Snuggle Bears

Disclaimer: There is some angst and physical abuse depicted.

I sat in class with my head resting on one arm, slumped over my desk in every possible sense of the word. Mrs. Chadderton was at the board, scribbling something about narrative techniques or whatever. A few classmates paid attention. Most were doing their own thing. I just sat there, staring at the back of the blonde-haired girl two rows ahead.

She was supposed to be sitting beside me. Every day. For a year and a half, we shared a seat, a space, a world. Now she was six feet away, and it might as well have been a hundred miles.

She wasn’t looking at me anymore.

She wasn’t talking to me anymore.

I wasn’t her Snuggle Bear anymore.

To her, I was just a liar. A coward. Someone who let her down so badly no explanation could fix it. And maybe she was right. What happened, happened. And I let it happen.

Now I just stared at her from behind. Hollow. Aching. Silently falling apart while everyone else carried on.

I hadn’t even noticed I was doodling a broken heart on my desk. At some point, I started shading it in, pressing harder, trying to show just how black it felt in my chest.

The pencil snapped.

I looked at the broken tip.

Is that how I looked?

"What a desolate life I live on this earth," I whispered, remembering the line from somewhere.

“What was that, Ms. Cavill?” Mrs. Chadderton asked.

I blinked. “Huh?”

Had I really said that out loud?

The laughter answered for me. Jeremy, the class clown, cackled in the back row and snickers followed in a chorus.

I didn’t care. I was too far gone for embarrassment. But then... I looked toward the source of my pain.

Shannon Farley.

She was looking right at me.

For the first time in three days.

For one impossible moment, everything else faded and it was just her and me. And our connection. Crackling back to life. Her soft brown eyes met mine. My chest cracked open like an old window. I straightened, ready to speak. To beg. Anything.

But she looked away. Sharply. Deliberately.

I sank back into my slump.

“Awww,” Jeremy crooned. “Jamie misses her boo-boo.” There was laughter again until Mrs. Chadderton asked for silence.

I wanted to lunge at Jeremy. But more than that I wanted to cry. I was hurting. Shannon wasn’t just my boo-boo. She was my Cuddle Bug. My everything. And now he was mocking it like it was a joke.

I dropped my head to the desk to hide the burning in my eyes.

Seconds later, a chair scraped against the floor.

“You’re a fool!” Shannon snapped.

Not to me. To Jeremy.

Then she was gone, storming out.

I scrambled up. “I’m so sorry, Mrs. Chadderton.”

The teacher hesitated, as if unsure who to discipline first.

“I’ll be back,” I said quickly. “Please don’t write us up. I just- I’ll fix this.”

I bolted into the hallway.

“Shannon!”

I caught up to her and reached out for her hand on impulse.

She flinched. “Don’t touch me, Jamie.”

But she stopped. Back against the lockers, fiddling with the strap of her bag like she needed something else to look at. She looked tired and sad, like she’d cried all night. All weekend.

“I’m sorry,” I breathed. The look on her face shredded me.

“I- I-”

“You what?” she demanded.

“I’m so sorry, Shannon. I really am.”

“You’re sorry?” she scoffed, glaring at me. “Really?”

“I am. Look at me.” I said, gesturing to myself with desperation. “I'm dying without you.”

“You left me for dead, Jamie,” she hissed. Her voice cracked. “I had to walk home. Alone. In the dark. You didn’t even try to stop me.”

“I- I…”

“What’s the meaning of a Snuggle Bear?”

My blood ran cold.

“Shannon-”

“No. Say it.”

I swallowed hard. “Someone who offers comfort… support… and love in times of need.”

“Exactly,” she whispered. “You didn't even call to make sure I got home.”

“Please. I can explain-”

“You didn't even call me.” Her voice broke completely. She turned away, like the memory was too much.

I reached out again and she pushed past me without looking back.

“Shannon, please,” I begged, trailing after her. “I can’t do this without you.”

But just like that night... she didn’t see it.

And just like that night... she was gone.

***

3 Days Earlier

We were lying in my oversized bed, in my oversized room, in my dad's oversized house, making out like we always did when he was away. We’d finished our shared assignment early to have the weekend free. The TV buzzed in the background, completely forgotten.

It was Friday night. Dad wasn’t due back until Monday and we took full advantage. And afterward, we just lay there, warm and naked and wrapped in each other.

Strengthening our connection.

“My Cuddle Bug,” I whispered into her ear, squeezing her closer. “I love you so much.”

“I love you more, Snuggle Bear,” she murmured, nestling into my chest. She did this no matter how tightly I held her.

“I can’t wait until we can be like this in our own place.”

“Same.”

“Then you can finally sleep in peace. No more worrying about your dad walking in on us.”

I sighed, kissed her head. Her words made my chest tighten a bit. “Let me lock the door. Just in case.”

