ONE NORMAL LIFE / TWO EXTRAORDINARY LIVES
folder
BtVS AU/AR › Het - Male/Female › Buffy/Spike(William)
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
210
Views:
11,877
Reviews:
182
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
BtVS AU/AR › Het - Male/Female › Buffy/Spike(William)
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
210
Views:
11,877
Reviews:
182
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BtVS), nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
WHAT AM I DOING?
CHAPTER 158 - WHAT AM I DOING?
Buffy stared at the letter in her hand for a long time, not believing this was happening, that he'd left her, that he'd thought this was for the best.
Then she got angry. Damn him!
"You think I'm just going to let you go this easily?" she yelled. "You obviously don't know who you're dealing with! Telling me what sort of normal life I should have, that you're dragging me back into the darkness! How dare you!"
She stormed into his bedroom, to see what he had taken with him, and what he had left. It looked as though he had only taken the bare essentials; only a few shirts and pants seemed to be missing, and most of the things that were his in the bathroom were still there.
She went on ranting, and throwing things; even breaking a few things along the way, as her pain, sorrow, anger, and guilt from the past month, and particularly the last week finally spent itself.
"Don't you know you belong here, William? That you fit in with me?" she asked, her voice breaking as she collapsed onto the couch.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8:00PM
William had left in the late afternoon. He had driven around for a couple of hours, trying to think, trying to be strong; trying to not waver from the decision he had made. That decision made all the harder, once he realized that he'd forgotten to bring any money, his checkbook, or even his bank debit card with him. He considered going back to the house to retrieve them, but didn't want to chance that Elizabeth would have already been home, and had read the letter. That would only hurt her more, if she thought he'd changed his mind, then found he'd only come back for things he should've taken with him in the first place.
Not that he cared about such things, for in his mind they weren't really his anyway. To him, his investments, and the house were ill-gotten gains, made because he’d murdered his own brother. *
Still, ethics aside, there was the practical matter of where he could go without any money. It was already dark, his gas tank was nearly on empty, and he had nowhere to spend the night.
Turning off the road into the parking lot of Montessori, he pulled around the long driveway, and parked behind their large shed. It was Saturday tomorrow, so there wouldn’t be anybody there, at least he hoped not. It would have to do.
Drinking a warm can of soda he found in the back seat, he patted his left pocket reassuringly, then emptied out his right, putting its contents on the seat next to him. There was a small notebook, a pen, his watch fob, less than a dollar in change, and his cell phone. He stared at it a long time before turning it on; there were four new messages.
He hesitated before calling the number for his voicemail. They were all from Elizabeth; three of them were from earlier in the day when she was on her way home, the last one sent about two hours ago. It was the hardest one for him to hear.
“You are so very, very wrong about everything, William,” she’d said in a quietly restrained voice filled with hurt and anger.
Exhausted, hungry, and cold, he turned the phone off, and reclined the front seat back as far as it would go. He stared up at the cloudy sky, as his mind kept replaying her message, which albeit short, had spoken volumes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SEPTEMBER 27, 2009
SATURDAY
2:00AM
Buffy lay in bed wide awake. Ever since reading his letter, she’d debated whether or not to go and look for him, and if finding him, drag him home. The idea of punching him in the nose, also passing through her thougths about a dozen or more times having a great deal of appeal to her, as well.
Restlessly, she got up, and once again looked out the window, down the drive, straining to hear any sounds that might indicate that he had changed his mind and was coming home - to her, but there was nothing save for the sounds of the night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
5:00AM
William hadn’t realized he had been asleep, until he awoke with a start to the sound of thunder, and lightening crackling nearby. It took him a few heart-pounding moments to realize where he was, and why. He rubbed his hand over an area of the fogged up window, and looked out into the storm, confirming this new reality to himself.
Teeth chattering, he started the car, turning on the heat full blast.
“What am I doing?” he asked forlornly into the dark, his hand reflectively reaching into his left pocket, to grab hold of Elizabeth’s necklace, and the ring he’d attached to its chain.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
5:00AM
A loud thunderclap awoke Buffy from her light, fitful sleep. Shivering, she pulled her nightgown tightly around her, and got up to look out the window again. The rain coming down in torrents made it impossible to see anything, save for those few seconds when lightning would illuminate the sky.
“William, what are you doing?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
6:00AM
“William! Hey! William you alright?”
William awoke to someone tapping on his driver’s window. Confused he looked up, trying to place the face before it dawned on him who was standing there.
“Hello, Wallace,” he said, rolling down the window. It had stopped raining, and the sun was just beginning to come up.
“You okay, man? What are you doing here?”
“I’m...I’m...’s a long story,” he said, sitting up to stretch.
“Ah...your old lady kick you out, huh?”
“Old lady? What?”
