There's No Way

Safe

Before I could say another word, Shawn was helping me haphazardly cover myself up with my clothing. My heart shattered even more than it already had when I noticed the tears threatening to spill out of his eyes. We made eye contact for a brief moment before he wrapped his arms around me and pulled my head close to his chest. As soon as I had buried my face into his chest, I started uncontrollably sobbing. He clutched onto me even tighter, placing gentle kisses on the top of my head. Just moments prior, the thought of anybody touching me made me feel sick – but for some reason, in this moment, all I wanted was for him to hold me forever. We stayed like that for a few minutes, just him holding onto me while I cried into his embrace. As my sobs started to subside, he gently placed my arms around his neck; his left hand resting on the small of my back while his right arm tucked itself under my knees. He effortlessly lifted me off the ground and carefully grabbed the remainder of my things before carrying me out to his car.

He fumbled with his keys for a quick second before unlocking the doors and gently placing me in the back seat. I didn't even bother to try sitting up – I didn't have the energy. I laid down across the back seat, Shawn giving my hand a quick squeeze before shutting the door and getting in the driver's seat. He turned on some music, and somehow through all the pain I managed to crack a smile when I realized he was playing the 'cheer up' playlist I had made for him. The small amount of energy I had left was quickly gone, and I had fallen completely asleep in his back seat.

I woke up to a large hand gently caressing my head and the side of my face. Fluttering my eyes open, I saw the back car door closest to me open and Shawn just outside of it, crouched down on my driveway so he was face-to-face with me.

"Hey, you're home..." he whispered. Realizing that this unfortunately wasn't a nightmare, I let out a sad sigh and squeezed my eyes shut – another tear escaping and falling down my cheek. He quickly brushed the runaway tear away with his thumb.

"U-um...if you want...I-I mean if you think it'll help or, um, make you feel safer or something...I'd be more than willing to stay here...with you...tonight, but only if it'll make you feel better, I-I-I don't want to make you uncomfortable," It was clear he wasn't 100% sure how to help in this kind of situation, but I don't blame him, it was sweet. Another tear fell down my cheek as I responded.

"That would be great, I trust you." A soft smile crept across his face upon hearing those last three words, and I meant them more than he could ever know.

"But, um, Shawn...? D-do you think we could stay at your place? Sorry, I should've asked before you drove here but I'm worried he'd come try to find me if I..." Before I could even finish my sentence, Shawn was happily obliging. He gave my hand another squeeze before shutting the door and getting back into the driver's seat. I faded in and out of my slumber for the rest of the car ride. My body was exhausted but my mind was afraid to fall asleep. When we arrived at Shawn's house, he carefully helped me out of his car up to the front door. When we entered his house, it felt different than the last time I had been here. It felt warmer, cozier...safer. I let out a sigh of relief as he wrapped me up in another hug.

"I know you're probably feeling a lot of different things right now, but I think what's most important in this moment is for you to try and get some rest, okay?" He quietly whispered into our hug. I pulled back and nodded in agreement.

"Um...I have a guest room but we never really got it set up, there's no bed in there. You can sleep in my room tonight, I'll take the couch," he explained. I silently nodded as he led me back to his bedroom. I wasn't expecting his room to be a pig sty, but I definitely wasn't expecting it to be as well put together as it was. The dark hardwood floor contrasted with the white walls beautifully, a cream-colored woven rug sitting atop it. An emerald green velvet bed sat on the rug with simple white bedding and a few caramel colored throw pillows. I quickly remembered that Carly had played a huge role in decorating the house, but was still impressed by Shawn's ability to maintain such a cozy room.

"This is cozy," I whispered quietly as my eyes scanned over the room.

"Ha, yeah...'cozy' is exactly what I need after being stuck in that stuffy office building all day," he replied as he shuffled through the drawers of his antique wooden dresser. He gently closed the dresser drawer he had been going through, but not before pulling out a few items of clothing. He walked over to me and sat them on the bed next to me.

"They're probably going to be huge on you but I figure it's better than trying to sleep in your work clothes," he explained.

"Thanks...I probably should've grabbed a few things from my place before we left to come here," I added. He walked back over to the dresser and grabbed some clothes for himself before heading back towards the door.

"Um, I'm just going to change in the guest bathroom and then I'll be in the living room for the rest of the night...if you need anything just let me know," he said as he leaned against the door frame. Just as he started to walk away, I finally decided to ask him what had been plaguing my curiosity for that entire night.

"Wait Shawn!" He quickly turned around.

"Why did you come back? How...d-did you know?" I stammered through my question. He shook his head and looked down at his feet.

"I had forgotten my laptop so I went back to get it." He explained. I flashed him a puzzled look. I know I was pretty out of it, but I would've noticed if he was carrying a laptop while he also carried me out to the car. He must've immediately understood my questioning look because he answered my question right away.

"It's okay, I'll get it next time I'm in the office. That's not my top priority right now," he responded. I gave him a soft smile as tears started to fill my eyes again. I quickly swallowed them down before attempting to speak again.

"Thank you," I managed to say. I could see his eyes were getting watery, too – so I didn't question it when he just gave me a sympathetic nod and backed out of the room, closing the door as he left. I walked back over to the bed and grabbed the clothes he had gotten out for me, gray sweatpants and a long-sleeve Blink-182 t-shirt. Just as I started to change my clothes, I heard my phone buzz on the nightstand – it was a text from Shawn.

Don't worry about going into work tomorrow – I already took care of it. You can just stay here.

I let out a sigh of relief and continued to get ready for bed.
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A/N: I posted my first one shot yesterday! It's called "Crowded Room" and it's fluffy as hell. I'd appreciate it if you'd check it out. ☺️