Shawn and Kendall Ch. 03

Chapter 3: You'll Always Have Me

Kendall was approaching her first whole week living at home again. There were a lot of comforting familiarities with living with her family. Shawn's presence kept her spirits high and her mind off all the drama with Bradley. Kendall had not spoken to Bradley since the night she left to stay at home again. She planned on returning to living with him once their tension dissipated, but he had not tried to contact her the entire week. Kendall thought she would only be gone a few days, but not hearing from him angered her and made her want to stay home longer. It made her feel like he didn't care if she came back.

Shawn was doing significantly better with Kendall living at home again. All areas of his life seemed to improve when she was with him. His boss complimented his work for outperforming the rest of his team, his mom told him that he seemed more like himself lately, and his dad, for the first time in a while, said to him that he was glad to see his son doing well again. Their dad's expectations of Shawn were always high because he was the oldest, so it helped their relationship that he was doing better. The small affirmations here and there were great for Shawn's mental health, which had unfortunately declined after Kendall moved out.

Within a week, Shawn and Kendall resumed their routine as if she had never moved out. They grocery-shopped for the house, cooked together, and usually watched movies or played video games all night until they fell asleep together. They loved having movie marathons and laughing all night, and Shawn never got tired of Kendall dozing off under his arm. They swapped stories about things that had happened during their last year apart. Kendall missed bonding with her brother, and Shawn was happy to have someone to interact with again.

There had been no more strange occurrences between them since their incident in the kitchen. Everything seemed to be going perfectly normal again, and Kendall staying at home seemed overwhelmingly positive for both of them. She was away from the chaotic pressure of Bradley to become a mother, and Shawn was functioning better than he had all year. Kendall's presence kept their home's energy warmer and more family-like again. It all seemed so perfect until it wasn't.

Shawn woke up on Saturday morning and resumed his weekend routine. He could taste that cold brew before the shower water hit his body. Shawn had been feeling great since Kendall came home. He dreaded her inevitable move back to Bradley's place, but he knew it would happen sooner or later. It worried Shawn that they might start drifting apart again if she returned to live with him, but it was out of his control.

Shawn disliked the idea of her suddenly being gone again one morning, only to return to some jerk who doesn't treat her how she deserves. But she loved Bradley and wanted to start a family with him. That was her decision. Shawn could never have Kendall the way he wanted, and nothing he could say or do would ever change that. All he could do was be supportive and let her live the life she chose. That's what a good brother would do.

Upon leaving his bedroom with fresh garb, Shawn noticed Kendall's door still shut. It's such a small thing but an odd one. Kendall always woke up before Shawn did. Always. She never closes her door behind her, either. Once she's up for the day, her door stays open until she goes to bed that night. Seeing her door shut after he had finished his morning routine made Shawn question it.

He approached her door intending to knock lightly, but his ears heard the only sound in the world that made him lose control: Kendall was crying.

As soon as he heard her soft weeping, he went straight for the door handle, only for it to be locked. Kendall never locked her door. Something was wrong.

"Kendall?" He called through the door, trying to open it but to no avail.

"What's wrong? Why are you crying?" Shawn called out, concerned.

"I'm fine. Leave me alone," she wept in a nasally, stopped-up voice.

"Shit..." Shawn whispered to himself as he reached up and felt for the universal key atop her door.

He would never invade her space under normal circumstances, but the sound of Kendall crying was an enormous trigger for Shawn. Growing up together, he refused to let anyone get away with making her cry. Despite being passive and non-aggressive, Shawn defended her fiercely their entire lives. He got beaten up fighting off her bullies and even lashed out at their parents for bringing her to tears, even when she misbehaved. Whenever she was in trouble, he wasn't capable of standing by. The sound of her cries made his body act on its own.

Shawn's brow raised as his fingers found the tiny metal pin that worked on every door in the house. Then he remembered it was futile as he held it up to her doorknob, being greeted by a unique keyhole. Sometime during high school, Kendall went through her teenage anarchist phase and changed her door lock to avoid being intruded on by their parents. Shawn felt stumped for a moment. All he could do was scratch his head in frustration and look around for ideas to get in.

