Michael or Mac Ep. 02

"No, Josh, and can you step a little back, please?" I can hear the strain in her voice now.

"Come on, Emma, you don't mean that; you're trying to make me jealous with that guy." I can hear the slight break in Josh's voice as he struggles to keep control.

"Make you jealous? I didn't know you were there," Emma reacts in disbelief. "And I asked you to step away, a little." I can now hear that Emma feels threatened.

"No, Emma, I'm not moving until you tell me that you'll go out with me." Josh now sounds threatening. "There's no one here, so how are you going to do to stop me?" I start heading towards the voices again.

I hear Emma scream and Josh shouting. "You slut, you're just trying to wind me up. You're Eighteen soon, and I won the right to be your first." My fast walk turns into a sprint as I round a corner to see Josh with Emma pinned up against a wall. Emma's hands are clawing at Joshes face, desperately trying to stop Josh from doing anything to her.

I shout, "Hey, what do you think you're doing, Josh?" Joshua's head snaps around, annoyed at being interrupted.

"What the fuck do you want.........." I don't think he even knows who I am. He finally finishes his sentence, "Freak." Freak? Well, that's original.

As I get closer, he turns to face me, throwing Emma to the floor; she goes down like a sack of potatoes, hitting the wall on the far side. Seeing Emma like this angers me even more as I launch myself at Joshv without breaking stride. I hit him full-on, and the momentum pushes us out of the fire exit directly behind Josh.

Now I'm not a person that has got into many fights in my life, but I can handle myself if needed. I have been around the cowboys on the family ranch for years.

As we scramble to our feet, I realize we have come out in the trash compactor storage. I use the surrounding wall to help me get up quicker and to steady myself.

I can see the disgust in Joshua's face, and he is momentarily distracted by where he is. It takes him a second to regroup and come for me. He tries to push me up against the wall, but I am a little heavier than he anticipates. I break his hold and push him back, and in desperation, he takes a swing at me.

I want to say I saw it coming, and with my lightning reflexes, I got out of the way, but I won't lie to you. It was dumb luck that he missed because as I pushed him away, I stepped on a plastic bottle causing me to lose balance; I twisted my body to regain control, this moved my head away from the direction of his punch. All I heard was the crack as his fist impacted the wall behind where my head had been. He recoils from the pain caused by the shattering of his fist on concrete. I did the only thing I could think of, and with that, I pushed him into a pile of trash and ran back through the open door. As soon as I get through, I close it behind me, stopping any chance of Joshua following in after me.

I glance down at Emma on the floor. Then, I let out an exasperated breath, "Em, are you okay?"

Her eyes are closed, and tears are running down her cheeks. She doesn't talk and is stunned by what has happened. Her top is riped, and a couple of buttons have popped off. Nothing is hanging out, but her ample cleavage is on display to me for the first time. She sees me looking and gives me that 'really' look. Shit, I got caught perving.

She finally gets herself together. "Umm, I think so, Mac." I take my hoodie off and hand it to her. She gives me a smile through her tears and puts it on. "Mmmmm, it smells of you."

I help her to her feet. As soon as she put weight on her left leg, she winces in pain. "Here, let me help you to the nurse's room. She should still be here."

"No!" Emma says. Then she repeats more calmly. "No, Mac. I don't want to make a fuss."

"Well, can I take you home?"

She thinks for a moment." Can you just get me out of here?" She can't believe this has happened to her. Tears start to flood her eyes, and I move to hug her. "Michael?" She says in a 'what do you think you are doing' tone. Then whispers, "just get me out of here, Mac."

After gathering her things that had scattered around, we make our way slowly out to my car. I love my car, it's a little rough around the edges, but it was my dad's. I could afford a new one with the amount of cash built up in my account, but I am like my mother's side of the family. We don't like to flaunt what we have too much.

The drive home is at its usual slow pace. The car is silent, but it gives me time to think. My head is spinning; this is not going as planned, and I am way outside my comfort zone. I can see the shit I'm going to get out of this when I return to school on Monday. When we were within a couple of blocks of Emma's house, I glanced across at her. It is the first time I have looked at her since we left the school car park. I hadn't noticed the other marks on her neck and face.

"Will you be okay when I drop you off?" As soon as the words leave my mouth, fear shoots across Emma's eyes.

