Lassitude ~44
Shawn Mendes' pov
"Peter? I ask quietly. I look towards Cam, who sat on the couch patiently waiting to continue our conversation. Grace called my phone and asked Eva to hand my phone over to me.
"I know you're busy," he says sadly on the other end. "You don't have to talk to me." My heartaches, because I've made him upset. I don't want to hurt his feelings or leave a bad impression on him.
"Of course I want to talk you Peter. It's not like that."
"Then how come you left me yesterday without saying goodbye? You made it seem like I was born by an accident."
"Well..." Cam shakes his head no, not to think about going there. "No... you weren't exactly planned for that exact time to be born. Your mom and I planned to have a baby in the near future. I didn't know she had you when I left."
"Oh." It's quite for a few minutes before he spoke again. "Am I going to see you again?"
"Of course you are. I still want to get to know you and spend time with you. I'm not leaving anytime soon," I say softly. "Maybe I can see you tomorrow after I talk to your mom. You can spend a night with me if you'd like."
"Can Ryan and Grace spend the night with us too?" I look towards Cam. I'm not hundred percent sure why I'm looking at him when I should be asking my sister. Cameron nods.
"Of course they can. I'll talk to you later alright?"
"Okay. I'll see you later dad."
"I love you Peter."
"I love you more." Peter hangs up and I lock my phone. I bite my lip nervously before looking at Cam. He doesn't look so well, but it's probably from last night. "I still can't believe you kept Peter a secret for so many years. You of all people should have known Cam."
"I'm really sorry. Claire opened up to me about Peter because she wanted no one else to find out. You have to see why this is hard for her."
"What if Ri kept your son away from you all of these years before you got back together?"
"She did. Except he isn't alive. I can't be mad at her for that, because of all the things she went through alone. I wish I was there was with her, but I made mistakes. You have to talk to Claire and solve things."
"I can say the same for you Cam. You really need to turn everything around. You've made my sister unhappy." I watch as Cams head fall so he's looking down.
"I-I did terrible things yesterday and even before that."
"I know you kicked me out of the house and maybe argued with my sister, but I don't think it's too terrible. You can fix this." Cameron brings his hands to his face and I watch as he silently weeps. He's like this for a few minutes.
"It's more than that. I don't think I can fix this."
"Of course you can fix this Cam. My sister loves you and you're her everything." He pulls his face away and I see how flushed his face is. He reaches for his jacket pocket and an envelope appears in his hand as he hands it over to me.
"This is for Ri," he says upset.
"I thought you were going to see her?" I ask confusingly. I slowly take the envelope. He shakes his head disappointedly.
"I don't think I should. I-I um think I may be sick." I start to worry because Cameron seems afraid himself. What does he mean by sick?
"Maybe you should talk to Ri about it? You know how she worries about you." He looks down guiltily as he takes something from his pocket.
It takes him a moment before he opens his hand. It's identical to Cams wedding band. I stare at it coming to hundreds of conclusions. My sister isn't wearing her wedding ring and it shocks me. She would never take it off. I look up at Cameron to see how devastated he looks.
"I'm going to the doctors after this. I don't want Ri and the kids to see me like this. I don't think Ri would come after everything I've put her through."
"Ri would understand," I say slowly. He shakes his head seeming embarrassed.
"She's going to leave me and nothing is going to talk her out of it. I deserve what's happening to me." I never realized Cam could be insecure. I remember at one point of his childhood he went through the phase like Ri once did. It's happening to him again. "Promise me she reads this letter."
"Cameron, we're here for you. You don't have to do this alone."
"Promise she sees this Shawn."
"Of course I'll make sure," I answer softly. I flip the envelope over to read what the writing on the front.
Open when...
You want to get a divorce
I bite the inside of my lip. I look at him with wide eyes because I know he has done bad things, but he is my brother in law. He took care of Peter for me when I had no clue. He kept my sister safe. He was her happiness.
"I'm sorry for causing your sister the pain I've caused her. If she wants to get a divorce and take the kids... I'll sign the papers. I understand." This upsets me. I reach to hug Cameron and he hesitantly hugs back.
"Cam, take care. I'm going make sure you get better. I'm staying here for awhile to sort things out with Claire." He only nods as he pulls away to stand. "I'll come and visit."
"Thanks Shawn," he sighs. "Thank you for listening to me. I'm sorry about last night." I only nod and stand with him.
"This isn't goodbye." We now walk to the door and I open it for him. Cameron slowly walks through where we find Nash, Matt, Caitlyn and my daughter in the living room of the suite. They all look towards us. Matt and Nash stands.
"Ready to go Cam?" Nash asks. Cam only nods and keeps his head down as Nash thanks Caitlyn. Matt gives Eva a hug before they make their way out.