He sprinted downstairs and bolted through the kitchen, looking for her bag where her car keys would be. He remembered what the key looked like from their childhood. It was small and copper. He reached into her bag and gasped as he found her keys, but this particular key was not on the ring.

"Fuck!" He grunted, dropping them on the table.

"Language..." His mom said, walking her coffee mug to the sink, "now, what's wrong?"

"Uh, sorry, Mom. It's Kendall. She's upset," Shawn said, turning her bag upside down on the table and looking for the key.

"Okay? Why are you decimating her bag like a wolverine, then?" She replied snarkily.

"Remember how she changed her lock when we were kids? Remember that little key and how it was the only way to get in? Have you seen it?" Shawn yammered as he continued digging.

His mom looked concerned now as she placed a hand gently on his arm, causing him to stop and look at her.

"Honey..." She said softly, "I know you're happy she's home, but if she doesn't want to be bothered, maybe you should give her some space today. Don't you think?"

"What? No, Mom!" He responded aggressively, shaking her hand off him, "she's in there crying right now!" He raised his voice as he continued rooting through the contents of her bag on the table.

Their dad walked around the corner, wiping his hands off with a towel. He had been trying to fix Kendall's oil leak in her car for days and was too stubborn to take it to a technician.

"What's gotten into him?" He asked quietly, standing behind their mom and giving a light kiss on the back of her head.

"Kendall's crying in her room, and she locked the door," she sighed, "he's looking for the key. He just wants to help," she finished softly, watching Shawn migrate to the living room and start looking in more places.

"Mhm," their dad muttered as he snuck over to the door leading outside from the kitchen.

"What are you doing?" She asked, watching him open the door and look upward along the side of the house.

"Hey, Shawn," his dad called out with his full voice.

Shawn looked over and saw his dad staring up at Kendall's window.

"Remember that time I almost made you join the army?" He asked with the tiniest smirk.

Shawn's face lit up as he connected the reference in his head and ran towards the door. His dad moved out of the way, saying, "now that still stands, you hear me? Don't think this changes anything."

Shawn looked at his dad for confirmation before grabbing onto the vines that grew along the house.

"Just this once," he said, holding his finger up, "now go take care of your sister."

With that, Shawn began climbing up the side of the house as if he were a teenager again. He was having flashbacks of all those nights he and Kendall snuck into the house this way to fool their parents into thinking they made it home on time. Kendall was the one who discovered it one Halloween. They had been out way past curfew, and their parents had the front door alarmed. They would have been scolded if they had opened the front door and set it off. So they climbed up the side of the house to get into Kendall's bedroom like ninjas. It would have kept working, but Shawn was the reason they got caught and could never use it again. Their dad busted him one night trying to sneak in after they told him he wasn't even allowed to go out that night. He told Shawn he'd make him join the army if it ever happened again, and he listened.

"I can't believe you," their mom said, unable to stop smiling as she watched Shawn climb with her hand visored over her eyes.

"Hmm?" Their dad hummed, looking over at her as he washed his hands in the sink.

"My advice to him was to give her some space," she said, approaching with a clean towel to dry his hands, "and here you are, letting him break the rules to rescue her."

"Yeah, well..." He sighed as he dried his hands, "I think her coming home has been good for him, you know? And I think deep down he wants to be good for her too."

"I'm just glad they care about each other," she said, rubbing his back, "we got lucky."

"They're great kids. He'll fix 'er right up," he grinned.

"Speaking of, what do you think she's upset about?" Their mom asked, putting the mess of Kendall's belongings back into her bag.

"Something to do with that boyfriend of hers, no doubt," he groaned, "I wish she'd just get rid of him already."

"Oh, stop that," their mom chuckled, "he's not that bad. He has a great job and works hard, and Kendall loves him."

"You know who else fits that description?" Their dad asked, pouring a cup of coffee.

"Who?" Their mom responded, bracing for a ridiculous answer.

"Our son," he replied with a rather serious tone, "and he would never talk to his girlfriend like that guy does."

"Alright, your opinion of Bradley is well-known in this house," their mom sighed, not wanting him to go any further, "let's hope Shawn can convince her to come out of that room."

