All She Wishes | Shawn Mendes | ✔

18. Of Wishes And Nosebleeds

"Hugs were invented to let people know that you love them without having to say anything"

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In two seconds flat, I was downstairs. I didn't even bother about my clothes or hair. Those things were less important to me now.

I opened the door for Aaliyah and found her standing there, shivering from the cold.

"What happened?" I asked, pulling her inside and placing a blanket over her shoulders.

"My parents decided to head out of town for a day and asked Shawn to keep an eye on me. But he left the house at about 10pm and didn't return until a few minutes ago," She explained. "Now, his clothes are creased and he's got a bleeding nose,"

My eyes widened, "What?"

"When he came back, I offered to come here to ask you to come see him, but he refused," Aaliyah continued. "So I snuck out without his knowledge to get you. Please say you'll come, he looks really hurt,"

"Of course, I will," I spoke. "It's Shawn we're talking about here."

Aaliyah hugged me gratefully and just as we were about to leave, there was a knock on the door.

"Uh oh." Aaliyah grimaced.

I swallowed and opened the door, revealing a fuming Shawn. The front part of his shirt was smeared with blood, probably the blood from his bleeding nose.

"What did I tell you, Aaliyah?" Shawn's menacing tone made Aaliyah cower behind my back and I hoped that the ruckus wouldn't wake my parents up.

But then I thought again, they were deep sleepers. There was no waking them up.

I shut the door behind Shawn as he stepped in.

"Come back to the house with me right now," He growled, glaring at his little sister.

"Not until you let Eiffel do something about your nose," Aaliyah spoke, finding her voice.
Shawn wiped his still bleeding nose with the back of his hand, leaving a red trail on the skin of his hand.

"It's okay," I tried to calm Shawn down, but with the way his chest still heaved up and down, I could tell I was only doing little to make him feel at ease.

"Come with me." I took his hand in mine and surprisingly, he didn't pull away.

"Can I make some hot cocoa?" Aaliyah asked me. "I'm pretty cold,"

I nodded and she sped off to the kitchen after thanking me.

Shawn's big hand warmed mine as I led him to the bathroom. I flicked on the lights as soon as we got there.

"Pinch your nostrils together with your fingers and breathe through your mouth. You'll have your head forward too," I said to him. "It'll stop the bleeding."

Shawn did as I told him and bent his head forward, pinching his nostrils together with his thumb and index finger.

"How long do I have to stay like this?" His voice came out nasally.
"Just until the bleeding stops," I responded. "It should be fifteen minutes thereabout,"

Fifteen minutes passed and Shawn let go of his nostrils. Gratefully, the bleeding had ceased and I hoped he hadn't lost so much blood before coming here.

I walked towards the sink and turned on the faucet, taking a paper towel off the roll.

"Shawn?" I said nervously and he looked up at me. "Um...take off your shirt."

"What?"

"You've got blood on your neck," I clarified, wetting the towel. "I've got to clean it off,"

He nodded slowly, unbuttoning the blue and black tartan shirt.
My breath hitched in my throat as I caught a glimpse of his perfectly toned and sculptured abs. I discreetly wiped the corners of my mouth to make sure I wasn't drooling.

I walked up to him and started to wipe rub his neck with the paper towel, scrubbing the dried blood. I had to stand on my toes since I was barely up to his height. He realized how uncomfortable this was getting and I was more than surprised when he placed his hands on my waist, lifting me up to sit on the ceramic surface that was at either side of the sink.

"Okay?" He asked, searching my eyes for signs of approval.

I nodded, a shade of red pinking my cheeks.

He stood between my legs and I continued cleaning the dried blood. I tossed the used paper towel in the trash can, retrieving another one.

"Tanner told the school nothing but lies ." I started wiping the dried blood beneath his nose.

"I know." He said blankly.

"Was it Tanner you got into a fight with?" I dared to ask.

Shawn's eyes met mine. "Why do you care so much?"

I swallowed, "You're mad at me." I stated, unable to hide my feelings any longer. "Just tell me what I can do to change that,"

"There's nothing you can do because I'm not mad at you," Shawn said, placing his hands on the ceramic surface I was sitting on, forming some sort of a cage around me. "I'm mad at myself."

"Why?" I couldn't stop myself from asking.

"You wouldn't understand, even if I told you."

"Make me understand, then," I pressed further, knowing I was probably beginning to irk him.

I thought he was going to speak to me harshly with anger or do something like that, so I was definitely surprised when he merely said, "Just drop it, Eiffel."

After wiping the last blotch of red off his face, I disposed the paper towel and dropped my hands, attempting to slide off the ceramic surface, but they landed on his instead.

He looked down at this before looking back up at me again.

"Why did you help me?" He asked, his gaze penetrating the depths of my soul.

"Because I care about you."

And I want you to feel the same about me too.

Shawn wrapped his arms around my small frame in a breathtaking hug. My heartbeat accelerated by one hundred percent, simply because I was with him in the sweetest way that I could think of at the moment. His cologne filled my nostrils and I found myself wrapping my arms around his neck.

I tucked my head in the crook of his neck and his hand stroked my hair in a way that brought me warmth from within.

And we were like that in our little land of bliss for minutes to come.

A/N: Here's another chapter, guys and I hope you enjoyed reading it! I'm dedicating this chapter to all my readers! Thank you so much for 400+ reads, y'all are the best! 😘😘

Please vote for this chapter and share this book with all your friends, 'cause it'd make me really happy. Also tell me any songs that you think are in line with the plot of the book, so I can add the songs to the playlist (and listen to them as well)

I love you all so much!!

Sharon🌠