raising hope | s.m

♡Twenty-Eight♡

Maya

When I wake up, Shawn isn't in bed next to me. Looking around, I rub my eyes and check the time on my phone. It's September tenth. My birthday. I put my phone down and bury my head back into my pillow. A few moments later, the bed dips next to me. Shawn places his hand on my back and I snuggle into him.

"Happy birthday, baby," he whispers before kissing my head.

"Thank you," I mumble back. My eyes open and he's resting his head on his hand. His thumb brushes over my cheekbone and I kiss his hand.

"I cooked breakfast if you want some." I nod before sitting up. I slip on one of his shirts and he takes my hand. We walk into the kitchen and I see a stack of waffles sitting in the middle of the table. He squeezes my hand.

"Blueberry?" I question. He smiles at me and nods. "You remembered."

"Of course," he kisses my forehead, "I could never forget."

"Aiden never remembered," I whisper. He cups my cheeks.

"I'm not him, Mama." He kisses my nose.

"I know, it's hard to forget him though." He pulls me into his chest.

"I know. One day I hope you feel safe enough to talk about it."

"Maybe someday."

We finished our waffles he's laying on the couch with his head in my lap. My fingers trace along his face. Along his cheekbones, the bridge of his nose, his lips. He places his hand on the back of my neck and pulls me down to kiss me. When we pull away, his hand traces my lips.

"You're fascinating," he whispers.

"How so?" I smile softly.

"The way you see everything. You just want to see the good in people and in everything."

"That's a bad thing, Shawn. That means that I'll give second chances to people who don't deserve them."

"That's not always a bad thing, baby. When you found out I was a fighter you gave me a second chance and look at us now." He kisses my nose. I rest my head against him, knowing he's right. "What do you want to do, beautiful?"

"Can we stay like this?" I whisper. He sits up and opens his arms towards me. I climb into them and he wraps them securely around me. I rest my head on his chest and he rests his chin on my head.

"Like this?" he hums.

"Perfect." He runs his fingers through my hair and hums softly.

"Do you want to go out today?" he asks. I look up at him.

"Not really, let's just have a family day. Just me, you, and Hope. That's all I need."

"I think we should go to the park. It's been a while and it'll be good for you to get out." He kisses my head and I look up at him.

"Okay, let me go get changed." Standing, I walk into our room and pick out a white dress and flats. After I put on the dress I walk into the bathroom and apply a light coat of mascara and eyeliner. To top the look off, I put on some lipgloss. I slip on the flats and walk out into the living room. Shawn is bouncing Hope on his lap and she's laughing happily.

"Okay, loves, let's go," I say, grabbing Shawn's hand. We walk out to the car and I put Hope into her car seat. He opens the door for me. He closes it and gets in the driver's side. He drives us to the park and we get out. Shawn grabs a blanket out of the trunk and I take Hope out of her car seat.

"Where to, my love?" Shawn questions, taking my hand. I scan the park for a decent spot. I spot an empty area under a tree.

"Over here," I guide. When we reach the spot, Shawn lays the blanket out and we sit on it. I set Hope in the middle while Shawn sits with his back against the tree. He extends his arm, gesturing for me to sit with him. I scoot next to him and lay my head on his shoulder. He places his hand on my waist and mine rests on his torso.

"How are you feeling today?" He asks, watching Hope. She has the elephant toy she's had since birth.

"Good, why?" He looks down at me and I look up at him. He shrugs.

"I don't know. I just wanted to make sure that these past few weeks haven't been getting to you," he responds, rubbing my side. I wrap my arms around his torso.

"It hasn't," I assure, kissing his shoulder. He kisses the top of my head.

"Good, I love you." I smile and look up at him.

"I love you too."

"Happy birthday."

"Thank you."

"You deserve the world but sadly, I can't give that to you," he whispers. 

"But you already are," I smile up at him. He kisses my forehead and we watch Hope play.