The Mac Effect

Chapter 7

*Wednesday*

These past few days have been excruciating trying to avoid Mac, when all I want to do is run into his arms and kiss him. I can't though; I ruined whatever glimmer of hope our relationship had. Carson and I are currently laying in my bed and watching sappy romance movies.

"Babe, you need to just talk to him and explain why you're so worried. You and I both know that he's not like Jackson." Carson instructs breaking our silence.

"He probably hates me now, Car. I ruined everything." I sigh, tears brimming my eyes.

"You didn't ruin everything. Toph said that Mac told him that he misses you and he's worried about you. You need to talk to him." Carson commands as the begins to rub circles on my back to calm me down.

"I wouldn't even know where to start." I say defeated.

*Ding Dong*

"I'll get it." Carson gets up and walks down the stairs. A few seconds later I hear footsteps coming up the stairs.

"Who was it Cars-" My words are halted as I see Mac standing in my doorway with a bouquet of sunflowers. My breathing halts and I don't even know what to say.

"They say sunflowers are supposed to represent happiness, so I figured i'd bring you some." He breathes out scratching his neck.

"Mac, I'm so sorry." I blubber, tears now falling down my face.

"Are you ready to talk about it?" Mac questions and I nod. He sits down beside me and carefully wipes my tear stained cheeks.

"Mac, I really like you too, I never actually came out and told you that, but I-" I take a deep breath."This is all Jacksons fault." I cradle my face in my hands.

"Jackson? Who's Jackson?" Mac coaxes rubbing soothing circles against my back with his large palm.

"Jackson Harris was my ex-boyfriend. We met freshman year through some mutual friends. That was before you and Toph became close and he went to a different school so you probably don't know him." He shakes his head signifying he has no recollection of Jackson. "He was a real catch, charming and handsome, I guess that's why it was so easy for me to trust him. That trust was exactly what got me in trouble." A few tears slip down my cheeks and Mac continues to wipe them away. "One night, a few months after we started dating, Jackson asked to come over to watch movies. My parents were out of town but I didn't think much about it and I agreed. I quickly found out he had different motives." I choke out and the tears fall faster as my breathing gets harder. Mac wraps me in his arms whispering quiet hushes trying to calm me down. "He tried to rape me Mac and he would have if Carson and Topher hadn't walked in. Topher made sure he'd never bother me again." Mac squeezes me harder as I feel warm tears against my neck.

"Stella, I'm so sorry if I pushed this whole thing too fast." Mac sniffles out.

"It wasn't your fault. You didn't know." I blubber as he pulls his face out of the crook of my neck. His red eyes focus on me as he begins to speak.

"I want you to know that I would never treat you like he did." The tears persist in rolling down my face as he continues to wipe them away. "To me, you're a queen. I want to give you the world. I could never even think of hurting you and it kills me to see you upset like this. I understand if you aren't ready for a relationship, but i'll wait for you, as long as it takes." Mac promises with passion in his eyes.

"Please lay with me, Mac. I need sleep." I say pulling him down to lay on the bed. He wraps his arms around me as I snuggle into his chest and drift to sleep.

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I wake up to warm lips on my forehead. My eyes flutter open to see Mac's hazel ones looking at me. His eyes are filled with pure passion. I've never had anyone look at me the way he is looking at me right now. And in this moment, I think I can admit that I've fallen in love with him. There's no turning back now.