“Sorry man...I meant Elizabeth. Old lady’s just a figure of speech, means your girlfriend, or if you’re married, then your wife. Sort of an old hippie expression I picked up from...well, some old hippies,” he said, grinning lopsidedly.
William ignored him, and opened the door. Wallace moved aside so Williouldould get out. “Why are you here? Did Elizabeth...?”
Wallace shook his head, “No, dude...William, I mean. I came here to do some mowing. My friend’s little sister goes here, and they asked him if he couo ito it, but then he busted his arm skateboarding, so I vounteered.”
“Oh.”
“Didn’t you use to work here last year?”
William nodded, looking over at the shed, “Yeah, why don’t I show you where everything is.”
“That would be great!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8:00AM
“Hey, thanks man! I really appreciate your helping me with all this. I probably still would’ve been at it for half the day.”
“It’s alright. Didn’t have anything better to do,” William said, as he put the mower back in the shed, then hung up the hedge clippers on the hook. He swayed on his feet a bit, as he took off his gloves.
“You alright?”
“I’m fine. Just a bit hungry, I guess.”
“Why don’t we go and grab some breakfast? My treat.”
William wanted to refuse Wallace’s offer, but his hunger won out.
“Thanks. Should I follow you, then? Where are you parked?”
“Actually, I walked over, so we can just go in your car.”
William nodded, and finished locking up the shed.
Wallace got in, and William put the key in the ignition. Nothing happened. He tried again.
“What the...?”
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know, it’s not starting. It was fine last night; turned it on for some heat...oh bugger,” he said, remembering it wasn’t on when Wallace woke him up. He looked at the fuel gage; it was on empty. “I’m out of gas.”
“That’s okay,” Wallace said, getting out, “we’ll go get some breakfast first. It’s only about 2 blocks away, then we’ll stop at the gas station, and get a can of gas for your car...”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As soon as they got to the restaurant, William excused himself in order to use the washroom, and to wash up. Looking in the mirror, he was taken aback by his own haggard, unkempt appearance. His face was dirty, as was his hair, and his clothes looked like he’d slept in them for days, rather than just for one night.
Managing as best he could, he washed his face, hands, and arms using paper towels and the foam dispenser soap, annorinoring a rather curious look from another patron who’d come in to use the bathroom. Lastly, he ran wet fingers through his unruly hair, trying to tame the wild look he was sporting. As for the two-day growth of beard, there was nothing he could do about that.
During breakfast, William listened politely to Wallace chat about one thing or the other. At first, he’d been almost overwhelmed by the amount of food brought to the table; it had been so long since he’d eaten anything of substance. Hunger quickly overrode any such pretense though, as he dove into the eggs, pancakes, sausage, bacon, and toast in front of him.
“What are you going to do?”
“Huh?” William asked, his mouth full, and realizing he hadn’t been following the conversation for a while.
“After we get you some gas, you going home?”
He slowly put down his fork; his appetite lost, and shook his head.
“You got a place to stay?”
Again, William shook his head, his fin tra tracing the rim of his coffee cup. “Afraid I didn’t plan that far...or at all, really.”
He looked up at Wallace, and straightened himself up, “But don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. Got some plans...”
“Oh...okay. Well, that’s good...”
“Yeah...”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
10:00AM
“Sounds a bit rough, why don’t I take a look at it when you drive me back to the house?” Wallace asked, after they’d got the DeSoto started with a gallon of gas they’d brought back from a nearby station.
“You don’t have to...”
“No problem. After all, you helped me out with the mowing and stuff,” Wallace said.
“You paid for breakfast,” William countered.
“You don’t want the car breaking down, do you?”
“Alright,” William reluctantly agreed, as they pulled out of the parking lot, “but you have to promise me something.”
“What’s that?”
“I don’t want Edna knowing about...about my moving out.”
“Not a problem, she’s at my granddad’s in San Diego. I don’t even think she’s coming back until this evening.”
“Oh. Good,” William said, letting out a sigh of re.
.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
11:30AM
William had been sitting in the garage behind the house for the past hour, watching half-heartedly, as Wallace worked on tuning up his car.
“I’ve got to go to the store for a part,” Wallace said.
“Um...you really shouldn’t, I can’t pay you right now.”
“That’s alright, you’re good for it, aren’t you?”
William nodded.
Wallace eyed him critically; “Maybe you should just stay here while I’m gone. You could use the shower and relax or something. The store I have to go to is about 45 minutes away.”
“What about AutoMart?” William asked, remembering the one Clem had taken him to a couple of times.
Wallace shrugged, “Most the time they don’t have what I need in stock. They could order the parts, but it would take a couple of days. The store I’m going to is about five times the size, and always has what I need.”
“Oh.”
“So, what do you think about my idea of you staying here while I’m gone?”
