Virgin [sʜᴀᴍᴇʀᴏɴ]

VI

When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown

Isaiah 43:2

     Shawn would say that the general scene was dramatic, but nothing short of telling. An anonymous harbinger for the events that were promised. Then again, Shawn had been struck with paralyzing fear, floating dust could startle him.

     Olivia Mendes had been scarce that night, contributing to discussions when she saw fit, but mostly sitting straight in her chair and eating peas one-by-one, but her general carelessness (in reference to knocking prior to entering) though, had opened up the doors to Shawn's biggest secret.

     "Oh I just knew it. I just knew it Shawn!" She all, but gasped, taking a quick glance behind herself and closing the door once she affirmed that they were alone.

     And if Shawn hadn't known fear before, he knew fear in the moment. He snatched his duvet and threw it atop Cameron who peaked out, watching in anxiousness.

There were just some things that no one had any business knowing. Those things though, always tended to surface; even when you buried them in the middle of deserted planes, even when you tied weighted shackles to each of its legs and sent it overboard, even when you took it out back and shot it. Things like that, things that you hid with purpose, they were persistent, craving the light of day and trenching through unsurpassable oceans to find it.

Shawn's secret had stalked really, hidden like prey, waited for the right moment to leap out like a madman after what had vexed him showed even grains of vulnerability.

"Liv, it um...it isn't what it seems?" And it seemed that everything that Shawn had to say around the girl preferred to come out as a possibility rather than an absolute.

Olivia raised a brow, relaxing her demeanour and giving out one of those chuckles that barely escaped the slot of her lips.

"Nice to meet the guy who my brother's been playing rugby with." And if Shawn hadn't used the whimsical excuse before, he would have mistaken her statement for the reality within his sibling. Olivia was a gas lighting girl though, and she wanted to taunt Shawn, Cameron too, making them believe things other that what lay plain to see.

Cameron found himself lost. To his knowledge, they both weren't fans of rugby, they especially weren't keen on participating in it. And so he shook Olivia's hand with confusion present on his face, wondering about what all rugby had to do with anything.

     It was only then that Shawn began to truly worry. Yes, Olivia was scary, but what about his parents? He slipped his hand into Cameron's and squeezed it lightly. He needed some form of comfort. What about his father's hunting rifles and bayonets? What about his mother's gossip and her drinking habit? What about his faith?

If word got out, he would have to answer to Cameron as well. He would have to make sense of the lies that he'd told, he'd have to make sense of his sense with the risk of losing Cameron. Shawn would have to uncover a lengthy ladder in an obscure ditch.

And that was the thing about messes, they were made slowly; quite easily really, and most of the time, unconsciously. Cleanup was tough though. You understood the depth of what you had caused, you had heard people babble about it and how you were responsible for tidying up and it was expected; all at once, suitable to the needs of others.

Shawn did not particularly want that responsibility, but he had no other option. What was he to do when it seemed that he had hit a dead end?

"This isn't any of mom and dad's business." It was Shawn's first dialogue and in an instant, he wished it hadn't been.

"Who says I'm breathing a word? And what would I be telling anyhow?"

Shawn's brow furrowed. He knew it, she was toying with him once again. He sat up, pulling Cameron with him and relaxing his demeanour.

Even with the knowledge that Olivia was on the fence, the situation was still rather tense.

"So you aren't going to tell them?" He was soft in questioning and slow in saying so, still fearful.

     "Absolutely not, what is there to tell? I mean, you were only playing rugby. What was it, quarter one?" Olivia slid out of the room and Shawn brought Cameron's hand to his chest, allowing him to feel the beat of his heart.

     Despite Olivia's statements, Shawn was still wary about what her intentions were. It was rare that someone would uncover gold and fail to report. He knew that she was playing at some angle, maybe an angle that she didn't want Cameron to be aware of, but an angle nonetheless.

     He felt like he could dispel the contents of his stomach in the very moment, but it was mostly just his nerves that gave him that premonition, washing over in a nauseating way. He had uncomfortable chills running aloof, shaky hands, tremors, and he felt as though he'd been over salivating.

     Cameron sought to iron things out, but Shawn stopped him, his father had a thing going downstairs, a thing that his situation could definitely wait to unfold upon. He'd like it in fact, if things stayed rolled up and compact, out back, in the ocean's depths, surrounded by the warm sands.

     Alas, what Shawn wanted wasn't of any concern to reality. What things were werewhat things were and there was no definite way of changing that.

     So Shawn figured that maybe Olivia could rat him out to their parents and essentially the town itself, but at the cost of his family name and maybe their reverence within the church and it seemed that he wouldn't be the only to suffer if word got out and Olivia knew just as well.

     What they had spoken of wasn't something that was to leave the room. And maybe Shawn didn't quite have the secret of his sexual endeavors all to he and Cameron anymore, but he most assuredly had what allowed all of his situation to persist; false legality.

Well it's been a while right? I'm so over school.

Was this chapter anything like you expected? Was it who you predicted?

How do you think that Olivia will handle things? Do you feel as though her reaction was appropriate?