CHAPTER TWENTY THREE: Aftermath
Buffy looked up from her hands as the police cruiser came to a stop in her driveway. The officer didn’t say a word as he shut off the engine and got out of the car, coming around to her side to open the door for her.
She looked up at him appreciatively as he walked her up to her front door.
“I’m sorry you had to go through all this tonight, miss. Thank you for all your help. We’ll let you know how the investigation goes,” the officer said to her.
She looked back and forth between the key in her hand and her front door, feeling numb and unsure of what she should do next. “Thank you for the ride home, officer.”
He nodded curtly at her, sensing her eagerness to get into the safely of her own home. He didn’t blame her. “Goodnight Miss Summers.”
Buffy forced a small smile and stuffed the key into the key hole, pushing open the door and entering quickly, nodding at the officer before closing the door behind her.
She kept her hands on the door as she took a deep breath, feeling a wash of relief to finally be safe in her own home again. When she pushed away to go sit in the living room to wait for her mother she came face to face with a teary-eyed Willow.
Seeing her friends face brought out the reality of the situation and she couldn’t keep her lip from trembling. Willow leapt forward and wrapped her arms around her trembling friend, trapping her in a fierce hug.
“Are you okay?” Willow asked quietly in Buffy’s ear.
Buffy nodded and sniffled. “I should have listened to you, Wil. You were right…”
Willow shook her head and pulled back to look her in the eye. “No, none of us could have known what he was up to. The only person to blame here is Parker.”
Images of what happened earlier flashed through her mind and a few more tears stained her cheeks, but before she could say anything else Xander appeared in the foyer.
“Xander,” Buffy sort of chuckled through her tears as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. “What are you guys doing here? Did my mom call you?”
Willow shook her head and motioned toward Xander. “He sort of figured out what Parker was gonna do and we went to the party.”
Buffy swallowed and looked up at Xander as he pulled back to look at her.
Willow continued. “We showed up just as the police came to pick him up.”
Buffy was speechless. “How did you find out?”
Xander shrugged. “Asked around. This wasn’t the first time it happened.”
Buffy shook her head and wiped at her eyes. “How did you get all the way there and back so fast?”
Willow and Xander looked at each other then back at Buffy, and she immediately knew how. She nodded. “Spike…”
She said is name just as he stepped out of the living room into the foyer and Buffy froze. Their eyes locked and she could see the worry and concern written all over his features.
Buffy felt comforted to know that even with everything going on, and with all the harsh things she’d said to him of late, he still worried and cared for her. Everything that happened between tonight made what was going on between her and Spike look so… petty.
It felt like they had stared at each other for ages, unsure of what to say to each other or if they should say anything at all. Just as Buffy opened her mouth to say something, though, the front door opened and Joyce came bursting in.
“Oh Buffy, oh honey!” she exclaimed, dropping her purse and wrapping her daughter in a vice-like hug. “Are you alright? Why didn’t you wait for me at the station?”
Buffy watched over her mothers’ shoulder as Spike stuffed his hands in his duster pockets and look down at his feet.
“Mom, I just wanted to get out of there and come home.”
Joyce held her daughter out at an arm’s length and studied her, looking her up and down searching for marks or scratches.
“I’m fine. He didn’t get the chance to hurt me,” Buffy said holding her mother’s hand.
The room was quiet for a minute or so, no one was really sure what to say next. Mrs. Summers was the one to finally break the silence and get the show on the road. “Alright kids, I hate to kick you out but I really want Buffy to relax now,” she said looking her daughter in the eye. “Maybe go to bed?”
Buffy pulled her mother to the side. “Can Willow stay the night? Please?” Buffy’s eyes begged her mothers.
“Alright,” Joyce whispered back, unable to say no to her after her ordeal.
“Wil?” Buffy waved her over. “Will you stay here with me tonight?”
“Of course,” Willow nodded and smiled. “I’ll have Oz bring by a change of clothes,” she said and walked over to Xander.
Xander listened to Willows explanation then looked at Buffy, smiled, and let himself out the front door.
“Mrs. Summers,” Willow said. “Could I use your phone to make a couple of phone calls?”
“Of course,” Joyce smiled then waved Willow into the kitchen. “It’s right in here, follow me.”
When Willow followed Mrs. Summers into the kitchen it she left Buffy and Spike in the foyer together. It was an awkward silence where neither of them really knew what to say. There were so many things Spike wanted to say to her, to tell her about the photos and tell her he never slept with Dru.
Now, however, was not the time. She’d had a bloody awful night and though he was happy she wouldn’t be going on any more dates for a while, this wasn’t the way he’d wanted it to happen.
Buffy knew that look in his eyes. There was something he needed to say. She didn’t think she had it in her tonight, though. Not will all the stuff that was swimming in her head already. So she decided to speak before he did.
“Spike,” she said meekly.
His attention immediately fell on how small and tired she sounded. His heart instantly broke for her.
“I know you want to talk, and I’m sorry I’ve been such a bitch to you lately…”
Spike shook his head and smiled softly at her, a gesture that made her feel a little better.
