Crush (Love in London #2)

Prologue

The Past

A twisted bastard was what they called him. But they didn’t know Zander like I did. Yes, I was young, but I wasn’t stupid, he could be cruel at times, but never without good reason.

If you broke the rules, you were punished. That was the norm.

Through narrowed eyes, I disdainfully drank in the unfair interruption to my day. I had been in my bedroom, my private space, reading a book when chaos had erupted. I didn’t care that they had flashed their IDs and were there officially. To me, they were strangers. How dare they force entry and go through my shit without my permission.

Of all the properties Zander and I had stayed in, this one was my favourite. It was away from the hustle and bustle of the city, the house overlooking a lake and it was peaceful. Looking over our shoulders had not been necessary in this place. Finally, we’d been left alone, just the two of us.

Now they were here.

I watched, feeling frustrated as that group of strangers walked back and forth across my soft cream carpet. A policeman was taking photographs and there were a couple of people in white overalls. It looked exactly like a crime scene from one of the TV shows I watched, but as far as I was concerned, it was nonsense. No crime had taken place—well—not until these people had broken into the house.

Why did they want to interfere with Zander and me so much? I imagined they thought we shouldn’t be together but then they didn’t understand. How could they ?

“You still haven’t told me what’s going on,” I sighed. I was perched on the edge of my bed, dressed in skinny jeans and a huge jumper but I still felt unsure and exposed.

“All that matters is that you’re safe now, sweetheart, it’s all over,” the woman sitting on the chair before me soothed enthusiastically. Shelly Stephens, she’d introduced herself as. She wasn’t the police, maybe a counsellor or something, and she was making notes, frantically scribbling away on her tiny pad. The woman must have had the smallest writing ever and from my position, I couldn’t read a thing.

Shelly looked like an office worker; her expression was as bland as her blouse. The way she sat contradicted her calming words. The woman looked as uncomfortable as fuck. Good. So, she should, she and her interfering colleagues.

Her words replayed in my head. Safe?

If I was safe, and it was over, why did I feel so lost and alone?

That noise of her pen’s constant scratching against the paper got on my nerves.

I wanted to scream and tell them all to leave, to stop tainting my bedroom with their judgemental bullshit.

At a loud crashing sound, my eyes darted to my dressing table where I stored all my precious gifts from Zander. A tall beanpole-like pig was in the process of putting all my jewellery into a clear plastic bag. What the fuck?

I’ll be getting all that back thank you very much.

Confusion clouded my head. It was like a thick fog up there. One that I was sure would never clear.

“Where is he?” I asked, my tone sharp and demanding.

Shelly, who had pulled over my dressing table chair earlier raised her head. She had been the one to call Zander a twisted bastard and I hated her for it. Her suggestion that I ‘assist the police as much as possible’ went right out of the window after that.

“Sorry?” she responded .

“Where is he?” I repeated, my voice louder that time.

She looked confused. “Who? Your father?” Silly cow.

A dart of annoyance powered through me. “No, Zander.”

A flash of unease crossed her face and she turned and motioned for a colleague to join us.

“Do you think you have some sort of loyalty towards Mr Harker?”

“I have much more than that,” I snapped, feeling offended by having my feelings questioned.

“You said you and Mr Harker were together?” Shelly stated, reading my earlier words back at me from her pad. “What did you mean by that?”

My brow scrunched, “It’s not really any of your business.”

Shelly’s face dropped but understanding swam into her expression. “Was he intimate with you?”

“Yes, Miss Stephens?” the voice belonging to the new person said.

“We’re going to need a SAEK when we get to the station,” she informed the younger woman briskly. I hadn’t a clue what that meant but her companion glanced at me with a look of puzzled concern.

They then started whispering, rude . I chewed on a fingernail, feeling self-conscious that they were speaking about me. I had nibbled on them so much that my thumb had started to bleed. Oh dear, Zander would not be pleased. He always had a go at me for biting my nails.

I heard Shelly say something about needing permission from my father and then she mentioned my age. The fact that she said only fifteen, pissed me off when I’d turned sixteen last week. I had been through more in my life than she and her silly little notepad would ever experience.

“Thanks, Cathy,” my note-taking tormentor said as the other girl, Cathy, scurried away. She reminded me of a mouse. I found both their names ridiculous .

I lowered my fingers as Shelly’s eyes drew back and she watched me across her beaklike nose. The silence was suddenly deafening.

“You said you’re together but Mr Harker’s personal items are next door. This suggests you didn’t share a room. Is that the case?”

Sucking in a breath I replied, “It’s complicated. You wouldn’t understand.”

Shelly exhaled and glanced briefly around the room before leaning closer, “Look. We may have gotten off on the wrong foot but you can speak to me, I’m on your side. Would you like to go into one of the other rooms for more privacy?”

How many fucking questions was that?

Shrugging I said, “So, I’m expected to sit here and answer your questions but you won’t return the favour.”

She tapped her pen against the back of her other hand. “I’ll answer your questions if I can.”

I snorted and rolled my eyes. “So, answer it then,” I huffed, feeling frustrated that this ‘compromise’ wasn’t a two-way street.

“I’m sorry, what question?”

“ Where is Zander?”

Shifting uncomfortably in her seat, her expression was now empathetic and she placed a hand on my leg. It was probably supposed to reassure me but it did the opposite, and I wanted to knock it away. I stiffened. No one touched me, Zander didn’t like it.

“He’s in custody.”

I didn’t like that reply. “What?”

“Do you know what that means?”

Raising my chin, I moved my leg away from her hand, feeling patronised. “Of course, you’re saying he’s been arrested. I’m not a fucking child. Why is he in custody? ”

Shelly’s hand flopped to one side and caught the notepad. It fell onto the floor between us with what she had scribbled facing up. I so wanted to know what she had written about me and I strained forwards as she leant down to snatch the book back.

The paper contained a semi-illegible amount of squiggle but I saw the words, suspected capture-bonding. WTF?

Her next comment drew my head back. “Because he broke the law. You know that.”

“You mean by running. But surely if that’s the case we both broke the law,” I pointed out with a sneer.

Shelly’s face became guarded and she shook her head, “You’re a minor. You have nothing to worry about or be ashamed of.”

Snorting, I bit back, “Who says I’m worried or ashamed?”

She paused, a cocktail of emotions plaguing her features. And then her following words ripped my world apart.

“Bottom line, Alexander Harker is no longer part of your life. His twisted games can’t hurt you anymore.”

She was wrong. The impact of that statement penetrated deep, almost like a physical pain.

Unsure of how to respond, I dragged in a breath. My lungs were suddenly tight.

The thought of never seeing him again hurt the most of all!

I sucked back the pained noise that almost fell from my lips. I needed to be strong and not show any weakness. That’s what Zander would have expected.

How wrong the woman was, how wrong they all were.

No one knew the truth but us.

Zander Harker was a man of many faces but I wouldn’t say he was twisted .

He was the one I wanted. Our relationship was unique and special and nobody got me like he did. Zander had opened my eyes and I was now seeing things clearly.

You see, true love does exist, it may come to you in an unorthodox manner but when it does, embrace it with both hands and never let it go.

Alexander aka Zander Harker was my first and only love.

And one day, he would come back for me.