Behind Classroom Doors II

CIII- Stages of Grief

In school when we were taught about death we learned about the five stages of grief. After learning about my parents' very clear disapproval, I went through at least three of the five stages. I was angry at my parents at the house, denial happened when we got back to Shawn's place. We were sitting at the table sharing a cup of tea. "They have to come around right?" Shawn raises a gorgeous eyebrow at me. "I just mean that I'm their only daughter, they won't stay that mad at me. Not forever anyway."

He sips on the mug before sliding it back over to me. "Well that depends, do you plan on being with me forever?"

I sit back in my chair, "Shit."

Shawn reaches out his hand across the table and takes mine. "It's going to be okay, I promise."

"I know it had to happen eventually, I just-" Tears begin to form in my eyes but I push them back. "I didn't think they would react that badly." I sniffle and groan. "Ugh, I can't keep getting emotional over this."

Shawn chuckles lightly. "They're your parents, you have every right." Then he pauses, as if unsure of the question brewing in his mind. "Are you mad at me?"

I meet his gaze, deep green eyes that I can't get enough of staring back at me. "Of course I'm not mad at you."

He lets out an audible breath. "I just know that I pressured you to tell them before you were ready. Since it didn't turn out well, I wasn't sure if you blamed me."

"I don't take it back. You were right, they needed to know. I hated lying to them about us. I hate hiding our relationship to the people I love." Especially since Shawn is the most important person in my life.

I grab the mug of lukewarm tea and stand up to pour it down the drain. Shawn stands up and opens the fridge behind me. "Family drama makes me hungry." He says in amusement. Clearly joking as he looked over his shoulders to see me.

I laugh, thankful for the mood change. "Unfortunately I didn't eat much of dinner either. Everything in that fridge is a month old and probably expired. Let me look in the pantry." We spend the next hour scouring for some food and deciding on spaghetti that's been kept neatly in his food pantry. We play some music and cook it before meeting back at the table with noodles and pasta sauce. I'm blowing on my first bite when I notice Shawn is staring at me. "What?"

He smiles, the kind that reaches his eyes and warms my heart. "Nothing just...Happy Thanksgiving."

He doesn't have to say anything for me to know what he's thinking. It's our first Thanksgiving together. The first of many I hope. "Happy Thanksgiving, Shawn."

Acceptance over my situation didn't happen until the next day. My parents haven't tried to message or call me since I left but maybe it's for the best. I just hope they haven't reported him to the school board or the police. I remember how quick they were to try to get Dean arrested last year, then again they should've been. "Do you need help?" I ask as I watch Shawn walk in with grocery bags on his arms.

We had decided it would be best if only one of us went to the grocery store this time. Since the rental is under his name, he went. "No, I got it." He sets the bags down and makes one more trip to the car. While I wait for him to come back I begin to put everything away. I pull out the box of tampons I asked him to get at the same time he walks back in. "Are they the right kind?" He asks.

I put them back in the bag and nod. "Thanks again." I say shyly. I wasn't supposed to start my period until next week but my body had other plans. Unfortunately I only had one tampon with me, buried under my purse.