“We can talk tomorrow?” she asked and felt relieved when he nodded. “I promise.”
Spike swallowed hard and looked to make sure no one was coming before he stepped forward and pressed his forehead against hers.
Buffy closed her eyes and inhaled, surprised yet oddly comforted by his sudden close proximity. To have him so close, to smell his cologne and a hint of cigarette smoke, and to have his skin touching her skin again… it was overwhelming.
She let out a small, barely audible gasp and it moved him. “We’ll talk whenever you’re ready, kitten. I’m just glad you’re alright.”
Before Buffy could open her eyes or say anything he was gone, out the door to meet Xander, closing the front door behind him.
She opened her eyes and inhaled a deep breath, looking over just as her mother and Willow came back into the room.
x X x X x X x
Buffy had taken a long, hot shower and brushed her teeth until her tongue hurt, making sure she cleaned the sleaze right off of her. She made sure to put on her favorite pajamas, the yummy sushi ones that made her feel safe and cozy.
Everyone was treating her as if she had been raped. She hadn’t. It was just a very close call. One that may have actually occurred, had she not been paying close attention. She felt like she should be a little more scared or shaken up, but she wasn’t. She was just pissed and disappointed. Disappointed in herself for jumping in too fast.
She had made a fool of herself.
Walking out of the bathroom she placed a reassuring smile on her face and greeted her mother and Willow where they sat talking quietly in Buffy’s bedroom.
Willow was on one side of Buffy’s bed, also in her pajama’s with her feet under the covers. Joyce was sitting in the chair in the corner, a tray of snacks in her lap.
“Feeling a little better, honey?” Joyce asked as Buffy layed down next to willow, also covering her feet with the bed spread.
“Much better. I scrubbed the sleaze off of me.
Joyce smiled, happy and relieved to see her daughter smiling and acting normal. The last thing she wanted was for this to scar her somehow, or make her untrusting of people.
Buffy sighed and leaned back against her pillows. “Did I hear the phone ring while I was in the shower? Who was it?”
Joyce shifted slightly in her seat and cleared her throat. “It was Brett Abrams, Parkers father.”
Buffy’s eyes grew wide and her face got hot. Willow noticed her friends reaction to the name and nudged her with her elbow. “What’s up?”
Buffy shook her head and looked down at her hands, picking at her fingers. “Parker told me earlier tonight that his father was dead.”
At her daughters confession Joyce sat up straighter and put her chin up.
“Just another one of the lies I fell for tonight…”
“He threatened to sue us if we didn’t drop the charges against Parker,” Joyce said calmly.
Buffy’s head snapped up. “What?”
“Don’t worry. I called the police station and told them about the phone call and they reassured me that the Abrams’ can’t do anything to us. And they have it on record that he threatened us. We’re not dropping the charges,” Joyce said, smiling.
Buffy shook her head and rubbed her eyes. “What did I get us into?”
“This isn’t your fault, honey. In fact, I’m almost happy that he picked you, someone who was smart enough to catch him so he can’t do it again.”
Willow looked at her friend. “How did you figure it out, Buffy? I mean, you were drinking, right?”
Buffy took a deep breath and looked out of the corner of her eye at her mother who, thankfully, didn’t look angry. Just curious. So, she prepared herself to go through it and speak it all out loud again, this time to the ones she loved and cared for rather than law enforcement.
“As soon as we pulled up to the party he started acting a little over confident toward me, and it kinda rubbed me the wrong way. The party felt fine for a while. We talked and danced a couple of times and he introduced me to a few of his college buddies who made comments under their breath that made me wonder what his true intentions were.
He said we were going as ‘just friends’ but he kept making insinuations and them brushing them off as jokes.
At one point he brought me a drink called a cosmo-“
“Mmm,” Joyce said. “Those are delicious.”
Buffy and Willow both stared, open mouthed, at Joyce after her interruption, a little surprised by her comment. When Joyce noticed their stares she blushed. “Sorry. Continue…”
Buffy cleared her throat and smirked at her mom. “I was excited too because it tasted so much better than what I had before, but the other drink had gone straight through me so I went to use the bathroom, and for some reason I took the new drink with me.
I don’t know, maybe it was my subconscious that told me to bring it with me. I had left it alone long enough while dancing.”
Buffy took a deep breath and looked over at Willow who was lying on her side, her head propped up on one hand while the other rested on her side.
“While I was in the bathroom, the other drink caught up to me, making my eyes a little watery and my head hurt a little, so I sat there on the toilet with my head in my hands for a few minutes.
It was quiet in there, and I started to listen closely and I could hear a sizzling noise, like soda pop fizzling when you first pour it in a glass…
Parker had filled my drink with real cranberries he said. Well, when I looked closer, I realized one of my cranberries was fizzing at the bottom of my cup.”
Buffy took another deep breath as her mom sat beside her on the bed and put a supportive arm around her shoulder.
“When I realized what it was, I felt sick, and I threw up until there was nothing left in me, and I didn’t mind because I wasn’t sure how much of the stuff it would take to knock me out and I had already taken a couple of sips.
