Since We're Alone |NH|

Chapter 46

Niall's POV

"I felt like an ass," I said to Tara and Mully later that afternoon as we sat outside by the pool.

"Good," Tara said from her perch on the couch we had out there. I gave her an offended look. "Don't give me that look, Niall. You were being an ass. I suppose your only saving grace in that moment is that she didn't call you out on it because I can guarantee she noticed. Even if you kept your thoughts to yourself, you still probably acted funny until you knew what the deal was. You're not exactly the best actor in the world."

"She didn't act like she did. But, still, the guy was all over her. How should I have reacted then?"

"Like a decent, understanding human being. You're still getting to know her and thus far the only friend of hers you have met is Tomi. She's going to have guy friends, just like you have girl friends."

"Can we just stop," Mully spoke up for the first time. "Can we all just acknowledge why you reacted the way you did in the first place?"

"And what would that be?" I asked.

"Don't play dumb. You're not that fucking stupid, Niall. Maggie. This, once again, comes down to Maggie and her manipulative, deceitful ways. Now that it appears you've gotten through the sexual bullshit she spewed at you in those final moments, you now have to deal with the deeper issues she instilled in you."

"And what would that be?" I asked, again. I knew the answer but somehow I felt like I needed him to tell me.

He gave me another knowing look. "Trust. Maggie fucked with your ability to trust. Hell, she fucked with all of our abilities to trust, especially when it comes to you!"

"What do you mean?"

Mully shook his head, "Nothing, really. Look, just look at the bigger picture here, you already know you overreacted. I get that it made you stop in your tracks. I get that it made you question everything. But, you called her, she called you back, she answered truthfully, right?"

"I believe so, yeah."

"She didn't stutter when she answered you. You said she didn't hesitate in her answers as if she were trying to come up with some excuse as to why the guy was touching her. She told you upfront that he saw the marks you apparently left, which we will definitely be talking about here in a minute, because, bro..really?" He arched an eyebrow at me and I just kind of smirked and shrugged.

"Oh, lord," Tara said, rolling her eyes at us both.

"She didn't hide that she had a project to do with him and that they would be working on it Sunday. She easily said goodbye to him so she could spend time with you. She didn't get mad at you for showing up unannounced. All of this says she isn't hiding anything from you and she isn't lying. But, again, here's my question – when are you going to tell her about Maggie?"

"I don't get why I even should," I said.

Tara rolled her eyes at me, again. "Because, Niall, if you don't get control of your jealousy, which is exactly what this is, then you will lose her. And I'm not saying your fears aren't warranted. You were in an emotionally abusive relationship for two years and that has an effect on people. Ophelia is the first girl you've even remotely shown any interest in and you seem to really like her. And from what you've all said, she seems to really like you. Which makes us all happy for you. You deserve to be happy. But now comes the difficult part – learning to trust her, and maybe more importantly, relearning to trust yourself. You know you have no reason not to trust Ophelia but the fact that nearly your entire relationship with Maggie was built on lies has you scared it's going to happen again. And no one is faulting you for it. Mully's right about that, Maggie fooled us all there for awhile. She may have done the most damage to you, but she manipulated all of us. And you are rightfully terrified it's going to happen again. But, without knowing what happened to you in the past, Ophelia's going to eventually take offense to you not trusting her and call you out on this, especially if you don't get it together!"

"Also," Mully piped in, "It'll make Ophelia more understanding and, hopefully, more willing to work with you to prove herself to you, which she is unknowingly doing already."

"But, at the same time, she's not going to allow that for long," Tara interjected. "No one deserves to be treated unfairly, least of all the ones who have done nothing wrong. And she's done nothing wrong. But she isn't going to understand your insecurities if she doesn't know what they are and where they come from. And, trust me when I tell you, if she doesn't yet, she will notice these things as you two move farther along into whatever this is."

I nodded. I knew they were right.

"Also, exactly what is this?" Tara asked. "I mean, are you two officially a thing?"

I shrugged, "I don't know. I want us to be, I think. I really like her. I certainly don't plan on seeing anyone else."

"What about her? Is she under that same sort of thinking?" Tara asked.

"I think so. We haven't exactly talked about it." I started biting my nails. I was getting anxious about this conversation.

"Maybe that needs to be something you talk with her about," Tara said. "I mean, you're a relationship guy, Niall. You like being the boyfriend."

"That's exactly what he said," I said, nodding my head towards Mully.

"Well, it's true," Mully retorted.

Tara nodded her head. "You just need to bite the bullet on this one and ask her what she wants out of this. Or how she's viewing all of this."

"Yeah, and remember all the things Tomi said about Ophelia's dating policy – that she is willing to give people a chance but wouldn't agree to go out with someone if she was already seeing someone else. And how she has made sure not to give off any vibes that she was interested in anyone because of what happened to her last year. So that's all in your favor, mate."

"Yeah, I guess your right there," I said, cracking a small smile, finally starting to feel better.

"Wait...what happened to her?" Tara asked.

Mully looked over at me to be the one to answer. "Um, some guy she was on a date with drugged her drink but luckily the bartender saw him and stopped her from drinking it."

"Oh, shit," Tara said.

"Yeah," Both Mully and I said, in unison.

"Then, yeah, I'd say you'll be just fine." Tara got up and patted my knee with her hand before heading back inside. "Anyone want another drink?" She asked.

"Yes, please," we both said.

Once she was inside, Mully turned to me, "So, dude...never took you for a biter!"

I laughed, "To be honest, I'm not. I don't know, I mean, yeah I was determined to make sure she got off, but it became quite apparent to me that she loved it which made me love it. I don't know, she sets something off in me that I'm not entirely sure I've ever felt."

Mully held up his beer, "Cheers to that, mate," and took his last swig before Tara returned with fresh ones.