{shawn pov}



"Shawn?" I hear that very familiar voice. I look up from where I was staring at the floor and find her beautiful hazel eyes looking up at me.

"Emma!" I say, letting go of her hand and leaning down for a hug, trying so hard not to crush her fragile little body. I feel tears sting my eyes, but I don't know whether they're happy tears or sad tears. "I'm so glad you're okay," I pull away.

"Please don't be sorry. I don't blame you one bit, it's my fault for not paying any attention." she's talking very quietly, her voice sounds tired.

"How much did you hear?" I ask, biting my lip, wanting to know how much of my 'practice speech' she was actually conscious for.

"All of it, I think," she says with a slight grin. "The first thing I heard was you saying was something about how you're kinda glad they're gone. Who's they?"

"Oh, your parents left when I came in, they said they were gonna give me some time on my own with you." I scratch the back of my neck, embarrassed at the fact that she heard the entire thing.

"Listen, Shawn. You don't deserve me. You deserve way better than my problematic messed up self," she sighs.

"Woah, woah, woah. Emma, what has gotten into you? I think these meds they've given you are just getting to your head, don't think like that," I shake it off.

"But I don't want to hurt you any more than I already have." she lets out a single tear.

"I think you need to get some sleep," I suggest, and she nods in agreement.

"Come lay with me,"

"What?" I ask.

"I said, come cuddle with me." she giggles as if it were nothing.

So I crawl up onto the narrow bed beside her, and she cuddles up right into my chest like nothing ever happened between us. I'll admit I've missed this. A lot. Yep, they've definitely put her on some type of drugs.

She falls asleep quickly, and eventually so do I.

I am awoken by the door opening. I look over to see the kind nurse.

"Oh, hi. Wasn't expecting to see you still in here," she says.

"Yeah," I laugh awkwardly.

"Was she awake?" She asks, a confused look on her face.

"Yeah, why?" I ask.

"I got the message a few minutes ago that she was awake but I was really busy and couldn't come over here until now,"

"She was only awake for a few minutes, we talked for a little but then she seemed really drained so I told her to sleep again," I explain.

"You did the right thing," she winks. "Next time she wakes up just call me, okay? All you have to do is press that button," she says pointing to a button beside the bed.

"Okay, will do," I smile.

"Thanks," she says as she walks out the door.

A few minutes later, Emma's family walks in and sees me laying with her. "Hey, Shawn," Danielle says.

"Hey," I respond, making sure to talk quietly so I don't wake her.

"Was she awake?" her mom asks.

"Yes," I smile. "Only for a few minutes, though. Not even long enough for the nurse to get here. She was seeming very out of it and exhausted, which I can only imagine why, and so I told her to sleep again."

"Okay," her mom responds.

"Did you talk to her then?" Danielle asks and I nod.

"Yeah, and then she started blabbering nonsense about how I deserve better than her 'problematic messed up self'" I say, using quotations with my free hand that isn't wrapped around her. "And how she doesn't want to hurt me more than she already has," I explain. "That's when I told her to sleep,"

"Shawn, you want her back, right?" Danielle asks, coming closer. I nod, closing my eyes for a second.

"Yeah, and that's what I was trying to tell her," I confess.

"It's probably just the meds she's on, I don't know why she'd say that, she's madly in love with you. She tells me everyday." Her mom pitches in.

I smile at the thought.

"Are you guys talking about me?" Emma opens her eyes peacefully a couple of seconds later and stretches a bit.

"Sleeping beauty has arisen," I joke playfully, lightening up the mood. She just smirks at me. "Oh, I'm supposed to call your nurse," I say, then press the button she told me to press.

"Hi honeybit , how are you feeling?" Her mom asks, coming over to give her a hug. Her dad, sister, and brother do the same.

"A little better," she smiles.

Just then, the nurse walks in. "Emma! You're awake!" she says happily. "How are you feeling, sweetheart?"

"Better, thank you," she smiles weakly.

"That's great, I'm glad." she sends a warm smile our way. "Now, I'm going let you visit with your family for a bit, then I'll put you on some more medications. I'll be back in in about an hour, okay?"

"Okay, thank you," she smiles.

✦

{emma pov}

It takes three days before I get out of the hospital. I finally get to go home today.

Shawn is very worried about me, I can tell. He's been by my side practically this whole time, he never wanted to leave even when I told him to go home and get some rest.

He even slept right next to me every night. The only reason he left to go home was to shower and get refreshed. But even then, he was only gone for a couple of hours.

The Mendes crew came to visit me too, Aaliyah, Karen, and Manny. They all said they were sorry this happened and that they hope I get better soon. Close family and friends have also been in and out.

I have a fractured tibia and fibula on my right leg, and I have been put into a cast that goes up to my mid-thigh. I also have a minor concussion and some minor bruising, but nothing worth stressing too much over.

But, after many tests, and even more sleep, they have finally decided that I will get to go home today. I'm happy to finally be out of this hellhole.

"Are you ready?" Shawn asks and I nod, sitting up on the edge of the hospital bed. It's time to stand up on my crutches for the first time. "Just take it slow, okay? I'll be right here to catch you," he smiles.

