Your Song (Shawn Mendes)

Chapter 14

Nicole and Rachel practically sprinted into the hospital to the nurse's desk. "We're here for Maria Peters." Nicole told her. "We're her mothers."

The nurse nodded and typed something in on her computer. "She's on the second floor. Room 211." She said.

The two quickly thanked the nurse and rushed to the elevator, going up to the second floor. They headed down the hall and both almost sobbed at the sight of the familiar black to silver ombre curls through a window. Maria sat up straighter in the bed the minute her mothers entered the room. "Moms." She said quietly, voice on the verge of breaking.

Rachel rushed in and crushed Maria into a hug. Nicole approached slower and sat next to Maria on the bed, stroking her hair lightly. "Oh songbird, what did he do to you?" Rachel asked, tears building in her eyes. 

Maria let out a sob against Rachel's chest and Nicole felt a few of her own tears trickle down her face at the sound. "How long did he keep me?" Maria asked, her voice muffled against Rachel.

"Almost three weeks." Nicole answered. "Nineteen days."

Maria lifted her head and fervently wiped at the tears streaming down her face. "It's the 26th?" She clarified. Nicole and Rachel nodded. "Where's Shawn? The North American leg of the tour should be done. Why isn't he here?"

"He's in LA, sweetheart." Nicole said, brushing back a curl from her daughter's face. "He's performing at the VMAs tomorrow night."

Rachel took Maria's hand and squeezed tightly. "He's never stopped thinking about you. He's been driving himself insane these past few weeks without you." Maria felt fresh tears burn in her eyes. She wanted Shawn here. "We showed him the video you were going to give him. He loved it."

Maria cracked a small smile at the thought. Nicole pulled up Instagram on her phone. "And he even posted one of himself as well." Maria let out a sob at the video of Shawn singing Elton John's hit with his guitar. "His fan's mom is the one that led us to you."

"We can call him right now." Rachel added. Maria shook her head.

"No, I need to see him." Maria said. "I need to have him with me physically." She started pulling on her hair. "I need to get to LA."

Nicole and Rachel both nodded, understanding her need to see the boy who's done so much for her. Rachel pulled out her phone and began typing. "I'll get you on the first plane to LA."

A knock brought all their attention to the door where a female police officer stood. Nicole smiled at the familiar face. "Maria, this is Catalina, one of the detectives who helped us find you." 

Maria smiled gently at Maria. "I'm just here to take her statement." She said. "The doctors told me to inform you that she can leave whenever she'd like. Just make sure to have her eating and keep her hydrated."

Nicole nodded while Rachel returned to looking for flights on her phone. "Look, she needs to be in LA as soon as possible. Will she be allowed to do that?"

Catalina looked to Maria. "You work as a guitarist on tour, right?" Maria nodded. "Then that's fine for her to go to LA once I get her statement. It shouldn't take too long."

Maria nodded, eager to get out of the hospital and on a plane to see Shawn. "Okay," Rachel said and the three looked to her. "There's a flight leaving Toronto at 8 tomorrow morning. That'll put you in LA at around one o'clock. You can go to the venue and find Shawn during rehearsals. Is that okay?"

Maria nodded once again. "Okay then." Catalina said. "I'll just ask you a few questions and then you'll be able to take her home to pack."

*******

Maria rushed towards the doors of the Forum only to be grabbed by two of the security guards. She blinked back tears as thoughts of Noah and her kidnapping came to her mind but she swallowed them down. "Let me go!" She demanded, wriggling in their grasps. "I need to see Shawn Mendes!"

One of the guards scoffed. "Yeah, you and a couple thousand other fans."

"I'm not a fan! I'm his girlfriend and his guitarist!" She shouted back at them.

The second guard tightened his grip on her. "Next time, you might want to come up with a more believable story, sweetheart." 

"Woah, woah, woah. What's going on?" An accented voice said from behind the guards. They turned and Maria's eyes widened when she saw Ed Sheeran standing behind them.

"Just a fan trying to get in." The first guards answered. "Nothing you need to worry about."

Ed finally looked towards Maria and his eyes widened. "That's not a fan, you bloody idiots!" He exclaimed. "That's Shawn Mendes' girlfriend and guitarist who's been missing for weeks!" Maria nodded, knowing she had already told them that.

"Wait, she's actually Shawn Mendes' girlfriend?" The other second questioned.

Ed scoffed and pulled out his phone, going onto Instagram. He showed the screen to the guards, a picture of Shawn and Maria displayed. "See? She's was kidnapped almost three weeks ago so let her go!" The guards gently released Maria, apologizing to her.

She rushed to Ed the minute she was released. "Ed, where's Shawn?" She asked frantically.

"His rehearsal was an hour or two ago. He's probably back at his hotel." Maria felt tears burn in her eyes and ran a shaking hand through her hair. "The real question is how are you here?"

"Apparently the mother of one of Shawn's fans saw the post he made about what Noah looked like and the car he was driving. Turns out he was the woman's neighbor." She explained, wringing her hands and playing with her fingers as if her rings were still there. "So she made the call and the police arrested him and found me. I got on a plane here the minute I was done giving my statement. Ed, I need to see Shawn!"

"Okay, look take a deep breath." Ed instructed calmly. She did so. "As I said, Shawn's not here but I have a plan." She raised an eyebrow. "It was one of his fans that got you here so I think it only fair you give something back to them. Come with me." He took her by the hand and led her inside the venue.