All The Strings Attached // spm // slow updates

[23] Sanctuary

Just as I stood up, there was commotion going on inside. I got curious, and before I even thought about going to knock on the door, Aaliyah yanked it open, with new formed tears in her eyes.

I felt my stomach drop as I saw her tears. I couldn't think straight. I immediately barged into the room.

Shawn was lying on his bed, wide awake and a smile on his face.

I didn't bother to stop the tears that were threatening to spill from my eyes. He was awake. He was smiling. My Shawn was back. He was okay. I felt a ton of weight fall off my shoulders as I went to hug him.

A few seconds into the hug, I felt my whole world fall apart as I heard the three words I didn't know I had a fear of until that moment "Who are you?"

I literally felt my heart break in two inside me from those words. The tears came back, and this time they weren't happy ones. They were tears of sadness and slight frustration.

Then all of a sudden I heard a small chuckle coming from Shawn. "I was just kidding, Hailee. Don't cry." He said, wiping my tears with his thumb.

The rest of his family chuckled along as well as I gave Shawn a playful glare. "You scared the crap out of me! I thought I was gonna have to recreate 50 first dates on you."

He laughed once and then apologized. "I'm sorry. I did that to them too." He said pointing to his family who nodded in response.

"You guys shouldn't cry over me. I'm strong. I won't be gone till a very long time." He finished.

We all laughed. We were feeling much better and relaxed. Manny called in the nurse to check on Shawn, and all of us watched silently as she went inside the hospital room and checked his vitals.

She flashed a flashlight in his face and told him to follow it using his eyes. She did other various tests, such as asking him his full name and our names as well. She also asked him a bunch of questions like "Are you experiencing a headache?" Or "Does anything hurt?".

"Okay. Your recovery is going really great. No internal bleeding, no seizures, and no loss of memory. If you keep progressing like this, you should be able to be released in two days" she smiled.

All of us sighed in relief. We thanked her profusely before letting her out of the room.

We all sat there talking for over an hour before aunt Maddie arrived. She looked worried when she first opened the door, but her eyes lit up once she saw Shawn up and smiling.

"Shawn! You're okay! You got us all worried. I even told Burt and he was really worried. He said he hoped you get better soon. I'll call him later and tell him you're okay."

"Okay. Thanks Maddie. Tell Burt I said thank you so much." Shawn replied, and my aunt mumbled "alright" in return.

Everyone else soon fell into their own conversations, leaving me and Shawn with nothing to do. He noticed too. He moved over in his bed a bit and gestured for me to come to him while a shy smile was curved on his lips.

Once I was sat on the side of his bed, he began speaking "So. How've you been?"

"Seriously. You're asking me that? I should be the one asking that. Not you." I deadpanned, laughing a little bit.

"Just answer the question" he smiled teasingly.

"Honestly. I've been better. How 'bout you Mr. Mendes? How are you?"

"Aw. Well I hope you feel better soon. And I'm great, actually. I feel very loved cause all of you are here for me." He smiled, looking around the hospital room.

"Of course we'd be here for you. Ian, Brian, and Matt are coming over right when you get home too." I said, smiling.

"That's great! I was supposed to meet up with them before--" I knew what he was going to say so I quickly interjected.

"Yeah. I know. They told me when your parents and Aaliyah contacted them cause they called your guys's house."

He nodded silently and we just stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds. He licked his lips and I found myself staring at them. All of a suddenly, I felt my cheeks burning so I turned away. That's also when I realized Shawn and I were the only ones in the room.

That made my face turn ever warmer and red. I probably looked like a damn tomato! Shawn immediately noticed and didn't fail to point it out.

"Aw. Look at you! You look like the red version of the hulk!"

I slapped him jokingly on the shoulder and he winced. I immediately felt bad and retracted my hand.  "Oh gosh! I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hu-"

My apology was cut off by Shawn's howling laughter. "I was just kidding, Hailee. You're so gullible."

"You dick! I thought I hurt you!" I huffed.

Shawn laughed some more until he finally spoke up. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

He opened his arms as if asking for a hug. I found my self leaning into his arms almost immediately.

And in that moment, everything fell into place. In his embrace, I forgot about my plan. I no longer wanted to leave him. I wanted to stay in his arms forever. Shawn was my sanctuary. And I hoped I was his, too.

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PSA: I switched my username from @stylishmendes to @bassistmendes!