"Ummm, Mac, do you mind if we hang out at yours? My mother won't be home until gone seven."

I was a little surprised by this but shrugged my shoulders. "Sure, I suppose, Paps will be home, though. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine." I think she was a little relieved that there would be someone else in the house. I added, "You could also go next door if you want." Glancing across to her, I can see her head is processing her options.

As we approach home, I press the remote to open the automatic doors. Once in, I park up, as the doors close behind, and asked Emma to stay there for a second. I run out of the side door and up to the kitchen. Paps is sitting in his usual seat in the kitchen.

"Hey Mac, where's the fire?"

"Pap's can you give me a hand with Emma? There's been a bit of an incident."

"You what?"

"Pap's please, questions later."

He gets up and follows me out.

"Pap's," Emma trails off for a moment, not knowing what to say.

"Hello Emma, I thought you'd have had enough of Mac after a weekend with him." As soon as my Paps light-hearted joke had left his lips, he sees the marks on Emma, he asks. "Mac, what's happened?"

"One of the assholes at school had a go."

"Fuckin bastard." I glance up at Paps; it's not often I hear him curse. "Okay, there's not enough room for both of us. You'll have to get her out before I can help with the other side."

I kneel, "are you okay with that, Em?"

Emma looks at me with a cocked eyebrow. "Just take it easy, Mac."

I smile awkwardly, looking into her eyes. Then I give a slight nod, and in one move, scoop her legs around. It's a struggle, and Emma grimaces with pain, but I manage to lift her out of the car. I gently put her down, so she's able to balance on her one good leg. She lets out a little moan from the pain. Paps quickly moves around to her other side, ready to walk Emma into the house.

As we pause for a second, Emma's eyes look at her surroundings and then focus on Mum's car. "What's under the cover?"

"Oh, that's my mother's old car," I say, looking at Paps. I had asked him how to tell Emma about the real me, and he said only at the right time and place. So we exchange looks and then make our way out of the garage, letting her put her weight on us when she needs to.

As we enter the kitchen, Paps asks, "where do you want her?"

"Best take her to my rec-room. She won't be comfortable down here."

"Okay, you take her up. The stairs are too tight for all of us to squeeze up. I will get the first aid box." With that, Paps releases himself from under Emma's arm and disappears into the kitchen.

I scoop her up in my arms. She's a little heavier than I thought but not too heavy for me to comfortably carry her up the steps. Emma wraps both arms around my neck and pulls me in close. Our eyes meet, and I feel our connection once again. I make my way up the stairs carefully and sit Emma down on my couch.

I go off to get a bowl of warm water on the way through my bedroom, and I change out of my t-shirt and trainers on the way. I am aware of Emma's eyes following me through the open door between my bedroom and rec-room. So I take a little longer changing my shirt to give her a bit of a show.

There's a knock at the open door as Paps walks in, "I got the first aid box." He looks towards Emma, whose eyes are still fixed on me. "Are you okay, Emma?"

Emma turns toward him and half-smiles before answering. "I'm okay, I guess. I don't think there's any major damage, and the pain isn't so bad now" With that, Paps makes his excuses and leaves to go back downstairs.

I return with a bowl of warm water and a face cloth. I kneel and dip the face cloth in the warm water and start cleaning the dirt away.

Emma flinches, "what are you doing, Mac?" without a word, I get up and walk into my bedroom to get a small hand mirror.

Handing the mirror to Emma, I kneel back down and wait to start cleaning her wounds. Emma looks at herself in the mirror. Her bottom lip starts to quiver, and then her eyes begin to fill with tears. The pain that I feel seeing Emma get upset takes me by surprise, so I put my arms around her. Instantly she pulls me into a hug and then loses it totally. Sobbing uncontrollably into my chest for more than fifteen minutes as I hold her tight while stroking her back. Eventually, she starts to calm, but I don't release her from the comforting hold.

I feel her grip relax; she brings her hand to my chest and gently pushing me back as her eyes scan my face. "Thank you, Mac; I'm not sure what would have happened if you hadn't come along."

"Em, do you want to talk about it?" Emma looks into my eyes with a hurt expression. We stay close for a while, just enjoying the feeling of being together.

"I've been feeling withdrawal systems. I'm getting addicted to these hugs." Emma says, trying to make things a little lighter.

We're snapped out of it by a knock at the door. "Does anyone want a drink or something to eat?" Paps has always had a great sense of timing.

