Things To Remember ♡ Shawn Mendes

[02]

2. Get Enough Sleep

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Nights should be spent gaining some well needed sleep that gives you the energy you'll need in the morning, or at least going over to your friend's house where you talk about your crushes, eat junk food while playing video games and trash talk each other endlessly when racing on the rainbow road obstacle course from mario kart, but sometimes things don't go as planned and you really just want to shut everyone out since the one person you thought you would spend the rest of your life with, had passed on.

he wanted to accept the invite over to his friend Ian's house, but he was afraid he would be an emotional wreck if someone even mentioned something associated with his late girlfriend, so he decided to shove the offer away and sulk in his own misery while glaring at the list and pictures on the wall. he imagined the girl crying almost as hard as he was when she wrote the list, he wondered if she even loved him the way he loved her.

of course he saw the flaws in her like the little overbite she has, the way her nose crinkles up when she's about to sneeze, the way she blinks one thousand times per second when she's trying so hard not to break into tears, the way she kept everything bottled up and never told anyone about how she felt, because in her mind, keeping others happy was always put first in her agenda since she didn't want anyone feeling as down as she always felt.

he wished he could be cuddling with her on his bed while watching the 100 because it's their favorite show, and he would kiss her nose every single time they saw a grounder which was a lot since they were already rewatching season two for the fifth time. the sky people and grounders had made an alliance to get their people back from mount weather, so they saw many grounders every episode and enjoyed their little nose kisses.

he longed for her soft lips since she always used EOS lip balm and he ached for her tiny hands gripped in his. they were more of an affectionate couple than sexual, they were both still virgins and planned to stay that way until after their wedding, they had planned their whole future together and now he didn't know what to do with the next ten years of his life since he wouldn't be married to the person he loved most.

he tended to lash out on everyone trying to help him, he was pushing anyone who cared about him away. it's hard to understand where he is coming from unless you have lost someone personally close to you like he did. there's many different methods of coping, he just happened to grief in a different way than other people.

never smiling, sleeping or being happy in general was the way he handled things. he became angry with the people who could enjoy life because he didn't understand how anyone would be able to live happily without her in their lives, but of course not everyone knew her personally enough to grief about her death.

his bare walls were recently painted a periwinkle color since that was her favorite color and he always wanted to remember her, like she wanted him to. he couldn't help but glare at the list tacked on the wall, because it was the last thing she did before leaving this planet and it made him sick to know that, but he wanted to remember everything on that list.

there was a knock that sounded at his door, he was astonished and didn't know who could be awake in his household at this hour since it was three in the morning, but nonetheless he tore his fleece blankets from his body and staggered to the door. he felt sleepy, but he just couldn't sleep and apparently, neither could his sister.

"hey big brother, i...i can't sleep at all," the little girl mumbled, rubbing her eyes. you could physically see the darker skin under her lash line, forming bags. it reminded him of his first and only girlfriend that passed a few months back. he didn't like seeing his sister sleep deprived, it hurt him way too much which is why he invited her into his room, hoping to be able to help her sleep.

"you really need to sleep, it's not healthy for you to lose sleep like this, because you're young and need the sleep to allow your brain to charge up, kinda like your phone," he explained patiently to his sister, wrapping both his arms around her and coddling her like he always does.

"yes, i know, but i thought that maybe since you have trouble sleeping, you would be able to help me. i knew you were awake right now, but if i told mum that i couldn't sleep she'd think something was wrong with me because she's mum and she cares a lot about us y'know," the sister told him as she cuddled into his chest. her hair tickled his neck, but he didn't mind at all.

"it's okay, 'liyah. i'll sing you a lullaby to help you go to sleep, it always helped when you were really little. do you want to pick a song?"

she pondered her choices before grinning and answering, "could you sing an ed sheeran song for me?"

the boy's heart ached silently as he whimpered because that was his and his lover's favorite artist, but he cares so much for his sister and would do anything for her so her began humming the tune to Give Me Love before singing the first verse while adding his own vocal twists.

by the end of the song, the girl still wasn't able to fall asleep but she was beginning to get tired. She yawned sleepily, knowing the lack of sleep was really going to butcher her in the morning, but it's not like she could really do anything about it.

shawn reached over to flick his lamp light off before throwing the fleece blankets over their bodies, pressing a slow kiss to his sister's cheek and nuzzling his head against the girl's hair. he pinched his eyes closed and squeezed her tighter to him, wishing to never let her go.

"you'll go to sleep with me, shawn, won't you?" she asked hopefully, not daring to move her head in the slightest and he nodded his head lightly in a way to respond to the girl without having to say anything.

"yes, i remembered that i actually needed to get enough sleep," he replied, glancing back to his list tacked up on his wall. he has all the time in the world to grief, but not if he keeps killing himself slowly by bad habits.

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Thank you for giving my story a chance but also reading, voting and commenting on it too. I know since it doesn't have much reads or votes no one really thinks it's good, but I appreciate it if you're reading this right now.