William was going to argue, not wanting to take advantage of any more of this young man’s hospitality or money than he had to, but the idea of a shower all of a sudden, very much appealed to him, “That sounds good, as long as you’re sure.”
Wallace nodded, and directed him to where he’d find everything in the house before leaving for the auto parts store.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
9:00AM
Buffy paced around the house, as she’d been doing since she woke up. If one could consider what she’d had as ‘sleep.’
The morning light had brought a more thorough investigation of what William had taken with him, and what he’d left. She had discovered his wallet underneath some books on the dresser, as well as his phone charger, still on the desk. She had tried his cell phone several times again, but there was no answer, and she didn’t leave a message.
“What are you planning on doing without money, you idiot?” she asked, while on the ranting side of the seesaw of her emotions. “God, what the hell are you going to do William? What were you thinking?”
Like records in an old Wurlitzer jukebox, her mind shuffled from one scary scenario to the next, in a long list of bad things that could happen to him; a distraught, recently terrorized man, with no money, and no place to stay.
Dawn called half an hour later, wondering how things had gone, and had been shocked, when Buffy told her, then furious with William.
“I am so going to kick his ass!” Dawn said, not for the first time.
“Stand in line,” Buffy had replied, morosely, “I’st dst definitely thinking about a good old-fashioned punch to his nose.”
“Might help.”
“Couldn’t hurt at this point,” she agreed; then begged off the phone, promising to let Dawn know if she talked to William, or if he came home.
Inaction wasn’t Buffy’s thing; never had been, and pacing wasn’t solving anything. After the initial shock of yesterday, and a restless night, she was ready to be proactive. She threw his wallet and phone charger into a bag, along with some other things of his, resenting the fact a bit as she did, “Enabler,” she muttered to herself.
She hoped against hope, that if she did find him, she could just talk him into coming home, rather than helping him to stay gone. But she’d made a promise, long before she knew how, or even if things would work out between them, to be there for him no matter what - and for better or worse, she couldn’t let him starve or live on the street if she could help it.
Before leaving, she pickp thp the phone and called The Rittenhouse.
“Hello?” answered a female voice she didn’t recognize.
“May I please speak to Edna?”
“She’s not here right now.”
“When do you expect her.”
“I don’t think she’s going to be here until this evening. Can I help you with something?”
“No, please just tell her to call Elizabeth as soon as you see her, alright?”
“Will do,” answered the perkily, disinterested voice, unceremoniously hanging up on her.
Sighing, Buffy took the extra duffel bag out to the car, along with two pillows, (one hers, one his) a fleece blanket from the couch, and other various items William had forgotten. Throwing them into the trunk, she roared off down the drive, and headed into town.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was a little past noon, when William finished showering, and dressing in something clean. It felt humiliating to be in the position of having to use someone else’s bath, but at the same time, it felod tod to feel decent again. He harrumphed at his notion of decent, wondering when he’d been Spike, if he’d felt the same Victorian sentiments regarding cleanliness, “What was that saying? Cleanliness is next to Godliness?” He supposed that answered his quandary.
Too tired to give it any more thought, he wandered around the house for a while, before sitting down on the sofa to wait for Wallace to return.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2:30PM
“Hey man, I’m back! I got the parts, sorry it took so long, I ran into a friend who I haven’t seen for...” Wallace called, as he walked in the back door, and out to the living room. His voice trailed off as he saw William asleep on the couch.
“...and guess I’ll just go put them in.”
No use waking the guy up, besides, he looked like hell.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4:30PM
“I’m just going to put my things away dear, then I’ll meet you over at the restaurant,” Edna said, as she got out of the older model Lincoln.
“I can wait,” Lawrence offered.
“No dear, you go on and order us up something,l bel be over in about 10 minutes.”
“Alright mother, I’ll see you there.”
Edna let herself into the large, three story house that had once been a hotel, and temporary home for prospectors and other workers who had come to this area to mine for gold, when she and Lawrence had first opened up for business. Of course, it hadn’t been used for that in over half a century.
The top two floors had gone pretty much unused altogether, until Wallace started staying the summers with her, and she felt it would be in both their best interest to not be right on top of each other. Old ladies and teenage boys had quite a bit of difference in their lifestyles.
Still, he had been a good great-grandson, and she hoped that one day he might take over the business from her, when pas passed. Neither, her son or his two children, her grandchildren, had been content to just stay in a small town and run a restaurant.
Edna was musing along these lines of thought, as she lay her purse down on the table near the door, when a foot hanging off of her small sofa caught her eye.
“Wally, what on earth are you doing in the house on a nice day like this?” Edna asked, smiling indulgently as she walked into the kitchen, “What time did you get back frelpielping your friend out at the school?” she continued as she put away the food that Lawrence’s wife had sent home with her.
