His Influence

18. Three Empty Words

Shawn stared at the girl peacefully sleeping in his arms, she had a rough day yesterday and it was only going to get worse for her, how he wished he could just take her away from everything but he couldn't. All he could do was make sure she knew he loved her, which was something that she reciprocated and left both of them feeling ecstatic at the emotion they felt.

Throughout Shawn's life, the words 'I love you' were sparsely used in his presence, either no one did love him or they just couldn't bring themselves to say it because they were overwhelmed with disappointment, or they just felt empty. But ever since Camila entered his life, with her goofiness and cuteness, those words became less and less empty to him. He finally found someone who did, who would, does love him. It had been a long time and he knew that it was really his fault but he wished his own parents put in more of an effort as well, his sister could've but none of them stuck by him, not after that horrible night. That was the night, where Shawn left everything, the gang, the deals. He couldn't be a part of something that ruined his life, that took away everything he knew. 

He needed somewhere to go and with no other options, he did go and live with the gang, he and Hailee had nowhere else to go. Both, he and Hailee, spent a long time brooding over their actions, even now they still talked about, wishing they had never gotten involved with the people the did. But after that night, Shawn and Hailee left the gang's business deals, those deals were got them in the mess in the first place and they were never going back. The gang while upset they were leaving them on their own, they respected their choice and let them go. But when it came to living space, they gladly took them in. None of them wanted to lose contact with one another, they were friends before any of the drama took place, so when they asked they took them in.

But, even three years on from the accident, Shawn still couldn't talk about it, not in full detail, not even with Hailee who went through the same thing. They lost everything but Shawn was so deeply engaged in what he lost he spent months motivated by blind rage, with only Hailee and the guys to help him.

When he first set his eyes on Camila, she pulled Shawn out of his rage, instead, she pushed him into a state of curiosity leading to his borderline stalker obsession with the girl. She served as a way to keep him sane even if she weren't aware he existed. Shawn never learned her name at that point, he just followed her around as quietly as he could.

He talked to her once, when tears were streaked across her face, she had no idea it was him, in fact, he doubted she remembered it.

When he lost sight of Camila, after what he had later learnt was the accident, and could no longer find her at the bar or at the school, since he graduated. He forgot about the girl and began to drink more vigorously, frequenting the bar more often, he forgot about Camila from all the alcohol he had ingested until that night where she bumped into him.

At first glance, he had no clue who she was or if he had seen her before since apparently, she had changed that much. Nevertheless, he was very much intrigued by the girl and when he returned home that night, he knew he was going to see her again and he did.

Camila brought him out of his dark spell, she gave him something to love, protect, care for, her. She always claimed that he saved her but in his eyes Camila saved him.

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There was no denying that the amount of love and emotion Camila felt for Shawn was genuine and strong but when it came to her family, well mother, she found the words becoming emptier and emptier. The love or fondness between Camila and her mother was never great or shown but the distance and antagonism between the two were growing more and more, which left Camila wondering if there was ever any love between Camila and her mother.

When Camila was younger, she witnessed the relationship -if she could call it that- fall apart and become a deep hatred for one another, which left Sinu out and about having a new affair every month, thinking neither Alejandro nor Camila knew, but they did. Camila spent her nights waiting, hoping that just for once her mother would come home and wish her goodnight but she never did. 

Camila quickly lost hope on the mother-daughter relationship idea, especially after one night, when she was 14 and her father was off on a business trip she found her mother and some man making out on her father's bed. She screeched at her mother, calling her a tyrant, constantly abusing her father and the love he had for her, blaming her for ruining their family.

That moment, Camila never felt so brave in her life but it fell apart just as quickly as it came when her mother's palm came in contact with her cheek. "How dare you speak that way to me? You wretched child. I knew I should've dumped your father and left him. If I raised you, you would be a well-behaved child." That moment instilled fear in Camila, she feared for herself and her father, the next day he returned and all hell broke loose as soon as he saw the red mark on her cheek.

During the chaos, Camila ran out, her parents completely unaware of it and made her way to the bar, the only place she felt home. She ran in, tears streaming down her face as she sat in an empty booth holding onto a glass of water as she rested her head on the table. "Excuse me?" A voice interrupted her sob-fest. "Are you alright?" 

Camila looked up to find a tall teenage brunette boy staring down at her curiously, she shook her head gently. He slid into the booth next to her wrapping an arm around her, "What's wrong?" The girl waved her hand dismissively, "Just family problems." She smiled at the boy. "If you're sure." She nodded, taking his arm from around her. "I need to get home." The boy smiled at her, "I hope I see you around." Camila grinned turning around, "Me too."

Camila didn't know it but that boy was Shawn and although it took her another three years for her to see him again, she did see him around.

As Camila woke up to find Shawn looking down at her, love and adoration swimming in his eyes, Camila felt as if 'I love you' weren't just three empty words stringing her along and having less and less meaning, because between her and Shawn there wasn't emptiness, there was love.

Camila groaned pushing her head into Shawn's chest as she remembered that she would have to feel her mother's wrath after her suspension. Adults never seemed to take a liking to her, apart from her father, they all thought she was a mischievous girl who couldn't do anything right only get in trouble and ever since she met Shawn that reputation was only getting worse.

But it wasn't fair, Camila never did anything herself, she was the scapegoat, the one other parents blamed in order to think their child was perfect, but they weren't. They were just as if not more flawed than Camila and she knew and they knew it but they wouldn't admit. No parent ever wanted to take the blame for their child, if they were in public Sinu would claim Camila wasn't her kid, despite the obvious similarities. 

"I don't want to go." She whined holding onto Shawn's chest as he attempted to get up. He laughed and placed a kiss on her forehead, "I know, I don't want you to either." Camila looked up and smirked, "Then don't." She moved up to sit on his lap as she placed several kisses to his neck, biting here and there, eliciting Shawn's approving groans. She moved her mouth to his ear, "We can have some fun of our own."

Shawn growled and pounced, moving her to lay beneath him as he furiously crashed their lips together surely bruising them as they clung to one another. Shawn's fingers reached the hem of her shirt and yanked, pulling it off in a swift motion as the two broke the kiss for a moment, Camila's quick fingers tearing Shawn's shirt. Shawn pulled her body closer to him as she fisted his hair in her hands. "You're driving me crazy." He murmured before snapping out of his Camila-driven trance. He wrenched himself from their liplock and pulled away from, sitting on the edge of the bed as she whined.

"Mila, I love doing this with you, I love you." He looked over at the girl and took ahold of her hand. "But we need to stop, as much as you don't want to see your mum, you need to, you live in that house." Camila looked away for a moment, debating whether or not she should actually bother going before turning around and letting out a loud groan, "Fine." Shawn grinned and leant down placing a tender kiss to her lips. "Good."

Twenty-five minutes later, the pair pulled up by her house, "Wish me luck." Shawn leant over and placed a kiss to her lips. "Good luck, call me if there's trouble." She nodded and after leaning over for a hug, she finally climbed out of the car and reached the porch. She turned around and waved Shawn off before raising the key to the lock.

"Here goes."