I nod. I take one in each hand, I've used crutches before but I've never actually needed them. My sister had to use them one time for a much smaller leg injury and thought I'd try them out for fun.

"You're going to be weak, Emma. Just take it slow, you haven't even stood up for 3 days," the nurse says to me.

I nod again. I take a deep breath and put my left foot on the ground and stand up slowly. With my Dad on one side of me and Shawn on the other, they make sure I don't fall while I start to walk out of the boring old room and out of the hospital. I thank the nurse before we go out, and I slowly make my way to the car. Shawn and my Dad help each other lift me into the front seat, and Shawn puts my seatbelt over my waist.

"I'm sorry," I say out of the blue once we start driving.

"For what, honey?" My mom asks.

"For everything, for crashing the car, causing a big fuss. I hate to be a burden," I explain.

"Sweet pea, you don't have to be sorry, and you're definitely not a burden. Things happen, it was an accident," my dad says. "Besides, that's what insurance is for," he says causing everyone to chuckle.

"I know, I just feel bad," I sigh.

"I know." he says. "But you don't need to. Don't worry about it, just focus on getting better,"

It's silent for the rest of the car ride, but it's not awkward, just comfortable. When we get home, Shawn and my dad help me to get inside and carry me into the main floor guest bedroom, then lay me on the bed, being careful of my leg. Shawn could've probably carried me here himself, but it's better to be safe than sorry, I guess.

"Are you hungry?" Shawn asks me.

"Always," A small smile creeps on my cheeks. "That hospital food is terrible,"

"I can imagine," he says, "What would you like?"

"I don't know, surprise me,"

"Okay, I'll be right back," he says, planting a kiss on my forehead which causes butterflies to appear all over my body.

{shawn pov}



I walk into the kitchen in Emma's house. Emma's parents invited me to stay over here for a bit, and I told my parents as well so they know I won't really be around there much in the next few days or so.

Luckily our show at the ACC isn't for a few weeks yet.

I decide to make her a Nutella and banana sandwich. She loves Nutella, so I figure it'll cheer her up.

I find the Nutella and the bread, then grab a knife and spread it onto the bread, then slice up a banana and put the slices on, closing the sandwich. I put it onto a plate and cut it into fours to make it easier for her to eat.

"Thanks for doing that, Shawn. Here, you can take these for her too," Her mom smiles, handing me a bowl of blueberries and strawberries.

"Okay, will do. Thanks,"

I head back up and put them on the night stand, sitting on the space beside her on the bed.

"I made you some Nutella," I say and she perks up a bit. "And your mom sent up some fruit, too."

"Thank you," she smiles weakly.

I hand her the sandwich and help her sit up. We sit quietly as she eats. "So... Can we talk about what happened at the hospital?" I ask and she furrows her eyebrows. "Emma, we can't keep going on acting like nothing happened between us. Because it did, and we can't ignore it."

"I know," she pauses. "And I love you so much, Shawn. It's just that you have so much to look forward to in your life, and I don't want to be there just to ruin your plans because you're busy fixing my problems." She pauses, as if thinking of what to say next. "You have my heart, Shawn. But I can't let you keep it." She looks pained as she says it.

"Emma, I don't know why you're thinking like that. I want to be there to support you. I want to be there to catch you when you fall down. I'll be there for you through anything, and do everything I can to help you get back up. If you'll let me."

"That sounds amazing, but like I said, I can't let you do that. I'm just a mess that you don't want to fix," she lets a tear slip down her fragile cheek.

"Baby, don't cry," I say as I cup her cheek in my hand, wiping the tear away with my thumb.

"I can't stop myself. I want to be with you, I do. But as I said before, I'm a mess and I can't do it, I can't let myself hurt you a-"

I cut her off by locking my lips on hers. We move in sync slowly, and I notice she is still crying. "Why are you crying?"

She looks at me sadly, and I swear my heart broke right then and there. I move closer to her and I pull her head into my chest as she lets out a few loud sobs.

"Shhh, it's okay, I'm right here." I hold her and rub her back. I didn't know she would get like this. It physically hurts me, seeing her cry. I should be the one making her smile and laugh, not cry. Eventually I lay down under the blanket with her and I put my arm around her. She's asleep again, so I watch her. She's so perfect, like theres not one thing about her that isn't. She even looks beautiful when she cries, but seeing her sad like that breaks my heart into a million different pieces at the same time.

I know that she's broken, and I know that she doesn't want to complicate my life any more than it already is. But I can't live without her. I need her just as much as she needs me.

When she wakes up, she looks into my eyes and gives me a warm smile, and I kiss her on the forehead.

"I've been thinking a lot about what you said. I know you're broken, and I know you're a mess. But I will try to fix you," I say, the same thing I said to her after she told me about how Dylan broke her. "I promise, just take your time,"

a/n

those of you who have been reading this story for awhile won't understand how he said that to her before, but thats cause I just added it in there ;)

also, I'm very sad to say, but there's only a few more chapters and an epilogue left of this book 😭😩

wow. 19k reads and 1k votes? i can't thank you guys enough i'm actually speechless like what ily all sm 😭

-em 💕