I look at Emma. "Do you want anything, Emma?" She nods, "what you got in mind, Paps?"

"I was thinking of a sandwich and possibly juice. Any good?"

Emma nods her head, "yeah, that will be great, Paps. Thanks." We hear him start to walk away. "That's strange; he normally just walks in."

I put my finger in the bowl of water and feel it is now cold. So I get up to refresh the water.

When I return, Emma sits there and lets me clean her. Luckily the marks on her face are mostly dirt, but I need to look at the rest of her. Before you think anything, I am just looking for abrasions, and looking at her body has not even entered my mind.

Well, not until I go to lift the hoodie off. "Ummm, Mac. I'm only wearing a bra under this." Emma is desperately holding onto my hands to stop them from moving.

It takes me a second to realize what I am doing, and I move my hands away. "Sorry, Em, I wasn't thinking. I didn't see you take the shirt off."

"Yeah, I bet."

"I would like to check your elbows and arms if that is okay."

"Do you have a spare t-shirt or something?" I get up, and walk into my bedroom, and return with one of my football shirts and some shorts. "Here, never really worn these." I hand them to her and make my way down to check if Paps needs any help.

When I return with the sandwiches and juice, she has changed into my clothes. "Well, they defiantly look sexier on you."

"Well, you're biased, and you have to say that."

"Why do I have to tell you that exactly?"

"Well, you know. It's something boys say to girls to.......you know."

"And you think I am that type of boy?" I leave the question hanging while I take a bite out of my sandwich.

Emma is turning what she just said over in her mind as she takes the first bite of her sandwich. I'm watching her process her thoughts. She then comes to a realization and gasps. "Oh, Mac baby," It's the first time she has called me baby. "I'm sorry, I guess I'm just a little.......oh I don't know......angry. I'm sorry for taking my frustration out on you."

We finish our food, and I take the dirty plates back down to the kitchen. As I return, Emma is still sat with her feet up on the couch. I pick the bowl of water up and disappear into the bathroom to refresh the water once again.

I kneel by the side of Emma and continue with my inspection of her wounds. I notice her knee is a little swollen, "Em, I'm not happy with how your knee looks. I will be happier if you agree to visit the ER and let them take a look."

"I don't know, Mac; I don't want to cause too much fuss."

"Em, I don't think we have many options. Anyway, you don't have to elaborate. You can just say you fell."

Emma pauses; she has a worried look on her face. "The problem is that I think Donna deliberately set me up. I think she left without waiting for me, so Josh could corner me to ask me out. My worry is, there are going to be repercussions for both of us because of Josh and his father."

"That wouldn't be beyond her, but I don't think she knew that Josh would do what he did."

"You might be right, but he is going to be angry at both of us." Emma is looking a little dejected.

"Emma, if anyone is going to get it, it will be me. I think that Josh hurt his hand when he hit the wall instead of me." I get up as Emma looks at me even more worried. I run back downstairs and pick up the compression pack and put some ice inside.

I wrap her knee with the ice pack, "you realize, the moment your mum sees this, she will insist on taking you to ER." I continue cleaning her wounds in a similar way that she dried me the weekend before.

"Yeah, I know, but a least it won't be until later." Emma has her eyes closed now. She seems to be enjoying the attention that I'm giving her.

"Do you want me to come just in case you run into Josh?" I ask.

A smile spreads across Emma's face. "I like how you are looking after me. The trouble is, I think if you come along, we will have to tell mum the truth."

"Em, I think the truth from the start will make sure she helps you in the right way. If you keep anything from her, it will cause problems later." I can see she is going through it in her head. Emma is one of these people that can't hide what she's thinking very well; well, I seem to be able to read her anyhow.

She makes a decision, "Mac, you are right. Honesty will be best here." She looks to be satisfied with her decision, then her expression changes, "Is there any chance........you can play something for me?"

Luckily I have done as much as I can. I get up and take the bowl of water out. I smile as I walk back into the room, get my guitar out of the cupboard, and start to set a couple of bits up.

Emma starts to talk as I position my amp. "Mac, I can't believe how good you are. What is the band called that you play in?"

"Charlottes Webb."

Emma suddenly gets excited. "You're in Charlottes Webb? We're supposed to be going down to see you guys at The Tavern next week. The problem is that Mia forgot to ask her mum to get tickets, so we're going to try our luck on the door."

