Until You Met Me

Dipping her paintbrush into the pot of paint at her side, Molly moved to swipe it across the wall in front of her, contentedly mouthing the words to the song that was playing through her headphones. It had been a welcome phone call. When Molly had woken up, she had fully expected to spend the day by herself, forcing herself to try and focus on work when things between her and Gerard were as messy as they were, but the call from her sister had saved her from it. Poppy needed help painting the nursery for her baby which was due in a couple of months, and Molly needed an excuse to not sit and overthink the way she and Gerard had left things.

She hadn’t been surprised by Gerard’s reaction to seeing her with Tiago. For Gerard, the fact that Tiago had been the one to end their relationship, and not Molly, meant that there was a chance that she had some feelings for the other man that hadn’t been resolved, and whilst she understood his concern, she didn’t quite know how she could be clearer about the fact that he was wrong. She had loved Tiago once, and she had never denied the fact that she had seen her future with him once upon a time, but things had changed. Her relationship with Tiago was over. It had been over for more than a year, and it wasn’t going to change, not when she had found something better, something she wasn’t prepared to let go of.

Catching her mind drifting back towards Gerard, Molly let out a quiet sigh before she shook her head, refocussing on the wall ahead of her until she felt a hand against her shoulder, something which caused her to startle and pull her headphones out of her ears, glaring up at Poppy who stood over her. “You scared the life out of me” she spluttered.

“I called your names like five times” Poppy replied “It’s not my fault that you’re not paying attention” she added.

Molly rolled her eyes. “Did you need something?” she asked.

“Felipe’s just got back with lunch” Poppy replied “Are you going to come and join us?” she asked.

Molly hesitated for a moment before she shook her head, her stare fixed on the wall as she painted it. “I’m not particularly hungry” she replied “I’ll just keep going with this” she added.

Poppy stared at her for a long moment before she reached out, stilling Molly’s hand. “Are you OK?” she asked.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Molly replied, trying too hard to keep her voice light.

Poppy’s lips twitched. “You know that you can’t lie to me, don’t you?” she prodded “I’m your big sister, Mol. I know all of your tells” she added.

Molly thought about arguing, about insisting that she was fine and that there was nothing for Poppy to worry about, but before she could stop herself, she let out a quiet sigh, something which caused Poppy to gently tug on her wrist, guiding her towards a stack of boxes that were piled up on the other side of the room. “What’s going on?” Poppy asked as she sat down.

Molly hesitated before she sat down next to her sister, offering her a small shrug. “Gerard and I had a fight” she admitted.

“As big as last time?” Poppy asked, her expression worried. She didn’t quite know if Molly and Gerard could come back from a fight as big as the last one they had had.

“No” Molly replied, shaking her head firmly “It’s not like that. It wasn’t even really a fight. I am just...I am annoyed with him. I ran into Tiago last night when I was at Sofia’s engagement party. He was having dinner at the same place, and he came up to me at the bar. We spoke for a minute, and he pushed my hair off of my face, and Gerard saw. He freaked out. He’s always been worried about Tiago, too worried, and he just...he just annoyed me, Pop. I mean, I don’t know how much clearer I can be that whatever I thought I had with Tiago is nothing compared to what I think I have with Gerard, but he just...he can’t seem to get it, and it annoyed me. Is that wrong?” she asked, glancing at her sister for reassurance.

Poppy shook her head. “Of course it isn’t” she replied.

“I just...I don’t know what to say to him” Molly continued “It’s not like he didn’t know about Tiago” she added.

“Perhaps he knows too much” Poppy quipped.

Molly wrinkled her nose. “What?” she asked.

Poppy shifted in her seat, trying to get comfortable, before she reached over and took a hold of Molly’s hands. “I am not making excuses for him” she said “But I think that Tiago is maybe a reminder of how close Gerard got to never knowing whether you two could have made it work. He has always looked at you the same way, Mol. Always. And I can’t imagine that, feeling the way he’s probably always felt, it was a lot of fun to watch you fall for Tiago. It isn’t logical, and it sure as hell isn’t fair, but Tiago is a sign of him not being brave, and a reminder that if things had gone another way, then you’d be someone else’s girlfriend or wife, but he shouldn’t be taking that out on you” she explained.

Molly shook her head, letting out a huff of unamused laughter. “What am I supposed to do about that?” she asked “Invent a time machine, and go back and tell him that if he told me how he felt sooner, then it would have worked out?” she added.

Poppy’s lips twitched amusedly. “Can you do that?” she asked.

Molly offered her sister a flat look, causing Poppy to sigh. “The advice I have isn’t great” she quipped “But I think you just have to talk it out. I know it isn’t original, but it’s the best thing. Talk about Tiago, about how the relationship started, and how Gerard felt then, and offer him reassurance. You have loved him for a very long time, and just because it has taken you a long time to figure it out, doesn’t make it any less true or real. Make sure he knows that he can’t keep pushing you away like this, just because he gets scared. Just talk to him, Mol” she added gently.

Molly stared down at their hands for a moment, taking in what Poppy had said to her, before Poppy let out a squeak in surprise, quickly pressing her sister’s hands against her stomach. “Say hello to your niece” she cooed excitedly.

Molly’s face lit up at the feel of a flutter against her palm, something that Poppy responded to with another soft squeeze of her hand, wordlessly reassuring her that whatever she and Gerard were going through could be figured out. Molly smiled at her thankfully, hoping that she was right.