traveling | shawn mendes

thirty four

"mom, i'm ready," i said while walking out of my bedroom, "can i have my phone now?"

she was sitting down on the couch with my dad and sisters, "no,"

i fake smiled, "thanks,"

while driving to our local diner, my dad turned on the radio and it happened to be one of shawn's songs. and you best believe we all belted out the lyrics.

once we got to the diner, we went inside, but the hostess took us to an outside area.

i was really confused because i had never been to this part of the diner.

"surprise!" everyone yelled.

i looked around at the people who were there, "oh my god,"

it was my grandparents, aunts, cousin, jocelin, anthony, nessa, michael, alyssa, and daniel.

"hey," i said while hugging all of my close friends.

"happy birthday, cass!" each one of them said before they threw me towards the direction of my grandparents, aunts, and cousin.

my grandparents hugged me, "¡feliz cumpleaños, mija! {happy birthday, darling!}"

i smiled, "gracias, {thank you,}"

"happy birthday, cassandra!" my aunts and cousin said.

i laughed, "why thank you very much,"

"come on, let's sit," my mom said while guiding me to a chair that would make me have my back towards the door.

i looked around the table, "wow, thank you everyone for being here!"

someone put their arms around my neck, "anything for you, shorty,"

i instantly smiled when i heard shawn's voice, but it made me pause and think to myself.

shawn and i's 'relationship' had improved. a lot. and by improved i mean trust was starting to appear again. but, you can forgive, but you can't forget.

the thought of not forgetting made me tear up, but the thought of putting it behind me, made me smile.

"awww, she's crying," one of my aunts said.

"please don't cry, get up," he whispered in my ear.

i got up from my chair and collapsed in his arms. i quietly sobbed.

shawn rubbed his hand up and down my back and whispered in my ear, "it's okay, i'm here now,"

i wiped my tears away and whispered in his ear, "i'm sorry, i just missed you,"

he let go of me, but put his hands on the sides of my face, "i missed you too,"

i smiled, "i'm glad you're here,"

he kissed my forehead, "i'm glad i'm here too,"

i looked behind him and saw manny, karen, and aaliyah.

"hello, sweetie," karen said while hugging me, "happy birthday,"

"oh my, thank you," i said while letting go of her and hugging manny.

"happy birthday!" manny said while hugging me.

"thank you," i responded with a big smile.

i looked at aaliyah and she had her arms opened out for me to collapse in, "happy birthday cassandra teresa gutierrez men-,"

she pretended to think, "oh my bad, not yet at least,"

i rolled my eyes, but then laughed, "thanks anyways,"