Chapter 26:

"Why is he here?" Ben says in a low angry voice. He still doesn't trust me with Niall.

"Gee, maybe because it's my house and not yours you fucking moron." Niall says sarcastically.

"Hey, don't test me buddy. I still owe you from last time." Ben begins to walk forward but I step in front of him and grab his arms.

"You mean when you fell down like a little girl from one shot? Sure, I'd love a round two." Niall says cockily.

"Fuck it, you're not worth it. Let's go." He grabs my arm forcefully and begins to walk away. I stumble after him, trying to keep up with his pace, as his fingers dig into my upper arm. I meet Niall's eyes with a panicked expression.

"Get your filthy hands off of her and get out of my fucking house!" Niall screams at the top of his lungs.

Ben turns around again and shoves me to the side. I'm so fucking screwed.

"My filthy hands have been all over her recently for your information." He says smugly.

"Rosie, what the fuck is he talking about?" Niall growls like a literal dog.

"We may have gotten back together a few weeks ago." I almost whisper, ashamed of my actions.

I can feel the facade of happy me and Ben have upheld so far slipping between our fingers. No more playing the role of a perfect couple. I knew this would bite me in the arse at one point. Looks like it's going to be today.

"I told you before Niall, I always get what I want." Ben laughs in a condescending tone.

"She's not property you piece of shit." Niall yells and balls his fists.

"Then why are you acting like you own her?" Ben counters, raising his voice as well.

"I'm trying to protect her from a worthless douche like you!" Niall steps forward.

In response to Niall's aggressive step closer, Ben tries to step forward as well. I step back in front of him and wrap my arms around his torso.

"Rosie, get the fuck off." He says in a low voice. He never talks to me like that anymore. I can tell he's restraining himself right now.

"No, Ben. This isn't you." I try to calm him down and at the same time grasp onto the hope we can still have our pretend fairytale.

"I said gets the fuck off!" He screams. I release my arms from him just in time to see his elbow hurdling at the side of my face. It connects to my cheekbone and jaw with force and I involuntarily fall back onto the floor. It knocks the wind out of me.

I can almost literally see the walls me and Ben built crumbling down. Why was I so naive to think that this would last longer than it has? Ben is never a good idea. He's evil and I have to be honest, I've hated his filthy guts since I saw him all those years ago in bed with Veronica. I hate him and I want him gone. I'm such an idiot to believe he changed. People don't change.

Tears leave my eyes as I try to catch my breath. I can taste blood so I spit onto the floor and sure enough droplets of red appear.

Niall. That's the one thought I register. I look up just in time to see him charge Ben.

"Don't fucking touch her!" He screams as he literally leaps at Ben.

The pair collide and fall to the floor from the impact. I scoot myself away from them in fear. I am powerless. Niall somehow winds up on top and he punches Ben square in the jaw. Twice. Ben lies with his back to the floor and Niall sits on his chest, pinning him there. Ben tries to punch Niall from his vulnerable position and he gets a mildly hard hit in. Niall tries to hit him again but Ben takes the opportunity to flip him onto his back.

"How do like this pretty boy?" Ben pins Niall and raises his fist.

"Stop!" I scream and pounce onto Ben. Without thinking I wrap my arms around his raised fist and prevent him from punching Niall. Why I didn't do this when Ben was getting hit, I have no idea. Maybe I was glad for the payback, to be honest.

Niall takes the opportunity to shove Ben off of him and return to his feet. Ben does the same.

"Why the fuck did you do that, bitch?" Ben screams, obviously angry I didn't let him get revenge.

"Hey, you want a round three? Don't fucking talk to her like that." Niall pokes Ben in the chest.

"Enough!" I scream and they both look at me.

"It will never be enough until you leave this piece of crap boyfriend behind." Niall turns to me.

"Please, she doesn't even deserve me." Ben scoffs.

"I actually agree with that. Nobody deserves to suffer that much." Niall twists his words. Ben shoves Niall so he stumbles and this time I stand in front of Niall to keep him from attacking.

"Stop! Just stop!" I cry, tears flowing again.

Niall's eyes show pity as they look into mine.

"There you go again, protecting one of the various guys who will never ever love you." Ben teases me.

"Ben, enough." I whisper.

"No, you don't get it. I'm the only one who would ever willingly be with a girl like you." He chuckles to himself.

"Don't listen to him Rosie, please." Niall begs.

"Why don't you stay the fuck out of it blondie." Ben says.

"Don't speak to him that way." I say barely audible.

"What?" He challenges me to say it louder. A small smirk plays on his lips. He thinks I won't do it.

"I said don't speak to him that way Benjamin!" I scream. He looks shocked but recovers quickly.

"Aw, isn't that sweet." He gives me a pouty face as he mocks me. My cheeks flame up in embarrassment and shame.