"Mm, I believe in him," their dad grunted with a mouth full of leftover breakfast, "he's in sales. Remember?" He winked at her with a goofy grin as he chewed.

She shook her head and laughed hysterically while rinsing the dishes in the sink. Their mom knew how close Shawn and Kendall were, and it comforted her that they cared for each other the way they did. She knew Shawn was the only man for this job.

Shawn made it to Kendall's window and saw her sitting in bed with her arms around her knees, and her face buried. He opened her window, causing her to look up in shock, not expecting someone to break into her room. Then, he ungracefully clambered in, distinctly remembering it was much easier when he was a kid as he knocked several things over.

"What are you doing!?" She demanded.

Her face was red, and her eyes were swelling. It looked like she had been crying for hours.

"I said leave me alone, Shawn!" Kendall shouted with anger.

As he stood up and brushed himself off, he went over to her bed, sitting right in front of her and ignoring her rage. His eyes wandered her face, noticing that she was an absolute mess. Kendall hid her hands under the covers so Shawn wouldn't see them, but his eyes caught a glimpse of blood on her blanket.

Shawn grabbed them and pulled them out. Her thumbs were raw, along with a couple of fingers. Shawn looked up at her eyes, feeling his heart break as he thought about how much pain she was in. Kendall looked away defensively, knowing she was out of control.

She had been picking from stress for hours. Shawn gently placed a hand on the side of her face and lightly wiped under her eye with his thumb. Eyeliner from the previous day coated it, and her eyes looked sore and dried out. Shawn had not seen her meltdown like this in a long time. She must have cried that entire night.

"That's gotta be burning your eyes. Hang on," Shawn said as he went into her bathroom and opened the cabinet to find the makeup wipes.

He grabbed the container from her bathroom cabinet, noticing a small tube of ointment that would help with her fingertips. He took a deep breath to compose himself before returning to her bed. Seeing Kendall in this state was hard on him. He always struggled to keep himself together when bad things happened to her.

"I said I'm fine!" She growled in frustration, resisting his help and moving her face away from his hand.

"Mhm," Shawn mumbled, disregarding her as he began delicately wiping under her eyes to bring her some relief.

Eventually, she sat still and let him clean her eyeliner, huffing angrily.

Once Shawn cleaned her eyes, he removed the lid from the ointment and grabbed one of her hands to help with her fingertips.

"You gonna tell me what's wrong now?" He asked quietly, dabbing some ointment onto his finger.

Kendall stared into his eyes as he focused on her hands. Their faces were almost too close, and her gaze wandered to his lips repeatedly as Shawn began lightly coating her wounds. But her anger was overwhelming, and she didn't want to be babied by him right now.

"Just get out," she said coldly, yanking her hand away, knocking the ointment and makeup wipes to the ground.

Shawn froze as he watched them crash to the floor, not expecting Kendall to act this way toward him.

"But... I just wanna-"

"I don't want your help!" She yelled, her voice breaking as she started to cry again.

Her eyes seared with anger toward his, and tears ran down her cheeks again as she panted with rage.

Unable to say anything, Shawn stood up and slowly walked towards the door, picking up the items she knocked down. He looked back once he grabbed the door handle, only to see her weeping as she looked out the window. He set her makeup wipes and ointment on her desk, quietly opening her door to leave.

Kendall closed her eyes, realizing Shawn was not a punching bag for her emotions, and he only wanted to make her feel better. He stepped out of the room, shoulders sagging in defeat. She felt awful for snapping at him, and anyone else would have been beyond grateful to have such a loving brother in their life.

"Shawn," she whimpered, not wanting him to leave.

When Shawn turned to face her, she pointed her gaze toward the bed, silently asking him to sit with her. He closed the door back and returned to his spot next to her.

"It's Bradley..." She mumbled, wiping her tears and trying to compose herself.

Shawn made a concerned face but remained silent, knowing what she was about to say. Kendall finally looked him in the eye as she continued.

"He's done. He ended things with me last night."

Tears welled up in her eyes again as she began quivering with sorrow.

"He said he doesn't see a future with someone who can't give him a family," she barely finished as her mouth gaped open, and she covered her eyes with her hands, entering a full-on state of sobbing in front of him.

