All She Wishes | Shawn Mendes | ✔

07. Of Wishes And Gurgles

"I love you... You love her..."

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The thought of going after Shawn the moment he left was all too tempting and it took every single ounce of self control in me to stop myself from doing so.

I didn't know any person with as many mood swings as Shawn. This moment he was laughing and smiling - which was extremely rare - and the next minute he was scowling and looking at you as if you were the reason for his unhappiness. I just didn't get it. But I knew that when times like this came, it was best not to push it because the aftermath of doing so wouldn't be pretty.

The sound of Shawn playing his guitar sauntered into my eardrums and my mind went to the lyrics I'd seen in his bedroom when I couldn't stop my curious self from snooping around in his belongings.

Tripping over myself,

Aching, begging you to come help,
And now that I'm without your kisses,

I'll be needing stitches...

The lyrics didn't seem like anything Shawn would write for me - that is, if he'd ever thought about writing me a song. These lyrics seemed like one written by someone in a bad relationship and I knew it definitely wasn't the one I had with him, so this left room for only one thought. Shawn had someone who wasn't me and she wasn't treating him like he would have loved her to.

Funny how this was exactly how I felt when I was with him. I was trying to change myself for him, while he was changing himself for someone else. I was in love with him while he was in love with someone else. I was ready to give up everything I had just for him and he would be willing to do the same. For the other girl.
It sat still at the counter like spilt milk, staring off into space at the cruel realization.

Could the girl possibly be Lynelle?

Before I could come up with a suitable answer, Karen and Aaliyah arrived from the grocery store. I pushed the thoughts of Shawn and his lyrics to the back of my mind before going to help Aaliyah and Karen with the carrying of the groceries.

"You're such a darling, Eiffel," Karen told me as I helped her with one of the bags. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." I answered, pushing the kitchen door open for us three with my right foot. "What's for dinner?"

"Lasagna," Karen replied as she began putting away the groceries.

"Oh, great," I enthused. "I love cooking lasagna,"

Karen beamed at me proudly. "Something tells me you're going to make a good wife."

I flushed, looking down at my shoes.

I just hope I'll get to hear Shawn say those words to me...

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My joy was superfluous when the Mendes' and I arrived at the lake the next day.

"Amazing!" Karen enthused, pulling the towels out of the SUV's trunk.

"Amazing? This is beyond amazing!" Aaliyah giggled, as she ran to the water.

Shawn was the first to dive into the warm water and that I was ogling him was an understatement. He was clad in only swim shorts and his torso was bare; his abs screamed gorgeous.

For a moment, I forgot that Shawn and I weren't on lovey-dovey terms with each other and I wanted to jump right into his arms. Instead of embarrassing myself by doing this, I slipped into the lake quietly. The water was a little beneath my chest, I didn't mind. Good thing I took swimming lessons back in grade school.

Manuel and Shawn started to have fun by doing laps in the water while Aaliyah snorkeled and Karen took pictures of the beautiful scenery. I watched them and I couldn't help the feeling that I was sort of intruding. Surely, they wouldn't want me to think that but I saw how happy they were as they did what they enjoyed. To them, it was probably like I wasn't even there.

"Eiffel!" Karen called, reminding me that I hadn't been completely forgotten by the Mendes'.

"Yeah?" I replied, swimming over to her. Aaliyah was now with her and had taken her snorkeling mask off.

"Could you please take a picture of Aaliyah and I?" She asked. "You and I could take one after,"

"Yeah, okay." I said and she handed me the camera with a quick thank you.

Karen put an arm around her daughter's shoulders with a pearly white grin while Aaliyah's grin was wider than Karen's. That is, if it was possible.

"Say cheese," I enthused, finding myself smiling as well as I positioned the camera.

"Cheese," Karen and Aaliyah beamed.

Click.

"What's it like?" Aaliyah asked me.

"It's not that good," I frowned, looking into the camera. I figured that I'd been too close while taking the picture, hence making their heads look bigger that it should be. "I'll take a few steps backwards and snap another,"

They nodded and I started to move back a little, but then the unexpected happened. My foot slipped.

Way to go, acrobat.

Almost immediately, it was like the lake just sucked me in. Withing seconds, I was underneath the water with my hands flailing frantically as I tried to resurface.

The only sounds I could hear from my mouth were gurgles and I tried not to think about the fact that I was actually drowning. How many times did I have to mess things up whenever I was around Shawn or his family?

I fought to keep my eyes open and soon I saw Shawn underneath the water with me. His strong arms wrapped around my waist and he carried me out of the water bridal style. My knight in shining armor.

Forget the fact that I'd been drowning a few seconds ago, the thrill of being in Shawn's arms sent goosebumps erupting on my skin like tiny mountains.

A towel had been laid out on the grass and Shawn placed me on it carefully. His muscles rippled underneath his skin as he did so and the droplets of water on his body made him look even more attractive.

For the love of God, Eiffel! You were just drowning a few minutes ago! And here you are thinking about how attractive Shawn is! My subconscious screamed at me and I immediately pulled myself together, doing what a person who'd just been rescued from drowning would be doing.

I coughed and spluttered helplessly and soon the faces of Karen, Manuel and Aaliyah came into view.

"Oh my God, she's okay," Manuel let out a sigh of relief and Karen crushed me into a hug.

Aaliyah looked relieved too, but I didn't dare to look at Shawn again. I would only get carried away.

"I'm sorry about you camera," was the first thing that my mouth said.

"Forget about the camera, Eiffel," Karen waved it off. "We're all just glad you're okay,"

"I ruined everyone's fun," I looked down at my fingers. "I'm sorry,"

"Child, you apologize too much," Shawn's mom waved this off again with a laugh. "Don't worry about it, okay? We'll all just head home, order some takeout perhaps and spend the rest of the afternoon in absolute peace and quiet."