Evie found herself a week later calling Ben to tell him about her conversation with Harry; the boy was the only other person that knew about the almost proposal, and she needed to speak to someone to vent. She soon found herself confiding in the boy how Harry was ready to ask Mal when one day walking around the city, a car with a bride passed them, and Mal rolled her eyes, making a snarky comment. Harry then realized that Mal didn't mean the expenses that sometimes came with the ceremony but to be married, and even though he knew deep inside that this wasn't new information, it put a stop on his plans completely. By the time Evie talk to him, he had managed to take the ring back to the jewelry in exchange for some credit that he used to buy some things for his mother and sister, at the beginning he thought about buying something for Mal but he wasn't ready for that yet. In the end, Harry promised to do his part in acting normal so that Mal wouldn't suspect anything happened, but Evie could see that the entire situation hurt the boy. Talking to Ben, she also confessed that she was feeling guilty about the whole situation. "When you and I talked, I realized that I knew how Mal used to feel about the entire situation, and I should have asked her if she continued to think about marriage that way. Maybe I could have stop this from happening."
Ben disagreed with Evie because, in the end, they would stand in the same position. Harry ready to marry Mal and the girl not in the same headspace as the guy, after hearing this Evie felt a little better about her involvement but still sad for Harry. "He loves her Ben, and I'm sure Mal loves him too. I wished I could talk some sense into her, but Harry asked me not to mention it to her."
"Is for the best, this is something that only the two of them should discuss. I'm not saying this to stop you from talking to me about this. I just want to make it clear that you shouldn't mention it to Mal. Harry needs to be the one that brings it up, and together they could go to counseling or whatever works for them if he is sure that marriage is the only way he wants this relationship to continue. Do not middle Evie because if something happens, it needs to be due to their own efforts." Reluctantly the girl agreed to stay quiet, and in a matter of months, the subject stopped being a constant in her mind, although she was afraid it wasn't the case in Harry's.
Slowly the dynamic between Harry and Mal started to change; he would get annoyed with her for minuscule details and then go back to be ok without much of an explanation driving the girl insane. At first, Mal would try to have a serious conversation with Harry. Still, he continued to deflect the subject, telling her that he was just under a lot of pressure at his job and that she was just exaggerating and even went on to blame her for putting extra pressure on him. Mal didn't share with her friends what was happening, but after a while, Evie noticed the change in the dynamic of the couple and tried to talk to Harry about he was doing just for the boy to tell her to mind her own business and not to meddle in his and Mal's. One day after a particularly nasty fight, Mal got out of their apartment and called Ben crying completely forgetting that the boy was out celebrating his fourth month with Nicky.
Ben was about to get out of his apartment, ready to pick up Nicky when Mal's name appeared on his phone. The boy thought she was calling him to tease him and congratulate him so he declined the call and went on to facetime her so he could also show her how he had dressed for the occasion. His smile died the second he saw Mal's face completely covered in tears as she managed to say Ben's name. First, he pleaded for her to go to Evie's house because wandering around New York city frantically crying was dangerous.
Mal refused and even went to tell him that if he pushed the subject again, she would end the call, Ben beg her no to do that and without stopping the call he booked her a room at a hotel Mal always wanted to go. After he managed to calm her down a little, he told her about the reservation and asked her to please go there, and to Ben's relief, she agreed. They continued to talk while she made her way; the only moment they stop talking, although they didn't end the call was when Mal was checking in.
The girl tried to end the call there, promising Ben that she was going to call him back once she was in the room, but he didn't trust her and asked not to hang up. While Mal talked to the receptionist, he opened his messages and quickly sent a text to Nicky apologizing for ignoring her and telling her that he wasn't going to be able to make it that night. The girl asked for an explanation, and he just wrote that Mal had an emergency knowing that as many times before, the mention of his friend's name would mean the end of another relationship. Most of his relationships worked fine until the girls realize that if he ever had to choose between them and Mal, he would not hesitate to choose the last.
Ben ignore the texts that Nicky sent after that because Mal was talking to him again while she made her way to the room. They continued to talk for hours and only stopped when Mal had to open the door to receive the food Ben order for her, so she had something to eat and when her phone died, and Ben frantically called her room. Finally, at 6 am Mal was sleepy and told Ben that she needed to have some sleep. "Thank you for staying with me and always be here for me. I miss having you near more than ever in times like this."
Ben felt his heart hurt at the comment, he missed being near her too, and for the first time since he moved away, he told her. "I miss you so much, Mal. I wish I could move near you, but you know that if there were even the slightest chance that I could make it work, I would do it in a heartbeat."
