chapter eighty-two
fake
[anya rose steinburg]
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yawning, i wake up, nestled into shawns embrace, completely nude, a lazy smile from shawn, directly facing me. i realise he is still asleep, so i
crawl out of his arms, pulling on his white button up he was wearing, and a pair of underwear, brushing my teeth and washing my face, before walking into the kitchenette and grabbing a bottle of water and my phone.

my phone starts to ring loudly, making my current hangover even worse. i groan, answering my phone, and pressing it to my ear.

"hello?" i say hoarsely, squinting my eyes.

"anya! you sound terrible, what happened?" my mom laughs on the other side of the phone.

"oh, mom, hey!" i say, perking up. "we had a press event last night and i drank a little."

"anyway, i'm in the city for business, do you want to meet up for lunch today, honey?" she asks me.

"i would love to! shawns still asleep, so i'll leave him a note or something-"

"nonsense, he can come too! where are you staying? i'll come and meet you there at around 2pm?" i look at the clock on the wall, seeing it is noon already.

"that's great mom, see you then." i say. "i'll text you where i'm staying, it's pretty near my old apartment."

"alright, bye anya." she says to me.

"see you mom." i hang up, sighing, and quickly texting her the hotel name; before putting my phone down, opening up my bottle of water, and taking a long sip of water. i sigh again, walking back into the bedroom, seeing shawn still asleep, clutching onto a pillow, the duvets completely off of his upper body. i smile gently at him, pushing the duvet up over his body, as he shuffles slightly, snuggling closer to the pillow. i look out of the window, seeing a late morning haze enveloped with raindrops, covering the scenery around our hotel.

slowly, i sink down onto the armchair next to the balcony window, leaning my head against it.

"what you thinking about, hunny?" shawn asks, his morning voice hoarse, as i notice him sitting on the arm rest of the chair.

"just stuff." i mumble, pulling my legs to my chest. "get ready baby, we're meeting my mom at 2."

"okay." shawn softly whispers, leaning down, pressing his lips to my forehead. "i suppose you should change too, you're not wearing my shirt out are you?" i chuckle, shrugging.

"maybe, i could tuck it into a pair of jeans and wear a jacket." i decide, laughing lightly.

"last night was fun." he whispers, tracing his fingertips over my shoulder. "you made the night so much more enjoyable."

"i'm pretty sure i caught a cold standing in that rain." i sigh, a smile on my lips, as i look out of the window. "but i'm glad we left that party early."

"i'll see you in a minute." he pecks my lips gently, before wandering off into the bathroom. i stand up, stretching out my arms lightly, before strolling to my suitcase, and taking a pair of denim jeans, and a black rain mac. i slide the jeans over my legs, the raw hem ending just above my ankle.

sitting on the bed, i pull a pair of socks over my feet, and sit back, taking a long breath, not even notice the tears building up in my eyes. i let them fall, sniffling slightly, as i wipe them away, trying to not let shawn hear i'm crying.

"hey anya can you text- oh my god, baby, what's wrong?" he comes running up to me, crouching down in front of me. "hunny, what's wrong?"

"n-nothing, i don't know why i'm upset." i sniffle, wiping away my tears. shawn sighs, standing up and wrapping his arms around me.

"you're okay, calm down, everything's okay." he whispers softly to me.

"yeah, i'm okay." i whisper back, sighing and wiping my eyes once more. "go get ready shawn, i'm waiting out here."

"are you sure you're okay?" he rubs my back gently. "anya, i'm always here for you, remember that."

"i know you are." i smile weakly, bringing my hand up to cup his cheek. "now go get showered and stuff, you stink."

"wow, thanks." he scoffs, making me laugh. "there's that laugh i love."

"you're funny, but shawn, shower." he pecks my forehead, standing up and walking back into the ensuite bathroom.

walking up to the dresser, i take out my makeup for the day, beginning to work on my complexion. after putting on my makeup, i brush out my hair, straightening it, and then leaving it down, past my shoulders. shawn comes back into the room, fully dressed, a soft smile on his lips. he comes to sit behind me on the bed, watching me, as i put my jewellery on, well, most pieces shawn has bought me in the past year.

"babe?" i hum, looking back at him.

"yeah, hun?" he replies, making eye contact with me.

"after we finish up with my mom, can we come back to the hotel? i don't really wanna do anything today." i fold my arms, rubbing them softly.

"of course." shawn smiles gently at me. "we're going to london tomorrow."

"i can't wait." i smile back at him, standing up and shawn immediately pulling me onto his lap.

