[Reviews - 208]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Microsoft Word Chapter or Story | ePub eBook Chapter or Story | Printer Chapter or Story

Has been viewed 4392 times

- Text Size +




It was Thursday by the time Spike and her grandfather came back from LA. Buffy was still hadn’t managed to craft a subtle yet believable scenario to corner him alone.

Until her grandmother did it for her the next day.

She’d been washing up the dishes from lunch when the first twinge hit her. By the time she’d finished drying everything and putting it away, the cramps had started in earnest. She’d trotted upstairs to the bathroom to find her monthly visitor had come early. Crap. She stared at the blood and groaned. Now, where had she packed her tampons?

She hunted under the sink without success. Maybe she’d left them in her room? A thorough search revealed nothing. How could she have forgotten to pack them?

"Gram? Can you take me into town? Like now?"

"What ever for, Buffy?"

Buffy trotted down the stairs. "I need to get some things." At her grandmother’s blank look she grimaced and added. "You know, girl things, Gram."

"Oh, right dear."

Just then Spike popped his head in the door.

"I’m going to post these letters, Mrs. Summers, can I pick up anything for you while I’m in town?"

"Well, actually, Buffy needs some . . ." she looked at her frantically motioning granddaughter. "Buffy needs a ride into town to pick up a few things. Would that be alright with you?"

He shrugged. "No problem."

~~~~~~~~~

"How on earth did you convince him to let you drive this car for the summer?" Buffy patted the seat of the perfectly restored Desoto that was her grandfather’s pride and joy. "He adores this thing."

"And well he should, she’s a bloody classic. I did a bit of a tuning on her first off when I came, he knows I respect her."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh please, not you too. This is a car, Spike, not a person. What is it with you men?"

Spike shot her a grin and patted the dash lovingly. "Ignore her baby, she’s just jealous."

"Whatever." Buffy leaned back into the seat, but couldn’t help smiling. They were talking, actually carrying on a conversation. This was great. Now she just needed to keep the ball rolling.

"So how was L.A.? Did everything go well with the presentation?" As his face shut down she realized the wrong turn. Yep, remind him what an irresponsible little kid you were with the vines, why don’t you, Buff?

"It was fine. No thanks to you."

"Spike, I wasn’t careful enough and I’m sorry. I know how hard you’ve both worked on this project and I should have been more responsible if I wanted to be involved."

She was pleased to see him glance over at her with a look of respect. "It worked out alright, short stuff. Don’t worry about it."

She smiled as he parked in front of the post office and turned to her. "So, what did you need to get?"

Yeah, like she was going there. "Oh, I’ve just got to run to the drugstore and pick up a few things. Shall I meet you here when I get done?"

"That’ll be fine."

She bounced out of the car. Despite the sucky cramps, she was excited. He wasn’t treating her so much like a kid anymore, he was actually talking to her for once, instead of down to her. He’d seemed to even warm a little after her apology. Maybe he’d want to hang out with her now. Not like there was much else going on in Sunnydale to entertain him on a Friday night. She might even work up the nerve to ask him if he wanted to catch a movie later at the little duplex here in town.

She crossed the street and hurried down the row of main street shops to the pharmacy to quickly find what she was looking for. She grabbed an extra bottle of Midol and a Coke as well and waited patiently while the clerk rang up her purchases and she paid.

"Do you have a restroom I could use?"

The bored clerk nodded towards the back and she hurriedly took care of the necessaries and gulped a couple of the pills. There, better now. She bounced out of the store and turned back towards the car, hoping she hadn’t kept him waiting too long.

And stopped dead, the cool air of the drugstore sealed off behind her as the door slid shut. Across the street Spike was standing by the car. Waiting. But he didn’t look bored.

Oh no.

He'd found the local entertainment. In the form of some skank, who was leaning back against the car with her breasts thrust out so far she might as well have been offering them to Spike on a silver platter.

Buffy narrowed her eyes and headed back across the street.

"Hey, get what you needed?" Spike called out as she stalked towards the car.

She held up the paper shopping bag, "All done." She plastered a fake smile on. "Are you ready to head back now, Spike?"

"Hmm, oh yeah." He dragged his eyes away from the other girl’s ample charms. "Yeah, I’m ready. I’m sorry Buffy, forgot to make the introductions. You two don’t . . ." He gestured between them.

"We haven’t had the pleasure. I’m Faith, and you must be Buffy."

"That’s right. Nice to meet you, Faith."

The dark-headed girl’s eyebrow raised just a hair as she caught the chill in Buffy’s voice that indicated it was anything but nice.

"Buffy, Faith’s going to ride back with us. We’re going to catch a show at the drive-in tonight and she said she didn’t mind the extra trip. We’ll drop you off, okay?"

"Great." Buffy started for the car just as Faith slid into the front seat. Next to him. "Oh, sorry, shotgun, B."

"It’s Buffy." She gritted her teeth and opened the door to the backseat. The very spacious backseat. That would no doubt be occupied tonight if they were going to the drive-in. Suddenly her cramps seemed to get worse.

Spike pulled the car into reverse and headed for the road out to her grandparents’ place.

"So, you go to school around here?" Faith looked over her shoulder.

"No, I’m just here for the summer, I live in L.A."

"You in high school?"

"Yes. I’ll be a senior this fall." Buffy paused. Faith didn’t look that old to her, except in a jaded ho-bag kind of way. "How about you?"

"Oh, I’ve been out for a few years. Never was much for the school thing." She turned back to Spike, clearly dismissing Buffy as competition. "And how about you, big guy? I bet you’re a college boy, aren’t you?" She slid a little closer to Spike on the seat.

Buffy groaned. Could this get any worse?

Thirty minutes later she watched out her window as Spike and Faith drove away back towards town, and she realized indeed it could.