Mal smiled sadly, and she wished they were still facetiming because the need to see Ben was too much for her at that moment. They said their goodbyes after she promised the boy to call him the moment she wakes up. After hanging up, Ben went on to read all the texts from Nicky from the first ones that showed the concern of the girl for Mal's well being to the last where she told Ben that she needed to be with someone that had her as a priority. The breakup text was bittersweet, Nicky was a great girl, but he wouldn't change how he handle the situation one bit, so he didn't blame her for his decision. Getting up, he gathered all her things and put them in a box next to the door so they would be ready for when Nicky sent her friend for it.
After that, he fell asleep and only woke up when Mal called to tell him that she had already ordered breakfast and called the reception asking if they lend her a charger, and her phone was now charging as they speak. Ben smiled at how much better she sounded until the girl shared how, when she turned on her phone, she expected to see texts and missed calls from Harry, but there were none. Ben went on to suggest that Harry probably thought she was at Evie's place and was just giving her space, but Mal didn't agree although she dropped the subject.
They text daily and talk three times a week for the next month, and Mal noticed that Ben had more time and that never mention Nicky anymore. At first, she thought it was because her relationship was in trouble until she asked him about her. "We broke up a while back, I was going to tell you, but you have anything things in your mind right now. I'm ok so no need to be overprotective or talk badly about her. "
Mal went on to tell him how horrible she felt about the situation and how much she wished the boy would have shared with her the end of his relationship so she could help him. Ben thanked her but also assured her that he was fine, they continue to talk until the boy could hear Harry getting in the apartment, and he saw how Mal tense up. Sure, Ben knew that things were not getting better, but to see her that uncomfortable in her own home made him mad.
If Harry honestly loved Mal, then he was going the wrong way about this matter, sure what happened to him was hard, but the girl didn't know that she rejected him. Still, the boy was punishing her and made her feel like everything she did from that moment on was wrong. Mal was always strong, but Ben could see her self-esteem start to take a hit; that's why he had made a point of having more calls with her during the weekend even though it was difficult for him due to the time difference. Harry came into view, and Ben smiled at the boy saying hello, asking him how things were going, and for the first time, he saw annoyances when the boy realized who was talking to him. A couple of snarky comments from Harry later Ben decided to end the call wishing the couple a lovely weekend.
The next day Azis, Jay and Ben went out for lunch and the boy told them about the interaction he had with Harry; Mal had already told some of the friends that things were not great with Harry, so it didn't come as a surprise to the boys when Ben told them about what happened. "Ben, you have to realize that if he is having issues with Mal, he knows that you are the first one that she is telling everything too. So seeing you talking to her must be annoying because he knows no matter what you are going to side with her."
"Also, I've always found it weird how he has never had an issue with how close you and Mal are. I would be jealous of you if I were he." Ben laughed at Jay's comment and told him that maybe the fact that he lived in another state should put the guy at ease. Still, in the back of his mind, he wondered if Harry had now decided that he was to blame for what happened; if that was the case, Ben was ok with that as long as Harry started to treat Mal like he did before the incident.
Two weeks went by with Mal avoiding his calls and barely texting him back, making Ben felt like something terrible happened. Part of Ben thought that Harry told the girl that her relationship with him was making him uncomfortable and told her to start moving away from it. He would respect her decision if that were the case, but he found himself hoping that this wasn't the case because he would miss her too much. By the end of the second week, Ben brought some papers home to work so that he could try to lose himself in his work, trying to stop himself from calling Mal.
At nine pm, his phone rang, and Mal's name appeared on the screen, shocking him, he almost missed it because he was focused on some coding. The moment he saw it, he launched himself towards the phone, hitting his side against the table where the phone was. The moment he said hello, Mal asked him if he was ok and he chuckled, telling her that he just hit himself against the table, but aside from that, he was fine. Before he could ask her anything, Mal said to him that she had order food for him and he should open the door for the delivery.
Ben smiled and told her how great that was because he was super hungry, and there was no food at his place. The second he opened the door, though, he was shocked to see that in front of him after four years of not being face to face, there stood Mal with a pizza box in her hand and a sheepish expression on her face. "So, we should order more pizza cause I bought the small one at the airport."
She barely finished her sentenced before Ben engulfed her in a hug lifting her from the floor. Mal dropped the box and hugged him back with all her forced wrapping her legs around his waist while she started to teared up a little at how much she needed to be like this with him.