"you'd talk to me if you would ever feel upset or if you just feel something is wrong, right?" shawn asks me gently, pecking my cheek. i nod my head, as he nestles his head in my neck. "good, because i hate it when you're upset, it makes me upset." he mumbles against the skin of my neck.

"i'm sorry." i frown, sighing.

"don't be, hunny." he reminds me, squeezing my thigh gently. "oh by the way, i booked us ball dancing lessons when we are in london. well it's only one class, but it's fun i guess."

"that's a bit random, but sure." i chuckle softly, as shawn breathes out a laugh, lifting his head from my neck. "what am i gonna do with you, mendes?"

"no idea." shawn smiles cheekily at me, pressing his lips to mine. my phone starts to buzz in my back pocket, and i sigh, as shawn reaches into it, taking my phone out and handing it to me.

"hello?" i call in, answering my phone call.

"anya, where's shawn?" andrews voice calls into the phone.

"he's here, why aren't you calling him?" i ask into the phone, looking confused. "i love how i don't get a 'hello, how are you?' message."

"ha, ha, very funny." i can imagine andrew rolling his eyes. "pass the phone to shawn."

"sure, bye andrew." i hand the phone to shawn, as he sighs, pressing my phone to his ear.

"hey andrew." he smiles. "what? you're kidding, right?" shawn looks confused for a second. "no, i specifically told her last time i saw her not to say anything." shawn rolls his eyes. "and i told him too! andrew you can't make me do this, i booked a year off." shawns eyes pool with tears. "i know it's not that but i wanted next year to be different." he sighs. "how often will i have to be there?" he frowns. "three weeks a month? andrew that's crazy, i can't leave her." shawn shakes his head. "can't she come with us? it's so close." shawn squeezes my thigh again, as he sighs. "alright, alright. i'll get my dad to send you over the stuff back home. i have a few things i'm certain on, others just need to be retouched, and improved." he sighs again. "i don't like this idea, but whatever." he says. "yeah, bye." he hangs up, handing the phone back to me.

"what was it?" i ask curiously, tracing my fingertips along the back of shawns neck.

"you're gonna get mad, i know it." he sighs, looking down.

"i'm not, tell me." i urge, as he sighs again.

"next year is off, apparently." he says. "according to andrew, i have to get work done in new york three weeks a month or something like that." he shrugs. "he's arguing against it but you can't come."

"how long for?" i ask softly, tracing the back of his neck with my fingertips.

"four months." he mumbles. "straight after new year."

"oh." i say softly, looking behind him. "shawn, i-"

"i'm gonna get it figured out somehow baby, i'm not gonna let distance get in between us." he runs his hands over my arms. "darling, i promise you."

"i can stay in the city with you, i'm pretty sure i-" i start, as he cuts me off with a sad chuckle.

"hun, it's not in the city. it's in the cabin studio in upstate." he sighs. "they said i can't bring you with me, because of distractions and our 'history'. what a whole load of bullshit."

"what's our history? we've been dating, that's it." i say loudly.

"our fights, the baby, the proposal, breaking everything off, getting back together, and then breaking up again, then getting back together now." he lists. "i mean, i kind of see some sense in it, but i can't believe it."

"it'll be fine, shawn. trust me." i say softly, not reacting to shawns previous comment. "we'll make it work."

"i was gonna take you to paris." he croaks out. "i had it booked and everything."

"you did?" i ask softly, as he nods, wiping away a tear.

"it was gonna be in april, that's apparently one of the best times to be there." he whispers. "but my management have to go and ruin it."

"shawn they're doing it for the better." i reassure him. "they want you to be even more successful next year."

"but i like where i am." he grumbles. "whatever, it's fine."

"shawn-" i begin.

"i said, its fine." he snaps at me. i sigh, standing up from his lap, leaning down to grab my bag, and slinging it over my arm.

"my moms probably waiting." i mumble, opening up the hotel room door, and beginning to walk down the corridor.

"anya, wait." shawn says softly, catching up with my fast strides. "i didn't mean to snap at you, i'm sorry."

"shawn, i'm trying to help you here, the least you can do is actually listen to me. i don't care if you don't take anything i say into consideration, but at least listen to your god damn girlfriend." i say, making him sigh.

"i know." he mumbles. "i'm sorry."

"it's okay, shawn, just listen to me, okay?" he nods his head at me as we make our way into the hotel lobby.

"oh anya, shawn!" my moms voice shrills with happiness. immediately, a smile is painted onto my face.
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thank you guys so much for getting this book to 600k and getting me to 5k followers!! i love you all so much :)

i'm seeing shawn again tomorrow, i'm so excited haha