Yours Truly ♡ shawn hunter

32: devil's advocate

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    The studio Heather was renting out for her future clothing line was a mess, and whenever there was a mess, Heather cleaned until it sparkled. Most of her debut collection were completed, which entailed four shirts, four trousers, two skirts, and five dresses. All different designs, and dozens of each, which took nearly 6 months. Heather prided herself on her work ethic, and sustainably, and is against sweatshops that are targeted towards poor people being paid unliveable wages.

Her boutique was not open for customers, and she was surprised to hear a knock. Heather wiped her sewing station one last time and cautiously opened the door.

"You have no idea how much I needed this," Heather welcomed Topanga.

Topanga walked in with a tray of coffees and strolled around the studio. There were editorials on the walls, posters of Naomi Campbell, Tyra Banks, and Beverely Peele. A vision board Heather made, in hopes her dreams become a reality.

"Is this where you have been camping out," Topanga asked.

Ever since Shawn and Heather argued about the cheque, Heather cooped herself at her studio. She needed a distraction and buried herself in her work. Heather looked at Topanga with a lingering stare of defeat.

"Shawn asked me to give this to you," Topanga revealed a sealed letter and handed it out to Heather. Heather hesitantly took the letter from Topanga's grip, scared of what was written inside.

"He wanted to give it to you before he left, but you weren't at your dorm," Topanga added.

"Before he left? To where?" Heather inquired.

"Not for long. He and Cory just went on a road trip for the weekend," Topanga answered calmly.

A weekend away sounded exactly what Shawn needed, Heather thought. On the road where he would coast through and navigate his feelings after experiencing something traumatic. Heather opened the letter timidly, and her palms started sweating as she unfolded the paper.

Dear Heather,

I'm sorry. I'm sorry for how I snapped at you at the trailer. You didn't deserve that. I guess I never had someone loved me or cared me the way you d̶o̶ did, and that scares me. But what scares me the most is that I don't know how to receive that kind of love. I push people away. I project my own insecurities onto people. I'm not the best version of myself, but I'm ready to be. I hope you can wait for him.

Yours Truly,
Shawn.

Heather felt her tears emerge from her eyes, but prevented them from pouring. Ultimately, she was glad that Shawn apologized, and didn't blame her for the cheque. But she was pleasantly surprised to see Shawn point out his flaws, the same flaws that were always in the way of their happiness together. She was hopeful for the change Shawn wanted to see for himself, but Heather was doubtful whether she could wait.

✄

For the weekend, Heather decided to go home and spend it with her mother who had been living it up. Planning glamorous weddings, attending red carpet events, and spending her nights out with other divorcé socialites.

"Honey, I'm glad you came, and that I'm finally home," Meredith stated. She gave her daughter a hug, then took a seat at the patio.

"Me too. I missed you mom," Heather told her mother. After she witnessed Chet's funeral, all Heather wanted to do was spend time with her parents. Although her father was busy and hundreds of miles away, Heather thought she'd start with her mom.

Heather brought up her future clothing line, brought some clothes for her own mother to wear, and told her all about her future business endeavours. Meredith was proud at her talented daughter, and was in awe how well designed and crafted the clothes were.

"You know what, I'm gonna wear these out whenever I go to New York, which is going to be very soon because I'm actually going to move there," Meredith suddenly brought up.

Heather's smile faded as her mother dropped the bomb.

"New York? When? Why?" Heather asked frantically.

"Two weeks from now. My real estate agent showed me this beautiful penthouse and I couldn't resist," Meredith spoke with excitement, being oblivious to Heather's feelings.

Heather's silence caught Meredith's attention, and noticed that Heather didn't seem excited.

  "Why the long face, sweetie? You're a big girl you can take of yourself. I'm only going to be two hours away, unlike your father," Meredith stated.

"It's just that when we moved back here you promised it was only going to be me and you, I didn't realize it wasn't going to end so quickly," Heather explained, as she fiddled with her hands.

"It will be me and you, when you finish college. I promise you those three years will fly by so fast," Meredith reassured.

    However, Heather got the impression her mother was too preoccupied with her new lifestyle that didn't involve her. In some ways, Heather couldn't blame her mother. Meredith spent majority of her life being a submissive housewife, and finally begun to live the life she wanted.

"You got Topanga, Cory, and your Shawn," Meredith brought up, hoping to comfort Heather.

"He's not my Shawn. Not anymore," Heather told her mom. She told her mother everything from Declan to Christmas Eve to now.

"Did you and dad ever break up before? Did you ever stop loving him?" Heather asked.

"Of course we did. We were young, still figuring ourselves out which is even harder when you're in a committed relationship," Meredith told Heather. "Your father broke up with me because he wanted to 'see other people'. So we did. But when you really love someone, that love never really goes away. It wasn't until we were apart that we realized there was no one better for us than each other."

"Do you still love dad?" Heather asked, testing her mother's logic.

"That man could jump out of a plane for all I care," Meredith replied. "But if he needed me to patch him up, I'll be there."

Heather took note of her mother's story, and gained some insight about love. How complicated it could be, how amazing it is.

She didn't want to revert back to her old self. The girl who was broken from heartbreak when she returned to Philly. Heather reminded herself of the goals she set up for herself, to focus on her well-being. Although she told herself to forget about boys, she decided to let go of the relationship expectations, and let fate take over. If it's meant to be, it will be.

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