Unexpected - Shawn Mendes

Chapter Nine

Later that night, I had cooked Ramen noodles for me and my sister to eat for dinner. I was never the best cook, so when I found myself making dinner for us (which was quite often), it was typically something simple. We'd have Kraft mac and cheese or Ramen or pizza rolls. It got pretty boring sometimes, but we were so used to it by this point that we never bothered to complain.

As we were eating, the doorbell rang. The downstairs area of the house was a lot safer by this point, for my father and Tanya had gone upstairs, meaning I wouldn't see them again for the rest of the night. But hey, I wasn't complaining

Groaning, I stood up from my seat at the kitchen table as Aaliyah continued to twirl the noodles around her fork. I fumbled with the lock, before swinging the door open.

Grace stood on the other side, smiling broadly. "Hey," I greeted, somewhat returning her smile. She looked a lot happier than she did earlier, and I wasn't really sure why.

"Hey, Mendes! How's your arm?" she asked, pushing me aside and stepping into the house. I had changed into a hoodie so that it covered the bandage. This way, Aaliyah would never have to find out about what happened earlier. I didn't want her to constantly worry about the events that occur between her dad and her brother when she's not around.

"Eh.. could be better. But anyways, what brings you here this evening?" I asked, which caused her to giggle a little. Once she enters, she turns so her body is facing me as we talk.

"Remember how I told you I had a surprise for you?" she asks, and I nod my head. I had no idea what she was talking about, considering she wasn't holding anything and didn't have any pockets to hold it in. She proceeds to walk into the kitchen where my sister is seated at the table, "Well, I got it." She turns to my sister, the smile playing across her lips never leaving.

Grace took a seat in the spot next to Aaliyah, turning her attention to her. "So I'm assuming  you're Aaliyah," she spoke. My sister nodded her head, returning Grace's smile, "make sure he doesn't open his eyes, okay? No peeking," and with that, she got up from her seat and headed out of the house.

I placed my hands over my eyes, thinking about why she was so excited about this surprise. I peeked out of an opening between my fingers, causing Aaliyah to lean over the table and whack me in the head. "You heard the girl, no peeking!" Sighing, I adjust my hands so that the only thing I can see is darkness.

I hear the front door open, and the sound of Grace's converse padding across the floor was heard. "Okay, you can o–wait! No!" A small bang was heard. Since she was so clumsy, I assumed she had knocked it over or something, and although I couldn't physically see her, I still laughed.

"Okay, open!" she tells me. I open my eyes and move my hands away to see Grace, with her flowing light brown hair, doing jazz hands at a new, tan acoustic guitar. It was identical to my previous one, and my jaw dropped.

I had no idea what to say, or what to even think. I couldn't remember the last time someone had done something this nice for me. If there was any motivation for me to keep pursuing music, it had to of been this very moment.

My first instinct was to shoot out of my seat and engulf her in possibly the biggest bear hug I'd ever given someone. I picked her up off her feet, spinning her around. She smelled like vanilla, and I held the scent of her and smiled so big.

Maybe Grace Morrow wasn't as bad as I thought she was.

When she pulled away from me, I turned my attention to the tan acoustic on the tiny black stand next to her. "Oh my god. Thank you thank you thank you thank you," I repeat over and over again. I appreciated it so much that my body was physically incapable of reacting. Someone believed in me. Someone believed in me so fucking much that they'd spend hundreds of dollars on me to see me succeed. It felt good knowing that, especially when my father was constantly picking me apart. 

"Wait, Shawn, what happened to your other guita-" Aaliyah begins, confused, but I quickly cut her off. I should have told her about what happened, she deserved to know because she was going through the same exact stuff that I was. Especially since I told Grace that it was her.

"Aaliyah, eat your noodles," I order, not wanting to be caught in my lie on the spot. She rolls her eyes and huffs, but continues to finish her meal. Grace had probably already figured out that my twelve year old sister was far too sweet to do something like that anyways. But what she doesn't know won't kill her.

Aaliyah quickly finished her meal and excused herself to her room. She thanked me for making her dinner before she left, and told Grace that it was nice to meet her. Grace helped me do the dishes and clean up, and then we went upstairs to my room, taking the guitar with us.

She sits on my bed, "Shawn? You can only have that guitar on one condition," she tells me sternly, as I balance it onto my leg.

"And what is that?" I question, smiling to myself as I position my fingers on all the different chords. My guitar hasn't even been broken for that long, and it still felt like I hadn't picked one up in ages.

"Promise that you won't give up on yourself," she says, holding out her left pinky. I chuckle at her childishness, but still lock pinkies with her.

"As long as you don't give up on me, I won't give up on myself."

"Deal."

We spent the rest of the night by me singing to her softly, playing my new guitar for her. I played every one of her favorite songs to the best of her ability, and she eventually fell asleep. Today wasn't so bad after all.