raising hope | s.m

♡Twelve♡

Maya

We picked Hope up from Katie's house and are now sitting on Shawn's sofa watching her play. She picks up her blocks and stacks them on top of each other. She claps her hands and looks over at us. She smiles a toothless smile.

"You really love her, don't you?" he asks softly.

"Yeah, she's the best thing that has happened to me."

"How's your hand?" he asks. He grabs it and examines the bandage carefully.

"It's been better," I joke. He doesn't laugh. "What's wrong?"

"It's my fault," he accuses. He leans forward and puts his head in his hands. Sitting up after him, I place my hand on his back.

"No, it's not Shawn. You didn't know he was going to hurt me."

"But I did." My eyebrows furrow in confusion.

"What do you mean?" I question. He stands and runs his fingers through his hair.

"My brother and my trainer both want me to stay away from you because I'll hurt you."

"Shawn, I'm fine." Hope stares up at him, confusion in her baby blue eyes. Her hand is still wrapped up in the bandage. Then, a question forms in my head. "Shawn, how did Jake know that Hope was cut?"

He keeps his eyes on Hope and then they drift over to me. His eyebrows are the ones furrowed now.

"What do you mean?" he questions, scratching his chin.

"He shouldn't have known where Hope was cut, but he did. So, he gave me one to match. We're on the second floor. There's no way he saw that." Slowly, his eyebrows unfurrow and he walks into the guest room, Hope, and I's room. He grabs the baseball and strides into the kitchen. "Shawn, what's wrong?"

He grabs a knife and stabs the ball.

"Shawn, please be careful!" He pulls the ball apart and pulls out a tiny camera. My heart stops.

"The son of a bitch."

"Is that a camera?" I question, needing to know what I'm seeing is wrong.

"Yeah, he's been watching you." My hand grabs the counter to steady myself. My stomach twists and turns. His hand is on my back.

"I feel sick," I gasp. He pulls my hair out of my face and rubs my back. Breathing in and out, the feeling of throwing up slowly fades.

"You okay?" he questions softly. I scoff.

"No, I just found out someone has been watching me." When I look up at him, I can see the hurt in his eyes. "I'm sorry. It's just he's seen me undress Shawn. The son of my abuser saw me undress."

His jaw tightens.

"Destroy it, please." He nods and smashes the camera with his arm. Relief fills me. He looks at me. His eyes take in my face.

"You're gorgeous," he whispers. A small laugh leaves my lips.

"I'm a mess, Shawn."

"I think you look perfect." My cheeks heat up. He smirks. He grabs my hands and pulls me into the living room.

"Don't get all mushy on me now, Muffin Man." His cheeks turn a light tint of red.

"I need you to help me with something," he questions, biting his lip. Cocking my head, I ask what. "Help me learn to dance."

"Are you serious?" I laugh. His cheeks turn a darker shade of red. Smiling I grab his hands.

"Yes, Jade has a wedding soon and I want to learn to dance for it."

"She's getting married? That's great!" He smiles. "Okay, I'll teach you."

He nods and turns on a random song. The song 'You Are In Love' by Taylor Swift comes on. Grabbing his hands, I place one on my hip and take the other one in my hand.

"Just sway," I instruct. His eyes stare into mine and don't leave. The song drifts on softly and we sway. All of the problems we've had or experienced seem to fade away. My head lays on his chest and his heart beats along to the song. He sets his chin on my head.

Hope smiles at us from the ground and claps. The song starts to slow down and Shawn places his hand under my chin. Our noses brush and I close the space between us. My stomach jumps at the contact. Both of his hands are on my hips and he pulls me closer.

My fingers tangle in the strands of his hair and I hear Hope laugh. His lips are soft and warm.

When we pull away he lays his head against mine.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," he whispers. To answer him, I press my lips back to his. The butterflies in my stomach turn into a zoo. We pull away again.

Shawn

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting for you too." Our breath fuses together and he holds me close.

"You're..." my voice trails off.

"I'm what?" She asks, biting her lip. Something shifts in my stomach.

"I-I don't know the word."

"Jade isn't getting married, is she?" My cheeks turn red.

"No, but I got the kiss from you, didn't I?" I reply cockily. Playfully, she shoves my chest.

"You slick, Muffin Man," she jokes. My lips kiss her cheek.

"You beautiful, Mama."

"Mama?" She questions, giggling at the nickname. My shoulders shrug.

"Maybe if I start calling you Mama, Hope will copy me. Plus, it's cute."

"You're cute," she laughs. If I could bottle the sound and get drunk off of it, I would. Hope claps her hands. We laugh before sitting on the floor next to her. She sits Hope in her lap and lays her head on my shoulder.

"You two are the only people I would give myself for," I whisper into her ear. She looks up at me. Blue eyes wide.

"What about your family?"

"They abandoned me when I was fifteen."

"I thought—" I cut her off by pressing my lips to hers again. She kisses back but it's not for long. She pulls away. Her hand is on my neck and her thumb runs along my jaw. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just— no one's asked about my family other than my trainer. Mason and I don't usually talk about it." Nodding, she scoots closer to me. Hope grabs my shirt and stands up. Maya smiles at her.

Hope stomps and smiles at me. We move from the floor to the couch and Hope sits in Maya's lap. Maya sits in between my legs and lays her head back on to my chest. I run my fingers through her hair.

After a few minutes, I realize that both of them fell asleep. A smile is on my lips as I slowly try to move Maya. It doesn't work. She shifts before waking up.

"What happened?" She asks softly.

"You fell asleep while I was playing with your hair," I laugh quietly. She smiles before standing. She puts some pillows on the floor before laying Hope on them. She walks back over to me and sits down. "Why didn't you put her in the crib?"

"It doesn't feel safe in there anymore." She lays down and I lay on her chest. She runs her fingers through my hair and laughs.

"What?"

"Your hair is so curly. It's cute." Her fingers wind themselves in the strands and I groan. She laughs and I look up at her. "Was that a moan, Mendes?"

"No," I lie, "you pulled my hair."

"Whatever you say, Mendes, whatever you say."