Haunted

I stood frozen with worry, staring out the window at the huge crowds gathered in the street below. I prayed it wouldn’t always be like this. Maybe they would get bored after a while.
“Don’t worry about this. It’s gonna be fine,” Xander assured, wrapping his arms round me.
“What if they know about…?” I trailed off, unable to say it. Xander knew what I meant anyway.
“Then we’ll deal with it. There’s no way that dipshit, or anyone else, is going to come between us.” I forced a smile. It was nice to hear, but I wasn’t convinced.
“Isabelle’s here,” I muttered, seeing her car pull up outside. Xander went to let her in, while I watched as she was enveloped by the crowds. Head down, she pushed her way to the door and came inside.
“Who the fuck did this?!” she screamed, throwing a newspaper down on the table. As I read the headline, my mind filled with horror – ‘Mystery woman cheated on fiancée with Hunger Games Star.’ This could not be happening. I thought the worst was over but clearly not. This was torture. My mind was all over the place and I felt sick. Isabelle, noticing my reaction, rushed over to give me a hug. Xander clutched the paper, reading the article thoroughly.
“How bad is it?” I asked, scared to find out. He read from the article aloud.
“’Anonymous source tells us, fiancée Danni Hayward (20) cheated on him with Hunger Games Star Alexander Ludwig. The source, who does not wish to be named says, ‘Danni and I were due to get married earlier this year. I had my suspicions, therefore I called it off. She then disappeared for a few days, before coming back with the new guy (Ludwig) to get her things. He’s been violent towards me and I’m now worried for Danni’s safety.’ The source believes the affair had been going on for months. It is thought that Hayward now lives with Ludwig in his apartment in Wilshire, Los Angeles.’ What the fuck? This is total bullshit!” he yelled.
“Ohmigod, what’s his problem!?” I screamed, tears escaping my eyes.
“Shit, this is worse than I thought,” Isabelle sighed, “We can sort this though, it’s gonna be fine.”
“Thank-you,” I smiled, giving her a hug.

Late that evening, Xander’s mum arrived. “Mum, this is…my girlfriend Danni and obviously you know Isabelle,” Xander muttered, dragging a large suitcase into the other room.
“Hi honey, I’m Sharlene,” she smiled warmly, “How you enjoying life in the limelight?”
I laughed politely. “Oh, it’s great,” I joked.
“Hmm,” she turned her attention to Xander, “It’s nice of you to tell me you had a new girlfriend, since I am your manager.”
“Sorry mum,” he laughed. She rolled her eyes and sat down at the table.
“Let me see,” she sighed. Xander handed her the paper. She quickly scanned it, frowning and shaking her head now and then. I felt my cheeks burn red with embarrassment.
“How much is true? Tell me everything,” she instructed.
“His name is Liam; we were meant to get married earlier this year. During the ceremony though, he told everyone that I was cheating on him, but I wasn’t. We went outside, and then…” I trailed off, not sure what to say. Sharlene looked puzzled.
“Let’s just say he’s the violent one, not me,” Xander muttered.
“Oh God honey, carry on,” Sharlene gasped.
“That was the first time he’d been anything like that; I was shocked. Anyway…I went to see…my son.”
“You have a son?” she asked shocked.
“Do you want a minute?” Isabelle asked. I nodded gratefully, as Isabelle pulled Xander into the other room. I sighed, staring down at the ground, my face burning red.
“Ryan…he…err…he died…when he was a baby,” I said quietly.
“I’m so sorry,” she cried, taking my hand.
“It’s fine,” I said, shrugging my shoulders and forcing a smile. “The thing is, it was with my previous boyfriend. After the baby died, it put a strain on our relationship and we broke up. I kinda…I couldn’t bring myself to tell Liam though. I know I should have but it was hard.”
“I understand.”
“That’s why every time I went to visit Ryan, Liam thought I was with another guy. Anyway, after the drama at the wedding, I went to see Ryan. Xander happened to be there, we somehow clicked and I went back and stayed at his. Nothing happened though. The next day, I needed to get my stuff from Liam but I was scared. Xander came with me, but obviously Liam got the wrong idea.” I spent the next ten minutes explaining absolutely everything that had happened. She seemed really nice, and I knew she could only help us if she knew everything.
“Oh God, he sounds like an idiot,” she sighed.
“He is. I’m so sorry for causing so much trouble.”
“Don’t be silly, that’s not your fault. I’ve got a plan,” she smiled reassuringly, “Xander!” Xander and Isabelle came back into the room and sat down.
“Are you okay?” Xander asked. I nodded. “Good, now how the fuck are we gonna sort all this out?”
Sharlene shot him a look. “Sorry mum, how are we gonna sort all this out?”
“Better. I think we should arrange a press conference as soon as possible. Then you can get this out in the open and tell them everything that happened. I also think you should...” she was interrupted by someone at the door. Xander went to see who it was.
“My name’s DI Humes and this is DI Davis. Can we come in for a minute?” asked a solemn voice. Oh what perfect timing – not.
“Sure,” Xander muttered. Xander introduced everyone and we all smiled politely, but all of us were clearly worried as to why they were here.
“Is it possible to Mr. Ludwig alone?”
“Alexander,” he corrected as Isabelle and I left the room. Sharlene stayed with them. Isabelle and I sat nervously, wondering what was going on.
“What do you think it is?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” I frowned, “Do you think it’s cos’ of what Liam said?”
“Maybe.” Isabelle must have noticed me shudder as she quickly added, ‘Don’t worry though. Xander hasn’t done anything wrong; they can’t do anything.” I shrugged, furious that Liam had caused trouble for everyone.

