Chapter 6
Katie sat on her bed, listening to her parents argue outside the door. She took the pillow and put it in her lap. Her nails dug into it in anger. She hated her dad right then. Spike was her best friend and he took him away from her.
Pounding hit the locked door, making her jump. “Kate, you open this door right now!” George’s voice yelled.
She ignored him. She placed her hands over her ears, trying to drown out the sounds around her. It didn’t do much good.
“Why should she, George? I don’t see any reason for her to want to come out and see her asshole of a father,” Rebecca retorted.
Katie had had enough. She jumped to her feet and rushed to the window. She opened it, crawling outside. There was no way she was going to stay here for this.
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Spike laid the empty popcorn bowl down on the coffee table. They had just got done watching the episode of Passions where Timmy tried to defeat Zombie Charity. “That was great, Red,” he commented. He turned to look at the elderly woman sitting next to him. She was smiling. Her hair was gray now, but she was still his ‘Red’. They always had soft spots for each other, but after Buffy died a real friendship developed. Both of them understood what the other was going through.
The TV and VCR were turned off by Willow with the two remotes. “It was fun. Gave me a laugh.”
“Are you calling my show silly?” he asked, jokingly.
“Yes,” she teased.
He smirked. “Guess you could call it that. But Dawson’s Creek, that had real intensity.”
“They might have that on too. I could always check the listings. Next week maybe we can have a marathon?”
“Sounds good.”
“So, how’s the slayer training business going? Carol improving?” Willow inquired.
Spike closed his eyes, the pain returning. “You don’t know. I forgot to tell you with everything that has been going on. . .”
Concern took over Willow. She knew something dreadful had occurred. “What happened, Spike?”
He opened his eyes, shifting them to her. They were filled with sorrow and guilt. “She’s dead. Another slayer took her place. I don’t know how much I can take, Willow. This one is different. I find myself drawn to her. If she gets taken away like . . .”
Willow touched his arm, gently. “You can’t keep people at bay because you are afraid to have them get taken away. Tara went away, but I don’t regret being with her when she was here. You need to savor the time you have.”
“You don’t understand.” He sighed. “It is too much. Too many. I think maybe it would be best to be alone. No risk of loss that way. When you go, Red, I’m going to keep to myself. I’ll train the slayers, but that’s all. I can’t handle anymore human relationships.”
“Spike, do you love this girl?” Willow studied him, knowing the answer already.
“I can’t,” he whispered. He fought tears that wanted to fall. “She reminds me so much of . . . But I don’t know if I love Angela or am trying to hold onto what I . . . nope never had er, did I? A fantasy, I reckon. Holden onto a dream.” He sniffed deeply. “And if I really do care about ’her’, what good would it do? As I was saying, she’d just get taken away.”
Willow was quiet, knowing how he felt. And the hard part was . . . he was right.
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Carrying the groceries and walking, Angela realized her need for obtaining a car. It would be so much easier to drive to the store and back. Only problem was, she was jobless, which meant no money.
She’d been applying for jobs all evening before going to get groceries. None of them seemed very hopeful. The only one she could be sure to get was at the fast-food restaurant.
She passed a vacant store. For some reason she stopped to look in the darkened window. A For Sale sign hung behind the glass. The power of the vision that hit made her stumble backwards, almost losing her balance.
She glanced up from the table as a guy and girl came into the store.
“So, what’s up, Buffster?” the guy asked.
“Yeah, Buffy, why did you call us?” the girl questioned.
She smiled at them. “Nothing big. A demon got away last night and I want to know what it was.”
“Sure. Hand me a book, tell me what he looks like, and we’ll get started,” the redheaded girl said.
They all started to scan through thick dusty volumes.
“Have I ever told you how much I appreciate you guys?” she told them.
“We love to help, right Xander?” the girl answered.
Xander glanced up. “That’s right. Hangin with the slayer, never a dull moment.”
“That’s the thing, though. You could both have normal lives, no sacred destiny and all. I just want to say ‘Thank you. You help out so much. I love you guys‘,” she expressed.
“Awww. I love you too,” the girl replied.
“I feel a hug coming on,” Xander spoke up.
The three friends got up to embrace each other.
The world came crashing back. Angela was breathing hard and her heart thumped loudly in her chest. She had dropped the paper bag of food sometime during the experience. She knelt, gathering up the items.
She was going crazy. These hallucinations were coming more frequently, more intense. They no longer came during slumber, but now in her wakefulness as well. She noticed that she was shaking. Taking a couple deep breaths, she tried to compose herself. What if she had to resort to a therapist? God, she hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
A scream pierced through the night. Angela left her groceries, going to find out who was in trouble. She was led to a darkened alley. There, she found a teenage girl being attacked by a vampire. She acted fast, grabbing the hidden stake in her sleeve.
“Hey, over here fang breath!” she yelled.
The vampire turned. His golden eyes glowed at her with anger as he advanced in her direction. “I’d advise you to leave,” he said.
“Hmmm . . . Nope, I don’t think so.” Angela kicked him in the stomach. He hit the wall of a building. “You’re the one that should have left.” She thrust the wood into his heart. His solid state crumbled to dust.
Angela turned to the girl. “You okay?”
The girl stared at where the vamp had stood. “Uh . . . yeah, I th-think so,” she stammered.
“Better come home with me to make sure. You can call your parents too. What are you doing out so late?”
Angela took the girl to her apartment. They went in and Angela shed her jacket.
“The cell phone should be around.” She searched for it, finding Spike had left it on the coffee table. She handed it to the girl.
Just then Spike came in from the bathroom. He was damp from the shower, his hair curling slightly into his eyes. Angela thought he looked adorable that way. And then she noticed that he wasn’t wearing a shirt, only a pair of black jeans. She had expected that he had a nice chest, but seeing it first hand was unbelievable. She realized that she was gawking and averted her eyes.
Spike toweled his hair. “Hey, luv.” He saw the teenager then. “Katie!?”
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I was contemplating whether to add more or leave it there. Sorry, but that’s all for now. Don’t worry, I’ll post more tomorrow.
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