raising hope | s.m

♡Twenty♡

A couple weeks later

Shawn

"Maya, please," I beg, grabbing her hands. She shakes her head.

"I don't want to see you hurt so if you do this I'm staying at Haylie's house."

"Please, baby girl." Standing, I wrap my arms around her.

"You're going to get hurt," she cries.

"It's part of fighting."

"No, I heard Jake talking to Drew. They're going to cheat Shawn. The fighter they're using is going to have brass knuckles. You're going to get seriously hurt."

"I'll be fine." She shakes her head and pulls away from me. My heart churns.

"I'm going to Haylie's now." She picks Hope up and swings the duffle bag over her shoulder. I go to reach out for her but she slips between my fingers.

My fists hit the bag harder than ever. Mason lets go of the bag.

"What the hell has gotten into you, Mendes?"

"Do I have to do this fight?" Mason sighs.

"Yes, it's part of your contract."

"Why can't I just forfeit?" He scoffs.

"Because, if you hadn't gone after her and lost to Jake, you wouldn't have to do this fight. You can't forfeit this one because it's the last one of the season. If you don't do this one, your contract starts over without needing your approval."

Maya

"You okay?" Haylie questions softly. My head shakes. He chose the fight over me.

"He chose the fight over me. Why?" She grabs my hand.

"Mason told me that he had to do this fight. That if he didn't his contract would start over. Which would mean two more years of him fighting."

"I just want a normal relationship. Why do I always get the fighters?"

"You and Shawn will be fine. You'll get through this. He's one of the best fighters out there. Trust him."

"I'm trying to Haylie. Trust doesn't come easily to me." My voice cracks. I dropped Hope off at Katie's since Haylie didn't have a crib. "Jake raped me."

"He did what?" she questions. My face is hidden in my hands and she rubs my back.

"He came into Shawn's room and took me out. Moved me to his room and raped me." Wiping under my eyes, I look at her. "That's why Shawn's been so protective of me."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." She rubs my back more.

"I just want him here. With me, not at a fight that could seriously hurt him."

"I know it can be hard. He's going to come here first, I bet."

"I never even got to tell him that I love him," I whisper. Haylies eyes widen.

"You love him?" she questions. Nodding, I look at the floor. "That's great, Maya!"

"Not if I can't tell him that." She sighs and pats my back. "Hope loves him too. I don't want to lose him. I can't lose him."

"Maya, I promise you won't. Mason was a good fighter and he's teaching Shawn well."

"I guess all we can do now, is wait." She purses her lips and nods. Standing, she gives me a quick hug and I walk to the guest room she's allowing me to stay in.

Falling on to the bed, I turn on my phone. It's a picture of Shawn kissing my cheek and me laughing. Smiling softly, I unlock my phone and text Katie.

I'm wearing a pair of running shorts and one of Shawns hoodies. It smells like him. Sliding under the covers, I allow myself to fall asleep.

Shawn

My fists connect with my opponents jaw and he stumbles back. I hit him again before he has time to regain balance. And again and again. He tries to hit me but I dodge it. All I can think about is Maya.

"What's wrong, Mendes? Scared to get hit?" The fighter taunts. He goes to hit me again and I dodge it again. This time, however, he hits me as soon as I'm stable. The hit lands right in my stomach. Maya was right. He has brass knuckles on.

"You bitch," I growl. Lunging at him, I hit him repeatedly. He gets a good hit on my ribs and I fall off of him. He straddles me and only hits my abdomen but the hits cut. Pushing him off of me, I go for his face. Hitting him several times, he finally taps out. Pushing off of him, I stand. The referee comes over and holds my hand above my head.

"Your winner! Shawn Mendes!" He announces. Cheers fill the room. Nodding to the referee, I slip in between the ropes and out of the ring. As I'm at my gym bag, Mason and Noah walk over.

"Congratulations, little brother," Noah teases. Rolling my eyes, I look at Mason. His eyes are distant.

"What's wrong?" I question. He looks at me.

"Just thinking."

"About Haylie," I comment, slipping my hoodie on. "He had brass knuckles on."

"He what?" Noah growls. I shrug. "Shawn that could seriously hurt you. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." The screaming pain in my side claims otherwise. "Where does Haylie live?"

"I don't know," he lies.

"Please, Maya is at her house." He sighs before telling me the address. Thanking him, I grab my bag and walk out to my car. It's raining.

When I get to Haylies house, I knock on her door. Haylie answers. I'm practically soaked from the rain.

"She's upstairs. The room with the balcony." Nodding, I rush over to the room. Grabbing some pebbles, I toss them up to the window.

Maya

Click.
Click.
Click.

That's the sound that fills the room at three o'clock in the morning. Rubbing my eyes, I sit up and walk towards the window. Opening it, I step onto the balcony and see Shawn standing at the bottom. He's soaked from the rain. Smiling, I lean on the railing.

"Can I come up?" He questions. Laughing, I nod. He climbs up the tree and lands in front of me. As soon as he's on his feet, I grab his hands and pull him into me. His lips are wet from the rain but still warm and soft. His hands are on my hips as we walk back blindly into the room.

My knees hit the bed and I fall back. He supports his weight on his forearms.

"I'm sorry," he says in between kisses, "you were right."

"Shawn..." my voice trails off and he pulls away. He rests his head against mine. "I love you."

His light brown eyes stare into mine. He kisses me softly.

"I love you too." Slowly, the kisses become harder and more passionate. He pulls me up on to his lap and tugs on the hoodie. Grabbing the hem, I pull it over my head. He groans when he realizes I didn't have a shirt on and just my bra. He begins kissing down my neck.

Suddenly he begins coughing. He leans over the side of he bed and coughs. Placing my hand on his back, he looks back at me. There's blood on his lip.

"Shawn, are you okay?" I question. He doesn't move. He stands but it's not for long until he collapses. A scream passes my lips as I quickly pull on the hoodie and rush over to him.

Haylie barges into the room.

"What happened?" She questions. All I can do is shake my head. Shaking him, he doesn't move. I grab his jaw and shake him again. Nothing.

Just when I got him back this happens.

"Call am ambulance!"