Chapter Twenty-Seven
“Thanks for letting me stay with you,” Buffy said once again as she dumped the last of her things in Rachel’s spare room. “I really appreciate it.”
“It’s cool,” Rachel panted as she set down the box she was carrying and led the way back to the living room. “I’d been thinking of getting a flatmate anyway. That spare room was full of junk. I don’t know why I even brought it with me when I moved here.”
Buffy saw the sadness in Rachel’s eyes and guessed, “It was Charlie’s stuff?”
Rachel’s head lifted with a start, and then she sighed. “Yeah. Pretty pathetic huh?”
Shaking her head Buffy went to the fridge and poured them both a drink. “Not at all. It takes time to let go, that’s all.” She giggled suddenly. “Of course, with Zac following you around like a lost puppy it shouldn’t be too hard to take your mind off the past.”
“That’s true,” Rachel agreed with a happy smile. A new twinkle had taken to appearing in her eyes whenever Zac’s name came up, and Buffy was delighted that her two new favourite people were getting along so well.
The two women sat down on the couch, fully prepared to spend the remainder of the afternoon recovering from the move.
“Buffy? Can I ask you a question?” When Buffy motioned for her to continue, Rachel asked quietly. “Why did you need to move so suddenly?”
“Oh,” Buffy groaned softly, not even sure where to start. “I found out that my Dad was having an affair when I was in high school and that that’s what triggered my breakdown.”
Rachel’s eyes widened dramatically. “Holy shit.”
Buffy nodded. “Pretty much.”
“I can understand why you’d want to get away from him.”
“It’s not so much that,” Buffy admitted. “I just don’t know how to act around him now. I don’t know what to feel. One minute I want to understand why he did what he did but the next I’m so full of anger I’m ready to tear his head off.
“Lucky for him you’re not strong enough to actually do that now.”
Buffy laughed, suddenly faced with the bizarre image of actually ripping off her father’s head. “Yeah, that’s probably a good thing.”
They sat in silence for a moment, lost in their own thoughts, until Rachel spoke. “Wow,” she said bluntly. “And I thought my life sucked.”
Laughing, Buffy taunted back, “Hey little miss jailbird. We’re still even on the whole life-suckage thing here. Don’t go backing out on me now.”
“Touché, my dear,” Rachel conceded. “What did Will say about you moving in with me?”
Buffy cringed. “I haven’t told him yet.”
Rachel’s surprise was obvious. “Why not?”
They were interrupted by the ringing of Buffy’s cell phone. Looking at the screen she sighed and looked at Rachel. “It’s Will. Time to come clean.”
**********
William greeted her with a hug and a lingering kiss that made Buffy’s insides squirm with guilt.
“Thanks for letting me come over on such short notice,” she said brightly as she moved away.
“Of course.” Frowning, William followed her into the living room. “What’s wrong, pet? You seem nervous.”
“I do?” Buffy heard the fake laugh that left her own mouth and winced. “I do,” she agreed.
He looked at her expectantly and she decided it was best to just come out with it. “I moved in with Rachel today.”
Shock crossed his face, quickly followed by confusion. “Why?”
Pacing around the room, Buffy started to gesticulate wildly. “I just couldn’t stay at my parent’s house anymore. I convinced Mom to let Dad stay in the guest room instead of a hotel till they work everything out, but they are fighting constantly. I don’t know what’s going to happen with them. I don’t want them to break up but…Mom feels so betrayed. I can’t blame her for feeling that way.” She groaned in frustration. “I just don’t want to be caught in the middle of it all.”
William nodded in understanding. “Okay. That makes sense. But Buffy, if you needed a place to stay you could have stayed here with me.”
Pointing her finger at him, she exclaimed, “And that’s exactly why I didn’t tell you before I moved. So it would be too late when you said I could stay here.”
“I didn’t quite follow you around that bend, pet,” he said quietly, obviously uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation. “Is there some reason we shouldn’t be together?”
Not wanting him to get the wrong idea Buffy was quick to reassure him. “I love you Will; I do. And I want to be with you.”
“So then what’s the problem?”
“I want to do the independence thing,” she reasoned. “I’ve never been on my own before. I want to prove that I can take care of myself.”
“You already proved that. You took care of yourself and Dawn.”
“I know but…I still wasn’t alone. Dawn was there. Willow was there.” She frowned, wanting desperately for him to understand. “This is just something I need to do for myself. Here. In the real world.”
William cocked his head to the side, as if trying to figure something out. “Okay. I get that. What I don’t get is why you were so worried about telling me.”
Pouting, Buffy admitted, “Because I knew that you’d offer to let me stay with you and it would have been way too hard to say no.”
Smiling, William slid his arms around her waist. “I’m that irresistible, huh?”
“Absolutely,” she replied, giving in to his kiss. “Besides,” she continued when they parted, “when we move in together, I want it to be for the right reasons.”
Holding her close, William agreed, “Me too.”
“So you aren’t upset with me then?” she asked hesitantly.
“Well you did pass up on the opportunity for sex on tap,” he replied easily. “I may feel the need to be piqued for the sake of my hormones.”
Slapping him playfully on the shoulder, Buffy laughed. “Don’t you ever think about anything else?”
Looking thoughtful, William responded, “Of course. Sometimes I think about food.”
Gasping in mock outrage, Buffy attacked him, digging her fingers into his sides till he was convulsing in laughter. When he finally caught her hands and twisted them behind her back she was practically lying on top of him. Deciding to take advantage of this new position, he captured her lips in a light kiss. “How about some of that sex, then we’ll move on to the food later?”
Buffy’s muffled agreement was his only answer.