Chapter 10
It was late Monday morning, and having made several trips they had finally moved out of the holiday flat, and now everything they owned (apart from their furniture, that was still in storage) was in suitcases in the big back bedroom.
Not wanting to waste any time, Buffy donned old clothes, put a scarf over her hair and set to with roller and emulsion paint………
“There! What do you think, and I didn’t even get any paint on the beams………Spike, I said -oh” Buffy stepped back from the wall, roller still in hand from painting the wall between the beams white. She didn’t turn round at first, but she could have sworn that somebody was behind her, thinking it was Spike.
“Spike…Spike?”
On receiving no answer Buffy walked to the doorway, but there was nobody around.
Frowning she was just going to call Spike again, thinking he was in one of the other bedrooms, when the drilling downstairs started. She went over to the window and looked out and saw Spike in the garden, sawing some wood to make a frame to fix either side of the fire grate so they could put up a fireguard. Giles, Izzie and Billy were in the garden too; Izzie playing with her dollies and Billy was drawing a picture. Giles was sitting in a deckchair keeping an eye on the children.
Buffy shrugged and went to go back to her painting, when something invisible ‘whooshed’ passed her, like a blast of cold air, making her gasp.
Noticing the top window flapping slightly in the breeze, Buffy relaxed – it was only a draft!
She finished painting the walls with the first coat and decided as it was getting well past lunchtime, and time to go down stairs.
Andy was up a stepladder in the kitchen, fixing the light
“All the sockets work now Buffy, so you can boil the kettle if you want, and the new oven is also all systems go”
Buffy smiled and said,
“Thanks Andy, and was that a hint about the kettle – want some tea?”
Grinning down at her he said he ‘wouldn’t say no!’
She made tea and uncovered the sandwiches and cakes she’d bought earlier. Going into the garden, Izzie was sitting on Giles’ lap talking away and Spike was busy measuring and marking the wood with a pencil. Billy was engrossed, with his drawing pad on his knees…
“Lunch, come and get it!”
Everyone trooped in, and Buffy said,
“Billy, Izzie go wash your hands please”
Obediently the two children went and did as they were told, Billy leaving his sketchbook on one of the folding picnic chairs in the lounge. Buffy did a double take at the beautiful drawing that Billy had done, of a rather sad, thin faced little girl. She picked it up…
“Look at this!”
Spike looked and frowned
“Who’s that – did Billy draw that?”
“Well he must have – there’s been no-one else out there with him except you three!”
Izzie came back into the lounge, wiping her still slightly wet hands on her dress!
“Who’s that in the drawing, Billy?”
“Her? I don’t know…I just sort of thought about her in my head”
“Did you – she looks kind of sad”
“Oh, she is. She’s frightened too” Buffy crouched down by her son and said gently,
“What is she frightened of, baby, hmm?” Gently stroking his curls
Billy shrugged
“Don’t know…maybe she’ll tell me soon”
Buffy looked slightly worriedly over to Spike; he just subtly shook his head
“Hungry sweetheart – what do you want, there’s honey-roast ham and tomato, or chicken and stuffing sandwiches”
“I don’t mind…can I have some juice?”
“Sure”
Lunch passed and Buffy and Spike were able to get on with their tasks not having to worry about the children as Giles took them down to the village to play on the swings and for ice cream.
“Wanna go exploring!” Spike said and Buffy giggled and nodded. Andy had moved on into the lounge part of the cottage and moving the chairs away that they’d put around the hole for safety, Spike jumped down, quickly followed by Buffy. He switched on his torch, although the airbrick now uncovered let in sharp shafts of sunlight.
“How far back does it go………come on” Buffy walked to the farthest end
“There’s a door here!”
“Is there?”
“Un huh…it’s tiny, only about three foot high – oh look! The key is still in it…ggoooooooddddddddddddddssssssssss! It’s rusted in alright!” Buffy panted, even with her enhanced slayer-strength she wasn’t able to turn the key.
“Can you take the key out?”
“Hold on” Buffy heaved and pulled, and felt the key yielding and bracing her foot against the door, she tugged and pulled and at last it came out.
“Right, you stay here, hold this, (he gave her the torch) I’ll just go get the spray can of oil I bought, that might help to lubricate the rust…”
Spike heaved himself out of the hole and did as he said.
“’Kay, try it now!”
Having squirted a liberal amount of oil into the keyhole, Buffy fitted (eventually, that is, with lots of jiggling) the key back into the lock. She tried turning the key and there was a horrible grating sound.
“Hello, we’re back, anybody home?”
“Oh, leave this a while longer…give me the oil…………there, that should do it, we can look tomorrow. I want this hole covered while the children are here”
Buffy and Spike went back upstairs and carefully put the chairs back around the hole so the children wouldn’t be at risk of falling down it.
“There you are!” Giles said with a smile
“Mommy, there was ducks, and they cross-ted the road and uncles Giles had to stop the car so not to run over them, it was a mommy duck and her babies!” Izzie informed them
“Ah, really - that was nice!”
“I wanted one, but uncle Giles said no coz if I had-ded one it would cry and miss his brothers and sisters”
“Well, that’s right, he’d miss his mommy too I expect!” Buffy said, wiping her daughter’s sticky face.
“Oh, there’s a farmer’s market tomorrow, just the other side of Barnstaple in Chorlton, I thought I could take the children, stroll around, get the ingredients for a nice casserole and Christen your new oven – what do you say?” Giles suggested
“Sounds great to me – want to do that Billy?”