"I think it's time for you to go mate." Niall side steps me and gets in Ben's face again.

"Fuck, I don't need this shit!" Ben throws his hands in the air, "Rosie, pick. Me or him." Ben directs this at me.

Both of them stand side by side, expectantly waiting for my answer. I know it immediately. This person has always been my answer, it's never changed.

"Him. Always him." I say immediately.

Niall looks shocked, his expression unreadable. Ben on the other hand looks furious.

"Think about-" He begins to try and change my mind.

"No. My answer required no thinking at all. You were right Ben, I don't deserve you." I walk over to the door and open it, "I deserve better." I say with conviction and point outside, signaling he needs to leave.

I'm not going to let his words manipulate me anymore.

He shakes his head and rolls his eyes as he walks out of the door. I follow him out and slam it behind me so we both stand on the porch.

"Well?" I say.

"What could you possibly want?" He scoffs.

"An apology. A real one." I state. I don't know where this came from, but now I want one.

"I'm not going to say sorry for punching your precious little friend. And I'm not going to apologize for coming here because I have faith you'll come crawling back to me. You always do." He says cockily.

"Don't you get it? You lost me the second you kissed Veronica." I say.

"Not true, I've never lost you because you can't un-love someone. And if you never loved me you wouldn't have been so heartbroken." He works through his twisted logic.

His words stop me for a moment, because they make sense. And then something hits me. Like a ton of bricks, a wave of water, a ray of light. There's a difference I never saw before in the way he hurt me.

"No, Ben. I realize now that I felt betrayed by you. I never loved you, and I wasn't heartbroken. I was just betrayed and hurt and extremely angry. You never broke my heart, because it wasn't yours to break. But it is Niall's. He breaks my heart every single moment we are together yet so far apart. My heart is his to break, mend, deceive, abuse, love...everything. His. And not yours. It never was." I rant. His expression remains set in stone as he turns and walks down to his car.

"Ben?" I call to him as he walks down the steps. He turns around expectantly.

I feel so powerful and light right now, I can finally say these words I should have said the day we met.

"Don't come back." I say triumphantly and turn around to walk inside before I slam the door in his face.

I lean my head against it, trying to process what just happened. For a moment I think I might cry, but then I realize I have no reason to. I'm not sad. I feel only relief.

"Always me, huh?" Niall says from behind me. He's being serious, not teasing me. I don't regret saying that in front of him though. No matter how much he hurts me I'll love him until the end.

"Always." I confirm as I turn around. I'm surprised when he's less than a foot away from me, but I automatically reach out and pull him into a long desired hug.

He presses me closer and I bury my face into his chest. I love him so much it hurts my heart to think about it.

"Always you, Callahan." He says into my hair and I smile. Im staring to like him calling me Callahan.

"It's been two weeks since we've talked." He says and I frown, remembering my promise to Nina and stepping away from him.

"Yeah." I say.

"Does it have something to do with Nina? I saw you two talking at the party." He asks and I nod slowly, not looking him in the eye.

"You have no idea how hard it is to stay away from you." I say honestly.

"Then don't." He tucks my hair behind my ear and places two fingers under my jaw to examine it. I take a sharp inhale of breath as his fingers gently touch me. I have to in order to keep my expression calm. My heart is racing from his simplest touch.

Sometimes I hate how much I love this boy.

"I have to, she really likes you." I sigh, doing the right thing.

"I really like her too. But I also really like having you as my friend. So frankly, I don't really care what Nina says about it." He shrugs and I smile at him.

"Why are we always fighting so many battles just to stay friends?" I ask, suddenly frustrated and tired of it.

"I honestly don't know. But I think it's worth it. Remember Callahan, always." He replies.

"Why are you suddenly obsessed with my last name?" I laugh.

"I never realized how much I loved it before." He shrugs.

I feel the same way about you, I think to myself.

"I'm just now realizing you have blood trailing down your face so let's go clean that up." He says and leads me into the bathroom, "Are you alright?" He adds.

"I am, now." I reply.

He wets a rag and begins to wipe blood off of my face. Ben gave me a bloody nose apparently, his final parting gift. I also wet a rag with cold water and press it to his cheek like an ice pack. It looks like he might get a bruise.

"I can finally help you for once." I smile.

"See, we save each other." Niall says back.

"I guess you're right." I pause, "Thank you for protecting me." I say softly.

"Thank you for finally accepting you're worth more than him." He counters.

"Thank you for forcing me to." I laugh.

"Anytime, Callahan." He chuckles and I roll my eyes at the nickname.

"And by the way, just because we can't be friends doesn't mean we aren't." Niall says. It causes me to pause and think for a moment. He's right about that.

"You mean that?" I want reassurance that he will never abandon me.

"I do." He smiles at me with his beautifully imperfect smile.

"Always?" I ask.

"Always." He confirms.