“Well, I’m glad you’re here. Molly called off tonight, so we could use you over at the restaurant, especially during the dinner hour,” she said, walking around the other side of the sofa.
Abruptly she clamped her hand over her mouth, when she saw it was William, fast asleep.
She stared at him quizzically, and was about to say his name, when a closook ook made a frown knit her brow.
Hearing the front door, she hurried out of the living room to intercept whoever was coming in.
“Grandma! You’re back!”
“Shh!” she said; hurrying towards Wally, and motioning him back out to the front porch.
“What’s going on? Why is William here?” Edna said, a worried look on her face.
“Oh, you saw him, huh?” Wallace asked, looking sheepish. “I’m just helping him out with his car. It wasn’t running right, and I’m tuning it up.”
She looked Wally in the eye, until he glanced down, “Why is William asleep on the couch, aookiooking...just awful? And don’t you lie to me either, young man!”
Wally’s shoulder’s slumped.
“Well?”
“I am helping him with the car. He didn’t want me to say anything, grandma!”
“What? What didn’t he want you to say?”
“He’s...him and Elizabeth...they’ve split up.”
Wally heard his grandma gasp and looked up at her with pleading eyes, “I wasn’t supposed to tell you, he asked me not to.”
“Then tell him I beat you up for the information,” she said, marching down the stairs.
“Where are you going?” Wally asked, running after her.
“To the restaurant. And if he wakes up, don’t you dare let him leave.”
“How am I going to stop him?”
“I don’t know, tell him the car’s not working or something.”
“What are you going to do?” he called after her.
She just put up her hand, as she walked down the sidewalk.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Mom, you’re here,” Lawrence said standing up, as she walked towards the table.
“Mom? What’s wrong?” he asked, as she hurriedly walked by.
“Mom!” he called as she went through the kitchen and into the office. Moving things around her desk, as she looked for her phone book, her eyes lit on the little yellow post-it memo, with the words, “Call Elizabeth, important,” written on it, along with her number.
“Ah!” Edna said, picking up the phone, and calling the number.
“Mr!” r!” Lawrence said, exasperated. “What on earth is the matter?”
“Hello, Elizabeth? This is Edna, William is over here!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Buffy had been driving around for hours; she’d been through town a half dozen times, checking on their favorite haunts. She’d been past the library, and inside it, asking about him. She’d driven past the school, the restaurant, the parks, and a nature preserve they’d picnicked at once. She’d even gone driven all the way to the university at San Marcos, as well as their neighboring town, Santa Ysabel.
She had just gone home to check to see if maybe he’d come back there when the phone rang.
“Oh thank God! How is he?” she asked, realizing immediately that Edna knew something was wrong without her having to tell her.
“He’s asleep on my couch. Wally said he was helping William tune up his car or something. Elizabeth, what’s happened? Why does he look so...?”
“What? How’s he look?” Buffy asked, alarmed.
Edna searched her mind for a way to say it, without worrying Elizabeth unduly; “He just looks...different is all. Thinner, too.”
“I know,” Buffy said, letting out a breath. “I’m coming right over. Do you think you can keep him there?” she asked, not even knowing what she was going to do if she did see him.
“I told Wally not to let him leave. As far as I know, he’s still asleep.”
“I’ll be right there,” Buffy said, hanging up and hurrying out the door.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lawrence stood there taking it all in, as Edna hung up and looked over at him.
“William’s in trouble,“ she said.
“How so? I gathered there’s been a split of some sort between Elizabeth and him, but how do you figure...?”
She looked up at him without answering; her blue eyes wise with having lived a long life, having seen things he never could guess at, and experienced love very much like William’s and Elizabeth’s.
“I see,” he finally ceded. “What do you want me to do?”
Edna sighed, shaking her head; “I don’t know what you can do, dear...”
“I do.”
She looked at him, questioningly.
“I know it’s not what you have in mind as far as helping them, but if William has left his house, he’s going to need to find another...” he looked at Edna and saw her frowning, “...um temporary place to live, right? He’s going to need access to money right away, which I don’t think he’s thought of by the sounds of things. Even if he’s working, he’s going to need more than a paycheck to set himself up. I can open an account, so he can access some of his money right away, something separate from their ‘money’ I’m supposing he would prefer. Guess that’s what I can do, mother.”
“That’s very important, dear. It’s what you’re good at. Very good. Let’s just hope it doesn’t come to that.”
“Um...do you want me to go over and talk to him? Man-to-man?”
Edna shook her head, “Wally said William didn’t even want me to know, I doubt that he’d want all of us...interfering in their business. Though you are a man, so maybe... No. Oh, I just don’t know.”
