Broken Together (Shane X Reader)

Chapter Four

You awake in a dark room with a sliver of light coming in from underneath the door. What time is it? Where am I- Your thoughts are cut off by the sound of someone snoring next to you.

Oh shit.

Suddenly a rush of memories of the night before flood your mind. Shane... the storage room... You didn't go home last night. You slowly sit up as to not to wake up the sleeping man next to you. You grab your clothes off the floor and quickly get dressed. What time is it? Are people gonna see me exit the bar? Did anyone see us- or HEAR us? You pray your sounds of pleasure were drowned out by the sounds to a packed bar, and yet the worry won't fade. You stand, dressed, above the rugged man you spent last night with. He looks so calm while he sleeps. You crouch down to the bench and plant a soft kiss on his forehead as a thank you for the night before.

As you open the storage room door you notice it's quiet. Gus must have closed the bar while you were asleep. You wander towards the front door and take one last look around before you leave. The bar looks so different and empty. Clean, and tidy. For an old bar Gus and Emily sure do keep it running well. You slowly push open the Saloon door and step outside. The sun is rising. Good. Hopefully there will be no one in town to see you on your walk of shame. It would be a nightmare to run into anyone right now, with day old clothes and sex hair.

As you step outside into the town square you take a look at the clock outside Pierre's shop. 4 am. Enough time to get home, change, catch a quick nap and then get to work. I can already tell today is gonna be tiring. Oh well. Maybe today I'll go around and meet some of the locals.

You finally arrive home as your alarm clock strikes 4:30 am. You quickly throw off your clothes from last night and realize.... Shit. You forgot your underwear. Shit. Shit. Shit. And they were a good pair too! Fuck. How are you supposed to get those back? You could run back to the bar, but it's closed. Maybe Shane has them? But that would be way too embarrassing to ask about. Looks like you're cutting your losses. Oh well. You throw on some tight jean shorts and a grey tank top. Not the most modest outfit, but it gets hot working on a farm all day. Besides, tan lines are cute right? You throw yourself onto your bed and immediately pass out. Your dreams are filled with scenes of the night before... These thoughts of this man aren't going away any time soon. You wonder if just maybe, he dreams of you too?

You awake once again to the beep of your alarm clock and soft sounds of nature outside your window. You could get used to waking up like this. 6 am. Time to get for work.

You spend a good chunk of the day watering, weeding, and chopping down overgrown trees. Working up more and more of a sweat. You wipe your brow and check the time. 1 pm. Maybe you should go into town? It would be nice to meet more of the locals. You decide this time to head out the south entrance of your farm and maybe meet some people down there. You see a large stable with a sign out front for farm supplies and livestock. Could be useful.

You step inside and are greeted by a woman with large braided orange hair. "Good afternoon Hun! You're the new girl in town right?" She sweetly asked.

"Same to you. I just moved in two days ago and figured I aught to go around and introduce myself."

"Well that's very kind. I'm Marnie. I live here with my Niece and Nephew Jas and Shane. Have you met the two of them yet?"

You feel your face begin to heat up again. "Oh uh.. Yes I met Shane last night at the Saloon."

Marnie smiled. "Oh I see. The boy isn't too friendly with newcomers so I apologize if he wasn't much of a talker."

He doesn't like strangers? That's a bit of a shock. He was definitely a lot more than friendly last night. More blood rushes to your cheeks. "O- Oh really? He was plenty kind to me last night." You respond not meeting her eyes.

"Well I must say I'm surprised to hear that." Marine's ears perked up at your response. "You must be awfully special to get on his good side that quickly. I hope you two continue to get along well. It would be good for that boy to make a few friends in town."

"Yeah... friends." You shake your head slightly, clearing your mind of the racing memories of the night before. Maybe last night could be more than a hook-up. Marnie says he's usually cold to most people. Why were you so different? Was the connection really that strong? "Say... Is Shane here now? I'd love to say hello to him before I head out." You say, trying not to show your real intentions.

"Oh no, he's at work at the Joja Mart at the moment. He won't be home til after dark. I'm sure you could probably catch him at the Saloon again though. He spends most of his free time there." She replied with a slightly sad tone.

"Sure. I'll keep that in mind. Well thank you for the warm welcome. I best be off now." You say slightly disheartened to hear of his absence. "I'll be sure to stop in again some time if I ever need any supplies though."

She smiled again. "Of course my dear. Your welcome anytime."

You wave goodbye as you step out the door. So you and Shane are neighbors. And that was the Aunt who didn't give a damn about him? She seemed so kind and caring. Lonely even. You wonder what else you don't know about the strange man from the night before. What are his intentions? Why does he not care for people? Why were you the exception? Questions fill your mind as you turn into town.

You walk past two houses as you make your way towards town square. One with chipped old blue paint, the other with flowers and trinkets surround the door. An old woman stands next to a small garden by the center of town. She introduces herself as Evelyn, but insists you call her Granny. She says she lives with her husband George and her grandson Alex, who she immediately wants to set up up with. After awkwardly turning her down you part ways, with the promise of fresh cookies at your next visit.

You make your way towards the shop. It couldn't hurt to go buy some more seeds. After all 15 parsnips won't take you every far. You reach the door and... Closed on Wednesdays? Closed on Wednesdays. Out of all the days to close a shop, why in the middle of the week? A weekend is understandable but a busy day when you surely have customers in need? From a business perspective it makes no sense.

You decide next to head north of town and are greeted with the sight of a run down Community Center. The exterior must have looked so nice in its prime. Now it's covered with falling siding, vines and other unruly foliage. Next to the center however is a small fountain. A girl with blond hair stands by it staring at the sky. You approach her but she's too lost in thought to notice you there.

"Don't mind Hailey there. She's often too caught up in thought to notice anyone there, and even if she did, she probably would just ignore you." You turn to see where this voice is coming from. A short woman with green pulled back hair stands by you. "I'm Caroline. I run the shop in town along with my husband Pierre. We have a daughter, Abigail , who's around your age."

"Nice to meet you. I'm [Y/N]. I just stopped by your shop a moment ago to see it was closed. I'll be sure to stop by again tomorrow." You say kindly. The woman seems sweet, very caring. Almost as if she was born to be a mother.

"Oh yes, sorry about that. My husband insists we close each Wednesday even though it makes much more sense to close on Saturdays. But alas, there's nothing I can do." She chuckles to herself. "You know, I used to want to be a farmer myself. Well, more like a rancher."

You're a bit surprised by her response. Who would have guessed a woman who looked as gentle as her would have wished for such an intense lifestyle. "Wow really? What made you decide to become a stay at home Mom?"

She looks off above you, deep in thought as she chooses her words. "Well... I guess life just happens. I met Pierre, fell in love, had my daughter, and realized there was no more room for my dreams anymore. But honestly I prefer it this way. There isn't a day that goes by where I'm not grateful for my family." Her gaze meets yours once more. "Life can take you strange places, and you may question the meaning behind them but please, remember, everything happens for a reason."