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CHAPTER 10


If Riley showed up the next night, Buffy didn’t see him since she was in her bed by 7 pm. After her almost sleepless night, and spending the day going through a turmoil of emotions, doubts, and questions without answers, she was feeling like her head was going to explode at any moment.

She locked all the doors and windows and buried herself in her bed.

§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§

Unfortunately, he was back the next night. And once again, she noticed him when closing the curtains.

Anger boiled inside her and she marched towards the front door, intending to give him a piece of her mind. But just before opening it, the memory of her conversation with Mrs Maclay came back to her and she took two steps backwards.

She forced herself to think reasonably. This was Riley. Prince Boring. Her ex-boyfriend. She had spent countless hours with him. Surely he wasn’t waiting for her to come out so he could shoot her in the head?

Probably not.

Then again, a girl was in a coma, allegedly because of him. And Buffy remembered all too well the way he had lost his nerves during their driving incident, and how he had seemed to take pleasure in slapping and insulting her.

So maybe it would be safer to stay inside. And grab her new best friend, Spike’s baseball bat.

But there was nothing on this earth that would make her spend another night on a chair, scared and exhausted. She dialed 911. The operator told her they would send a patrol as soon as possible.

Buffy turned on the TV and waited. She flipped through the channels absentmindedly, until she found a rerun of Spike’s show. She let it on. He wasn’t there physically, but at least she was hearing his voice. Even through the television, it was comforting.
The doorbell rang and she jumped, dropping the remote control. Oh, Buffy, you so need to calm down. A quick glance through the window revealed a police car parked in front of the house. She opened the door.

“Miss Buffy Giles?”

“Yes. Please come in.”

The officer walked in, followed by his colleague, a blond guy with a dorky look.

“I’m officer Meers, this is officer Wells. You called to report a stalking?”

“Yes, it’s my ex-boyfriend, Riley Finn. He’s been standing in front of my house for the last two or three nights. He just stands there, watching. I don’t know if it really qualifies as stalking, but it’s creeping me out.”

Officer Meers made a head gesture towards his colleague who opened the front door and went out. He came back a few minutes later.

“No one in sight.”

“Well, he probably vanished when he saw the police car,” Buffy said, restraining the big ‘Duh!’ that was following.

You know, that might scare him for good. Maybe he won’t bother you anymore.”

I seriously doubt that, she thought.

“The thing is, I found out lately that he has sort of a…heavy past. His former girlfriend is in a coma right now because of him. So I must admit I’m a little worried.”

“Has he been arrested?”

“No…I know it may seem weird, but no one pressed charges.”

“So he has no criminal record?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Well then, Miss Giles, I’m afraid we can’t do much for now. Unless we catch him in the act…”

“Oh, so you mean I have to wait for him to slit my throat to be taken in consideration?”

“Of course not. But we can’t arrest him just because he was standing in front of your house. We can patrol around here the next few nights. If he sees a police car passing by several times, that might discourage him.”

Buffy didn’t believe it for a minute, but knew better than to argue.

“Is there anyone who could come and stay with you?” Officer Meers asked.

She shook her head. “My father is in England until next week. My best friends are on their honeymoon. And my…my stepbrother lives in LA.”

She saw them glimpse at the TV screen before exchanging a glance. Oh, great.

“Your stepbrother is Spike Atherton, right?” Officer Meers asked in a casual tone.

“Yes.” Her tone was defensive.

“I’m sure he would come running if you called him,” Officer Wells said with a knowing smirk.

Buffy tried to control herself. “What is that supposed to mean?” she asked in a calm voice, looking at the younger officer with disdain.

“What my colleague means, of course, is that we are sure that Mr Atherton is very concerned about your safety and would consider it his family duty to come and help you as soon as he can,” Officer Meers intervened, smiling, before casting a warning glance at his partner.

Buffy sighed. In any other circumstance she would have reacted, but now she was too tired and upset to care.

The two officers took their leave. Buffy closed the door and leaned against it for a few minutes. She was so fed up with all this. And she really needed to hear Spike tell her they were not making a big mistake. She needed to hear his voice. But if she called him and told him about Riley, he would come running, exactly like that stupid officer had said. And she didn’t want that. She was a big girl, and she would handle this herself.

Buffy heard a noise in the kitchen and froze.

Had she locked the back door correctly? Were all the windows closed?

Holding her breath, she turned off the TV. She got her baseball bat and made her way to the kitchen. The lights were still on. She checked the door; it was locked. Same for the windows. Everything was quiet. She must have dreamed it.
She walked back to the living room, rubbing her eyes.

Suddenly, someone grabbed her from behind, encircling her neck in a vicious grip. She tried to scream but a gloved hand muffled her attempt.

“You stupid bitch,” a voice whispered in her ear, “You’re going to pay. Soon.”

Then he pushed her and she fell, her head brutally hitting one of the small table’s legs. She wasn’t totally knocked out, though, and she heard the back door slam.

Silence fell back on the house, except for the frantic beating of her heart. For some time she stayed on the ground, unable to move. Her head was starting to throb painfully. She raised her hand to it and met the sticky feel of blood.

