NANNY FOR MENDES.

Twenty-three

𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗪𝗡'𝗦 𝗣𝗢𝗩

Noah is an annoying ass. But he was right. I do like Sophia. Fuck it! I'm her boss for fuck's sake!
But I can't help it. I've liked her for a while now. Noah just helped me see it. Fuck.
I just.... I don't know. I like her. She just caught my heart. She's good to Bear. Really good. She's good to me. She takes care of 𝘮𝘦. She's not even forced to cook me or come when I need her, yet she does.
Ugh. Noah was so fucking right. I should apologize.

I call him, he doesn't answer. It goes to voicemail.
"Hey Noah. I'm sorry man. I just...." I sigh. "Look. Let's sit and talk. I'll see you at work." I say through his voicemail.

I'll call Sophia. Wait... What? Ugh. I can't stop thinking about her.

I dial her number. It's weird to call her after I drove her to her house. It never happened before. What's she going to think.
Just as I'm about to hang up, she answers.

"Hello? Shawn?" She sounds sleepy.

"Hey. Did I wake you up?"

"No. No. I'm all awake. Don't worry."

"Okay. Good."

"Is everything okay?"

"Yes. Yes. I'm fine."

"You can't sleep? You're still thinking about... Bear?"

"No. Actually, for the first time when he's at his mother's, I don't think about it."

"That's very good Shawn. That's progress." She sounds genuinely happy for me.

I can't tell her that thinking about her is the reason why I'm not thinking about Bear.

"Shawn? You here?"

"Yes. Yes. I'm here."

"But you sound... sad... What happened?"

"I'm not feeling very good."

"Bear?"

"No. It's not Bear."

"You want to talk about it?"

"No. I mean no offense, I promise."

"I know. None taken."

"I don't know why I called. This is weird. I'm sorry, I called. Goodnight, Sophia."

"Hey. Don't you dare hang up just because you think it's weird or because you don't know why you called me. You can call me anytime, for whatever reason. Okay? I'm here for you. I already told you this. Sometimes, people just want to talk to someone without actually talking. They want the comfort of someone without telling them what's bothering them. And that's okay, Shawn. Really. I promise. I'm actually happy you called."

I don't fucking deserve her.

"I don't know what to say to you."

"Don't say anything."

"Thank you so much."

"Don't even mention it, Mendes!" She says, frustrated. "There's not thank-you's between us Shawn, okay? We're friends right?"