Treat you better ➳ Shawn Mendes [1] ✓

Chapter 14

When Shawn left Signe she was still processing his words I love you Signe Wilson. She finished her maths homework without paying much attention to it, Shawn's word replaying in her head endlessly. Her mother soon climbed the stairs and joined her daughter in her room, who was now laying down on her bed with a very thoughtful look as she stared at the ceiling. She glanced at her mother, rose an eyebrow and waited to see what she wanted. Jolene flashed a content smile, poked her daughter's nose and asked what happened. Signe hesitated, unsure whether she should tell her mother about Shawn's confession. Jolene was her mother, she told everything to her daughter, the good and the bad, after all, Signe was the only one she could vent about everything. So she decided to do the same, tell her about everything including his confession and how much he hated Jeremy and wanted her away from him. Her mother listened to it very attentively without interrupting her daughter and with a thoughtful look, absorbing every word that left Signe's mouth.

"You want to know what I think?" Her mother asked as she put a strand of her red hair behind her ear, a tic they both shared.

"Uh...yes?" Her answer came out more as a question than she had liked. She was honestly scared with her mother's opinion, nevertheless, she knew it was still her own choice and not her mother's.

"I honestly think you should dump that Jeremy and give Shawn a chance. I believe that you have a better relationship with someone like him than with a random guy."

"He's not a random guy mom." Signe dismissed. Perhaps she could prove Shawn that Jeremy isn't as bad as he thinks he is, yet wouldn't that cause more pain to Shawn? She noticed how sad he sounded when he whispered I hope Daniel is luckier than I am and it broke her heart. She was hurting him without it being her intention. What was she supposed to do? Dump Jeremy because Shawn wants it to happen - and her mother too apparently - or just follow what she felt was right?

"It's your choice, honey. Do what you think it's right." She said before kissing Signe's forehead. " It's getting late, have a goodnight sweetie."

"Goodnight mom." Signe replied. She felt like she couldn't sleep, her mind still a freaking mess, a confusion she wanted to get rid off. Why couldn't she see clearly what she wanted? Why was it so hard to understand what love was? But above all, what was she going to do? She had two simple choices, yet they everything but easy. 

After a few hours trying to clean her mind and not overthink the situation, she gave up with a sigh. Perhaps giving up on Jeremy would be the best, ever since he came into her life things were just getting harder and harder for her. No. No, she couldn't. She had come too far to just quit. That's when she heard the door downstairs being open and a voice that quickly was becoming familiar to Signe. Daniel. Was her mother waiting for him? Signe rolled on her bed and picked up her phone which was on top of her bedside table. It was 3:30 AM what could possibly be their plan? The ginger put her barefoot on the cold floor, left her room quietly and went down a few steps on the stairs. At first, she heard nothing, but then she heard sobs coming from the kitchen and they weren't from her mother.

"I...I had to come. I'm s-sorry Jolene. I can't s-stay alone this n-night. Not this bloody night." He cried. Signe wanted to see what was happening, but she was afraid to get caught overhearing so she just sat on the stairs trying to understand what they were talking about.

"It's fine Daniel." Her mother said with a reassuring voice. The young girl could imagine her mother rubbing his back in a comforting gesture like she does whenever Signe cried, which wasn't very often. "I'm here."

"T-this night.  T-this bloody day is a-always s-so hard for m-me." Even though Signe didn't know Daniel well enough, listening to him cry was difficult. It clenched her heart tight and made her want to pull him for a hug. " I u-used to be married b-before."

"Daniel, you don't have to tell me this if you don't want too." Her mother replied softly.

"I w-want too." Daniel was still sobbing, but clearly making an effort to stop to tell his story properly. "Like I s-said. I used to be m-married before. Her name was Anneliese and we had a daughter Tisha. We were living in London back then"

When he said those names Daniel had to pause, perhaps because the pain of saying those names was immense, able to bring ghosts from the past that he was probably trying to forget. Signe wondered what could have happened while Daniel paused to take deep breaths and try to calm himself down with the help of her mother. Did Anneliese left him and took their daughter with her? Did something happen that took them from this world? 

"Precisely today I was at work and I was supposed to leave earlier because I would start my holidays, but instead I called my wife and told her I had to stay a bit late and she had to go to the bank herself." The poor man sounded at the edge of breaking down while Signe could already see the picture of what had happened on that day. " She took Tisha with her. They were there at the wrong day and the wrong time when some bloody bastard blew that place off."

"Oh my God Daniel." Jolene exclaimed at the same time Signe took a hand to cover her mouth with shock, a tear running down her face. She couldn't imagine it, going to a bank, something that should be safe, join the people that were inside unaware it would be the last thing she would do before being ripped off of the world with such cruelty. How could people do that? How did they manage to sleep at night knowing the chaos they created, the people whose lives were taken unfairly, the families left to grieve were all due to some sick minds? It churned her stomach just thinking someone could be that sick to leave a bomb in there and blow up with the whole building and go on with their lives as if they weren't responsible for many dead people.

"It's all my fault." Daniel claimed before breaking down. Signe just wanted to get up and walk towards him and explain it wasn't his fault. There was no way he could have known Anneliese and Tisha were going to die, there was no way he could have prevented that sad event from happening. "I-if I had left...If I went instead of them, t-they would be a-alive by now."

"Daniel...It's not your fault. You didn't know." Jolene tried to comfort her. She seemed to be crying as well, yet no one could blame her. Daniel's story was very sad and no one should go through the same. She couldn't even imagine how it felt to live with such a burden on her shoulders and she only hoped it didn't happen to her.

"It's...it's my f-fault." He repeated. Signe decided to peek, see how he was even though it was clear he was devastated. There he was, a broken man, his blue soft eyes were now red and puffy from crying, a pained expression on his face, a broken heart on his chest that would probably never heal and that it would be scarred for the rest of his life. Her mother was hugging him and try to calm him by rubbing his back with one hand and caressing his hair. "I-I lost my job a-after that. I used to d-drink so much..."

The ginger decided to leave them alone, after all, Daniel was telling that to Jolene and not her. It would be very disrespectful if she kept listening to the conversation between them. She was still crying silently, sad to hear such thing happened to him, but happy to see that he managed to survive this long carrying a heavy burden on his shoulders, live his life like Anneliese and Tisha would have probably wanted him to do. From now on, Signe was definitely going to think twice whenever she thinks nothing worse could happen because, in reality, it could happen when someone least expects.

That's how tragedies work when no one is waiting it's when they happen.