Lawrence nodded, relieved, “Very well then. I think I’m going to head home, so I can take a look at William’s portfolio and start working on putting together a plan that I can implement quickly for him, should it come to that. Just tell him to give me a call as soon as he can. Elizabeth, too. At least I can do something for them in that way...”
Edna nodded.
He started to walk out the door, “You know mother, I never thought those two...Oh well, guess you never know about people,” he said, shaking his head.
“No, this has got to be some temporary thing, it has to be! They belong together, I know it, I feel it; look what they’ve gone through, what...” Edna’s said, her mind a swirl with the history of the two of them, as well as the history of William, as she knew him before. And even further back to his father, and grandfather the thoughts and images merged. She shook her head to clear the rie oie of memories, and hints at something else.
“I refuse to believe otherwise, and don’t you dare discount them yet either,” she finished, tears in her voice.
“As you wish mother, I’m sorry to have upset you.”
She waved him away, “I’m fine, go on now.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A FEW MINUTES BEFORE 5:00PM
As Buffy got closer to The Rittenhouse, she looked around for William’s car, worried that he’d already left, until she remembered that Edna had said that Wally had it in the garage to fix. She turned the next corner, and drove up the alley, The DeSoto was there, but nobody was around. Pulling into the double driveway, she parked her car, and turned it off. Before she got out, she hesitated, her hand lingering over the strap of the duffel bag, then let it go. She needed to see him first, try to convince him to come home.
She walked up to the back door and knocked softly. There was no answer, so she tried the handle, but it was locked.
Lawrence was just walking out of the restaurant as Buffy came hurrying in.
“Where is he? Have you seen him?”
“Um...no, mother has. I believe he’s still at the house. Mom’s in her office.”
She stared at him for a moment, looking more lost than when he’d met her the first time.
Lawrence cleared his throat, “Elizabeth, I’m sorry to hear about your troubles.”
e jue just continued to stare at him, so he continued, “And, I’m very sorry to bring this up to you at this time, but I need you and William to call me, and the sooner the better, if there’s going to be any change in your...living arrangements.”
Buffy nodded, “I know, he’ll need...money, things...” her voice trailed off, disbelieving that she was even having this conversation.
“I’ll get working on it. Hopefully, it will all iron itself out before long anyway,” he added.“Tha“Thanks,” she said, and headed towards Edna’s office.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Edna was still standing by her desk when Buffy walked in, “Where is he? I was at the house, but nobody answered the door, and it was locked.”
“The front door?”
“No, the back door, I didn’t try the front door.”
“He was sound asleep when I left there about half an hour ago. Did you see his car?”
Buffyded,ded, “It was still out in the garage.”
“Was Wally out there?”
“No, nobody was there.”
“Where on earth is that boy? Let’s go on over, I’ll let you in.”
“Okay,” Buffy said.
At the door, Buffy stepped aside to let Edna go first. Edna stopped, looking into her eyes, “It’s going to be alright, Elizabeth,” she said, patting her arm.
“Is it?” Buffy asked, her voice small.
Edna nodded, emphatically, “No doubt in my mind, what so ever!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A FEW MINUTES PAST 5:00PM
William opened his eyes, not knowing for a moment where he was as he stared up at the ornately carved ceiling above him. As he took stock of himself, he suddenly realized where he was. He sat up, embarrassed to have found himself asleep on the couch, and reached for his watch fob.
“Bugger!” he hadn’t meant to sleep so long, well not at all, actually. He looked around, wondering if anybody had seen him. He wouldn’t be surprised, given the time. He only hoped that Edna hadn’t yet returned home and seen him there. She would surely know that something was amiss.
He quickly grabbed his dirty clothes off the floor near him, and went out to the garage. Wallace was just about to walk in, when he ran into William on the way out.
“Hey, where you going?”
“It’s getting late, I’ve got to go. I’m sorry. Is my car finished?”
“Yeah, it’s been done a couple of hours. What’s the rush, William? Why don’t you go with me over to the restaurant and have a bite to eat first.”
William shook his head, “No, that’s alright. Really,” he said, although breakfast had long worn off and his stomach was grumbling again. “What do I owe you for the car part, and the work? I can’t pay you right now, but I want to know, so as soon as I have some money, I can pay you.”
“You don’t have to worry about that right now.”
William nodded, “I do. Please, Wallace.”
“The part, well there were two parts actually, came to $32.99, including tax, but I’m not charging you for labor.”
“Very well. Thank you,” he said, shaking Wallace’s hand. “I’ll pay you as soon as I’m able, and if I can ever repay you another way someday, I’ll be glad...” he suddenly stiffened as he saw Elizabeth’s car, in the driveway.
“Where is she?” he said, accusingly to Wallace.
“Who?”
“Elizabeth,” he said, motioning. “Did you call her over here?”
“No man, absolutely not, but grandma came home early. She found you sleeping on the couch, maybe she called her.”
