Daylight

Part 9

 Camila helped Shawn cook lunch for all of them, their families eating together at his house. She loved seeing him in action in the kitchen because it was so obvious he loved what he did and she could see how important it was to him to keep alive his dad’s passion. After finishing their meal, also filled with comments from Luna that made Camila a little uncomfortable, Shawn and Karen had to drive back to the city because of some issue at the family’s restaurant, so all the three girls stayed at her house for the rest of the day. Camila watched a movie with them in the living room but left them chatting so she could edit some of the pictures she had taken on her little getaway with Shawn the night before. It must have been a few minutes after she checked on the girls downstairs when she heard Shawn’s laugh and steps on the stairs.

 “ You’re still alive.” Shawn said, resting against the doorway and looking at her.

 “ You really thought I couldn't handle three teenage girls?” She smiled as he walked in, closed the door, and laid down on her bed. “ Don’t forget I was one of them once.”

 “ Oh, I don’t think I’ll ever forget that.” He laughed. “ But I have to admit I prefer this version of you.”

 “ And why is that?” She asked with a smirk, standing up from her desk and straddling him on the bed.

 “ I couldn’t do this back then.” He said, pulling her down to him and giving her a breathtaking kiss that left her head spinning.

 “ Why do I feel like we’re the teenagers here? Sneaking around while our sisters are downstairs.”

 Shawn laughed and kissed her again, but Camila pulled away when her phone started ringing. She stood up and took the phone from her desk, picking it up without checking who it was. Her dad had left the house an hour ago, so she thought that must be him checking on them like he always did.

 “ We’re all still alive, dad.” She said the second she answered the call, but the silence on the other side of the line let her know it might not be her dad. “ Dad, is that you?”

 “ Camila?” The voice she heard made her freeze on the spot. She hadn’t heard it in a long time, but it was linked with all the bad memories she had, so she didn’t think she would ever forget what it sounded like. She was in silence for a long time and Shawn was next to her in seconds, worried about her reaction to whoever that was. “ I know you don’t want to talk to me, but I miss you and-”

 “ I thought I had made myself pretty clear when I said I never wanted to see you or speak to you again.” She said very quickly. “ Don’t ever call me again.”

 She ended the call before he could say anything else, not feeling brave enough to look into Shawn’s eyes right that moment. Everything had been so perfect between them lately, but then suddenly her mind was overthinking everything in a way she hated.

 “ Who was that?” Shawn asked with concern as they sat down next to each other on her bed.

 “ My ex.” She sighed, looking at him to get his reaction. Suddenly she was telling him everything about her previous relationship. It hadn’t happened yet, but she knew they would have to have that conversation, so might as well get it out of the way.

 “ I hate that all of that happened to you. You don’t deserve any of it.” Shawn said once she finished spilling all the details of how shitty Cole had made her feel. “ I can tell that’s still fresh in your memory, but I promise I would never put you through any of that. You’re too important to me.”

 “ I know.” Camila smiled, resting her head on his shoulder. “ I never for a second thought you might do any of that, but I needed you to know. That’s all.”

 “ Thank you for telling me.” He kissed her head. “ I appreciate it.”

 “ Speaking of that…” Camila lifted her head and looked at him with a smirk. “ Are we ever going to talk about Luna’s obvious crush on you?”

 “ I was waiting to see how long you resisted before bringing it up.” Shawn laughed.

 “ So you’re not that oblivious.” She laughed with him. “ Thank god.”

 “ To be honest, I’m used to it.” Shawn confessed. “ It might not seem like it, but she’s harmless. And besides, you have nothing to worry about. She’s my sister’s age. Even if we weren’t together, that would never happen.”

 “ I could tell that already, but it’s nice to hear you say it.” Camila kissed him before reaching for her phone and blocking the number her ex had used to call her. She knew she could be quite the overthinker, but she loved how Shawn could see right through her and make those doubts go away so quickly.
 
 Once the girls were all with Karen, Shawn and Camila made their way to the beach for a night swim. The feeling of the water on her skin as he held her, his lips on hers, and their eyes locking were things she didn’t ever want to lose. She still had those three little words hanging over her lips, waiting for the right moment to spill out, and she had a feeling it would be sooner than she had expected.

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A/N: I've been feeling a little uninspired to write these last few days, so I'm not even sure if I like this chapter, but I still decided to publish it anyway...
Like I said before, this is a short story, so next chapter will probably be the last one. 💓