“Nooo,” she whined, clutching me. “It’s cold. Don’t leave.”

“Just in case,” I said, chuckling as I pulled the blanket around her and slipped out of bed.

I hated that I had to worry about my dad finding us. Especially when he thought I was dating Sam Hollingsworth - the heir to some stupid business merger he’d been orchestrating. Sam, of all people. As if.

I padded barefoot toward the door.

It shifted before I could even reach for it and suddenly, there he was - my father - looming in the doorway like some kind of apparition.

“Da- Dad?”

He didn’t even glance at my nakedness, didn’t hesitate. Without warning, he shoved at the door. I slammed my foot down, blocking him.

“Hold up- someone’s in here.”

“Are you kidding me, Jamie?” he growled. "Who?"

I slammed the door in his face and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around myself. I was shaking. I looked over my shoulder - Shannon was scrambling to get dressed.

“Stay here. I’ll be right back.”

I stepped into the hallway, locking the door behind me.

My father stood tall before me, sharply dressed as always, though the collar of his coat was still turned from the wind. Fury clouded his forehead, and his jaw was so tight it looked like it might crack. The same dark eyes I’d inherited burned into me now.

“When Sam told me, I didn’t want to believe it.”

That little snitch.

“You know how much this partnership means to me,” he growled. “How long did you think you could keep this secret?”

I had told Sam - politely - that I wasn’t interested. That I was already with someone. I thought he understood. I thought he'd choose compassion over ego.

“You think I flew back here by accident?” Dad snapped. “This partnership is eight years in the making, Jamie. You're going to be with him.”

My brain was crashing. The TV was murmuring behind me. Shannon was rustling around the room. And my father was starting to look unhinged.

“It’s one thing to be young and foolish,” he went on. “But this? This is betrayal. You’re throwing away everything." He grabbed my shoulders, and leaned into me and I smelled the alcohol on his breath - he’d likely been drinking the entire flight home.

“You’re cheating on a man who can give you the world - for someone with nothing but need.”

What-? What was he even saying? Was this really about me? Or about Mom’s cheating scandal ten years ago - the one that almost cost him everything?

“Say something!”

I opened my mouth - but the lock behind me clicked.

Shannon stepped out, fully dressed, bag slung over her shoulders, her presence shifting everything.

“I also want to know if you have nothing to say,” she said.

“Shannon?” My father’s voice dropped. Disbelief. Contempt. Something else I couldn’t name.

He turned to me. “This is who you’re throwing everything away for?”

I couldn’t breathe.

“Your tutor?”

“What did he mean about cheating?” Shannon asked quietly. Her eyes locked on mine.

“She’s supposed to be dating Sam Hollingsworth,” my father answered for me. “Didn’t she tell you?”

“What?”

“That’s not-” I stammered. “I would never date him. You know that, cuddle bug. I told him about us. He said he understood. I didn’t- I didn’t think-"

“You didn’t think what, Jamie?” Dad cut in. “That he’d tell me? Did I not make it clear that this partnership with his uncle was contingent on him having a chance with you?”

“What the actual hell-” Shannon muttered.

“Get. Out.” Dad snapped at her, cutting her off. “Get out of my house.”

Silence.

Then he roared: “NOW!"

Shannon cast me one last glance. Then she turned and walked away.

I froze, heart hammering so loud it drowned out everything else. The hallway blurred, fading to a dull gray around the edges.

When the world finally settled, I could see Shannon - downstairs, leaving.

I took one step toward her, and cold hands clamped around my throat.

I gasped.

Pain burst in my neck as Dad shoved me backward into my room. My towel slipped and I hit the floor. I wasn’t some delicate girl - I was strong. Four years of track had made sure of that. But lying there on the floor, something in the way he moved - something dead behind his eyes - kept me frozen.

He didn’t speak as he snatched up my phone and laptop. He took my smartwatch too. Grabbed my keys.

“Maybe a weekend in here with nothing will help you understand what your life will look like if you ever cross me again.”

The door slammed. Locked.

Then silence.

***

Present Day

Deep down, I always knew something like this could happen.

That’s why I kept Shannon a secret for so long. I told myself it wasn’t Dad’s business. That I was eighteen. A woman. Capable of making choices - even if I had to suffer the consequences.

Women suffered consequences all the time. Why should I be any different?

So what if Dad didn’t approve? I wasn’t leaving the love of my life.

Of course I wasn’t.

Of course, I never expected her to leave me either.

I sat on the floor by the lockers long after the last bell rang. My final chance to catch Shannon had slipped away. I'd been chasing her all day. I didn’t care about anything else and probably wouldn’t ever again.

After a weekend locked away in that large, cold, painfully superficial master bedroom, I realized something: all the money and status in the world meant nothing compared to the love I had for Shannon Farley.

And the love she had for me.

