His Son's Teacher

16. Reset

Shawn slammed the front door shut as he saw his ex-girlfriend, his girlfriend and his son all leave his house. What is wrong with him? Where did all that come from? How could he say such things?

He shook his head and laid down on the sofa, covering his face with his hands and let his tears of frustration and anger fall. He couldn't cope. All these changes in his life. Despite what Shawn had previously thought, he clearly wasn't ready to be with Camila, or at least to be able to see her as his son's mother. He was the sole parent figure and despite what Shawn thought, he wasn't ok with the changes that came with being with Camila.

He loved Camila, he really did but clearly, he had subconsciously held in anger and jealousy at the newfound relationship between her and his son.

His son, Rio. The light in his life and he had told him that he was a runt. After years of telling his son, how special he was, he told him that he was a runt. He used the words of the bullies, those kids who tormented him. He was a terrible father and he had possibly irreversibly changed the relationship between the father and son and how Shawn regretted what he said, but he was sorry, so sorry.

Finally, there was Rachel. The ex. The one he looked back upon as the devil, full of disdain. He really messed up there. He wanted to put the blame on the whole situation on her, but he knew it was his fault for being so bitter towards her and in the process, he lost Camila at least, maybe even his girlfriend. He sighed with regret, before pulling his phone out of his pocket and pressed on the familiar contact.

The tone rang once, twice before the voice sounded through, "The Polar Bear, how may I help?" "Haiz." "What do you want?" She groaned. "Haiz, this is serious." She sighed and Shawn heard her shuffle into another room. "What happened?" "I told Camila, I wish I'd never met her and told her that she didn't care for Rio." There was silence on Hailee's side of the line for a brief moment and Shawn revelled in that brief moment, that he noted was the 'calm before the storm'.

"How dare you!" She screeched. Shawn winced. "You idiot!" She went into a rant about he was an ignorant 'twat' as she put it. Finally, after ten minutes of Hailee's screeching, he cut her off. "Hailee! I'm sorry, I really am but I couldn't help it. Ever since Rachel has shown up. Camila's been giving her support, while I continue to despise her and Rachel asked to spend the day alone with Rio this morning and I said no, but Camila took the phone and told her yes. It infuriated me because, after all these years, there was someone else there to be the parent."

Hailee remained silent on the other side. "Haiz. I've always been the sole parent and now there's someone else being that parent and his mother coming in too. It's all too stressful and now here I am after suffering the breakdown that I suppose has been a long time coming." Again, Hailee remained silent. "I guess I was wrong."

"About what?" Hailee piped up. "I thought I was ready to have a girlfriend and to let go of the past, but I'm not Haiz." Hailee let out a distraught sigh. "What about Camila then?" "I love her, Haiz. I really do. But I don't think I should be in a relationship with her, where I spend my time consciously or subconsciously envying the fact that she spends more time with Rio." "So that's it. The end?" "For now. Yes." "I'll support you, whatever your decision is, but what about Rio or Camila herself?"

"Haiz, I'm not cutting off contact. She's still his teacher, but we're not together. It's too soon and I stupidly threw myself into the relationship before fully thinking through my various feelings. This time around, I'm fully thinking through any decisions first." "Ok, Shawn. I'm with you." "Thank you."

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Camila and Rachel sat on the grass and watched Rio. Their heads were resting on top of one another as they sat staring. "I really wish, I'd never left," Rachel commented, as she watched the adorable boy squeal and giggle as he swung his legs on the swing. Camila squeezed her hand. "It wasn't your fault. There are some things that can be helped and some that can't. Postnatal depression wasn't your fault and if anything you did the right thing by leaving and sure maybe it wasn't in the right way, but at least you recognised it was better not to be there. Because, I assure you, Shawn wouldn't understand. He's ignorant."