"You'll be lucky to get in. The tickets went quite quickly, and there's only limited numbers through the door."

"Tell me about it," Emma says as she adjusts her ice pack. "Can you get us in?"

"Normally, I'll see what I can do."

Emma beams at me. "Can you play something for me now?"

"Yeah, I think I can manage that. Do you want me to give Donna a concert as well?"

"Yeah, but you got to sing brown-eyed girl to me."

I laugh, but I often think of her hazel eyes when I sing it anyway. I don't think I will let her into that little secret. "It was one of my Paps and Grammy's favorite songs," I tell her. It seems like I'm doing my Friday concert. I get more gear out of the closet. I have quite a setup when it's all set, but that takes a while. So I settle for my guitar, keyboard, one of my loop machines and connect them up.

I open the window and indicate to Emma that she needs to be quiet. I start with a quick warm-up. As I glance at Emma, I see her eyes are as big a saucers, and she has the most beautiful smile on her face. It's that smile I have dreamt of for the last five years.

As soon as I start playing a couple of notes, Emma's phone buzzes. She holds it up, showing me Donna saying she is getting a private concert tonight.

"Have you told her about me yet?" I say quietly in her ear as I start to play the electric guitar.

Emma shakes her head and then starts messaging her back. I'm not sure what she said, but her face didn't look happy with the reply. I start singing, and she looks at me with a determination in her eyes I hadn't seen before.

Emma waves me to come closer, "I'm just about to tell Donna that I'm in here listening and that you are my Mac."

My reply is with wide eyes and a nod. Emma spends a while composing a message before showing me. I then get to see the whole conversation.

Donna, 'Hi Emma, thought I would let you know that I'm getting a personal concert today.'

Emma, 'Hi Donna, thanks for leaving me stranded at school. I had to turn Josh down after he asked me out.'

Donna, 'Why did you do that? You won't get better than him.'

Emma, 'He didn't take it well.'

Donna, 'Not surprised, he likes getting his way. I'm not sure what game you're playing. You realize this is going to affect your standing at school.'

Emma, 'Like I told him, I am seeing someone at the moment. Are you coming to my party tomorrow?'

Donna, 'Oh shit, is that tomorrow? Sorry, Emma, I can't do tomorrow.'

Emma, 'But it's my 18th Donna. I thought you would want to meet Mac.'

Donna, 'Why would I want to meet him?'

My god, this has been set up perfectly. Donna walked right into this last text.

Emma, 'Because you have a picture of him as your screen saver and have been drooling over him for the last three years. I just thought you might want to meet him.'

I look at Emma with a smiling, open mouth. I feel it vibrate as I hand her phone back, but Emma just puts it on the side.

She shouts at the top of her voice, making sure Donna can hear. "Brown-eyed girl, please, Mac."

I go back over to the mike and say, "anything for you, Emma." I start playing. The smile on her face is incredible as she watches me sing this Van Morrison classic for the first time. With the new audience I have, I feel a surge of energy so give it my all.

As I finish the last few bars, I hear a commotion downstairs. I put the guitar down and quickly moved to the top of the stairs. I can hear Donna at the front door remonstrating with Paps. I make my way downstairs towards the front door.

Donna spots me coming, "where is she?"

"She's upstairs with her leg up after your friend Josh White chucked her across the corridor, damaging her knee."

"So, how did he get his smashed hand?"

"If you calm down, I will take you up, and you can ask her yourself."

Donna is caught between two thoughts, but she takes a deep breath.

"Paps, thanks. You can go back to your paper if you want to leave me with Donna."

Paps walks past me and back into the house, not looking very happy. My attention then turns back to Donna as I fold my arms and wait.

"What?" Donna finally says.

"Donna, are you calm enough yet?"

With that, I see her deflate. "Yes, Mac, lead the way." I indicate the way and follow her into the house. Paps is sat on his perch in the kitchen reading his paper. Donna turns to me for direction. I point towards the stairs.

As we climb, she turns towards me, "I wished our first conversation would be on better terms."

"This isn't our first conversation Donna."

"It's not?"

"No, our first conversation was when we were seven, and Grammy brought me over to play."

"Oh really? What happened?"

"As soon as Grammy went home, you went running to Terri and said you didn't want to play with a weird, smelly boy."