinu is able to help Camila back home, refusing Shawn’s help, and in a few minutes Camila is in her own bed.

 “ It’s fine, Mom.” Camila says as Sinu asks her for the hundredth time how her back is.

 Sinu smiles and strokes her hair and Camila thinks this is what she’ll miss the most about her mother. The way she strokes her hair and smiles at her with so much love in her eyes.

 “ Shawn said you got hit in the back.” Her mother says. “ Who hit you?”

 “ Jake. He’s in my class.” Camila tells her. “ He was trying to punch Shawn, but I got in the way.”

 “ Why was he trying to punch Shawn?”

 “ Because Shawn punched him first.” She says. “ Jake walked me to my Jeep when I left the club. He thought I wanted him to kiss me. I was trying to push him off of me, but I couldn’t get him to stop. Next thing I know, Shawn is on top of him, punching him.”

 “ That’s awful, Camila. I’m so sorry that happened.” Her mother says, leaning forward and kissing her forehead.

 “ It’s fine, Mom.” Camila says. “ I’m fine. I just need some sleep.”

 Sinu strokes her hair again before standing up and turning off the lights.

 “ What about Shawn? What is he going to do?” Sinu asks before closing the door.

 “ I don’t know.” Camila replies.

 Camila thinks her question is about what Shawn is going to do about Jake, but then she realizes she means what he is going to do about his job. She lies awake for hours after that, thinking about every possible scenario. They weren’t on school grounds and Shawn was defending her. Maybe Jake won’t say anything, but Shawn did throw the first punch. And the third, and the fourth and would have thrown the fifth if Connor hadn’t stopped him. She tries to recall every single detail about it before she falls asleep, just in case she needs to defend his actions the next day.