Haunted

Now there was only one more place I could try – Isabelle’s. Thankfully, it was just round the corner. I ran up the drive as fast as I could and knocked on the front door. She opened the door and I practically fell into her arms. “Ohmigod, what happened?” she cried, sitting me down on the couch.
“Was it Liam?” I nodded, crying so much I could barely speak. We sat in silence for a minute before she dragged me into the kitchen. “Sit down,” she ordered, pulling out a kitchen chair. She pulled my hair back and carefully examined the wound. “Babe, we need to get you to the hospital.”
“No, we’re not going to the hospital,” I cried as more tears formed in my eye.
“Danni, this looks serious.” I shook my head.
“Please Izzy, you’ve gotta help me here,” I begged. She sighed and went to get a first aid kit. “This will only hurt for a minute. Just keep still,” she instructed. I nodded and closed my eyes when I saw her take out some tweezers. I felt her picking about the wound, presumably removing bits of glass.
“Oh wow,” she sighed. I opened my eyes to see a piece of kitchen roll covered in tiny splinters of glass.
“I think that’s all of it, I’m just gonna clean it now.”

A few minutes later, I was all bandaged up and the pain had subsided slightly. “Thank you so much, I feel terrible. I went to Xander’s but he…um…” I trailed off.
“It’s no problem honey, I’m glad you came. Xander what?” I sat for a minute, contemplating whether or not to talk to her about it.
“He’s with his girlfriend.”
“What?”
“Well…I heard the rumours and I saw Leven through the window at Xander’s so I kinda guessed.”
“Oh, you like him don’t you?” Shit, did I? Until now I’d always denied it but maybe I did. Why else would I be so upset that he was with Leven? Why else would I much rather be with him than my own fiancé?
“Ohmigod I do.” Isabelle laughed. “I don’t know. Everyone says that I like him and I didn’t think so but now I kinda realised, maybe I do. Oh God, please don’t say anything.”
“I won’t. But I think you should.”
“No, he’s with Leven. I can’t just destroy their relationship.”
“You wouldn’t be destroying their relationship. Danni, he told me about when he kissed you.” I laughed.
“Aww, you must go insane. We all treat you like some kinda therapist we just come and vent to. I’m so sorry.” We both laughed.
“No, it’s okay. I kinda like hearing all the gossip.” We both laughed again.
“No, I think you should speak to him. There’s definitely a spark between you two. Anyway, this is Xander we’re talking about: he wouldn’t know who he wanted unless it was given to him on a plate.”
“As much as I want to, I think I’ll leave it for now. I barely know him and I’m not even sure if I like him in that way, you know. Everything’s messed up right now, I’m gonna wait till things calm down.”
“Okay,” she sighed, “Right, it’s late, are you staying here tonight?”
“Oh no, I’ll find a hotel, you’ve done more than you should anyway.”
“Danni, you’re my friend, it’s fine. Besides, you’re not driving to a hotel in that state. Stay as long as you want: a week, a month, a year, I honestly don’t mind.” I sighed, knowing there was no point arguing because she’d get her way in the end.
“Thank you, I’ll just get my things from the car,” I said.

When I woke up the next day, I had fifteen missed calls from Liam…and one from Xander. I quickly rang Xander back. “Hey, how’s my girl?” I blushed, thankfully he couldn’t see.
“I’m okay, you?”
“Yeah I’m cool. So I know it’s your day off, you wanna do something if dipshit will let you out?” I forced a laugh.
“Well, I’m at Isabelle’s at the moment.”
“Isabelle’s?”
“Yeah, it’s a long story.”
“Alright, I’ll be there in half an hour.”
“Do you not want to check with her first?” I joked.
“Nah, she’s a babe, she won’t mind.”
“Okay, see you in a bit then.” I got dressed and went downstairs to warn Isabelle.
“Fine but tell him pick up a couple of McDonalds Breakfast Wraps on the way.” I laughed.
“Will do.”
“Good, now let’s have a look at this head of yours.” She took of the bandage, cleaned it and put a new one on.
“It’s better…but I still think you could do with a trip down the hospital,” she said, smiling sweetly at me.
“Not gonna happen,” I smiled.

Xander arrived soon after and I was surprised to see that Leven wasn’t with him. I was also surprised he hadn’t told me about her. Sure, we weren’t close but when he’d kissed me, he hadn’t mentioned anything. It was like he’d just forgotten. Still, I wasn’t complaining.
“One Breakfast Wrap, and one Bacon and Egg McMuffin,” he mumbled, laying them out on the table. “Fuck, Danni, what happened to you?” he cried, pointing to my head. I contemplating whether or not to tell him but I knew he’d guess anyway. “Please tell me Liam did not do that.” I bit my lip, trying not to cry. “Fucking dickhead! You have got to call the police Danni!”
“No, that’s not gonna achieve anything.”
“It will get that bastard behind bars.”
“Xander please, just give me some time. I can deal with this myself.” My phone rang again but I cancelled the call, knowing it was Liam. Xander sighed and went to the fridge, helping himself to a carton of orange juice, which he pretty much downed at once.
“Fine, but the only reason I’m not doing anything is because I know you’ll only deny it.” I smiled and gave him a hug. For a few minutes, there was an unbearable silence before Isabelle said, “Right, you two clearly need to talk so I’m going to take Oreo out. I’ll be back in about half an hour.”
“No, you don’t need to do that,” I cried.
“Trust me, I do.” With that, she put Oreo on her leash and left the house. The awkward silence continued for a while before a familiar song came on the radio.
“This is my favourite song,” I smiled, turning it up. I’d always loved Drops of Jupiter by Train. Xander laughed. “It would be so cute as a first dance at a wedding.” Xander laughed again. “What?” I asked.
“You’re such a freak,” he teased.
“No seriously. It has to be in time though.”
“Oh God.”
“I’m such a perfectionist. Everything has to be in time with the song. I’ve got it all planned in my head like a movie.”
“Show me,” he said simply.
“What?”
“Show me,” he repeated, stepping forward to take my hands. I laughed.
“Okay, well you’re like this,” I explained, putting his hands round my waist. He smiled as I explained to him, step by step, each part of the dance.
“And at this bit, they’ll be confetti…or streamers…or something falling down from the sky.”
“Oh yeah? Cos I heard confetti is forecast.”
“Shut up. It’s my fairy-tale. Fairy-tales are supposed to be magical.”
“You’re such a freak. And that’s why I love ya’,” he laughed, giving me a kiss on the cheek.