There's No Way

Hero

[Camila's POV]

I was laying on my bed in my room, alone. I had been for a few hours now. I wasn't embarrassed that Shawn had heard me singing, but more that he heard what I was singing. This was ridiculous. We were never a 'thing', so why am I so upset at this whole situation? I needed to take my mind off of it – off of him. I grabbed my phone, tapping the screen so I could check the time. 6:56 pm. Perfect. I hopped out of my bed and went into my bathroom, fixing my hair and applying a light layer of makeup before pulling my favorite black leather high-waisted mini skirt, a long sleeve black crop top & a pair of thigh high black boots out of my closet. I put the outfit on, examining myself in the mirror. After deciding that I was pretty damn happy with the results I threw my phone in my purse and headed for the door.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I was able to sneak out of the house without seeing Shawn. He must've locked himself up in his room, too. I quietly opened the front door before slipping out, getting in my car and driving myself to a local bar. Less than an hour later I already had a good amount of alcohol coursing through me as a complete stranger and I made flirtatious remarks at each other. The copious amounts of alcohol in my system were definitely clouding my judgement, but at least I had an excuse for my actions, right? He and Carly were sober, they don't have an excuse...besides, Shawn and I aren't even a thing, so I shouldn't even care.

"...don't you think?" the man next to me asked. I quickly realized that my mind had been too consumed with thoughts of the same boy I was here to get over to even comprehend what my impromptu date was saying. I stared at him blankly for a moment or two before deciding what I wanted.

"I think I need a couple tequila shots," I said, glancing at the bartender. The bartender nodded, pouring the shots and sliding them to me. The man next to me, whose name was escaping me, chuckled and shook his head.

"I've got to admit, that's pretty impressive," he said. I quickly downed both shots, wiping out the small sliver of good judgement I had remaining. The next several minutes were a blur until I felt a strong hand begin to caress my inner thigh, slowly making it's way up my skirt. Words were being whispered into my ear, but in my drunken state I wasn't able to make any sense of it.

"Camila?" I heard echo from behind me. I spun around, bringing my attention to the source of the voice. Shawn was standing with a few of his friends, clearly they had just gotten to the bar. I saw him let out a disappointed sigh as he made his way over to where I was sat. He looked at me for a brief moment, clearly noticing my current state of intoxication. He placed his hands on my forearms, helping me stand up.

"Come on, I think that's enough for tonight...let's get you home," he spoke gently. The man I was with scoffed in annoyance but Shawn ignored him. Shawn escorted me out of the bar, helping me into his car and then going back in to tell his friends he was heading home early. The car ride was completely silent, neither of us bothering to even turn on the radio. He parked in the driveway and I immediately swung the door open, hoping to communicate my annoyance with him. Clearly I hadn't sobered up at all on the 7 minute drive from the bar to the house, though, as I stumbled out of the vehicle in a less-than-graceful fashion.

"Hold on, wait for me," Shawn spoke, quickly making his way to the passenger side of the car and helping me. I stayed silent as he helped me walk from the car to the door, and then all the way into my room. I let go of his arm, stumbling over to my bed and beginning to remove my boots.

"I'll uh – I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything..." Shawn spoke before walking away, gently closing the door to my room behind him. I stripped myself of all of my remaining clothing before slipping on a pair of gray sweatpants and an oversized long sleeve t shirt. I knew I needed to get some water in me if I wanted to have any chance of easing the hangover I was sure to have in the morning, so I opened the door once more and headed into the kitchen. Sure enough, Shawn was there – as he said he would be. I avoided eye contact and didn't say anything as I wasn't necessarily in the mood to be shamed for my actions. We both continued in silence for a few moments before Shawn decided to speak up.

"Camila..." I looked up at him and shook my head, stopping his sentence before he could finish it.

"I don't need you to save me. I'm a big girl, I can make decisions for myself," I slurred.

"I agree, and if you were sober I would've respected that – but..." he let out an exasperated sigh before finishing his thought. "When I promised you that I was going to protect you, I meant that. When I told you I wasn't going to let anyone else hurt you, I meant that. This wasn't me being selfish and jealous, this was me not wanting to see you get hurt like last time," he finished. I rolled my eyes and grabbed my water, turning and walking back into my room. He followed me, not yet wanting this conversation to be over. As I walked through the door frame of my room, he grabbed my arm and spun me around to face him.

"Camila, I'm sorry. I just...I just don't want to see you get hurt again," he spoke softly. Tears were threatening to spill out of both of our eyes. My eyes searched his for a second before telling him what he clearly hadn't realized yet.

"Shawn, you were one of the ones who hurt me..." I choked out. I saw his face drop at the realization. "...you broke those promises already. I know you want to be the hero but I'm not convinced that you are in this story," I said through tears.

"Camila, I..." was all that he could manage to get out. I shook my head and looked down at the floor for a moment before asking him what I had been dying to know.

"Just tell me why you did it..." I whispered. He took a deep breath before taking my small hands in his.