The emptiness gnawing at her stomach was no match for the emptiness clawing at her soul. Her green eyes had faded, no longer sparkling and she knew that technically she should eat, that he wouldn’t want her to waste away, but she didn’t give a shit about technicalities.
The first few weeks had flown by in a haze of black clothing and apologies, eulogies and casseroles. What the fuck did she need 16 casseroles for? Did people really believe that eating was on the top of her list of priorities?
She had barely blinked when the will had been read, how could he have kept something so important from her? A tumor. A small mass pressing on his brain and he hadn’t thought she should know. A tumor and a large sum of money, she was twenty four and loaded, his family didn’t even fight her for it. They simply walked out of her life when she needed them most. Her father was somewhere in Spain, her mother was in the Restfield Cemetary and her fiancées body was in Ireland with the rest of his deceased relatives.
All she had was money, money she didn’t want to touch but had to. There was no way she was going to stay in L.A in the condo she and Angel had made a home. Her friends were in Sunnydale, and that’s where she would go.
She had just finished packing the last of her things, the only reminders she would take of Liam were the ring, the pictures and the hand carved chest he had made her as a graduation present, in which she would keep the other two things. Anything else was too much for her to be around. His clothes had his smell, the sheets reminded her of the times they’d spent in bed, even the furniture was too much…too him for her to look at everyday and so it all went into different piles for different charities and his clothes would go to those in need.
She played with the engagement ring dangling from the chain on her neck and brought it to her lips.
She walked to the front of the house, closing the lights as she did so. “Goodbye Liam.” She said softly and closed the door behind her, closing her eyes as the light breeze blew by her.
“I love you too” she whispered to it before getting in the waiting taxi.
It had been one hundred and forty seven days, not counting today, that she’d lost him and she had yet to paint or decorate her house. However, as depressed as she was, living off of Chinese food and an air mattress wasn’t doing her any good so she had decided today was as good a day as any to try and get her life back on track.
And that’s why she was currently staring at black antique bedroom set in the small shop she had found not too far from where Willow worked at the Magic Box.
“S’beautiful, isn’t it, like it has a story to tell.” Came the smooth British voice from behind her.
She turned dull eyes on him, “its wood, story over.”
He chuckled and she didn’t know why but it wasn’t what she’d expected.
“That’s like saying a gorgeous woman”, he paused to run his eyes over her appreciatively though her hair was a tangle of knots she wore pulled back into a sloppy ponytail, her outfit consisted of a white tank and ripped beyond repair faded jeans and she wore no makeup, “is nothing more than that. Everything has a story.”
She sighed and looked at the set again, the hard almost gothic lines of the armoire appealing to the darker side of herself she’d never knew she had until Angel had left her.
“I’ll take it, all of it” she told him, expecting him to at least raise an eyebrow but instead he smiled.
“Good choice. We don’t usually deliver but I’m moving this weekend, if you’d like when I’m done unloading my things I could drop yours off, save you some money.”
At then the most unexpected thing happened, she found herself smiling, really smiling for the first time in months, “I’m about to give you roughly fifteen thousand dollars for two dressers, night tables, an armoire and a bed frame, and you don’t want me to have to worry about paying out a hundred dollars for movers?”
“I’m a gentleman, what can I say?” he teased back; almost sure he’d seen a sparkle in her eye if even just for a second.
“Well you could tell me to save thirteen thousand dollars by going to Ikea.”
He jokingly clutched at his heart, “I could, but do you think C.S Lewis drew his inspiration for Narnia from a build it yourself wardrobe he bought from the Swedes?”
She laughed and shook her head, stretching out her hand, “Buffy Summers.”
He took it and shook it back, “Spike Calendar, it’s a pleasure Buffy Summers. New to town?”
“New to town in the sense that I’m only starting to get out of the house, I’ve been here for about four months.”
If he was curious as to why he was smart enough not to ask, “Know anyone from around here?”
“I know Willow and Anya, the girls who own the Magic Box just down the street.”
“Red’s a sweetie, Anya’s just about the strangest girl I’ve ever met but she’s refreshing.”
“That she is, hey, is there another level to this place or something?” she asked, spotting a door to a basement and a door she assumed belonged to the upper level.
“There’s two more levels, just added the upper one. I used to sleep up there but with the shop doing well I was able to buy a house a few weeks ago.”
“That’s wonderful, in the area?”
“1628 Revello Drive.”
“You’re joking, I live at 1630” she laughed out.
“Well at least I know I won’t hate my neighbors” he chuckled, “Wanna’ see the rest of the place?”
There was something about him that made her feel at ease, maybe it was because it didn’t feel like he was hitting on her or maybe it was a new face to talk to after shutting herself away for so long, but she didn’t feel the anxiety that usually came from being around the opposite sex in this case.