~Later that day~
"Shawn?" I look away from my notebook and look up to my wife. "Claire is almost here." I nod and take the envelope Cam had given to me this morning.
"Are you sure you and Eva don't want to go see Ri?"
"Not tonight Shawn," Caitlyn says tiredly. "Eva is already asleep." I nod and hug my wife before kissing her.
"I love you Caitlyn."
"I love you too Shawn," she smiles tiredly and pecks my lips. "I hope everything goes well."
"Is it alright, if Peter spends the day with us tomorrow?"
"Of course Shawn. He's your son." She pecks my lips before we unwrap our arms from each other. "See you when you get back. I nod and start to make my way out of the suite. Claire will be waiting downstairs to pick me up.
Claire Johnson's pov:
After Ryan and I went grocery shopping, we went back to the house to put the groceries away. Sam offered to grill and G helped Ryan and I putting things away. I went to check on Ri to see Mia and my cousin keeping her company.
The kids were all together and everything seemed under control. That was when G gets a phone call and he had handed the phone over to me. It turned out to be Shawn and he wanted to talk later this evening.
I agreed with him and to pick him up later. I was hesitant at first. I have to do this for Peter. Now I am waiting in the parking lot of the grand hotel waiting for Shawn to come down. Now I'm on the phone with G because he wanted to check up on me.
"Let me take you on a date Claire," I hear G say from the other end. I smile slightly feeling happy to be talking to him.
"When and where?"
"Tomorrow morning. I want to surprise you." I feel my cheeks heating up. No one has ever been as sweet since Shawn.
"Okay," I answer shyly.
"Alright." I can tell he is smiling from the other end. "It's a date then."
"It's a date." I look up to see Shawn coming. "I'll see you at the house in a bit."
"Can't wait to see you." I smile again and press the end call. I unlock the door as Shawn approaches and he opens it, getting in. He looks nervous.
"Hey," he says softly.
"Hi..."
"I... uh, wanted to first start off by apologizing to you. I'm very sorry about getting angry on you when you've been doing a wonderful job taking care of Peter."
I look down unsure how to answer him. He's the reason why I was in the hospital for a few months right after I gave birth. Why I dropped out of pharmacy school, because I wasn't stable enough. I had to pull myself back together.
"Claire?"
"I... tried to visit you after Peter was born."
"When?"
"A few months after he was born."
"Why a few months after? You could have called me."
"You told me you didn't want me contacting you when I called you, remember? I know scared isn't an excuse. You were so mad at me when I told you I wasn't ready to marry you." I bite the inside of my lip hoping he understands this time.
"I'm sorry I broke things off after that. I was asking too much when you were in the middle of pharmacy school."
"You broke my heart Shawn... I was so happy and content with my life where we were at. If you'd have waited just a few more years until I graduated."
"I'm so sorry..."
"I had to be hospitalized right after I gave birth." Shawn looks towards me with a painful look in his eyes. He is unaware of me being hospitalized after. "I-I couldn't visit you at the time and um... I had to drop out of pharmacy school. When I was better, I did try to visit you. You were on Ri's tour and you with Caitlyn. I didn't want to ruin your happiness Shawn. You found someone."
Shawn's eyes waters and his mouth is part slightly.
Unexpectedly he gets out of the car and I am confused. I take my seatbelt off and get out of the car as I notice Shawn making his way around the car towards me.
"Sha-," before I can say his name, he wraps his arms around me tightly and kisses the top of my head.
"I'm so sorry Claire," he mumbles into my hair. "I should have came back for you. I made a mistake. I'm so sorry, Claire. Please forgive me." I felt hot tears to my shoulders where his head is now buried.
"You have a beautiful wife and a very cute daughter Shawn. You didn't make a mistake. You created another beautiful life." He tightens his grip around me and I felt safe in his arms after all of these years.
"I'm sorry I couldn't give you what you've wanted."
"You've given me a son Shawn," I smile sadly. "I may not have you as my husband, but you're still here. You are and will always be Peter's father." He pulls away and I see how upset this makes him. He has always been kind hearted.
"Can I still be a part of his life?" He asks quietly.
"Of course you can Shawn. I want him to get to know you like I've gotten to know you." He breaks into a smile and nods. "You can start with tonight if you'd like."
"I'd really like that. I was actually going to ask about tomorrow."
"You can take him tomorrow if you'd like. I'm sure he'd like to spend two nights with you."
"Thank you Claire."
"Hmm... you're watching our son while I go on a date." He chuckles lightly and wraps his arms around my waist. He knows I love when he does that.
"Who's the special guy?"
"Jack," I feel my cheeks warming up. Shawn smiles.
"Claire, you blusher! I'm happy you've found someone. Have fun tomorrow."
"Thank you," I smile at Shawn. He kisses my forehead once more before pulling away. "We should get to the house before everyone leaves."b
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