Since We're Alone |NH|

Chapter 61

"Not much. At least, nothing I couldn't find the last time I looked her up. They broke up about eight months ago, now. Articles say it was a mutual thing and that schedules just got too conflicted. Mostly looks like the blame lies on him since she doesn't look like she'd raise a finger to help anyone but herself aka she doesn't appear to work."

"Nothing about cheating?"

"No, not really. A couple of articles suggest it but don't offer any solid proof, just snippets of past sightings where she may have been seen with some guy or where they were fighting. Somehow, there are a lot of reports of them fighting and quite a few photos where they certainly look like they are. But nothing definitive."

"Huh, interesting."

"I still think that's it, though. Has to be. It would explain so much," Tomi said. "I mean, and don't take this the wrong way, but he's definitely acted strange since we met him. He does seem to hesitate a lot when it comes to showing more of his private side. I mean, you guys have essentially been dating, what, a month and a half, now? And I have been to his house more than you. I've been begging him to bring you over to his house so we could finally all have each other around. I think it would be nice for us be able to all hang out with each other. Two sets of best friends dating each other, how often does that happen? But he always used lack of privacy as an excuse. But even Mully was getting a bit irked by it. But he also seemed to understand something that I didn't though, as to why Niall was being cautious about bringing you around the house. I once overheard them talking and Mully was trying to convince Niall to bring you there and hang out with us."

"What did he say?"

"That he wasn't ready."

"Whatever that means."

"Ha! Yeah." Tomi paused. "I do think Maggie cheated on him. And I think she must've been doing it for quite awhile which would explain so much about him being so cautious with you. Proof of it, though, I don't have. But, what I'm not getting is why everyone else is apparently saying that she used them too; or that they all fell for it? What does that mean? Fell for what?"

I shrugged, "Well, if she was cheating on him, they probably all feel guilty for not catching on sooner? Or, I wonder if she cheated on him with one of his friends? Who knows. But, I want to know now. I need to know what the fuck I'm up against. I like Niall and don't want some bitch from his past fucking with his head and heart anymore. I want him. I want his heart."

"Aww," Tomi said. I waited on a sarcastic comment but didn't get one.

"No comment? No gagging?" I asked, jokingly.

"No comment. Not this time. I'm glad to see you happy and Niall is a good guy, I can see it. And I can see how much he cares for you; how much you brighten up his face and demeanor when he talks about you or is near you. I hate that something has happened to him to make him question you but I think, with time, he'll realize he has nothing to worry about with you. You won't break his heart, at least not on purpose. Obviously, can't guarantee what will happen between you two but you aren't the girl who would ever, ever cheat or lie to someone to be deceiving."

"But does he see that?"

"I think so. It just sounds like he's scared. But, like I said this morning, you keep being you because you are amazing and Niall is lucky to have you. I just think you have to be patient. Plus, we don't know anything for sure yet about what happened between them. I'm sure he's also cautious because of what he does for a living. I'm sure there are lots of girls who would 'date' him just because of his money and fame."

"I wonder if that's what he means by 'used'," I thought.

"Huh?"

"I said he didn't want to feel like he was being used, I wonder if she used him for his money and fame. I mean, it looks like it. She hardly had any posts on social media until it came out that she was dating him and then, bam!, she's fucking popular. She posts all the amazing places she's been to, all the amazing people she's met and things she's done. Maybe she did use him but he was blind to it? And, now, having clearly seen what she was doing, he's scared every girl he meets is going to do that."

"So continue to prove him wrong, Ophelia. You aren't that girl. You don't care about social media unless it's promoting the bar, which you're great at because you get some amazing shots of your drinks and it gets people in the door. But your own personal accounts you rarely post on. You don't care about the lifestyle he leads, do you?"

"No, not at all. I like him for who he is, not what he does."

"And I'm sure he sees that but his judgment was fucked with and is now cloudy. So, again, just continue to be you and eventually he will know, for certain, that you aren't going to break him."

I nodded, continuing to scroll through Maggie's pictures for a few more minutes before I left and went home.

When I got home, I grabbed a duffel bag and started packing it up a little. Niall had told me the next two weeks he wanted to spend as much time with me as possible before my summer class started. This all apparently meant that he wanted me to have some stuff at his place so I am supposed to pack a bag to bring with me tomorrow.

"Strange how he was so cautious about letting me come over but as soon as he does he's more than okay with practically letting me move in for two weeks," I mumbled to myself as I tossed a shirt into the bag.

I took a shower and packed a few toiletries to leave at his house.

After I finished that, I settled in bed with my laptop and searched "Niall Horan and Maggie Phillips" and a bunch of shit showed up. I scrolled through all the images that had been taken of them over the last two years by paparazzi. Some of them look sweet, with him holding her hand or wrapping an arm around her. But there were quite a few of them where he looks miserable.

"What happened?" I wondered, aloud. "What did she do to you?"