“I’d love to, I actually have zero furniture so…”
He raised his eyebrow and smiled, but didn’t say anything except “interesting”
They went to the upstairs first and Buffy gasped at all the beautiful things she saw there and knew that she had come to the right place, the furniture’s style called to her. Not the her that was before Angel, or the grief-stricken her that was after him, but to the her that she knew she had become throughout it all.
She turned to him, “That vanity is so mine” she gushed and he laughed at her enthusiasm. Watching her eyes light up when her sights landed on the living room pieces he’d acquired not thirty six hours ago, they were modern and not antiques but he knew beautiful furniture when he saw it, plus with the money he’d been saving up he was hoping to open a second furniture store to hold the more contemporary pieces, until then the things he acquired would have to stay here.
1 hour later:
She essentially bought him out and he didn’t know what to say, she was willing to drop over 120 thousand into his small business provided he delivered for free, she’d added that part with a small smile, hoping to make him laugh again but he was too much in shock.
And so instead the ever savvy business man blurted out “Don’t you think you’re overdoing it?”
He winced as he said it but instead of the anger he’d expected he was met with a sad smile, “No.”
It was all she would say on the subject, blatantly ignoring him when she wrote the check dated for today, calling the bank while she did so to notify them of the large sum about to be spent.
When she hung up the phone she looked at him and laughed, “What?”
“You don’t dress like you’re loaded.”
He could have smacked himself upside the head for such a stupid comment but to his surprise she took it with a grain of salt.
“I wasn’t aware I had to.”
“I’m sorry, I think you fried my brain kitten. I’ve never sold this much furniture in three months, let alone in less than a day.”
She seemed to roll his answer around before nodding her head in acceptance and adding, “If we can do this discreetly I’d be really grateful. The last thing I need is rumors going around about the hermit Summers and how she came into money.”
“I’ll do my best, scouts honor, but delivering that much furniture isn’t going to be so easy to hide.”
“I know, small towns have big mouths” she giggled. “Do you know where I can hire painters, plumbers…all that stuff?”
“You’ll want to hit up Oz’s for that stuff, if you’d like I can call him for you, get you a deal.”
“I would very much like that, as hard as it may be to believe, my wealth is not regenerative.”
“And what about your appetite?” he asked, heading to the front door and flipping the sign from open to closed.
“I’m starving” she admitted.
“Well, seeing as how you just made my sales quota for the whole quarter, let me buy you a friendly lunch?”
She would have turned him down right then had he not inserted the word friendly, as it was he had and she really was hungry. 'Baby steps Buffy' she told herself, fighting the urge not to just run out and back to the not so comfortable comfort of her empty house. A house she had deliberately kept in that state because it reflected how she felt, still felt really. But there was only so long she could lock herself away from the world that Angel had shown her the beauty of.
"I guess lunch is okay" she heard herself agree, then as an afterthought, "you were a scout?"
"Nope" he laughed out.
"When i was young, i fell in love
I asked my sweetheart "What lies ahead?
Will we have rainbows day after day?"
Here's what my sweetheart said
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Author's Chapter Notes:
The links at the bottom are to give you what her place will look like once finished, all you have to do is copy paste the link minus this - and the name of the room to see what i see, and where the spuffy loving will eventually take place ;)
Special thanks to PhotographyNut, Cordykitten and Schnulli for the support.
Special thanks to PhotographyNut, Cordykitten and Schnulli for the support.
Chapter End Notes:
http://sleekmoderndesign.com/black.jpg - living room
http://common.csnstores.com/Powell-Furniture-Antique-Black-Vanity-Set~img~PW~PW3070_m.jpg - vanity
http://www.pointclickhome.com/files/web/imagecache/pch_gallery_detail/files/web/images/Bedroom/05_Apteker_bedroom.jpg - guest room
http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr106/iloveinteriordesign/black_10.jpg - upstairs bathroom
http://www.totalbedroom.com/images/products/boulevard-bend-bedroom-set.jpg - bedroom
http://www.circlefurniture.com/catalog/fullviews/1415.jpg - armoire
http://www.kitchensbywieland.com/images/modern_kitchen.jpg - kitchen
http://common.csnstores.com/Powell-Furniture-Antique-Black-Vanity-Set~img~PW~PW3070_m.jpg - vanity
http://www.pointclickhome.com/files/web/imagecache/pch_gallery_detail/files/web/images/Bedroom/05_Apteker_bedroom.jpg - guest room
http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr106/iloveinteriordesign/black_10.jpg - upstairs bathroom
http://www.totalbedroom.com/images/products/boulevard-bend-bedroom-set.jpg - bedroom
http://www.circlefurniture.com/catalog/fullviews/1415.jpg - armoire
http://www.kitchensbywieland.com/images/modern_kitchen.jpg - kitchen