~~~~~~~~~~~

And then after dinner, as she lounged on the couch reading while her grandmother cross-stitched and her grandfather yelled answers at Jeopardy on the television, she realized the night had yet to hit bottom.

The portable phone rang next to her head, startling her, and she grabbed the receiver and passed it to her grandmother without answering.

"Hello? Why yes, she’s right here Joyce. How are you?" Her grandmother listened for a moment, her face growing troubled. "Oh yes, that’s well . . . I’m just so sorry. Hank’s disappointed us all."

She motioned for her to come closer. "I’ll put Buffy on now."

Buffy took the phone and then headed for the privacy of the porch as she answered, "Mom?"

"Hey sweetie, you having a good time?"

Buffy could hear the crack in her mother’s voice even as she tried to sound cheerful for her. "Mom, what’s wrong?"

"Honey, it’s about your dad."

"Is something wrong with him?"

The sigh carried over the lines. "Well, that’s something I’d like to know as well. But no, Buffy, he’s not hurt."

"Then what is it, Mom?"

"Buffy, your dad decided to stay in Europe for a while longer. He asked me to tell you he won’t be back for the weekend of the Fourth."

"Oh." Buffy clutched the receiver a little tighter. She was used to him not always keeping his promises by now. "Is it work?"

Her mom’s laughter had a tinge of irony to it. "Not exactly. Buffy, you know how your dad got the bachelor pad and the new car?"

"Yeah?"

"He also got the young secretary girlfriend as part of his midlife crisis package. He’s . . . well, they’re touring Europe right now. That’s why he won’t be there." Her mother didn’t bother trying to hide her bitterness.

"Oh." She knew she was starting to sound like a broken record. "Mom, how long has he been seeing her? Is she new?"

"No, baby, she’s not. It seems she’s been there since the beginning." Sobs were starting to clog her mom’s throat now. "That bastard was seeing her the whole time, before he even left. He just didn’t want me to know until after we’d finished the settlement."

"Oh, Mom, no! How could he do that to you?"

"I’m sorry Buffy, I shouldn’t have said that. He’s still your father."

"Don’t worry about it, Mom, he is a bastard." She shifted the phone to the other ear. "Are you going to be okay? Do you want me to come home?"

"No, Buffy, no. You stay right there. Your grandparents are good people and you’ll be better off there. I just wanted you to know he wouldn’t be coming."

"You know, Mom, it’s okay. I guess somewhere deep down I kind of thought he wouldn’t make it this year. Are you sure you’re alright? You want to come up? I know Gram and Gramps would love to have you."

"No, sweetie, I’m taking a few weeks off to go see your aunt. There’s just too many memories up there at your grandparents for me right now."

"Okay. Be careful. I love you Mom. Call me if you need me."

"I will. I love you too, Buffy."

Buffy disconnected the call and sank down on the porch steps as the screen door opened. "Buffy, are you okay?" Her grandparents were both standing in the doorway.

"Yeah, I’m okay." She surreptitiously wiped a tear away from the corner of her eye. "I guess it’s not that big a surprise, is it?"

The sorrow on their faces was almost too much for her to take as she gently laid down the phone and backed down the steps. "I’m going to go for a walk, just down to the creek. Is that okay?"