"I begged and begged him to give me another chance, but he said no," she could barely enunciate through her wailing.

Watching Kendall shatter into a million pieces like this made Shawn feel awful. His resentment towards Bradley grew as he listened to his sister break. Shawn had never seen her in such a pitiful state. Bradley completely ruined her for taking a break from his toxic personality. Kendall had built an entire life with him over the past four years, ending in the blink of an eye. And for what? Kendall only did what she thought was right to prevent them from ending things. That was the reason she created temporary space between them. Shawn's veins boiled thinking about Bradley's waspish behavior, but he knew this wasn't the time or place. Kendall needed him right now.

Shawn did what he thought any good brother would do.

"C'mere, ya weirdo," he said quietly as he wrapped his arms around her and held her against him, gently rubbing her back.

Kendall sobbed into his collar as he scooted her across the bed and into his embrace, holding her tightly. Then, finally, he breathed in and expelled his anger toward Bradley for later.

"Everything is going to be fine," he said quietly, "you've got me and Mom and Dad and all of your friends," he reassured her, rubbing her back, "especially me. You'll always have me."

Kendall gripped his shirt angrily with her fingers, "but now I have to spend my summer getting over some jerk!" She yelled into his chest, muffling her voice.

"No way!" He countered, "you and I are going to have so much fun this summer you won't even remember today!"

Kendall briefly peaked up from his collar, listening to his words.

"What, you think I'll let you cry in here all summer? Get real. We've got way too much stuff to do. You'll be so busy having a blast with me that you won't even have time to be sad. I won't let you," he said confidently.

"Promise?" Kendall sniffed, looking up at him.

"Best friends?" He held his pinky out.

Kendall looked at his pinky, then back into his eyes before wiping her nose with her sleeve.

"Best friends," she mumbled, locking pinkies with him.

"Good," he smirked, "now come on. Let's go get some breakfast."

"Kay..." Kendall mumbled.

Shawn led her towards the door by her hand, but Kendall halted him in front of her bathroom. He turned around to see why she stopped following and saw her standing in the doorway.

"I kinda wanna take a shower," she said, wiping her nose again, "I feel pretty gross."

"Yeah, you look pretty gross," Shawn said mockingly as his eyes scaled her.

"Shut up!" Kendall laughed with tears still in her eyes.

As they both laughed, Kendall stared at her brother and began realizing how happy she was to have him. Even on a day like today, when her partner of four years dumped her without warning, she was still somehow smiling because of Shawn. For a moment, it felt like everything would be okay.

"Do your thing. I'll be out here," Shawn said reassuringly.

He walked back towards the bed to sit down and suddenly heard rapid footsteps approaching from behind. When he turned around, Kendall collided with him, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his chest. Shawn wasn't expecting the hug but held her in his arms.

"I love you so much," she said, trying not to cry, "you're my best friend. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Shawn could feel his chest begin to pound as he felt her warmth. His mind wandered into the danger zone as his grip tightened around her. Shawn wanted to hold her like that forever. But he felt his mind slipping and caught himself just in time.

"Yeah, yeah. I know," Shawn said calmly, forcing his emotions back down, "now come on. I'm starving."

Kendall hurried into the bathroom as Shawn sat on her bed and pulled his phone out to kill ten minutes or so. Suddenly, in his peripheral vision, he could see movement in the bathroom. The door was still open. A bolt ran down his body as he saw Kendall undressing as if he weren't even there.

Shawn stared at her as she removed every piece of clothing until she was completely naked. Her nipples were a little dark, and she was smooth down below. Her figure was perfect, and her curves were luscious. He could feel his body heating up as he watched her pull her hair tie out, letting her long, brunette hair fall down her back, causing his eyes to wander down to her perfect, round ass. Shawn's breathing shuddered at the sight of her. He couldn't understand how she was so perfect.

Kendall finally looked over and saw him watching, causing her to gasp and cover her chest with her arms. Her sudden gasp made Shawn jump and look away in a panic. He knew he wasn't supposed to look at her like that, but he couldn't stop. His attraction to her had been at an all-time high lately because of the recent tension between them.