William ran his hands through his hair, as he slowly walked down the sidewalk to the driveway, “Where is she? Have you seen her?”
Wallace shook his head. “You were sleeping, so I wnextnext door to play some video games for a while with my buddy. She must’ve come while I was over there. I haven’t seen her. She’s probably next door at the restaurant with gram.”
William nodded, distractedly, as he neared her car. She would be coming over soon. Of that, he had no doubt. What could he say to her? Better still, how could he face her, after what he had done? After walking out?
He turned and looked at Wallace, who returned a questioning look.
“Do you want me to go get her?” he asked hopefully.
He hesitated a moment, then nodded, accepting the inevitable. “Tell her...tell her I’m back here...if she wants to talk...”
“Okay, be right back!” Wallace said, sprinting off.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to leave, I didn’t...” he paced closer to her car, rehearsing what he might say. Would she want him to come home? Well, if she did, he didn’t think he had the guts to walk away from her again, it had taken everything in him to leave yesterday, and he hadn’t even gotten very far.
His thoughts came to a halt, as he distractedly looked into her car. The duffel bag, which they’d bought for him in Michigan, was on her front seat. He opened up the door, and unzipped it. It was packed up with things he had left yesterday: his razor, wallet, phone charger, and other clothes. His pillows, and blanket from the couch lie in the backseat.
That’s why she had come! She’d brought him the things he’d forgotten to take; it wasn’t to talk him into coming home!
Steeling himself, he hurriedly took the things from her car, and put them into his. Before getting into the car, he pulled out two twenties from his wallet, and left them on the workbench in the garage for Wallace.
Then, checking to make sure his key was in the ignition, he started the car, and pulled out of the garage, down the driveway, and into the alley.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
5:10PM
Wallace met Buffy and Edna on the stairs of the restaurant, just as they were walking out.
“Wallace! Where were you? Elizabeth was over at the house and nobody was there. Where’s William.”
“Grandma! I was next door playing some video games waiting until William woke up,” he said, then turning to Buffy, “he’s up. In fact, he’s outside in back, waiting for you. He said to tell you, if you wanted to talk.”
“He said that?” Buffy said, daring a bit of a smile.
Wallace nodded, grinning.
They walked down the sidewalk towards the house.
“Oh no!” Buffy said, suddenly, taking off at a run.
“What is it, what’s the matter?” Edna called after her.
“His car!” Buffy said, running around the back of the house. The DeSoto was gone. She ran to the alley and looked up and down it, but didn’t see it anywhere. She ran back around the house, looking up and down the street.
A few minutes later, a defeated looking Buffy walked back around the house, where Edna and Wallace stood waiting.
“I don’t understand this,” Edna said, looking at Buffy, then at Wallace. “Why would William tell you to ask Elizabeth to come over to talk, then take off? That’s not like him!”
Buffy walked over to her car and looked in, his things were gone.
“Shit!”
END CHAPTER 158
* In chapter 9 of the prequel, One Normal Day, it explains about Spike killing his brother, after having been vamped, as well as why and how he came to own the land in Julian.
Buffy stared at the letter in her hand for a long time, not believing this was happening, that he'd left her, that he'd thought this was for the best.
Then she got angry. Damn him!
"You think I'm just going to let you go this easily?" she yelled. "You obviously don't know who you're dealing with! Telling me what sort of normal life I should have, that you're dragging me back into the darkness! How dare you!"
She stormed into his bedroom, to see what he had taken with him, and what he had left. It looked as though he had only taken the bare essentials; only a few shirts and pants seemed to be missing, and most of the things that were his in the bathroom were still there.
She went on ranting, and throwing things; even breaking a few things along the way, as her pain, sorrow, anger, and guilt from the past month, and particularly the last week finally spent itself.
"Don't you know you belong here, William? That you fit in with me?" she asked, her voice breaking as she collapsed onto the couch.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8:00PM
William had left in the late afternoon. He had driven around for a couple of hours, trying to think, trying to be strong; trying to not waver from the decision he had made. That decision made all the harder, once he realized that he'd forgotten to bring any money, his checkbook, or even his bank debit card with him. He considered going back to the house to retrieve them, but didn't want to chance that Elizabeth would have already been home, and had read the letter. That would only hurt her more, if she thought he'd changed his mind, then found he'd only come back for things he should've taken with him in the first place.
Not that he cared about such things, for in his mind they weren't really his anyway. To him, his investments, and the house were ill-gotten gains, made because he’d murdered his own brother. *
Still, ethics aside, there was the practical matter of where he could go without any money. It was already dark, his gas tank was nearly on empty, and he had nowhere to spend the night.
