𝒆𝒗𝒂 ➙ 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒘𝒏 𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒔

thirteen

adelaine miller
MALIBU, CALIFORNIA

"shawn, we need to talk." i tell him as i enter the living room where he and his team were, they all turn to face me, shawn looks over at me to see my face and he nods his head.

"let's go to my room." he says quietly, guiding me there. we get in and he shuts the door behind me, "what do we need to talk about?" he asks, sitting on the bed.

i lean against the wall and sigh, "how involved exactly do you want to be in eva's life?" i begin, biting down on my lip, "because i don't want her to see you for a year then never again, that would break her heart, so if you're not planning on com—"

"i want to be apart of everything." he interrupts, getting up from his bed now, "i know i wasn't there for her first steps or her first words, but i want to be there for everything else, i am one hundred percent committed to being eva's father."

his words made me nod my head, "ok, then in that case we need to discuss rules and boundaries." i tell him.

"what kind of rules and boundaries?" he asks, crossing his arms.

"well first of all, we have to talk about the whole public eye situation, i think it's best if we keep her sheltered from the media at least until she's older to understand it." i say to which he agrees, "but on that note we also need to speak about you going on tour? is she going with you? if so, can you provide what she needs?"

he sighs, getting stressed out, "i mean, as much as i'd love for her to go with me, whenever it is that i do go on tour, she does have pre school, so maybe she can come when she's got holidays? and of course, i will make sure she has everything."

"but don't spoil her. she already gets enough of that from parents." i say, mumbling the last bit making him chuckle.

"speaking of parents, eva probably needs to meet my parents soon." he suggests and i agree.

"so we're actually doing this? this whole co-parenting situation?"

"i guess so, yeah."

∎ ∎ ∎

"hi love! did you have a nice nap?" shawn asks eva as she fumbles into the living room with her, she literally looked like she had just hopped out of bed, with her blanket and teddy in hand.

she nods her head, walking over to shawn who picks her up immediately, placing her on his lap. my heart swoons at the view.

he was really good with kids.

"i think it's time for a snack." i say, making eva nod her head, that makes me get up and begin to make my way to the kitchen but shawn stops me.

"i'll do it, don't sweat it." he tells me with a smile, taking eva to the kitchen with him. "what do you want for lunch princess?" i hear him say, making me smile.

"you know—" someone says, making me turn my head so they had my attention, "i think this is exactly what shawn needed. someone to look after." zubin tells me, putting his guitar on the stand, that comment made me raise an eyebrow, confused. "ever since his split with camila, he's been not like himself, you know? more quiet and to himself but ever since eva came into his life, i'm starting to see the old shawn again."

that makes me smile again, "i'm just worried he's going to leave when he gets bored of her, because not all days are exciting when you have kid and eva isn't just some shiny new toy, she's a lifetime commitment." i tell him, making zubin nod his head.

"trust me, i understand more than anyone, i have two kids. but i think shawn's definitely in it for the long run. i can see it in his eyes."

that's definitely made me think different about him, maybe he could be suitable as a father figure for ever, she never really had one — i highly doubt you can count my dad or my brother as her father figure. "we're back! and with snacks!" shawn exclaims, tickling eva's tummy.

my eyes immediately go to the tray with snacks, on there shawn had applesauce packets, soft fruits, yoghurt, biscuits, veggies and cheese crackers. that's a good variety. "sorry for the kid snacks guys but we do have a child in the house, if you want something else you're going to have to go to the kitchen." he tells them, making them chuckle.

"ok eva, let's have a yoghurt first, yeah?" he says, making her nod her head. she never has yoghurts, she doesn't like their texture, so i refuse to buy them.

"she's never liked yoghurts." i tell shawn as i watch eva take big spoonfuls of it, making him chuckle, "you're a miracle worker."

"yummy!" eva exclaims, finishing the yoghurt and taking a cheese cracker, biting into it. her reaction to the yoghurt left me shocked, to be honest.

"i don't know how you made her eat yoghurt but good job." shawn's cheeks go a bit pink as he chuckles, making me smile in return.

the guys returned back into shawn's makeshift studio to sort some beats out and eva went with them, because she wanted to play with all the instruments — she's really like her father.

leaving me and shawn in the main house with a bunch of snacks, as well as our presence. "so." i begin to say, biting into a carrot.

shawn chuckles, "so?" he asks and i nod. "let's talk about eva, what are your rules with her?" he questions, i clear my throat.

"ok so, the main rule i have is no swearing around her, of course she's a kid so that's not the kind of stuff i want her to pick up on." i begin to say, making shawn nod his head in agreement, "but there's also other rules like no sugar on weekdays, and i try to limit the amount of junk food that she eats, of course there's also the whole public eye situation so when i do go out with her i try and keep her covered as much as i can."

"why?" he asks, making me raise an eyebrow, "why do you keep her covered?"

"well, i'm not sure if you know but when we you know, they took several pictures of me and basically harassed me for about a three or four months straight since, so much so that i never left the house especially not when i was pregnant i even worked from home the whole time, but i just don't want eva to be in the spotlight like that, i think that her being around the media should be a decision that she gets to make once she's old enough."

"how did you manage, for three whole years?" he sounded amazed and i chuckled.

"well, after she was born and i could move somewhat freely i invested in a car with tinted windows so no one could see in, but also she had only ever spent time with my family and close friends so asking them to keep her a secret wasn't difficult, however what was difficult was when i went back into my offices, i had to make everyone sign a non-disclosure agreement so that they couldn't speak about eva at all, which allowed for eva to come into the offices freely."

"that's smart." he tells me, and i nod, smiling. "i guess when you really want to keep something a secret you're determined to do it, huh?"

"anyways back on to the rules."