☁️: when harry styles said there was 'small concern with how the engine sounds' he meant that the engine was gonna burn out. that car was gonna break down. DON'T keep fucking driving, that song is a sad song disguised as a happy one, i'm telling you!!!!!
ps. all the trauma talk is just foreplay for next chapter and this isn't proofread thank you
warnings: mentions of domestic abuse
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There are four types of trauma responses; fight, flight, freeze, or fawn. Minnie happens to have had enough opportunities to try out every one of them.
The first and last time Minnie ever fought in response to trauma was in second grade, when her father had, for the first time, taken it upon himself to swipe his hand across her mother's face. A mortified and pretty feisty Minnie, took it upon herself to leap onto her father's back, biting, clawing, essentially injuring whatever part of him she could get ahold of. As a result, she was injured by her father, who from that point on, would remind her exactly why she could never fight back again.
The first time Minnie ever 'flew'... Well, that one's harder to remember. It would have to have been the time she took the city bus to school. Olivia was sick that day and wasn't able to take her to school. And so, 15-year-old Minnie in her brand new cheerleader uniform hopped on the bus, unsuspecting of the man who sat next to her with ill intent. You can imagine what happened next; man places an overly confident hand on the exposed part of Minnie's thigh, leads to Minnie runs off the bus five stops early and arrives at school having missed her first two periods of the day.
It was that instance and... you know the one.
The first time Minnie froze was when she witnessed her Tia Victoria take a tumble down the stairs and be knocked unconscious in the process. She was merely 6 and had zero knowledge on how to handle the situation. She just stood there and stared, frightened to her core as she waited for her mother to get home. She was scolded later on for doing nothing. Well, scolded, and other things.
Fight, flight, and freeze are all pretty self-explanatory. I can't say the same for 'fawn' unfortunately, which is Minnie's most recent favorite response. The thing about fawn is that said 'fawner' immediately reverts to a people-pleasing mentality in the face of trauma. All I have to say is that Minnie's relationship with Shawn is entirely built on her response to their interactions on that fateful night of the Met Gala.
Now, you ask; What does responding to trauma have to do with anything? You'll find that out so very soon, so just hang on, yeah?
Back to where we left off.
"The funeral's on Sunday." She added plainly.
Shawn is speechless. His jaw dropped at the mere fact that she hadn't shed a tear.
"Oh my God, I- I'm so sorry, baby."
"Don't be." Minnie dared to mutter. He was finally fucking gone.
"What was that?" Shawn craned his neck.
Suddenly, something other than ruthless confessions began to make its way up Minnie's throat.
Her hand flies over mouth. "I think I'm gonna be sick."
Shoving Shawn to the side, she darts to the restroom, emptying the contents of her stomach into the toilet. Shawn followed quickly after her, opting to hold her hair back as she puked. He caressed her back to offer any sort of comfort during a time of... fuck, I mean all I can say is shock.
Her ill state concluded as she fell to the bathroom floor. Exasperated, she wiped the sick from her mouth. Stll, she hadn't cried.
"Shawn?" She croaked.
