Sleeping Beauty

Chapter 28

America

As soon as Shawn left, I felt the hollow in my chest. He was gone and I wouldn't see him again for weeks. And when Dr. Allan asked if I was depressed, I was going to have to say yes because he wasn't here and when he wasn't here, I felt depressed. I was depressed.

"Honey, can you come down. Dr. Allan is here." My mom called from downstairs.

I could smell eggs and sausage, but the thought of food made me want to throw up. "Could you guys just come up here? I don't fell like coming downstairs." And that was the truth. The thought of picking my crutches up and walking past the still open window was unbearable. After a couple of seconds, my parents walk into the room with Dr. Allan and a boy.

Shawn.

Except, he was wearing a lab coat and glasses. I smile at him, but he shakes his head as if to tell me not to blow his cover. I nod and throw myself under the covers again, facing away from the group of people standing in my room. Someone sits on the edge of my bed and pulls the covers past my face. "America," my dad whispers. "He's just going to ask you a few questions. It won't take long.

I nod, but keep my eyes closed, whispering, "Go ahead."

Dr. Allan clicks a pen and asks, "Do you want to get out of bed every morning?"

I laugh. "Who does?"

I hear Shawn chuckle, but he stops abruptly like someone gave him a weird stare.

"Do you eat normally?"

"I eat when I want," I answer, pulling the cover back over my head. My dad pulls it back down.

"Have you ever thought of," he hesitates. Harming yourself in any way, shape, or form?"

"No!" I scream. Yes, I think.

"Calm down, honey. These are just questions he's required to ask-"

"Do you really think I would take a chance in hurting myself more after I'm already walking on crutches for the rest of my life? Do you really think I would cut myself after losing my leg?"

"Calm down," Shawn whispers.

I hear the awful silence that follows as everyone's stares sit on him. Nobody bothers to tell me why he's there.

"Last but not least, do you think you're depressed?"

I pull the covers back over my head. "I'm depressed when he's not here."

I feel my parents get off the bed and walk over to Dr. Allan. They try to whisper, but I here every word.

"I don't understand why she would say that," my dad mumbles.

"This boy is ruining her life."

Dr. Allan responds. "I've actually met Shawn and seen the two together and I think-"

"Are you saying you think they should be able to speak to each other?" My mother sounds appalled.

"Well, a relationship would be good for her." His voice lowers. "It would give her something to look forward to."

Neither of my parents answer.

Shawn speaks. "I can't take this anymore. I'm Shawn!" No one speaks as he walks over to me. He sits on the edge of the bed and pulls the covers down to my shoulders. "America?"

"Hi," I whisper.

"I love you."

And though it seemed totally weird, like stripping in front of my parents, I said, "I love you, too."

Shawn helped me out of bed and handed me my crutches. He walked patiently next to me as I walked over to my parents, still wearing the same clothes as yesterday. A smile spreads across my lips as I look up at Shawn and he looks down at me.

"Wow," my mom whispers. Then out of no where, my parents wrap their arms around me. "I haven't seen you smile in weeks." She cries into my shoulder as my dad pulls away and shakes Shawn's hand.

At dinner, Shawn sits next to me and Dr. Allan sits at the end of the table while my parents sit across from us.

"How come we've never met you Shawn?" my dad asks.

"Well, I'm actually on tour right now."

"Oh, so you do music," my mom whispers, sounding more pleased than I would've expected.

"Yeah, it was actually my  life before I met your daughter." There's a moment of silence as a blush creeps up my neck while everyone looks at me.

My dad clears his throat. "Well, I'm glad to see you care for her that much."

"I was actually really worried when she didn't call me back. I thought something had happened to her."

Forks scraping across plates.

Dr. Allan pushes the conversation on. "It is such a tragedy that you two have to be apart for so long."

My mom nods. "Yes, such a shame."

I think back to earlier, when Shawn had asked me if I would want to go on tour with him. He planned to ask my parents tonight.

Shawn sets his fork down and squeezes my hand. "I actually would like to take her on the rest of the tour with me."

My mom wipes off her hands and my dad stares Shawn down. "Um, in her state, I don't believe-"

Dr. Allan cuts in. "If she calls me every night, I believe that it would be perfectly safe for her to go-"

Shawn smiles. "And I'll be with her most of the time. I have some of the best security guards in the country. She'll be perfectly safe."

"Um," my mom whispers. "If that's what you want, America-"

I nod and smile. "It is."

"As long as she's back before the school year begins, I suppose she can go."

Shawn leans over and kisses me on the cheek as I smile until my lips feel like they might split in half. "Thank you!" I squeal.

My dad gives a sad smile and stares down at his food. "Anything to make you happy."

And if I had known what was going to happen exactly eight weeks from now, I wouldn't have gone. I would've broken up with Shawn right then and there no matter how much it hurt just to prevent what would happen. But how was I supposed to know that our romance story would be so short-lived?