Fractured [SHAWN MENDES]

~71~

Four weeks had passed since he'd last seen Taryn, and as Shawn got ready for the grand opening of Ford's, he looked in the mirror and said the words that Paul told him to focus on. "I love her and I will be supportive of her needs."

He'd had quite a few online sessions with his therapist while he worked on his new album in New York and California. Paul told him that he wasn't obligated to wait for Taryn forever, but that if he truly loved her and wanted to spend his life with her, he needed to be patient and not pressure her. He said that when the time was right, he had to be completely honest about what he wanted.

The album was almost done, which was good given how his label rep felt about him these days. He'd declined doing any festivals because he wasn't ready to perform in front of a huge crowd, and he recently insisted that they wait to solidify the tour dates until after the album was released. Andrew was very understanding, despite the fact that he ended up taking a lot of the heat from Capitol. Shawn often wondered if everyone on his team regretted working with him given how inflexible he was about certain things. Sometimes he wished he could just write and record music without having to deal with all the promotional bullshit.

When Shawn drove by at the brewpub before parking, he was immediately struck by the transformation. There was a huge neon sign on the exterior that said "Ford's" in bright blue letters with white stars on either side. The interior lights shown through the dozens of windows and he could see people moving about on the upper level. He knew from the texts that had been rolling in that his parents were already there, as were his friends and their girlfriends and wives. He decided to arrive later so that he could blend in with the crowd now that he was a bonafide celebrity again. Aaliyah couldn't make the trip, and she'd asked him to take lots of pictures, so after he got out of his car, he took several photos from the sidewalk.

"Name?" the person working the door asked as she perused the list in her hand. This evening's festivities were invitation only, and Taryn had sent out artsy postcards to everyone she knew as well as several food critics and press staff from local online and print newspapers.

"Shawn Mendes."

Her head shot up as she looked at his face for the first time. "Oh! Please come in. Tours of the brewery are every twenty minutes. Food and drinks are upstairs. The elevator is to my left and the stairs are behind us. Love your song, by the way!"

"Thank you," he said as he gave her a warm smile.

The renovations had finished early, and Taryn had to scramble to hire her staff. Thankfully, the brew-master was in charge of that end of it, but she still had to find cooks, hosts, bartenders, and servers. The brewery started making beer a week ago, though none of it would be ready for consumption until the fall. Tonight they'd be featuring other locally produced beers, and several of those brewers were on the guest list. Shawn knew all of this because Taryn texted him frequently and they talked once a week. This was something both of their therapists felt was necessary for maintaining a connection.

Shawn took the stairs two at a time instead of waiting for an elevator. He figured he'd do the tour later, since now that he was there he couldn't wait a moment longer to see his love. The bar was crowded, yet the happy conversations weren't overpowered by the music playing over the speakers. He'd created the playlists for the evening at Taryn's request. It was a mix of all different eras and genres, though none of his own music had made the cut because that felt weird.

He saw four people who he recognized from Taryn's Instagram as college friends standing near the bar. The guy he'd accused her of hooking up with was there with his boyfriend. That had been one of their first fights, and here they were now, a year later and still having issues. His heart hurt as he contemplated what that meant for them.