Chapter 33: Cause and Effect
Spike barged into the seeming empty house, slamming the door behind him roughly. He threw his keys in the near vicinity of the small end table where they usually ended up, and rounded the old Victorian stairs, bounding up them two at a time. Reaching the top landing up the second floor, he paused in the hallway to catch him breath, running a shaky hand through his already disheveled locks. Welling himself to calm down, he snapped his head in the direction to the room that Buffy had been calling hers for the last two weeks.
“Buffy!” She shouted loudly, leaping into action again. He reached her closed door quickly, roughly grabbing the door knob and throwing it wide open, a huge smile on his handsome face. “Buffy, I’ve got great news, pet!”
His sparkling blue eyes lost some of their luster when he noticed that the room had been stripped of everything that had belonged to the girl in question. The pictures she had brought with her to sit on the nightstand were gone, replaced with the old knick-knacks that his father had liked. The closet door had been left open, a few nameless pieces of clothing and accessories left behind in her seemingly quick exit. The bed had been re-made recently, Spike could tell, and he was willing to bet his life on the fact that those old sheets still smelled of her enrapturing scent.
The blonde man blinked rapidly, not believing what he was seeing. Buffy had left, probably back to New York to forget about him, and Spike suddenly found that he felt like he was choking.
Crossing the room quickly, he threw open the window that stood opposite of her old room in the Summers’ household next door. He paused briefly, wondering is she had left to stay with her father for the rest of her stay, but promptly tossed that idea away. She wouldn’t live with her father again, if he’d offer to pay her. A loud knock on the bedroom doorframe caused his blonde head to snap in the direction of the sound.
Angel stood before him, looking rather too calm about this whole situation, and Spike was beginning to suspect that the old, brooding man had something to do with why Buffy had suddenly decided to abandon him.
“Where is she?” Spike demanded, stepping closer to the taller man.
Angel hardly reacted, only letting his fingers dance around the edges of the small scrap of paper that floated around in his light grasp. Spike’s eyes were immediately drawn to the small paper.
“She’s gone.” Angel said simply. “She left some time ago.”
Spike was beyond angry at this point, stepping closer to his brother, his fists clinched at his sides. “Go that memo, peaches. I want to know where she went.”
“Home, Spike. She went home.” Angel waved his hand around the room, as if to indicate that everything that had once showed the world that a vibrant, beautiful woman had been here, was gone. “She packed all her things up, and caught the first flight she could get back to New York.”
Spike visibly flinched, and let his hurt filled eyes travel around the room. It was though she had never been here at all. “Why?”
“Why do you think, Spike?” Angel drawled sarcastically. He even rolled his dark eyes for good measure.
“Don’t play bleedin’ games here, mate.” Spike warned, coming closer. “This is my life you’re scoffing at.”
“And what a wonderful life it turned out to be, ah?” Angel laughed mockingly.
Spike had had enough, and with one more step forward, he took a hard swing in the direction of his older brother’s face.
Angel reeled back from the blow, surprised. He looked up at the younger man, hurt flashing in his eyes. “Jesus, Spike. I’m only tryin to help.”
“By mocking my pain?!” Spike demanded to know, outraged.
“By showing you how much you really have to lose.” Angel told him seriously. “Buffy’s gone. She isn’t coming back, man.”
“Why?” Spike wondered, almost pleading at this point. “What happened? Did she say something to you? Did you say something to her?”
Angel didn’t like the accusation in his voice. “What if I did? The end result was the same, now wasn’t it? She still left!”
“Stop it!” Spike shouted, running both of his hands through his hair, and falling backwards a step or two. “I don’t understand what happened. I went to talk to Cordelia, to straighten things out. Buffy knew that. She wanted it!”
“Yeah, but she wanted you to be a man also.” Angel pointed out.
Spike narrowed his eyes again. “Do you want me to hit you again?”
Angel rolled his eyes dramatically. “I’ll have you sittin’ on your ass on the floor in two seconds, Spike. I’m not here to play games with you!”
“Then why are you here?!”
“To help.”
“Well, thanks a bunch, mate. But I don’t really need your soddin’ help!”
“You sure about that?” Angel wondered, crossing his arms.
“Look, Angel. I don’t have time to get into this with you right now.” Spike told him seriously. “I need to know why Buffy left.”
“She got a phone call.” Angel informed him.
“A bloody phone call?” The blonde man asked incredulously. “From who?”
“You fiancé.”
