Mackie, May I?

Mackie, May I? Chapter 15

I don’t see much of Carly for the rest of the week, and by the time Saturday morning rolls around and I wakeup and see that she’s not in her bed, I know that it’s going to be another day of tiptoeing around each other.  It’s like she’s been consciously avoiding seeing me, her going to study sessions that she never used to go to, or spending much more time with Eli than she usually does.  Hell, the day that she found the picture and we had our little fight, she never came back to the room, shooting me a text that said simply “Staying at Eli’s.”

We’ve never gone through anything like this, nothing this serious.  Sure we’ve argued and disagreed on certain things, but like the night when she was sneaking around with Fred and trying to hook me up with Jesse, we were over it before we even went to sleep.

And while it’s putting me even more on edge, and has me worried a bit about the future of our relationship, I think the separation is something I need right now.  I have the room alone most of the time and it’s given me more than enough time to think everything through.

I still haven’t told my dad about the picture showing up, and while I’m pretty sure that I’m going to tell him eventually, I just can’t find the heart to do it right now.  I know that prolonging it is only giving Cameron more time to do something else, but every time I go to call him, I remember back to how relieved he was when I told him over Thanksgiving I hadn’t heard anything.  Our family is finally at peace with the situation, and hashing it out again is only going to put even more strain on my relationship with them.

By the time I roll out of bed it’s around ten o’clock, and if I hadn’t promised Hannah that I’d make this video with her and her friend, I’m sure I’d still be cooped up underneath the covers.  My bed has become my constant companion this week, as I’ve spent the majority of it finding solace underneath the covers, and leaving it for the majority of today has me a little nervous.

But I don’t let myself dwell on anything, as I know Jesse’s going to show up here in about half an hour to drive us to his parents’ house where we’re going to shoot the video.  We were originally going to do it in the dorm, but then Jesse offered up the idea of just doing it there so that two trips there and back wouldn’t have to be made.

Since I’m going to be making a new video I put on my video makeup, with full coverage foundation and light contouring bronzer and blush.  It takes about fifteen minutes for me to get my eyes exactly the way I want them, striking yet natural, and by the time I’m warming up my curling iron it’s only four minutes away from when Jesse said he’d be here.

And I’m not even dressed.

Just one curl in and there’s a knock on my door, and while a few days ago I’d be freaking out about him seeing me without my hair done, I really don’t mind anymore.  Sure, it’s probably because my makeup looks admittedly amazing, but still.  Mid-curling hair is a bit scary when seen for the first time.

I place the hot curler onto the top of my dresser and then pull open the door, smiling softly when I see the handsome guy standing on the other side of it.  Since it’s approaching winter and getting colder by the day, he’s wearing dark jeans, a maroon Henley shirt, and an extremely cozy looking black coat.  He has his beanie on again too, which always makes me happy.

“Hey,” I greet tenderly, leaning up and pushing forward to plant a kiss on his lips.  He smells especially delectable today, and I’m almost a bit irritated that we have to go to his parents’ when we could just spend the day cuddled in bed.  “I’m running really late, I’m sorry.”

“No big deal,” he responds with a shrug of his shoulders, walking in the room and then shutting the door behind him.  I walk back over to the dresser and wrap another inch of hair around the iron, and watch him through the mirror as he pushes himself to sit on top of my desk.  He asks, “Carly’s still not around?”