Once I had calmed myself down enough I dumped the drink down the sink and cleaned myself up as much as I could. I gargled some water and walked out of the bathroom, heading straight for the makeshift bar area. I asked for a half sprite, half cranberry juice and I made sure I asked for cranberries in it so it would look like the one I went into the bathroom with”
Willow smirked and shifted a little, getting excited. “So Parker wouldn’t know you were on to him…”
“I didn’t want to just sit around and wait to see what happened so I pretended to be out of it to see what would happen… and I was right.”
Wanting to spare her mother the details of being almost raped Buffy skipped to the end.
“I waited for a good moment to jump up and get the upper hand. He was shocked.
I ran outta there, called a cab and went to the police.”
It was quiet for a few moments as everyone took in what Buffy had told them and processed it.
Willow was impressed with Buffy and her ability to think in the scariest of situations. When willow first met Buffy she was vain and materialistic, only seeming to care about herself.
Buffy had come a long way in a short time, and Willow felt like a big part of that was Spike’s doing. It wasn’t until him that Buffy changed, and started acting like a normal person, and even more importantly, a friend.
Joyce hugged her daughter and kissed her head. “I’m very proud of the way you handled everything tonight, Buffy, but I’m your mother and you know I have to say it. Don’t put yourself in those situations and you won’t need to worry.”
Buffy nodded. “I know, mom.”
“You shouldn’t be going out with boys you’ve just met and you shouldn’t be going to college parties where they’re serving alcohol. You’re too young.”
“I know, mom,” Buffy said looking up at her mom with tears in her eyes. She couldn’t help but feel like she’d let her down. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“Oh honey,” Joyce said wrapping her arms around her again. “Don’t be, it’s okay. It’s okay.”
x X x X x X x
Buffy and Willow each lay on their sides, facing each other in the dark, unable to find sleep just yet. Buffy’s mom had gone to bed some time ago, leaving the house dark and quiet.
“Buffy,” Willow said quietly, breaking the silence.
“Hm?” Buffy mumbled as she tore her eyes from the moonlit window to her friends eyes.
Willow cupped a hand under her face. “How do you know when you’re in love?”
Buffy furrowed a brow and thought for a second, staring out the window and smiling to herself as she thought about Willow possibly being in love with Oz. Perhaps she wasn’t sure of her feelings or what they meant because she hadn’t ever really been with anyone before.
Buffy knew how she’d felt when she was in love, and the thoughts and images alone put the slightest of smiles on her face.
“When you’re in love, Wil, you smile at the thought of the person you’re with, and your stomach does flips, no matter how often you see them.”
Willow smiled as she saw Buffy start to zone out as she spoke.
“All you can think about is when you’re going to see him again and the sound of his voice makes you smile even when you’re mad. His smiles make your knees weak and you wish he would look at you like that forever.
Nothing can touch you when you’re together, and you feel like the happiest person in the world. But, even though you’re so happy, you’re so afraid of losing him, and you can’t help but let that thought scare you.
You can’t breathe, and the only thing that makes you feel better is his arms around you…”
Willow watched as Buffy’s words tailed off and saw that her eyes had completely glossed over. She felt bad making her feel the way she did, but she had a teensy suspicion that this would work, and so after a few moments of silence she swallowed and spoke.
“Is that how you felt when you were with Riley?”
Buffy’s eyes darted from the moonlit window to her friend who was staring back at her, waiting for an answer. She was surprised, she really hadn’t expected Riley’s name to come up just then. Maybe Willow had assumed Buffy had felt all those things when she was with Riley. For the most part, however, she hadn’t.
There was only one person so far who had made her feel like that.
“No,” Buffy whispered. “I didn’t feel that way with Riley.”
Willow was relieved, and watched as Buffy’s eyes focused on the window once again. There was hope for them yet.
Not feeling the need to say anything else, seeing that the wheels in Buffy’s mind were turning, Willow turned over and got comfortable. “Goodnight, Buffy.”
Buffy swallowed and sucked in an unsteady breath, staring out the window, mind racing. After the day she’d had, and as exhausted as she was, she doubted she would sleep well at all tonight.
x X x X x X x
Spike sat on his windowsill, guarded by the shadows, the only proof of his presence being the red tip of his smoldering cigarette.
He didn’t know how, but he felt that despite how late it was, and how tired she must have been, that his Buffy was still laying in her bed, wide awake. He didn’t know when it started, or how it worked, but he could feel her, now more than ever.
It sounded ridiculous, he knew, for a teenaged guy to be able to feel the one he loves, but he didn’t care how crazy it sounded. He just knew he did, and all he cared about was getting her back, and making sure she was alright.
No matter how long it took.
TBC
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Sorry it took me so long to update again. Once again I'm coming to a stand still on this story. I don't have a single word written for the next chapter and I don't want to force it or it wont be what I want it to be. That doesn't mean, however, that I wont try and find the inspiration. Let me know what you think of this one, it may help me write the next. =)