“Oh yes please!”
“Right then Giles, you’re on!”
*************
Buffy tucked Izzie and Billy up in their sleeping bags, they lay on an inflatable mattress until the decorating was finished and then they could have their new beds.
Spike stretched and yawned
“Think I’m going to turn in myself, I’m pooped!”
“Do you want to start blowing up this mattress now?”
“Oh, you don’t fancy the four poster then?” Spike asked surprised
“Not really, the gods alone know how old it is, probably damp…and that cat is always on it, it might have fleas!”
“That’s true…okay, give me the pump” Spike fitted the pump into the mattress socket and it began to inflate.
Downstairs Buffy tidied up, threw away wrappers and cans, and rinsed mugs for tea in the morning. Yawning she switched off the light and was just about to go upstairs when she thought she heard crying.
Running up the stairs she opened the door to where the children were, but found them both fast asleep.
She went into her room to find Spike already fast asleep and she smiled, got undressed and got into bed.
She switched the torch off, as Andy hadn’t begun to do the electrics upstairs yet, and slipped in beside Spike. She lay there for a while, getting used to the sounds of the night, she could hear an owl hoot………and every now and again she heard a sharp shrill cry, she thought it was a fox or something – probably what she’d heard earlier…she turned over and went to sleep.
Buffy woke and turned over, and as she did so, still half asleep, she saw Izzie in the doorway.
“What is it baby, hmm? – Do you want a wee?”
Getting no reply Buffy sat to get up off the mattress, but Izzie wasn’t there.
“Hold on baby, mommy’s coming” Buffy walked to the bathroom, but Izzie wasn’t there either. Frowning and yawning Buffy went to the children’s room to find them both fast asleep, the zip still done up on Izzie’s sleeping bag.
Rubbing her eyes Buffy went back to bed, thinking it could have been moonlight between the trees or something playing tricks through the curtains.
She turned over and went back to sleep. Twenty minutes later she woke to hear Billy shouting.
“No, no, you mustn’t! Stop that!”
“Billy – BILLY – what’s wrong baby?” Buffy called out
She scrambled up off the mattress and dashed into the children’s room.
Billy was fitful his head whipping from side to side, he was struggling and whimpering…
“No…you mustn’t – stop! No!”
“Shush, baby…it’s okay…its okay baby, mommy’s got you”
“Mustn’t…no…don’t hurt…” Billy moaned
“Hey…come on sweetie, it’s okay, it’s just a dream” Buffy cuddled him up and softly kissed his forehead.
While she gently rocked him until he quietened, she was horrified to see his sketchbook. He’d done several more drawings of this ‘mystery’ girl, except this time they had intricately drawn daggers over them, dripping blood and the girls neck had been slashed, red crayon scribbled over and over very hard to show cuts on wrists too.
“What is it – he okay?” Spike asked from the doorway
“Seems…look at that – it’s awful…don’t let Izzie see that, she’ll have nightmares” Buffy whispered, nodding towards the grisly drawings
Spike came over and picked up the sketchbook off the floor. He took it over to the window, and could just make out the red scribbling over the drawings. He frowned and folded the book shut.
“You go back to bed, when I’m sure he’s settled, I be in” Buffy whispered
Spike nodded and padded back to bed, taking the sketchbook with him.
He opened his eyes when he felt Buffy lift the cover
“Is he okay now?”
“I think so…what on earth possessed him to do that to his lovely drawings?”
“I don’t know” Buffy was sitting up, hugging her knees. Spike sat up and put his arm around her.
“You don’t think…”
“What pet?”
“You don’t think, well, he’s harbouring some resentment or jealousy towards Izzie do you?”
“What – No, don’t be silly! He loves Izzie, besides, that girl he’s drawn looks nothing like her. Now come on pet, lie down, lets go back to sleep hmm?”
Buffy allowed Spike to pull her down gently, and they soon were back to sleep.
Buffy woke with the sun streaming through the curtains. She looked at the clock, it said ten to seven.
She sat up and stretched and the first thing she saw was the sketchbook on the floor. Frowning, she picked it up to look at the drawings in the cold light of day…
There was nothing wrong with them. There were four pencil drawings, but that was it. No red crayon, no slash or cuts marked on the girl. Quickly Buffy flipped to the back of the book thinking she’d opened it the wrong end, but no, just sheet after sheet of blank white paper…
“Spike…SPIKE!”
“Hmm…what…what’s the time?”
“Nearly seven, never mind about that, look”
Spike, who had been lying on his front took his weight on his forearms
“What babe, what am I looking at?” He was bleary-eyed and yawning
“This, look, remember in the early hours, the slash marks and the drawings scribbled over with red crayon?”
Spike frowned
“Oh yeah…are you going to say anything to him – or talk to Giles first?”
“About what, LOOK!”
Spike sat up properly and did as Buffy had done, and flipped all through the book, to reveal nothing more than pencil drawings
“Well where did the bloody ones go?”
“That’s my point! It was THOSE drawings! That one, the first one had a slash on the neck, blood spurting everywhere, and that one where she’s lying down had cut wrists with dripping blood – and there were daggers too, I was frightened in case Izzie saw them, remember?”
“Yeah…yeah I remember!”
“Something weird is going on here Spike”
“Are you going to say anything to him?”
“I don’t know, what do you think?”
“I think, say nothing unless he says something first”
“Yeah?”
“We don’t want to worry him un-necessarily now do we?” Spike reasoned
“No…no I suppose not”
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