Save You Tonight

7.

~June 7, 2016~

It's amazing how concealer and foundation work wonders when applied thick enough. I may have looked a little paler than normal but you didn't see the huge red mark on my face. After two days it was finally going down and wasn't as noticeable but I still covered it up. Kaleb and I have hardly spoken. He apologized to me that night when I climbed into bed. He told me he was wrong and shouldn't have done it and I was stupid enough to believe him. He was leaving today and was going to be gone until Tuesday afternoon. He was happy that I had found a job so quick. He didn't seem all that excited that it was for Gemmas parents. I think he just didn't like the fact that I would be around Gemma more.

Taking care of Gemmas grandmother, Caroline, was great. She was such a sweet lady, even though she was frustrated with everything that was changing around her. I would like to think I have helped her over the last couple days, already noticing a change in how she was on Thursday when I started. She was a funny lady, very witty and loves to joke. So far she has been cooperative and hasn't seemed like she didn't like me there helping her. I try to come across as just a friend visiting and offer assistance when needed, which seems to work. I think it will work out and I will love taking care of Caroline.

I have been trying to avoid Gemma, which is really hard when you work at her house. I couldn't do it anymore and when she came in at lunch and demanded I help her pick out paint for the guest house I couldn't say no. So here we were, standing in front of the large display of every color imaginable, trying to find the colors Gemma wanted. I pretty much just stood there and nodded yes or no when Gemma asked me if I liked a color. The tension was pretty thick and it was a little awkward. I know she wanted to talk about the other night and I know it was killing her to hold back like this. After an hour of deciding, Gemma picked four colors and got the amount of paint she needed and the painting necessities. We stopped at the small diner we had lunch at once and got something to eat.

When we sat down and told the waitress what we wanted to drink, Gemma picked up her menu, looking rather stiff when she pretended to look it over. I could practically see her eyes bulging out of her head from the effort it took her to keep her mouth shut. I sigh, setting my menu down.

"Go ahead and ask already!"

She lets out a loud sigh before slamming her menu down. "Is he angry like that all the time? Does he yell at you like that frequently? He looks like an asshole," she breaths out, her words all running together.

"He was just upset that night over something at work. He's not usually like that, you just caught him at a bad time. He's not an asshole." I told her the speech I had prepared, knowing exactly what she was going to ask. I hated having to lie to her but I just couldn't tell her. Not yet.

"He's never hit you right?" She's looking at me intently, waiting for any sign that I could be lying.

"No, he would never hit me." I hesitate a second to long and she narrows her eyes slightly but doesn't say anything. My cheek starts to sting, an annoying reminder that Kaleb in fact did hit me and that I was lying to my best friend.

"I swear to god Maci, if he ever lays a hand on you I won't hesitate to kick his ass," she tells me, looking pissed off. This is why I love her. Her passion for protecting the ones she cares about is astounding and so rare.

"He hasn't, I promise." I hold eye contact with her until she nods and goes back to looking at her menu. The rest of the meal goes by without anymore awkwardness and we went back to laughing and feeling comfortable around each other. We talked about how excited she is that her brother will be here tomorrow and how great it will be to spend some time with him. She couldn't wait to introduce me. I was actually a little excited to meet him and meet one of the members of one of the biggest boy bands in the world and see if he's just as humble in real life as he comes off as in interviews. But I kept telling myself that I was only meeting my best friends brother, not a member of One Direction.