A Little Too Much | Shawn Mendes (COMPLETED)

05 | Aaliyah at Hockey

Allie's POV;

When we get the arena, I see a group of girls clustered around Shawn as he takes pictures with each of them. Some of them even have pictures of him that they ask him to sign, which he does. How is he so famous?

After they leave, Hannah and I walk up to where they're sitting and I sit next to Shawn. It's a little awkward, but I try to be polite. He says hello and I say hi back, then asks me why I'm here. Of course, Aaliyah didn't tell him she invited me. She doesn't tell Shawn much, I'm gathering.

"So, do you know anything about hockey?" He asks. I shrug. "A little." I tell him about my old foster brother who plays and I used to practice with him. I feel a sting in my chest as I remember Caden. He was actually pretty nice, but for some reason his parents decided they couldn't take care of me anymore. I wasn't worth it, I guess. I rarely ever am.

I decide to try to continue the conversation by asking him if he knows anything about hockey. He shakes his head and tells me he prefers singing. That doesn't surprise me. He's a really great singer anyway, and seems to have a lot of fans.

I watch as the two teams come out onto the ice and see Aaliyah come up for the face off. A very tall, muscular girl from the other team comes up, too. I raise my eyebrows. I don't have a very good feeling about this. I'm sure Aaliyah is strong, but this other girl looks much, much stronger.

"Tammy," I hear Shawn mutter under his breath. "What?" He snaps out of whatever he was thinking about. "Oh, Tammy. She's the girl from the other team who's facing off with Aaliyah." I nod. "You know her?" He sighs. "Unfortunately. She's rough. Last time Aaliyah played her, she almost broke her arm. Tammy's just so strong, she doesn't realize how easily she can hurt the other players." I nod. Now I have a really bad feeling about this.

I watch as Aaliyah and Tammy take their positions, and the ref. signals for them to start. Both girls lunge for the puck, but suddenly the only girl I can see is Tammy. I raise my eyebrows when I hear a crack, and when Tammy moves out of the way, I see Aaliyah laying on the ice. All the other girls from both teams gather around to see if she's okay, and I see Mrs. Mendes run over to Aaliyah. Soon after, medics arrive and help her onto a stretcher. That's when I notice that she's bleeding, and when the stretcher goes by I can see Aaliyah's bone. I gasp. A compound fracture. That can't be good.

"Shawn, get in the car," I hear Mr. Mendes say. It sounds as if he can barely choke the words out. I turn to see him watching the stretcher disappear from the arena. Both he and Shawn get up and quickly leave.

My mind is racing. I can't help but think about an accident similar to this. I was only twelve at the time. My foster father went on a rampage after drinking too much and stabbed my foster mother. It was my fault. He was trying to hurt me, but she stepped in front of me and he hurt her instead. I remember calling an ambulance and watching her bleed out in it. At the hospital, the police asked me what happened, and later that night I was told that my foster father had been arrested and that his wife had died. Because of me. She died protecting me. I quickly shake the memories out of my head as Hannah gets to her feet. I follow her to the car and we drive home silently.

When we get home, I go to my room and decide to see just how famous Shawn really is. It'll take my mind off of Aaliyah at least.

I go on YouTube and search his name. He has his own channel. When I go onto it, I see he has millions of followers. Wow. He really is popular. I click on his most recent video, his music video to a song called Stitches. It's definitely different. But I like it.

After that, I search his songs on iTunes. He has some singles, a mini album, and a full album out. He's a really good singer. I remember him telling me he also writes songs. Did he write all of these? If he did, that's amazing.

Next, I search where he's touring. He's supposed to leave tomorrow, and he'll be gone for three weeks before he has a few days back in Pickering. Then he has to leave again. He's traveling all over the U.S. Wow. He's way more famous than I realized.

After searching him, I can't think of anything to do, so I sit on my bed and listen to music. I decide to text Shawn to see how Aaliyah's doing, because I can't stop thinking about her.

Allie: Hey, how's Aaliyah?

I continue listening to my music until he responds a few minutes later.

Shawn: Still don't know. Been waiting to hear something for almost 30 mins.

I frown, feeling bad. I know what it's like not knowing. That's all I've done basically my entire life, not know where I'll go next or what will happen to me. That's what sucks about foster families; they're not permanent. I text him back and he responds almost immediately.

Allie: I'm sorry. I hope she's okay.

Shawn: Thanks, me too.

A little while later, Hannah comes upstairs and tells me that dinner is almost ready. It's my job to set the table.

As I take out three plates, forks, spoons, knives, cups and napkins, I start to think about Hannah and Adam. I don't know much about them. "Hannah, can I ask you something?" She smiles. "Of course, darling." I walk around the table and distribute the silverware. "What made you want to become a foster parent? Was it just because you couldn't have a kid of your own?" Hannah is quiet for a long time, and for a moment I'm worried I've offended her. "Well, that was part of the reason. But one of my co-workers, Paula, her sister died recently, and she had a son. His father was also gone, so Paula gained custody of him. That's what made me want to become a foster parent. I want to be able to help kids who don't have anyone." I nod.

It makes me feel better to know that she's not doing this just because she wants a kid. She actually cares about other children and their futures and safety. Maybe I really did get lucky with these foster parents.

Once again, dinner is very quiet. Hannah and Adam exchange a few sentences, and Hannah asks me how I'm liking it here, but as usual, Adam remains quiet.

"Can I ask you something?" I ask suddenly, turning to Adam. He looks up, surprised. "I suppose," he says, looking back to his plate. "Do you hate me or something?" Both Hannah and Adam look up at me. "You have no right to say that to me," Adam growls. "Just because I'm not as social as my wife, you have no right!" I sigh and stare back at my plate. "Actually, I do, because I've been to twelve different foster families and I'm pretty used being treated like crap. And I'm sure you assume that some troubled kid like me is untrustworthy, and I guess I get that, but you could at least make an effort. You seem to be sending me a pretty clear message you don't want me here." We all go silent after this for several minutes. Finally, Hannah speaks. "I understand where you're coming from, Allie, but in this house you don't talk to your parents like that." My blood begins to boil. "With all due respect, you have no idea what I've gone through," I say, slamming my napkin on the table. I hurry up to my room and decide to text Shawn again. I guess hope is for suckers.