Treat you better

Chapter 20- Love and fear

SHAWN AND ROSALY

Monday dawned cold but sunny, and Rosaly left her apartment happy not to have to walk through huge blocks of snow. Her working day would begin at the school she was teaching, and as she walked toward the beautiful building with colorful walls, she thought about Shawn's phone call the night before. She missed him terribly. It was hard to sleep because she had longed for him to be there with her, and his words only made her need for him worse.

She needed to see him and Shawn had promised they would meet that day. He hadn't scheduled a time or place, so it could happen at any time, and that possibility made her anxious.

She had arrived at school at the same time as usual, and her students were already waiting for her to start with music, and like most of the time, one of Shawn's songs was chosen. Rosaly saw his picture printed on the cover of the CD that Adrianne had brought, and even in that picture, the strength of his traits were impacting on her. She was tempted to tell her students that she knew him, but she wisely didn't, because she had to preserve herself and Shawn from the publicity that would fall on both of them if something about their relationship was discovered, which would bring catastrophic consequences to her.

Her class ended, and as usual, Rosaly had a snack in the cafeteria near the school. Then she went to work watching the people on the streets distractedly.

After a few seconds, she noticed the same hooded man who had been standing near the Weekend for some time. Her heart almost failed, and Rosaly began to walk faster and faster, noticing that the boy was following her. She had changed direction, walking through streets she didn't know very well, wishing only to get rid of that inconvenient man. Fear terrified her, but she tried to keep her cool and her head. She hid in a building that was under construction, waiting for the boy to pass by her while she prayed quietly not to be discovered.

She waited a few seconds after he passed by, and Rosaly began to return through the same streets that brought her there. She was walking so fast that she almost ran, and by the time she got to the Weekend she was completely out of breath. She sat on the steps, trying to get her breathing back to normal, she didn't want anyone to notice her agitation. She heard someone call her by her name and was deadly pale by the fear. But when she looked up, she saw Shawn standing in front of her, looking at her intrigued. Rosaly stood up and threw herself into his arms, tears of relief rolling down her face.

- Hey, baby, what happened? Why are you like this? - Shawn asked worried about her crying crisis. Rosaly couldn't answer that question, and she stuck with him for a few seconds.

His smell was so good! And his hug even more. She wanted to stay like that forever and never leave the circle of those strong, protective arms. Then the enchantment passed and she had to explain what had happened to her that day.

- Could you see his face? - Shawn asked, rubbing Rosaly's arms up and down, trying to make her relax.

- No, he was wearing a black hoodie. Unfortunately, I couldn't see anything. - Rosaly responded apparently calmer.

- And do you have any idea why he was following you? - Shawn saw a shadow go through her eyes again.

- I have no idea, Rosaly's tone of voice made Shawn realize she wasn't telling the truth. There was something about that story that was terrifying her, and he couldn't tell what it was.

- Are you sure you don't know him? Maybe you saw him here at the Weekend, or maybe he's an admirer of your dance performances. - He was trying to help, but Rosaly shook her head saying.

- I have never seen him before. - Shawn looked at her and thought it best not to insist at that moment because it was obvious Rosaly didn't want to discuss it. - I need to go in. My shift starts in 10 minutes. - She said, checking her watch.