The Mended Heart

***Previously***

Spike heard a faint, "Yes," come from the girl, then watched as the man walked away. The girl was still kneeling on the ground well after then man was out of sight. Spike felt his chest tighten as he saw the girl lift her head. Seeing the familiar tear-stained face of a girl he saw every day. He said, "Buffy?"

~~~Chapter Two~~~


Buffy's eyes shot towards the sound of her name. Seeing Spike, she quickly stood up, straightening her clothes and dusting herself off, "Spike!? What are you doing here?" Her voice wavered, fearful that he might have seen what happened only moments before.

Spike walked closer to her. Finally standing directly in front of her, he stretched his right hand out to caress the now red hand print on her face. He cringed as she winced at the soft contact, "Who was it?" He demanded.

Letting out a breath of air she didn't know she was holding, "It was no one. Just an accident. My fault. No big. Look, I gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow, Spike," just as she moved to turn around, she felt an arm wrap around her waist, effectively keeping her from leaving like she so desired to at this point.

Spike looked down at her, capturing her eyes with his in an intense gaze, "Who was that man that I saw slap you and walk away?" Seeing the fear and awe on her face, he continued, "Yeah, I saw. And I wanna know who the bloody hell that was, Buffy."

Scrunching her eyebrows together, "Why do you care, Spike? You've been nothing but absolutely horrible to me. Why would you care what's going on with me?"

Sighing, he loosened his grip on her, afraid that he might be scaring her or worse, hurting her. His fingers began to play with the hem of her shirt, "I care. Don't rightly know why, but I do. I know that no one deserves that. Especially not girls. Now, are you going to tell me who that was or am I going to have to chase after him and find out for myself?"

Hearing him say that he would go after the man, her eyes shot open, "No!! Don't go after him. Please. I'll tell you who he is. But you have to promise to not say anything. Please?" Seeing him nod, she took a deep breath to ready herself, "Okay. His name is Hank. He's my father." She gestured her head towards the swing. Thankfully, he took the hint and released his grip on her.

They made their way to the swings, both sitting on one. He looked at her, "You're bloody father does all that to you? That's why you screamed this morning, wasn't it?" Seeing her nod, he inhaled sharply. Continuing, "What did he mean when he said that you weren't to come home tonight and that you shouldn't be home until he's already gone to bed tomorrow?"

Buffy shrugged, "Just that. I'm not allowed to go home until then."

Astonished, "He keeps you from coming home?" She nodded, "That's bloody ridiculous, Buffy! He can't just do that!"

"Yeah, well, he does. He has before, and I've dealt. And, more than likely, I'll do it again after tonight, too. No big."

Standing up, growing mad now, he stood in front of her, "No, you bloody well won't! You're not going back to him, Buffy. Not bloody gonna happen!"

She looked up at him questioningly, "What do you mean I'm not going back to him? What other choice do I have, Spike? He's my father. I've got no one else. My mother died last year, I've got no other family, no siblings, aunts, uncles, or cousins. No one besides you knows about what happens and no one else will. What? Are you going to put me up somewhere? Because unless you do, then I don't see any other option for me, Spike!"

She stood up now, aggravated, she threw her hands up in the air, "Don't you think I wouldn't love to get away from him? Away from this hell world that he has me in? I would. In a heart beat, I would get away from him. If I could. But I can't. There's nothing I can do. I've tried everything. I've went to the police, but they didn't do a damn thing because they all know him. Do you wanna know what happened when he found out that I went to the police?

He came ransacking into the house, drunk, and he came up to my room. He barged into my room and hit me. Hard. So hard that I couldn't catch my breath. And he kept hitting me and hitting me until I finally stopped crying. I was lying there, motionless on the floor, bleeding from only God knows where and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it. I missed school that entire week." Buffy had tears streaming down her face like rivers now.

Spike reached and attempted to wipe away the tears, softly speaking, "I remember that week. It was the third week of February. We were supposed to pick out Lab Partners that Monday and I was going to pick you, but you weren't there. I had no idea why though."

Staring at him disbelievingly, "You were? But you hate me. I don't understand."

He chuckled, "I don't hate you, Goldielocks. I used to think that I did. But there's always been this thing about you that I just can't stop myself from wanting. I look at you at school, wanting you so bad that I can't see straight, only to be hit in the face with reality, knowing that I can't have you."

Looking down, she whispered, "Says who?"

Spike placed a finger under he chin, lightly lifting her head to look into her eyes, "What are you saying, Buffy? Are you saying that you have feelings for me? That you want me just as much as I want you?"


~~~TBC~~~