Your Song (Shawn Mendes)

Chapter 22

"Wow." Rachel said after a pregnant pause. Maria twisted her rings nervously. She had just told them about her wanting to move in with Shawn and they had fallen silent after. "I don't really think we were expecting that."

Nicole scoffed a bit. "Rachel, let's be real, we kinda were." She retorted. "I mean, just last week we took her to get two tattoos for him."

"Okay, let me rephrase: I don't think we were expecting that this soon." Rachel corrected.

Maria sighed and pushed some hair back from her eyes. "I know this seems a little fast but I'm 19, Shawn's almost 20, and it's not like we're getting married after a month like Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson."

"We know that but this is a big step, Maria." Rachel told her.

"I know that!" Maria responded. She stood up and ran a hand through her hair. "For most of my life, I was stuck staring at four walls and a door. Now, I've gotten to see everything. Europe, Japan, even Rio and Australia. I'm not looking over my shoulder anymore and... a lot of that is thanks to Shawn."

"She's not wrong." Nicole spoke up. "It was thanks to Shawn's post that we found her again."

"And it's not like I'm moving across the world." Maria added. "I'm just moving to Toronto. It's an easy drive away."

Rachel sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She looked to Maria who was twisting her rings in nervousness. "Is this really what you want, songbird?" She asked.

Maria nodded with no hesitation. "More than anything." She looked down at the wolf ring. "I know we're still pretty young but... I know what I feel about Shawn." 

Rachel smiled, a bittersweet taste in her mouth as she spoke, "Okay then. If this is what you want, we'll support you." Maria smiled brightly and hugged her mothers.

*******

Maria took a shaky breath as she was led to her seat on the stage. She and Shawn were in New York at Good Morning America. In addition to performing Like To Be You, Maria had agreed to do an interview about her kidnapping. She knew it was time to get in front of this, especially since she and Shawn were now going to be living together and his album was set to come out in about a month and a half.

She jumped slightly when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Robin Roberts who would be doing the interview with her. "It's okay, Maria." The news anchor said gently. "This interview will go at your pace. You don't have to answer any questions you don't want to and if it gets too much, we go to commercial to give you a break."

Maria nodded as Robin took the seat across from her. "I'm just... not used to telling people my story. Especially like this." She glanced around at the cameras and set, nervously readjusting the side ponytail her curls had been pulled into.

Robin offered her a reassuring smile. "I can tell you right now that it'll feel better once you've done it." Maria nodded and straightened up when the countdown to live began. Robin smiled into a camera. "Welcome back. Sitting with me in the studio, we have none other than Maria Peters whose both heartwrenching and heartwarming story came to light less than a year ago through her boyfriend's social media post." She turned to Maria who smiled. "Thank you for joining us today, Maria."

"Thank you for having me." Maria responded.

Robin looked down at her notes briefly. "Now from what your boyfriend, Shawn Mendes, posted on his Instagram, you were kidnapped right after birth, is that correct?"

Maria nodded. "Yes, from what my kidnapper told me, I was taken a few days after my birth because he felt my biological parents wouldn't take care of me. He kept me hidden for 14 years before he was suspected of drug dealing. When the police came to investigate the suspicion, they found me instead."

"Wow. Fourteen years?" Maria nodded. "Do you have any idea of who your biological parents are and why he believed they wouldn't take care of you?"

Maria shook her head. "I really have no memories of them other than a brief flash of them giving me the name Maria. Truth be told, at this point in my life, I don't see the point in me trying to find them. I have two amazing adopted moms and I love them to death. I feel like trying to find my biological parents would just open a can of worms that I would rather keep closed."

Robin nodded. "I'm glad you're at a good point in your life. Has this affected your relationships with your mothers and even Shawn?"

Maria nodded. "I don't think there is one rape, sexual assault, or kidnap survivor that will tell you it hasn't affected their relationships with their loved ones. It just... isn't possible." She took a shaky breath and tears glittered in her eyes. "My moms understood this. The social worker who placed me with them explained this before they took on fostering me and especially after they decided to adopt me. For most of the time before I was adopted, I could barely even be touched, I would refuse to leave the house or even my room out of fear. It was a horrible time for the three of us."

"But I believe you said that they were the ones to get you into music." Robin interjected.

Maria nodded again. "They were. They saw how much I responded when they sang me to sleep or played music in the house and decided to see how much music could help me. They had me begin music therapy and it was there I started to learn the violin and it just sort of spiraled from there."

"And, if you don't mind my commenting, there are reports that you were sexually assaulted all throughout the kidnapping."

Maria nodded, more tears glittering in her eyes. "My kidnapper began to beat me and abuse me when I was about 8 or 9 years old. Then once I had my first period when I was about 12, he began to... rape me. Repeatedly." She wiped a tear that had trickled down her face. "If you don't mind, I would rather not discuss this right now."

"Of course." Robin nodded. "Now, you were definitely brought into the spotlight when you and Ed Sheeran practically hijacked Shawn's performance at last year's VMAs." Maria laughed brightly at the memory. "Can you tell us what that was about?"

"Almost three weeks prior to the VMAs, I was taken once again by the same man who kidnapped me originally." Maria explained. "After Shawn and his team decided to release a statement about what had happened, one of Shawn's fans Brianna told her mother about the post. My kidnapper was their next door neighbor. Thanks to their call, I was found and my kidnapper was arrested. I came to LA to try and see Shawn but found Ed instead. After he heard the story, he decided Shawn and I could give an unforgettable performance to fans like Brianna." She raised her hands in joking surrender. "I swear it was all Ed's idea. I just wanted to see Shawn."

Robin laughed. "Well that's all the time we have. Thank you so much for being here and sharing your story, Maria." Maria nodded with a smile. "After the break, we'll have the latest news and Maria will be joining Shawn to perform their hit song Like To Be You. Stick around."

The cameras cut and Maria shook hands with Robin. She turned around and saw Shawn standing with a proud smile on his face. She managed a watery smile back before throwing her arms around his neck and burying her face in his chest. Shawn held her close and Robin smiled at the two. They deserved each other and that was rare to find at such a young age.