There's No Way

Forever

[Camila's POV]

It had been nearly a week since we returned from our trip to Bali and although Shawn still hadn't proposed, I wasn't worried about it. We were in a really good place and honestly being back home with him and back in our normal routine made me realize all over again just how much I love being with him. Obviously the question of if and when it was going to happen still lingered in the back of my mind, but I wasn't going to dwell on it too much.

Now we were in the attic sitting at the piano bench playing 'guess that song'. Shawn and I would go back and forth playing little snippets of random songs on the piano, trying to guess which song the other person was playing.

"Babe how do you not know what song this is? I'm literally picking the the easiest songs I can think of," he complained.

"Am I a bad guesser or are you just not a good piano player?" I retorted with a sassy eyebrow raise. Shawn clutched his chest with his hand, pretending to be in extreme pain.

"Ouch. No need for the low blows, though you're probably not wrong..." he said sadly while dramatically looking down at the keys.

"Oh stop it, you know I'm just joking," I said as I grabbed his chin and brought his face back to mine. "You and I both know you're incredibly talented at many different things..." I said reassuringly.

"Yeah? Like what?" he asked.

"Oh, sorry - I left my list downstairs..." Shawn and I both laughed.

"You're a dork. I love you," he said as he leaned in and gave me a kiss.

"I love you too."

----

[Shawn's POV]

I woke up the next day and realized that it had been a year to the date since everything happened with Camila and Lucas. I knew today might be rough for her, but I opted not to mention the significance of today's date. It was something she still struggled with daily, so I wasn't going to bring it up unless she did. As we sat on the couch watching various crime documentaries, I noticed her eyes go glassy and her breathing get heavy. She was staring straight ahead at nothing in particular, completely zoning out. This didn't happen often, but when it did it absolutely broke my heart. Luckily, I had been with her during enough of these moments that I knew exactly how to help her. I moved over to be next to her on the couch, taking one of her hands in mine and gently squeezing it, using my other hand to rub her back.

"Hey, look at me Camila. You're okay," I whispered. She tightened her grip on my hand as she squeezed her eyes shut, a couple stray tears sneaking out and rolling down her cheek. Her chest started heaving as she began sobbing, her eyes still screwed shut.

"I...I'm sorry..." she cried.

"It's okay, you don't have to apologize. Can you look at me?" I asked again. She took a deep, steadying breath before opening her eyes and looking up at me. It never got any easier to not let my emotions get the best of me in these moments. It took everything in me to not start crying with her. I leaned in and laid my forehead against hers, our noses touching lightly as my hands cupped her face on either side. "You're okay. You're safe. I'm right here, okay?" I whispered softly. She nodded and let her eyes flutter shut, taking several deep breaths in an attempt to calm down. Within fifteen minutes she had fallen asleep, her small body laying across my lap as my fingers lazily brushed through her curls.

Later that night as we cuddled in bed, Camila said something that caught me off guard.

"I'm sorry you have to put up with me," she said as tear rolled down her face.