Haunted

I was confused when Liam proposed; we’d only been together six months. We were in the pub at the time, so it was nothing special. I accepted nonetheless. I loved him, he loved me - this seemed like the start of perfect happiness. It was the fairy tale I’d always dreamed of.

Liam was five years older than me, him being twenty four and me being nineteen. I was a nurse at UCLA Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Los Angeles. Liam worked in the nearby sports centre. We lived together in his small two bedroom house near the beach. We had met in a bar and things had gone from there.

It was a warm April day when things started to go wrong. We had just got back from a trip to the supermarket and were packing the food away into cupboards. “Danni I’ve been thinking,” Liam started.
“Makes a change,” I joked, shoving some ready meals into the freezer.
“Seriously.” He stepped towards me and wrapped his arms round my waist. I smiled. “Since we’re almost married now, what do you think about…maybe having…a baby?” I swallowed hard, quickly slipping out of his arms and over to the other side of the kitchen.
“No,” I said quietly.
“What?”
“We’ve been together six months. What’s wrong with you?” I snapped.
“Jeez, calm down,” he laughed, “I was just asking.”
“Well don’t!” I grabbed some bottles of beer and went to put them in the garage fridge.
“Can’t you just think about it?” Liam pleaded as I returned.
“No,” I said as calmly as I could.
“Why not?”
“This place isn’t big enough for a…” I coughed, “Baby. Besides, we don’t have the time or money to look after one.”
“We can make time. I might be getting a pay rise soon so that will help us out. It’s not like we’re skint anyway.”
“Liam, I don’t want a baby okay!” He sighed and took me in his arms again. I attempted a smile. “Damn, I forgot. I have to be at work in ten minutes.”
“What?” he asked in surprise.
“Charlotte’s on leave isn’t she? I’ve got to cover some of her shifts.”
“Oh.”
“I’ll be back around three,” I said, grabbing my keys and jumping in the car. I hated being snappy with him and I hated lying to him aswell but I needed to get away; I needed to see Ryan. And when I got back, Liam would be none the wiser. Sure, Liam had the right to know. Then again, it was bound to upset him. That or he wouldn’t really care. Either way, it wouldn’t do our relationship any good. I knew there would come a day when I would have to tell him but for now I could keep making excuses. Just until after the wedding, when the vows are said, and everything is final, then maybe I might tell him my dark twisted secret.