At Her Mercy

Chapter 11: Post Notifications

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SHAWN'S POV

I knocked on the pale door softly. It had been a few hours since I showed Mercy the video and she locked herself in her room. She hadn't left the room all day or responded to any of my text messages. I texted her every hour she spent in there alone asking if she needed anything. I thought she might have cried herself sleep.

"Come in!" I faintly heard her voice. 

I turned the cold knob in my grasp and pushed the door open. The room was still the same as always. Neat but empty. It seemed Mer never unpacked or she repacked. Did she really plan on flying out next weekend like my mom mentioned?

"I'm in the bathroom."

I looked in the direction of the bathroom to see the door open and light on. Mer had her hand sticking out the doorway waving. I walked over and leaned my shoulder against the frame. She gave me a polite smile in the mirror, though it didn't reach her eyes. I gave one back as she brushed out a section of her curls, making her hair poofy and frizzy. I knew this was one of the ways she prepped her hair before straightening it.

"Hi, need some help?" I offered to break the stiff silence.

She set the brush down on the counter and turned to face me. "Uh, listen about earlier."

"Mer, I am so sorry." I immediately apologized. "It wasn't my intention to upset you." I pushed myself off the door frame straightening my posture to show I meant my words.

"I know Shawn. I spoke to my mom- well our moms earlier." She leaned her hip against the counter. "She was with Mama Care when I called so I was able to talk to them both at once."

"Oh... how'd that go?"

"I know I shouldn't have attacked you like that. I shouldn't have questioned where you were because like everyone else you were living your life."

"I should've known Mer. I was supposed to be there for you."

"Shawn, you didn't know. No one knew for that matter." She said with a slight shake of her head.

"That doesn't mean I couldn't have picked up on it somehow."

"How could you?" She crossed her arms over her chest. "We barely texted then. Our phone calls were always cut after a mere 5 minutes, same with skype and facetime. Even when you came home we never saw each other."

"You were always tied up in something at Uni when I visited. Now when I think back on it I should've sensed it. There was no excuse as to why you couldn't find time for me. You were pushing me away and I was letting you." I moved to stand beside her and nudged her with my shoulder. "How come you never thought to open up to me Mer?"

The more I thought back on the year the more I came to realize that Mer and I drifted apart. We weren't as close like we were back in grade school. In the normal eye you'd think we were just busy all the time. She was a freshman in Uni and I was traveling the world working on my music.

As friends you find time for each other without question, especially if you haven't seen one another in months- years in our case. I beat myself up for days after finding out about what she endured. I hated myself for not calling more or popping up at her dorms when I had the opportunities.

Mer was quiet beside me. I could feel the air between growing tense. It was weird. This wasn't like us. We were never like this in grade school. We were always together as if we were joined at the hip. Whenever we weren't at school you'd find us together at each other's home or running around Toronto with our friends but I had to remind myself that we weren't in grade school anymore.