Grimacing, she tried to get up but realized immediately that she wouldn’t be able to stand on her legs. Slowly, she made her way on all fours to the coffee table and picked up the phone. For the second time that night, she dialed 911. Then she called the family doctor, who lived nearby.

Her whole body suddenly started to shake and a sob escaped her. She tried to dial Spike’s number but her hands were shaking too violently, so she let the phone drop beside her. She would ask the officer to call him.

She positioned herself in a foetal position and waited for the first person that would ring the doorbell.


§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§
Spike looked at the sign mentioning that Sunnydale was only ten miles away and smiled.

The editing work and the rest had gone faster than he expected, so he had decided at the last minute to go to Sunnydale tonight instead of waiting for tomorrow. But he hadn’t warned Buffy, wanting to surprise her. He had pushed Darla’s impending return and the inevitable discussion that would follow to the back of his mind.

He just wanted to enjoy a few days of happiness with Buffy before reality hit them back in the face.

His cell phone rang and their home number appeared on the small screen. He chuckled. Could she have felt he was on the way back home?

“Evening, pet.”

“Mr Atherton?”

Spike frowned. “Yes. Who is this?”

“Mr Atherton, I’m officer Meers. I’m calling you on behalf of your stepsister who’s been attacked.”

Spike lost the control of his car for a second and deviated dangerously. A furious horn shook him out of his shock.

“What happened? Is she hurt?”

“She’s ok. The doctor is with her. She asked me to call you.”

Spike was sure the officer could hear the loud thumping of his heart. He closed his eyes before remembering where he was. “Listen, I’m on my way to Sunnydale, actually. I should be home in about 15 minutes.”

“I’m sure Miss Giles will be glad to hear that.”

Spike put the phone back on the passenger seat. Another horn made him realize he was now driving across two traffic lanes. He cursed under his breath and focused on the road, trying to respect the speed limit despite a strong will to step on the gas.

So help him, whoever had laid his hands on Buffy would regret it for the rest of his life.

§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§

Once he arrived, Spike almost burst into the house. The officer was still there, as well as the doctor who was done tending to Buffy. Spike ran to her and took her in his arms.

“My God, sweetheart, are you alright?” he whispered into her hair.

She nodded, holding onto him tightly and thanking the Powers for his presence. She tried not to break down in front of the officer and the doctor. It had been enough of a show for tonight already.

Still holding her, Spike turned to the doctor. “Thanks for coming, John. Will she be ok?”

The doctor smiled reassuringly. “She'll be fine. I didn’t even have to put on stitches. Those little stripe bandages will do,” he said, showing a small box. “And I gave her painkillers. She might feel a little groggy tomorrow.”

“Thank you, John”, Buffy said in a little voice.

The doctor patted her on the shoulder. “Give my regards to your dad, ok? William, take care of her.”

“I will,” Spike said, kissing the other side of her forehead.

The doctor said his goodbyes to the officer and left. Spike then realized the officer was still there and that he hadn’t even acknowledged him.

“I’m sorry,” he said, “I was so worried…I’m Spike Atherton.”

“Officer Meers. I’m the one who called you earlier. Your stepsister had already called us tonight to report the stalking.”

Spike frowned. “The what?”
“Miss Giles told us her ex-boyfriend had been stalking her for the last few days. Miss Giles, do you think he was the one who attacked you tonight?”

“I’m not sure, I didn’t see anything,” she said, avoiding Spike’s interrogative glance. “I think he came through my bedroom window. I always leave it open. And he jumped on me on my way from the kitchen to the living room, so I guess he was coming from upstairs. Oh, and he was wearing gloves.”

The officer nodded and took some notes. Spike crossed his arms with a not very pleased look on his face. Buffy bit her lips. Looked like it was time for some revelations. And it wasn’t going to be pretty.

“Did he say anything?” Officer Meers inquired again.

“Something like, ‘you’re going to pay, bitch.’ He was whispering, so I’m not sure I recognized his voice. I was in a bit of a shock.”

“Sounds like Finn to me,” Spike intervened in a neutral tone, but Buffy could feel the anger boiling beneath the surface.

Officer Meers closed his little notebook. “Well, Miss Giles, I’ll send someone tomorrow to ask that Riley Finn some questions. Just so he knows we have an eye on him. And I’ll ask my colleague to investigate about that girlfriend of his who’s in a coma. But if he has no criminal record like you said, I’m afraid it won’t help very much.”

Buffy heard Spike’s gasp and met his disbelieving look. She sighed. Definitely not pretty. And she was the only one to blame. “This is Janet Maclay’s phone number,” she said, handing the officer the piece of paper where it was written. But please don’t call her if it’s not necessary. I told you everything she told me, so I would prefer for her not to be bothered.”

The officer nodded. “Alright. Have a good evening, then, Miss Giles. Mr Atherton…”

“Bye, Officer.”

Spike closed the door behind him and turned back to Buffy. This time the anger was clear on his face.

She tried to look repentant and miserable, hoping the bandage on her forehead would help. But she knew very well it wouldn’t work.

“So, Finn is stalking you? His ex-girlfriend is in a coma? And you knew about this?”

She nodded, swallowing painfully.

“Buffy…” he said calmly, before suddenly raising his tone, “What THE HELL is going on here??”





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