Mr. Mendes

Chapter 18 - how do you like your eggs in the morning?

SHAWNS POV:

I woke up. The room was flooded with light which made the off-white room look extremely bright. My body is warmed by the one next to mine as the cold morning breeze circulates around the room in waves. I turn my head to the girl laying next to me. Eleanor Hill. What a girl she was. Her body was facing away from me as I sat up on the other side of the bed. I took a moment to listen to the soft sound of her breathing, sleeping peacefully next to me. I decided I didn't want to just look at her anymore, despite how beautiful she was. I got out of bed and quietly walked around to the other side. Crouching down to her level, I once more realised how gorgeous she is. Little freckles on her cheeks that only show without makeup, each one a different shape. I decided to wake her by kissing her on the lips. Not forcefully, but just enough to make her stir from the deep sleep she was in. Her eyes fluttering open, I couldn't help but smile, my heart was booming.

"Hey." She whispered softly, a smile emerging on her lips as she did so.

I gave her another kiss in response. "Would you like some breakfast honey?" I asked, knowing she would be hungry.

"I'd love some." She responded while dragging herself up and out of bed, still in a drowsy state.

I put on some jogging bottoms and an old t-shirt and walk downstairs into the kitchen. I start cooking some eggs and some bacon too, trying to set the table and pour orange juice while I did so. Not the easiest of tasks. The carton falls from my hand and spills everywhere on the floor, making a loud thud noise as it landed. Eleanor comes downstairs shortly after. My eyes can't help but trail down her body. She wears her hair in a bun and still has no makeup on. Her top is a white tank and she has thrown on some shorts too. My gaze averts to her hand, where a wedding ring snugly sits. It shines as it catches the light of the morning sun.

"Sorry," I say, looking sheepish, "I'm so useless."

"It's okay don't worry, just clean it up before everything gets sticky." She laughed at me. At least my clumsiness has one advantage.

I grabbed some kitchen roll and crouched down to mop up the citrusy mess I had made. My unstyled curls kept drooping themselves over my eyes, I tried to puff them out of the way but it wasn't working.

"How is my lovely wife this fine morning?" I asked, putting on a terrible English accent.

"She's good, a little tired because Lucy came to wake me up in the middle of the night, but I guess that's what you bargained for when you have a kid." She shrugged.

Speak of the devil.

Lucy's little feet came pattering into the room as fast as they would carry her. She had the widest smile on her face and her arms outstretched ready for a hug. She crashed into me and flung her arms around me.

"DADDDYYYY!" She exclaimed, making my heart full.

"Princess!" I replied with just as much enthusiasm, "How are you today? Gosh, you're getting so big!"

"I'm good," she beamed, "Daddy, why is the floor sticky?" She pondered with her head tilted to one side and her eyebrow raised.

Eleanor burst out laughing, "Because he's an idiot, our idiot."

*BEEP BEEP BEEP*

The wonderful, wholesome feeling I had was instantly stripped away from me, along with the images of Eleanor and our 4-year-old daughter. My vision stays black but I know I am awake no matter how hard I try to pull the feeling back. Reluctantly, I open my eyes. The room is cold and grey; the curtains are shut and there is no sign of her. Not even one hint that she had even been here last night either. I sighed. My alarm clock read 6:30 am before it was shut off by my forceful fist.

I got showered, dressed and presentable before picking up my phone to call her. Where was she? Why did she leave? We didn't go any further than kissing last night; I knew I had to stop myself.

I dial her number but she doesn't pick up. She's probably sleeping I thought, after all, it is 6:30 am. I hope she's okay.

After a couple of hours, I decided to call her again to make sure she got in okay but there was no answer. Instead, I got 7 generic, impersonal words. "Hey it's Elle, please leave a message."

A feeling of worry washed over me. I couldn't go to her house because her parents were home and that would cause a nuclear explosion of questions. She wasn't picking up her phone, she hadn't been active online since last night... where was she? I don't have any other way to reach her.

"I'll see her in less than 48 hours, we have English 1st on Monday," I thought to myself, "there's no need to worry, maybe everything that happened for too much for her and she needs space?"

As my head spun I decided to go for a walk around the neighbourhood; it was one of the only ways I would be able to clear my mind. It wasn't okay to be this attached already, it's only been about a month. I think we might have to cool it for a while.

I was about to walk to the front door when I got a text. It was an image, no words were captioned underneath it. The message was from an unknown number but I decided to open it anyway.

"Fuck." I murmured under my breath.

The picture was of me and Elle, hands all over each other, at the carnival last night.

Then three dots appeared. Whoever sent this was typing.

Dot.

Dot.

Dot.

"Come on!" I whispered, shaking my phone in my hands.

Dot.

Dot.

Dot.

The text tone sounded. I braced myself.

"Looks like teacher has been naughty... It would be a real shame for this photo to get out wouldn't it? You can trust me as long as you do what I say. Break up whatever this disgusting thing is and it goes no further, if not, your dirty little secret gets out. I'd be careful if I were you, you know how talkative students can be."

Eleanor was the first person that crossed my mind as it raced in a million directions. Does she know? Is she safe? Whoever has sent this obviously has a problem with me and her. I need to check if she is okay. I call her again.

"What?" A croaky, tearful sounding voice responds. "I can't do this right now Shawn."

Hearing her cry broke my heart.

"Can we talk about this," I asked quietly. I wasn't about to demand action out of her, we'd had enough of that today. "It can be anywhere you like."

"No." She replied curtly.

"Please Elle, this won't sort itself out on its own."

She cut me off.

"Don't you think I know that Shawn?", she sobbed, "I don't want to have to deal with this. I don't want to talk about it. That means ending things and I can't bear for that to happen. You're the best thing that has ever happened to me and I don't want to have to let you go!"

"We don't have to end it, we will find a way." I shakily tried to reassure her

"It doesn't work like that Shawn."

The line was silent. Not because either of us had hung up, but because neither of us knew what to say.

"Meet me at the lake. We'll talk about this mess there."

*BEEP BEEP BEEP*

The line went dead.