CONSEQUENCES

Chapter 13 - Absence Makes the Heart Ache

"Are Shawn and Camila Engaged?"

The next morning, Shawn scrolled through the internet, there were a few headlines, but the general consensus was that yes, they were together, but no to the engagement rumours, it was just a ring. There were, as they had expected, a lot of articles claiming they were a PR stunt. As the day wore on however, the eagle-eyed fans discovered Shawn also wore a matching ring and by the end of the day, the gossip sites were asking "Are Shawn and Camila secretly married?" The next day, it was a discussion topic on "The View", where they thought it was ridiculous, because they were much too young. Online fans were scanning through footage, seeing that Shawn didn't wear the ring on tour, that they hadn't walked the red carpet together, that there were no photos of them together in Italy, or on arrival in Miami, only a report of Shawn going to Rome, alone, that wasn't considered credible (poor Francis). PR conspiracy theorists had put together reams of proof that it wasn't real. Shawn veered away from those. Camila relied on him to keep track of it all, it caused her anxiety to spike to see the negative reports.

As the week wore on Shawn was busy preparing for the last leg of the tour and Camila was flat out working on her album which was due to drop soon. A strange dullness had overtaken them. They were suddenly very separate, and the subject of their marriage announcement was apparently now taboo and neither of them broached it. At night when they slipped into bed, everything was hot and emotionally overwhelming, ending with whispered I love yous and promises of forever, but in the morning, they would go their separate ways again, and neither of them were wearing their rings.

Shawn lay in bed waiting for Camila to finish in the bathroom and join him. He was leaving in the morning for South America and they had not even spoken about it. This time there were no plans to meet up. He had not asked her, knowing she would be overwhelmed with the launch of her album, including trips to Europe and performances at the Jingle Balls. Her mother had arrived yesterday and she had been giving them concerned looks but hadn't said anything, at least not to him. He knew he loved her, he knew he wanted to be married to her, and he knew he wanted the world to know. What he didn't know was if she really felt the same. Every time he broached the subject, she shut him down and he was starting think she had changed her mind.

Camila had showered and was ready for bed but she couldn't bring herself to leave the bathroom. Shawn would be leaving tomorrow and she was terrified. He had not asked her to meet him anywhere on tour, despite having a few days break in between on a few occasions. He had hardly mentioned her album, and wouldn't even come to the shoot for her new music video today. She should be on a high at this point of the process but she was dreading the PR tour and the launch, it all seemed suddenly superficial compared to her relationship.

She came out of the bathroom to find the room dark. She didn't know if she was devastated or relieved that Shawn was probably asleep. She crept over and slid into bed beside him. As soon as she did so, he turned over to face her. It was dark in the room, she couldn't see him, but she felt his fingers on her cheek, a brush that gave her goosebumps all over.

"Why were you in there so long? I thought you might have drowned."

"You didn't come looking for me though."

"The one who finds the body is always the one they think did it. I'm not stupid."

She chuckled at his silliness, feeling some of the tension fall away.

"You were hoping I was asleep." He sounded so sad. She didn't know what to say, because it was partly true.

"I'm glad you're not though."

There was silence and stillness for what seemed like a long time.

"I'm going to miss you."

"Me too."