Several minutes later, I was called into the other room. Sharlene and Xander both had to leave so I was alone.
“Hello, would it be possible to take some details about you?” they asked.
“Yeah,” I answered, trying to keep calm.
“Alright, full name?” I quickly answered all the pointless questions they were asking.
“Is there, like, a problem or something?” I asked, bored of wondering why they were here. DI Humes sighed.
“Has Alexander ever been violent in any way?” he asked simply.
“What? No! He’s done more for me than I could ask of anyone – he’d never hurt me!” I cried.
“Be honest, if he has, we can sort this out, no harm will come to you.”
“I am being honest. Xander’s never hurt me or anyone else!” How could they come here and accuse him without any evidence except Liam’s stupid lies?
“How long have you been living together?”
“Four days,” I muttered. They both quickly scribbled something down in their notebooks.
“And how long have you been together?” I sighed.
“Four days.”
“So you moved in together straight away? What’s the hurry?” I didn’t like how they treated us like some kind of criminals. We’d done nothing wrong.
“I didn’t have anywhere else to go. We were really close friends so it’s not like I moved in with a complete stranger.” DI Davis sighed.
“Does the name Liam Robson mean anything to you?” I hesitated, unsure how to answer the question. I decided it was best just to be honest – they’d find out somehow.
“He’s my ex,” I said quietly.
“And how long ago did you break up?”
“Four days ago.” It sounded really bad, but it wasn’t like that. I couldn’t understand why this mattered anyway. Xander wasn’t violent.
“You say Alexander has never been violent towards you, or anyone else?”
“That’s the truth!” I cried, trying to keep calm.
“Could you tell us how you came to get that bruise on your head?”
“If you’re looking for the person who did that you should be round Liam’s, not here!” I screamed without thinking. Shit, what had I done? Xander quickly rushed into the room and appeared at my side.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, taking my hand. I didn’t say anything.
“What do you mean?” asked DI Humes, a look of surprise on his face. I looked at Xander fearfully, not sure how to get out of this one. I couldn’t tell the police - Liam would come after me.
“Nothing, don’t worry,” I mumbled.
“Miss Hayward, what do you mean?” DI Humes asked sternly. Xander looked me in the eye.
“Are you gonna tell them, or shall I?” he quizzed. I sighed.
“Liam smashed a glass over my head. I was scared to move out but Xander helped me,” I said quietly, a tear falling softly down my cheek. Xander pulled me into his lap and gave me a hug. I spent the next painful thirty minutes reliving everything that had happened over the past month and praying that this would soon be over.