Kathy's Revenge

Chapter 32
Xanders POV

“Get it out. Get it out. Get it out.” She just won’t stop saying this small sentence. She’s still rocking on the floor. I take hold of one of her arms and pull her back up so she is sitting. I try to pry her hands away from her face to stop her scratching her head. Blood is matted in her hair. The moment I make any progress she flinches from me. “No more.” She’s pulling herself along the floor further into the corner. Then continues to pull and scratch at herself.

Something is really, really wrong. How am I going to get her to snap out of this? Touching her makes me more jumpy but I don’t think she is even listening to what I’m saying, how the hell do I get her attention?

“I’m not going to hurt you Faith.” I take her left hand and she just clenches her other fist in her hair.

“Is he gone?” She whispers. Leaning onto me, I put my arm around her as she cowers in my chest. This is wrong, this is way to weird. Faith is being weak.

“Who? Is who gone?” I ask trying to understand.

“Gable… is he gone? I don’t want him to hurt me anymore.” She says burying her head against my chest.

“Faith, I don’t know who you are talking about, we don’t know anyone called Gable.” I try to explain to her gently, I push the hair out from her face to try and look at her.

“You’re lying, he is here, he’s playing his games again…” She trails off and keeps rocking. “He is going to get me again, he will come back for me, he always does. Never leaves me, not for long.” Weird babbling Faith isn’t nice to see. “Gone by school, no one knows, no one ever knows, no one knows Faith.”

“Faith shh, It’s Xander, you remember Xander?” I ask looking down at her.

Her whole body is trembling. “You’re not safe, no one is safe. Go before he comes back.”

I shake my head not knowing what the hell to think.

“Get it out. Get it out. Get it out.” What is she talking about? I look towards the empty door, almost wishing that someone else was here to help us.

“Get what out?” I ask again trying to get her hands away from her bloody head once more.

“The thing he wants… he wont come if he gets what he wants from me. Get it out!” she screams the last sentence.

I finally manage to get a good grip on her wrists and pull them away from her. I hold her hands and try to calm her down.

“It’s okay Faith, no one here is going to hurt you, it’s just me here. It’s just Xander.” I let her hands go and they just drop to her sides, I put my finger under her chin and try to make her look at me.

“Faith, look at me… please just look at me for a second.” I ask still trying to pull her chin up with my index finger. “Remember Xander? The goof ball, pirate guy?”

I start to clutch at straws. “Hey, I got some smokes in my pocket if you want one?”

She still doesn’t move.

“How about some food? Faith likes food right? We could go downstairs and get you some candy?”

After more coaxing she finally looks up into my eyes, hers are glazed and watery… she has obviously been crying, they are all bloodshot and even her eyelashes are matted together with her tears.

“Is he coming back?”

I try to think fast. “No, no he isn’t coming back Faith. He’s all gone.”

Her expression changes as she furrows her eyebrows and in an instant the real Faith is back, she pushes off from my chest and sits up with her own strength. “Xander, what the hell happened to your new eye?” She asks as if nothing out of the ordinary has happened.

“Come on, lets go get you cleaned up.” I say pulling her up off the floor. We walk to the bathroom and as she steps into view of the mirror she gasps and puts her hands back to her head then puts them in front of her face to see all the dried and wet blood.

“What did he do to me?” She asks looking into my eyes.

“Who? Who do you think did this to you?” I ask sitting down on the closed toilet lid.

“I… erm… who did this to my head? And I feel like I’ve had the shit beat out of me…” She trails off.

She really cant remember… well this is gonna be fun trying to explain this.

“You did that to your head… you were sitting on the floor rocking back and forth scratching and clawing at your head.” I explain looking at my shoes. “Buffy… she… erm… Willow was on the floor, hurt and Buffy found you, Willows head was bleeding and you had blood on your hands…” I trail off.

“She did it? It wasn’t him?” I can see in her eyes that she is wondering off again.

“Faith! Stay with me okay?” I say grabbing her shoulders and looking deep into her dark eyes. “Lets get you cleaned up then we can go out in the garden and you have suck on one of those idiotic cancer sticks since you like them so much… okay?” She nods at me gently.

Faith fills the sink with hot water, washing away the blood from her hands and arms.

“Sit.” I tell her pointing to the toilet seat. Re filling the basin with more hot water I grab a towel and dip it in. I gently dab at Faiths head trying to clean the blood away. I can hear Faith wincing occasionally.

“Where is everyone else?” Faith asks.
“They came up but Giles ushered them all away. Left me to help you.” I have to smile as the next sentence comes out of my mouth. “How am I doin’ so far?”

Faith is speaking quietly, barely above a whisper but I do hear her reply. “Not too bad Xand.”

I nod to no one in particular. “Right I think that’s as good as I can do for the moment, let’s get you some nicotine.”

Faith manages a very weak smile as I lead her out of the bathroom, downstairs.