Shannon was the true definition of a cuddle bug.

She was my whole heart.

And I needed my heart to live.

I wasn’t going back to that house. The only thing that stopped me from jumping out that second-story window was the thought of fixing things with her.

Students began flooding the halls and, of all people, Jeremy was the one who stopped.

“It can’t be that bad, man. She’s just a girl.”

I didn’t answer. I felt sick - physically ill.

“Come on, Cavill. You been teasing me all year. I was just tryna get my lick back.”

“Read the room, Germ,” I groaned, doubling over in agony, wishing I could disappear into the floor - or at least muster enough energy to get up and hide myself.

He laughed and slapped my shoulder too hard. “That’s more like it. Had me feeling like a bully. I only mess with you 'cause you always give it back, baby-joker.”

“Yeah, yeah.” But his words made something shift in me.

He slammed his locker shut and turned to leave with his boys when I called out, “Can I borrow your phone?”

***

Shannon’s house was modest, cozy, and warm. Nothing like mine. The smell of something sweet hung in the air and dishes clinked softly in the kitchen. Her little sister peeked out from behind the hallway, giggled, then vanished.

Her mother had opened the door like she’d known it was me.

Mrs. Farley was a small, slender woman - beautiful in a soft, effortless way. Her eyes held the same affection as Shannon’s, touched with a quiet intensity.

“Brian talked to me,” she said gently. “Don’t ever hurt my babygirl like that again, Jamie." It wasn’t unkind. "Come in.”

My throat tightened. “Yes, ma’am. Thank you.” I felt my hands shake as I stepped inside, ready to do whatever I had to to win my woman back.

I barely made it into the living room when I heard the low purr of an engine.

No. No, no, no-

I turned to the window. Dad’s car, sleek and dark, pulled up to the curb. I realized then why he’d let me use the car this morning even though he kept my other stuff confiscated. Because of the AirTag. He’d been tracking me.

The knock came. Loud. Hard.

Shannon appeared at the bottom of the small, wooden stairs just as her mom moved calmly to answer the door.

It opened.

“Jamie,” Dad said, ice in his voice. “Let’s go. Right now.”

He seemed more unhinged than ever before.

Shannon’s father, who had been sitting in a worn mahogany chair tucked into the far corner of the room, stood slowly. He was a big, brown-skinned, broad-shouldered human being and power radiated off him like heat from stones.

Dad’s voice sharpened. “You’ve made your point, Jamie. Let’s go home and fix this. Now. Before the press-”

“I’m not going,” I said, voice steady.

I felt it when Shannon stepped toward me.

Dad’s eyes narrowed and he took a sharp breath - both in and out through his nose - his gaze shifting between Shannon and me. “You’re choosing this life? This girl? Over everything I’ve built for you? For us?”

“I love her, Dad,” I told him, feeling my eyes fill with tears. “I can’t live without her. And I don’t want to.”

He looked between us once more and said, “It’s either her or me…”

The air vanished. The room held its breath.

I turned to Shannon. Her eyes were shining with tears too.

All the noise, fear, shame - money, cars, fame. To hell with it all.

“Her,” I said.

And the air around me immediately hummed with the thing that always connected us, a ring of white light, static. It buzzed - wrapping around us like it always did when we least expected it. “You.”

Shannon didn’t wait. She ran into my arms and latched on like a magnet.

I held her like I’d never let go again. Her scent, her warmth, her softness, the tremble in her voice as she whispered:

“My Snuggle Bear.”

And every shattered piece of me began to heal.

Then-

“You ungrateful piece of waste," Dad spat, stepping forward. “Just like your mothe-”

He never finished.

Mr. Farley’s fist connected with a clean, brutal crack. Dad’s head jerked back like a switch had been flipped.

The silence afterward was almost sacred.

Mr Farley caught Dad before he dropped, hoisting him up to speak close to his ear. “That’s enough,” he said. “I saw the marks on her neck. Pick on someone your own size.”

Then he carried my father - literally carried him - out the front door and deposited him by the car. The driver scrambled out, stunned.

“Take him home,” Mr. Farley said. “Please. Good night.”

The door closed - final and soft.

No one spoke for a long moment, and the sound of Dad’s car retreating was almost musical. Shannon clung to me like she thought I might vanish.

I turned to Mr. Farley. “Thank you.”

“Thanks for trusting me to deal with him,” he said, referring to the call I’d made from Jeremy’s phone. “You chose my daughter over your father. That earns you something.”

A pause.

“You got room for a new dad? If you don’t mind, of course.”

The tears finally spilled down my cheeks as I nodded, smiling so hard my jaw hurt.

I didn’t know what would come next. I didn’t know what my father would try or how loud the fallout would be.

But for the first time in my life - I wasn’t afraid.

I’d made my choice.

And I’d make it again.

I chose her.