Haunted

Three days passed and Liam still didn't come home. I’d be lying if I said that was more of a worry than a relief. Still full up from lunch, I skipped dinner and I curled up in front of the television and watched a comedy show, in a bid to shake my crappy mood. No less than five minutes into it there was a knock at the door. I sighed and got up to answer it. “Xander,” I cried, shocked, glad and relieved to see him all at once.
“I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t be here but I feel terrible; I didn’t want it to end like this.”
“It’s fine, I understand,” I frowned, secretly wanting him to leave as quickly as possible just in case Liam got back.
“No, it’s not fine. Can I come in?”
“Sure,” I said, forcing a smile. He went into the kitchen and I followed.
“I’m sorry for what I said the other day. I’m just worried about you.”
“You don’t need to worry about me. I can take care of myself.”
“Yeah right,” he frowned, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I cried, hitting him playfully with the tea towel.
“Oh no you didn’t,” he cried, picking me up by the legs and throwing me over his shoulder.
“Xander, let me go!” I screamed in between laughing. He took me into the living room and lay me down on the rug, straddling my lap. “I win,” he laughed. I reached out to push him off me but he quickly pinned my wrists down, causing me to wince in pain.
“What’s up?” he gasped, his voice suddenly full of concern.
“Nothing,” I sighed, remembering that this shouldn’t be happening. Liam could get home at any minute. Maybe even Leven could turn up looking for Xander. As much as I wanted him, he wasn’t mine to have. I tried to push him off me but he didn’t move.
“I’m not moving, till you tell me what’s wrong.” I could feel the fear building up inside of me. I remembered what Liam had said the other night. I couldn’t possibly tell Xander about that or he’d hate me. There was no way he’d stay with me, when he realised how twisted and messed up my mind was.
“Please don’t do this,” I whispered, my eyes filling with tears. I quickly tried to wipe the tears with my sleeve but in doing so, Xander saw. Now I was terrified.
“Danni, what’s that?” he asked, grabbing my arm.
“It’s nothing. Please,” I begged. He took my left arm and gently rolled up the sleeve, his face instantly falling.
“Please tell me you didn’t. Why? Why Danni, why?”
“I’m so sorry,” I cried, wishing the ground would swallow me up. Xander remained silence and I dreaded what was going through his head right now. I felt so stupid and ashamed. He wouldn’t want to be anywhere near me ever again now he knew about this. I squeezed my eyes shut, not wanting to see his eyes filled with what was sure to be anger. I didn’t want to see the look on his face as he got up and left, hoping never to see or hear from me again.
“Danni, look at me,” he said. I cautiously opened my eyes, a few tears escaping as I did so. He cupped my cheeks with his hands, wiping the tears with his thumb.
“Why did you do it?”
“Just go,” I said as I shrugged.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“Xander, I’m sorry okay. I wasn’t thinking. I won’t do it again, I promise. I'm really sorry.”
“Why are you apologising?”
“I’m such an idiot,” I cried, stopping before my words turned into mixed up, embarrassing sobs.
“You’re not an idiot,” he said, running his fingers softly along my scars. “You’re beautiful.” I stopped, unable to process what he had just said. I didn’t have the chance to figure it out because before I knew what was happening, his lips were pressed softly against mine.
“What are you doing?” I gasped, pushing him off of me. He took a deep breath before telling me the words I’d been longing to hear. “I love you,” he whispered. My brain had gone into overload and I wasn’t sure I’d heard him right. He loved me?
“What?”
“I love you Danni. I have done for so long and I was scared to tell you so I kept quiet. Now look what I’ve done. If I’d have just told you sooner, none of this would have happened. I’m so sorry.” I reached out and took his hand.
“This isn’t your fault.”
“You have no idea how much it is. I could have told you sooner but instead I waited, I was a dick. Then I was thinking and I can’t believe what I said the other night. I should have done something to stop this before it was too late. I love you so much, please come with me now.”
“Xander, it’s not that easy. As much as I want to, this is too complicated, we’re better off staying how we are.” The words came out my mouth before I’d even realised what I was saying. The more I thought about it though, the more I realised that it probably was for the best. Xander pulled me up, held my hand and looked me in the eye.
“I don’t care how complicated it is. I just know that I cannot spend another day without you by my side. Do you want to be with me?”
“Of course…but we…” Xander cut me off.
“Then pack your bags and let’s get the hell out of here.” For the first time in years, I felt completely safe and completely happy. Sure, it was god-damn complicated but that didn’t matter. Knowing that he felt the same way about me as I did about him, knowing that he was here with me and willing to give up everything so we could be together, was enough for me to forget everything else and for once, know that everything would be alright.
“Alright,” I smiled. Xander didn’t reply. Instead he pulled me into his arms and we stood there for a while. In those few minutes, I felt a hundred times happier that I had ever felt before. Things were finally looking up.