Torn [SHAWN MENDES]

~42~

After Taryn and Patricia left, Shawn and Piper had dessert with his family, though the overall vibe was very subdued. He helped his folks clean up while Aaliyah and Jordan entertained the baby, who was getting sleepy.

"I'm going to go check on Yaz and put Piper down for the night," he said once the dishes were done.

Karen clucked her tongue. "I think she could tell that Piper knew Hendrix and Taryn. I take it you never told her about your visits?"

He sighed. "No. It would have caused a fight." Which was something he knew he was in for when he spoke with his wife.

He said goodnight to his parents after his sister and her family left and took his drowsy daughter upstairs. Unsurprisingly, Yasmin was not sleeping in bed, but was just sitting on the edge looking angry.

"We need to talk," she said quietly yet with an alarmingly sharp tone. "But obviously we can't do that until your parents are asleep."

"It's been a long day. Maybe we should wait until the morning."

"Christmas morning? You want to have this discussion with a house full of people? Perhaps your ex-wife will be here again and she can be in on it, since she's apparently still part of the family!"

Shawn chose not to respond and got Piper into her Christmas pajamas before taking her to the bathroom to brush her tiny teeth. Then he placed her in the portable crib and put on a pair of flannel pants and a t-shirt. "We can go down to the basement and talk there after my mum and dad come upstairs."

Yaz nodded but said nothing.

It was almost an hour before Manny and Karen went to bed, which Shawn and Yaz spent sitting in silence in his room. When the coast was clear, they grabbed the baby monitor and went down two flights of stairs to the rec room. She sat on one wing of the sectional and he sat on the other.

"It smells like dog down here," Yaz said as are wrinkled her nose.

Shawn couldn't smell anything other than the cinnamon scented plug-in air freshener. "Before we start, I want to avoid having a full blown fight. You did this amazing thing for me by planning this trip, and I don't think either of us wants that ruined."

"It already has been," she seethed.

"Don't say that. It's Christmas."

Yaz didn't hesitate about getting to the point. "You have seen Taryn when you've come home and so has Piper."

He'd jumped to the right conclusion that she'd caught on, but having her confirm it sent him into a panic. "Well obviously we saw her at Earl's service and the gathering at the bar afterwards."

"That's not what I was asking!"

"Okay...so yeah, I brought Piper over to see Hendrix twice. He was my dog, Yasmin! You have no idea how much I've missed him."

She gave her husband a deathly glare. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I knew you'd flip out."

She pointed a finger at him. "Don't you dare blame me for any bad decisions you made!"

"You're right. That's not fair of me. I should have told you, and I'm really sorry that I didn't."

"You know how this looks, don't you? You came home and had two secret rendezvous with your ex-wife...it reeks of infidelity! And on top of that, you've been different ever since the funeral. I want the whole story."

He felt like a fly trapped in a spider web. No matter what he did, he was dead. Maybe the best course was to be truthful and then they could rebuild from there. "Taryn and I have a long history..." he began.