Turning off the road into the parking lot of Montessori, he pulled around the long driveway, and parked behind their large shed. It was Saturday tomorrow, so there wouldn’t be anybody there, at least he hoped not. It would have to do.
Drinking a warm can of soda he found in the back seat, he patted his left pocket reassuringly, then emptied out his right, putting its contents on the seat next to him. There was a small notebook, a pen, his watch fob, less than a dollar in change, and his cell phone. He stared at it a long time before turning it on; there were four new messages.
He hesitated before calling the number for his voicemail. They were all from Elizabeth; three of them were from earlier in the day when she was on her way home, the last one sent about two hours ago. It was the hardest one for him to hear.
“You are so very, very wrong about everything, William,” she’d said in a quietly restrained voice filled with hurt and anger.
Exhausted, hungry, and cold, he turned the phone off, and reclined the front seat back as far as it would go. He stared up at the cloudy sky, as his mind kept replaying her message, which albeit short, had spoken volumes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SEPTEMBER 27, 2009
SATURDAY
2:00AM
Buffy lay in bed wide awake. Ever since reading his letter, she’d debated whether or not to go and look for him, and if finding him, drag him home. The idea of punching him in the nose, also passing through her thougths about a dozen or more times having a great deal of appeal to her, as well.
Restlessly, she got up, and once again looked out the window, down the drive, straining to hear any sounds that might indicate that he had changed his mind and was coming home - to her, but there was nothing save for the sounds of the night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
5:00AM
William hadn’t realized he had been asleep, until he awoke with a start to the sound of thunder, and lightening crackling nearby. It took him a few heart-pounding moments to realize where he was, and why. He rubbed his hand over an area of the fogged up window, and looked out into the storm, confirming this new reality to himself.
Teeth chattering, he started the car, turning on the heat full blast.
“What am I doing?” he asked forlornly into the dark, his hand reflectively reaching into his left pocket, to grab hold of Elizabeth’s necklace, and the ring he’d attached to its chain.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
5:00AM
A loud thunderclap awoke Buffy from her light, fitful sleep. Shivering, she pulled her nightgown tightly around her, and got up to look out the window again. The rain coming down in torrents made it impossible to see anything, save for those few seconds when lightning would illuminate the sky.
“William, what are you doing?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
6:00AM
“William! Hey! William you alright?”
William awoke to someone tapping on his driver’s window. Confused he looked up, trying to place the face before it dawned on him who was standing there.
“Hello, Wallace,” he said, rolling down the window. It had stopped raining, and the sun was just beginning to come up.
“You okay, man? What are you doing here?”
“I’m...I’m...’s a long story,” he said, sitting up to stretch.
“Ah...your old lady kick you out, huh?”
“Old lady? What?”
“Sorry man...I meant Elizabeth. Old lady’s just a figure of speech, means your girlfriend, or if you’re married, then your wife. Sort of an old hippie expression I picked up from...well, some old hippies,” he said, grinning lopsidedly.
William ignored him, and opened the door. Wallace moved aside so Williouldould get out. “Why are you here? Did Elizabeth...?”
Wallace shook his head, “No, dude...William, I mean. I came here to do some mowing. My friend’s little sister goes here, and they asked him if he couo ito it, but then he busted his arm skateboarding, so I vounteered.”
“Oh.”
“Didn’t you use to work here last year?”
William nodded, looking over at the shed, “Yeah, why don’t I show you where everything is.”
“That would be great!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8:00AM
“Hey, thanks man! I really appreciate your helping me with all this. I probably still would’ve been at it for half the day.”
“It’s alright. Didn’t have anything better to do,” William said, as he put the mower back in the shed, then hung up the hedge clippers on the hook. He swayed on his feet a bit, as he took off his gloves.
“You alright?”
“I’m fine. Just a bit hungry, I guess.”
“Why don’t we go and grab some breakfast? My treat.”
William wanted to refuse Wallace’s offer, but his hunger won out.
“Thanks. Should I follow you, then? Where are you parked?”
“Actually, I walked over, so we can just go in your car.”
William nodded, and finished locking up the shed.
Wallace got in, and William put the key in the ignition. Nothing happened. He tried again.
“What the...?”
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know, it’s not starting. It was fine last night; turned it on for some heat...oh bugger,” he said, remembering it wasn’t on when Wallace woke him up. He looked at the fuel gage; it was on empty. “I’m out of gas.”
“That’s okay,” Wallace said, getting out, “we’ll go get some breakfast first. It’s only about 2 blocks away, then we’ll stop at the gas station, and get a can of gas for your car...”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As soon as they got to the restaurant, William excused himself in order to use the washroom, and to wash up. Looking in the mirror, he was taken aback by his own haggard, unkempt appearance. His face was dirty, as was his hair, and his clothes looked like he’d slept in them for days, rather than just for one night.
