Unexpected - Shawn Mendes

Chapter Twenty

Shawn's POV

Everything was slowly getting worse. My father has turned into a cheater; he'd do anything to get Tanya out of the house, then he'd invite other women in. He might get her an appointment for a massage, or send her to make dinner for her parents. If we told anyone, we'd get beaten.

He'd started buying more drugs, and the alcohol fridge in the kitchen was always full to the brim. The new drugs he was on made the beating he'd give so much more unbearable.

I kept my mouth shut, I didn't tell a soul. No one could help us and get me or Aaliyah out of this situation. I know my father still loves me deep down, I know that someday reality will hit him and he'll be the man he used to be. He still cares, I know he does.

And when reality eventually hits him, I don't want him to be locked in a jail cell. I want to spend as much time with my father as I can. I want a parent, I want to know at least one of my parents is still around.

I don't want to go into foster care, and I don't want people to find out about what's happening. I don't want people to feel bad. No one could have stopped my father from acting the way he did.

The only things keeping me same throughout the torture was my sister and Grace. I couldn't leave either of them, I had to stay. I had to take care of my sister, I love her. And Grace was the best friend I've ever had.

So sometimes I really did feel like I'd had enough, but I couldn't be selfish like my dad was. I had to think of who meant most to me. I joined a gym and grew stronger. Much stronger than my father was, but I could never bear to use that to my advantage. He meant too much to me for me to hurt him like that. I wish it was the other way around.

But as the bell rang for school and I saw Grace in homeroom, my world was changed. I was happy. And at lunch, with Robbie and Morgan and Grace. I was grateful for them, they gave me strength. They inspired me. My fans inspire me every day, I knew that some of them had to be in a situation like mine. We are all strong, we had to be.

Music kept me here. I needed music, I needed to sing and play my guitar, it takes so much of my stress away. I loved the way it made me feel, I loved making other people happy with one of my talents.

Although I was grateful to have all three friends, Grace was different. I often wish I could've kissed her the other day, her lips looked so soft. She made me feel warm inside.

Our school was having a dance coming up, and I knew I wanted to ask her, I had to before anyone else did. I was going to write her a song and get her a bouquet of red roses.

I heard a knock on my door, it was a quiet knock. I jumped, startled. "Come in."

The door slowly opened to a shaky Tanya. I was surprised, she looked terrible. And I wasn't saying that to be mean, either. She had a black eye, bruises lining her body. She was limping.

"Shawn? I need to talk to you," she says.

"Oh, yeah, um go ahead," I awkwardly spoke, not sure what to say. I had never seen Tanya at a weak point like this.

"Your dad beat me last night. I've been doing a lot of thinking overnight, and I realized that I don't want to be with him anymore. I know he hits you guys too. So, I'm going to move out. But I have to be quick before he gets home, okay? I'm telling you this because I want to bring you and Aaliyah with me."

I was shocked, I never thought my dad would hit a woman, I didn't think he'd ever touch her like that.

"We can't right now," I whisper, "he's our father and this is our home. Everything will get worse if we leave, believe me, he'll come after us. I'll think about it and tell you if I change my mind, but I can't, I'm sorry."

"I understand. Give me a call if anything changes. Please don't tell him you know I left. Keep it a secret."

I promised her I would, and then she was gone. I missed my mom. I missed her so much, she wouldn't have let any of this happen to me or my sister. We'd be a happy family. She'd never let him take drugs or drink like a mad man. I pray every night that God will save us, and I know that someday he will. Maybe he already saved me. Maybe he saved me through music, or through Grace. Maybe I had to be more open to these changes.