Fractured [SHAWN MENDES]

~49~

Taryn was chatting about some of the local Toronto sites with an older man and woman visiting from Florida when the bell on the door sounded. She looked over and saw Shawn enter with four men, who were obviously the friends he made plans with tonight. When she suggested they swing by, he'd told her he wasn't ready for that, and she respected that decision. She wondered what made him have a change of heart.

"Excuse me," she told the kind couple once the man finished telling her about their experience at the CN Tower, and then she walked to the table the guys occupied near the window. Shawn usually sat in the back, but the bar was busy and they were lucky to get a table at all. She stood next to Shawn and draped an arm around his shoulders, which she found were shockingly rigid with tension. When they made eye contact, it was clear he was not himself. Were things going badly with his friends? "Welcome to The Good Luck Lounge," she said brightly to the small group.

"Hi, honey, I'd like you to meet Matt, Ian, Jon, and Brian," Shawn pointed to each person before addressing his friends, "and this is Taryn McAllister, the woman who made my life worth living again."

"Always so over the top," she laughed. "It's really nice to meet all of you. What can I get you to drink?"

"This is an Irish pub, eh? How about shots of Jameson?" Ian suggested and the others nodded in agreement.

"That's easy enough. I'll be right back." On her way to the bar she was stopped by another table and took their food and drink orders.

"Damn. She's fine," Brian said when Taryn was out of earshot.

Shawn felt his cheeks turn pink. "She's gorgeous, but she is also an incredible human. She hates it when I say that she saved me, but it's the truth. I was in a pretty dark place before I met her."

"So you're over Winter?" Jon asked.

"A hundred percent." It felt so good to say this and know that it was true. There'd been a weight lifted off his back when he'd spoken with her and subsequently realized that she no longer had a hold on him.

Ian looked over at the bar where Taryn was pouring their shots. "How serious is it between you two?"

He shrugged. "We've had a commitment since June, but we met months before that and had a casual thing."

"You're taking things slow?" Ian questioned. Shawn knew that what he was really asking was if he was taking them slower than last time. His friends had been surprised by how quickly he'd declared that Winter was his future wife. It was literally within days of meeting her, and in hindsight, that was pretty crazy.

"Pretty slow. We don't live together and we aren't making plans to get married, if that's what you're getting at."

Taryn appeared with a tray of shots. "Here you go, gentlemen. Would you like a basket of wings or some fries?"

"Any chance you can join us?" Brian asked since he wanted to get to know her a little better.

"I'd love that, but I don't know if Brad can handle the whole bar. If you stick around, it will slow down eventually, though I understand if you're bar-hopping and this is just one stop."

"We're here for the night," Shawn told her. "And some wings would be great. Have Reagan make 'em extra hot."

The guys spent the next couple hours catching up with greater detail than they had at the first bar. Shawn told them how his family was doing and shared some photos of Micah that Aaliyah had texted him the day before. The guys filled him in on all the gossip about their classmates from high school, including who had gotten married and who was already divorced. They eventually switched from shots to pints of Guinness, and all of them were pretty lit by last call.

"Tarynnnn!" Ian said enthusiastically when she checked in with them as the remaining other customers were leaving. "You've got to do a shot with us. Pleeeease?"

She couldn't help but laugh. "How can I say no to that? I'll definitely have a drink with you after I close up."

The bar was quickly put in order and Brad and Reagan left after dividing the tips, the bulk of which came from Shawn's group. Taryn grabbed the bottle of Jameson, assuming that's what they wanted, and six clean shot glasses which she brought to the table. Shawn pulled over a chair, so she sat down next to him. He leaned towards her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She could tell he was more relaxed now, thanks in part to the alcohol, but she was curious to know why he'd been tense when he arrived. "You okay? You weren't yourself when you got here," she whispered in his ear.

A frown clouded his handsome face. "I ran into that asshole, Colin."

"Oh fuck," she muttered under her breath.

"You telling her about your encounter with that douche?" Matt asked.

Shawn nodded. "I'm glad you stopped me from decking him, but Jesus Christ it would have felt great to slam my fist into his smug face."

"That's the last thing you need," she said. "What did he do to piss you off so much?"

"He brought up your injury and made a point to tell my friends that I'd hit you."

Taryn looked at the guys. "I'm sure you know this, but Shawn didn't touch me. I fell into his coffee table in the middle of the night. It definitely looked like I was punched, but Colin refused to believe me when I told him the truth."

"Shawn's too soft to hit a girl," Brian said, "and it sucks that anyone would think he could do that."

"I'm never going to be able to overcome what people think of me," Shawn lamented.

"Not true!" Matt exclaimed. "People are seeing you in a new light after that article. You're gonna climb back up to the top, baby!"

Taryn wanted to point out that they'd not-so-coincidentally reentered her boyfriend's life right as he was poised to attempt a comeback. The four guys seemed like genuine friends and good guys, but she couldn't help but resent them for abandoning him when he needed them most and reappearing when things were better. Shawn was much more forgiving than she was, so for his sake she'd try not to hold it against them.

"Are we doing a shot or not?" Jon asked.

Shawn poured them each several ounces of the Irish whiskey and held up his glass. "To friendship and love!"

They all echoed his toast and slammed the drink. An hour later, the bottle was empty and Taryn was helping them arrange rides home. Once the guys were safely in their Ubers, she took Shawn's hand and together they walked back to his place. He was not particularly steady on his feet, and several times she had to support him so that he wouldn't fall over. This was the first time she'd ever seen him really loaded and it was kind of amusing, though if he started puking, her opinion would change.

"I love you so much," he slurred as they took the elevator up to the top floor.

"I love you, too."

"Love is pretty fucking great, isn't it? If I were to make a list of the best things in the universe, it would be at the top. I should do that! I should make a list when I get home! I'll put it on the wall so that I remember to be grateful for everything!"

"I think that's a beautiful idea, but maybe you can wait until tomorrow," she suggested. She adored him for having thoughts like this when he was drunk.

"Smart thinking," he said as he tapped his temple. "I think I might be a little tipsy."

She tried not to giggle, but it was hard. "You? Tipsy? No way!"

"I love you," he stated again as he looked stared at her. "Your blue eyes are like little pools of magic that cast a spell on me, but it's a good one not a bad one. I'm so lucky I met you." He then started to laugh, doubling over as he guffawed loudly.

"What's so funny?"

"I met you at The Good Luck Lounge and I'm lucky I met you. Get it? Do you get it?"

She smiled up at him. "I definitely get it."

When they got to his condo, she helped him get undressed. He peed and then fell into bed. Before Taryn was done with her nighttime routine, he was snoring loudly. She crawled in next to him and listened to him breathe for a bit, just to make sure he wasn't going to get sick, and then she drifted off to sleep.