Her Gram’s voice carried through the growing dusk. "Just be careful dear."

~~~~~~~~~

She slipped down the path she’d run down a thousand times, ignoring the tears that were now falling freely. She didn’t know why, after all this time, that it seemed so much worse to find out about her dad’s infidelity. At least now there was a reason, of sorts. At least now it wasn’t just that he didn’t love her and her mother enough. It was just that he wanted someone else more.

On second thought, that was worse.

She could hear the music of the stream now as she wiped her eyes, furious that she was wasting time crying over him. And then another sound that caused her to look up to find Spike, sitting at the edge of the stream in her usual spot.

Alone.

"What are you doing here?"

He looked around and took a long slow drag off the bottle in his hand. "Could ask you the same thing, short stuff."

She plodded over and sat down beside him. "Can I have a drink of that?"

He noticed the tear tracks on her face now that she was closer. "No. Not contributing to the delinquency of a minor tonight. What’s the matter?"

She busied herself untying her shoes and carefully set them to the side so she could stick her feet into the stream.

"Don’t want to talk about it. Where’s the ho bag?"

That raised a chuckle. "The ho bag?"

"Yeah. Faith. Thought you two were going to the drive-in."

He took another drink. "Plans changed, took her home. Decided I wanted a night to myself."

"Yeah, that’s what I was hoping for as well."

"I was here first and ‘m not leaving."

"Didn’t ask you to. I can be alone with you here."

"Thanks ever so."

They fell silent then, watching the moonlight play across the water that continued to run quietly along its banks. She found herself still wiping away tears that seemed to fall of their own accord.

"You might as well tell me what the waterworks are about. It might make you feel better."

She glanced at him. "Make you a deal. You tell me why you’re down here hitting the bottle instead of out on a hot date first."

He shrugged. "Just family stuff."

She was surprised by his admission. "Same here." He met her eyes then and she saw a spark of understanding , a reflection of her own pain and disappointment. She found herself telling him everything as he sat quietly and listened.

"My dad, he’s kind of been a big sleaze lately. And my mom called to tell me he wasn’t going to come up to visit like he promised. He is, at least he was, cheating on my mom. With his secretary." She laughed sadly. "Isn’t that such a cliché? And now he’d too busy with her to come see me either."

He turned towards her then and awkwardly patted her shoulder. "Buffy, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be such a prat, didn’t know what was going on."

She wiped her eyes one last time, feeling soothed somehow just to get it out. "I’m okay. It’s just, I don’t know, just hurts."

His hand remained on her back, rubbing small circles of comfort. "Yeah. It does."

She looked at him expectantly.

"So it’s my turn, I suppose?" he asked.

She nodded silently.

"’s a bit ironic really. Your dad’s a tosser who can’t keep it in his pants and my mom’s the one who’s runs around cuckolding the old man with any willing dick she can find."

She cringed a little at the venom in his words.

"She’s been doing it since I was a little tyke. If I weren’t the spitting image of my grandfather at this age, I’d wonder sometimes if I was even really an Aetherton. But she’s gone one step too far this time." She noticed the crumpled letter laying on the ground beside him for the first time. "Grandfather wrote me. She’s taken off again, with my father’s best friend. He’s gone off on a bender and Grand says he expects he’ll probably kill her if he finds her."

"Oh." His dad’s best friend, how awful. She impulsively leaned over and gave him a quick hug. "Spike, I’m so sorry. Is there anything I can do?" She drew back a little, but took his hand in hers, giving it a little squeeze. "Or do you need to go home?"

"No, that’s why he wrote me. Grand’ll calm Father down, he’s always been able to before. Mum’ll come back around at some point, begging him to take her back. I just hope he’ll stand up to her this time."

He took another swig off the beer and then passed it over. "Here, guess you might need this after all."

She took a tentative sip of the bitter liquid, swallowing quickly to get it past her taste buds. "Ugghhh."

He laughed at that. "Not much of a drinker, I take it."

She wrinkled her nose. "Nah, I’m pretty much a lightweight."

"So’s your mum alright?"

"She’s getting there."

"Good."

The silence that settled between them this time was comfortable. The usual soft noises of night sounded as time passed and they simply sat, hands still connected until she knew she needed to get back to the house.

"Thanks for listening to me, Spike. It helped." She stood up and brushed off the seat of her shorts as he too climbed to his feet.

"Same to you. And hey, chin up, short stuff. Men aren’t all like your dad. You’ve got a hell of a grandfather up there who would make anyone proud."

"He is pretty great, isn’t he?"

"Yeah, he is."

As they stood there, she was suddenly struck by something. "Are we having a real conversation?"

"Yeah, I guess we are. You know, I have to admit, I think I misjudged you, Buffy."

She was surprised and warmed by the admission. "Oh really? How’s that?"

"Your grandparents never stop talking about you, you know that? I think I was just expecting some sort of spoiled brat, or a little princess, and didn’t give you much of a chance. I’m sorry ‘bout giving you such a hard time before, in the greenhouse. You didn’t deserve that."

She smiled. "Thanks, Spike. You know you’re not so bad yourself, at least when you aren’t ignoring or lecturing me."

He grinned in acknowledgment of what she was saying as he wiped the sweat from the bottle off on his pants and stuck out his hand. "How about we take this from the top?"

She couldn’t suppress the big smile on her face at the full throttle charm, no matter how uncool it might be. "Hi, I’m Buffy Summers." She stuck out her hand as well and he grasped it firmly.

"Hello, Buffy Summers. I’m Spike Aetherton and I’m very pleased to meet you."

"Pleased to meet you as well."

He tilted his head to the side as he regarded her in the shadowed night. "Well, this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Now how about I walk you back to the house before your Gramps sends out the dogs to find you?"

They started up the path side by side and Buffy felt a little like that roller coaster might have started to climb again. But unlike before, this time it felt good.





You must login (register) to review.