“Ex-bloody fiancé. Ex!” Spike corrected him loudly. “And that is over.”
“That’s not what Cordelia has been saying.”
Spike was more and more confused by the second. “What?!”
Angel nodded slowly, figuring that he had finally gained his extremely irate brother’s attention now. “Seems little Miss. Queen C has come to the extremely entertaining conclusion that she isn’t really as over you as she thought she was. Which to be honest, is the most idiotic thing she has ever done.”
Angel seemed completely amused over the whole situation, and that continued to piss Spike off.
“Can you just please skip to the bleedin’ important parts, mate? You’re only confusin’ me more?” Spike quipped, irritatedly.
Angel stood up straighter, letting the blonde know exactly how serious this was. He let his hands fall to his sides, the tiny piece of a paper still clutched very firmly in one of them. He walked around the room slowly, letting his fingertips graze various objects on the table and walls. He had purposely cleared the way to the open bedroom door, wanting to see if his suspicions were right.
“Cordelia called here. Buffy answered.” He told Spike, coming to a stop beside the shorter man. “Seems the two ladies in your life had a lot to talk about.”
“Wha? Why?” Spike asked softly.
“She called to talk to you. She wanted to tell you that she regrets her choice. She loves you.”
Spike looked away, not wanting to hear this.
“She wants you to met her in Vegas”
Spike’s blonde head snapped immediately back to him then, knowing exactly what he was implying. “She still wants to get married?!”
“Yep.” Angel nodded, smiling softly.
“B-but I can’t.” Spike stuttered out. “We’ve already…and I’ve already. I’m bloody going to New York!”
“What, now?” Angel smiled.
Spike nodded. “Pretty much.”
“For what?”
“For Buffy.”
Angel smiled, shaking his head slowly. He chuckled softly. “How do you know she even wants you anymore? She left you!”
“I can bloody see that!” Spike added sarcastically. “I’m going to, try. I need to make things right. Let her know that I’m sorry. That I still-”
When he stopped himself suddenly, Angel stepped forward holding out the hand that held the paper. “Here.”
“What this, then?” Spike raised a dark brow in question, reaching out to grab the object. He opened it to reveal a phone number written down in a very messy handwriting.
“The number where Cordy’s staying. She said you could reach her there, since her cell phone had been in her mother’s name, and was shut off a few hours ago.” Angel explained, gesturing with his hand.
Spike looked up at him in confusion, realizing the choice that only he could make.
Fight for Buffy, and what he really wanted. Or give Cordy what she wanted because he felt guilty for not loving her.
Angel seemed to know what he was thinking. Shrugging in what resembled indifference, he waved his hand about the space between them. “It’s your choice.”
Spike nodded in understanding, looking down at the number thoughtfully. When he actually thought about what his life would be like in both situations, the choice didn’t seem that difficult. If he let Buffy go, flew to Las Vegas, and married Cordy, he would be forever stuck in a situation of being with someone he really held nothing but a deep sense of respect for. He would never know what growing old with the person you loved the most would feel like. If he instead caught the next flight out to New York, caught up with Buffy, and try to somehow make everything up to her, he might have a chance of actually being happy.
When the blonde man looked up again a split second later, Angel knew he had made the right decision. He nodded. “Look, the next flight to New York leaves in forty minutes. She’ll be on that same flight.”
Spike frowned. “Thought you said she left ‘some time ago’?”
Angel shrugged, grinning. “I lied.”
Spike chuckled. “Yep, you really are still a dick, aren’t you mate?”
“You better get going if you’re going to make it to L.A. in time.” Angel pointed out, choosing to ignore the blonde’s last comment. “Give Cordy a call though. Don’t let her wait on a husband that’s never gonna show.”
Spike flinched at that. “I never meant to hurt either of them.”
“I know that.” Angel reasoned. “We all make mistakes. Sometimes forgiveness takes a while.”
Spike understood his pointed words, and nodded.
“‘Sides.” Angel continued. “Cordy’s a fighter. She’ll get over it. Now get outta here, man.”
Spike grinned, turning to go quickly. He stopped in the doorway though, and turned halfway back around. “And Liam? You’ve been forgiven for a long time, so quit the bleedin’ brooding act, yeah?”
Angel huffed, feigning offense. “Get the hell outta here, and get your girl, you ass!”
Spike chuckled as he ran from the house.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
This story's almost finished. I'll try to finish it all, including the epilogue, before the next post if I can. If not, I'll post the last chapter, and then wait to post the epilogue. Whichever works best.