Managing as best he could, he washed his face, hands, and arms using paper towels and the foam dispenser soap, annorinoring a rather curious look from another patron who’d come in to use the bathroom. Lastly, he ran wet fingers through his unruly hair, trying to tame the wild look he was sporting. As for the two-day growth of beard, there was nothing he could do about that.
During breakfast, William listened politely to Wallace chat about one thing or the other. At first, he’d been almost overwhelmed by the amount of food brought to the table; it had been so long since he’d eaten anything of substance. Hunger quickly overrode any such pretense though, as he dove into the eggs, pancakes, sausage, bacon, and toast in front of him.
“What are you going to do?”
“Huh?” William asked, his mouth full, and realizing he hadn’t been following the conversation for a while.
“After we get you some gas, you going home?”
He slowly put down his fork; his appetite lost, and shook his head.
“You got a place to stay?”
Again, William shook his head, his fin tra tracing the rim of his coffee cup. “Afraid I didn’t plan that far...or at all, really.”
He looked up at Wallace, and straightened himself up, “But don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. Got some plans...”
“Oh...okay. Well, that’s good...”
“Yeah...”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
10:00AM
“Sounds a bit rough, why don’t I take a look at it when you drive me back to the house?” Wallace asked, after they’d got the DeSoto started with a gallon of gas they’d brought back from a nearby station.
“You don’t have to...”
“No problem. After all, you helped me out with the mowing and stuff,” Wallace said.
“You paid for breakfast,” William countered.
“You don’t want the car breaking down, do you?”
“Alright,” William reluctantly agreed, as they pulled out of the parking lot, “but you have to promise me something.”
“What’s that?”
“I don’t want Edna knowing about...about my moving out.”
“Not a problem, she’s at my granddad’s in San Diego. I don’t even think she’s coming back until this evening.”
“Oh. Good,” William said, letting out a sigh of re.
.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
11:30AM
William had been sitting in the garage behind the house for the past hour, watching half-heartedly, as Wallace worked on tuning up his car.
“I’ve got to go to the store for a part,” Wallace said.
“Um...you really shouldn’t, I can’t pay you right now.”
“That’s alright, you’re good for it, aren’t you?”
William nodded.
Wallace eyed him critically; “Maybe you should just stay here while I’m gone. You could use the shower and relax or something. The store I have to go to is about 45 minutes away.”
“What about AutoMart?” William asked, remembering the one Clem had taken him to a couple of times.
Wallace shrugged, “Most the time they don’t have what I need in stock. They could order the parts, but it would take a couple of days. The store I’m going to is about five times the size, and always has what I need.”
“Oh.”
“So, what do you think about my idea of you staying here while I’m gone?”
William was going to argue, not wanting to take advantage of any more of this young man’s hospitality or money than he had to, but the idea of a shower all of a sudden, very much appealed to him, “That sounds good, as long as you’re sure.”
Wallace nodded, and directed him to where he’d find everything in the house before leaving for the auto parts store.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
9:00AM
Buffy paced around the house, as she’d been doing since she woke up. If one could consider what she’d had as ‘sleep.’
The morning light had brought a more thorough investigation of what William had taken with him, and what he’d left. She had discovered his wallet underneath some books on the dresser, as well as his phone charger, still on the desk. She had tried his cell phone several times again, but there was no answer, and she didn’t leave a message.
“What are you planning on doing without money, you idiot?” she asked, while on the ranting side of the seesaw of her emotions. “God, what the hell are you going to do William? What were you thinking?”
Like records in an old Wurlitzer jukebox, her mind shuffled from one scary scenario to the next, in a long list of bad things that could happen to him; a distraught, recently terrorized man, with no money, and no place to stay.
Dawn called half an hour later, wondering how things had gone, and had been shocked, when Buffy told her, then furious with William.
“I am so going to kick his ass!” Dawn said, not for the first time.
“Stand in line,” Buffy had replied, morosely, “I’st dst definitely thinking about a good old-fashioned punch to his nose.”
“Might help.”
“Couldn’t hurt at this point,” she agreed; then begged off the phone, promising to let Dawn know if she talked to William, or if he came home.
Inaction wasn’t Buffy’s thing; never had been, and pacing wasn’t solving anything. After the initial shock of yesterday, and a restless night, she was ready to be proactive. She threw his wallet and phone charger into a bag, along with some other things of his, resenting the fact a bit as she did, “Enabler,” she muttered to herself.
She hoped against hope, that if she did find him, she could just talk him into coming home, rather than helping him to stay gone. But she’d made a promise, long before she knew how, or even if things would work out between them, to be there for him no matter what - and for better or worse, she couldn’t let him starve or live on the street if she could help it.
Before leaving, she pickp thp the phone and called The Rittenhouse.
“Hello?” answered a female voice she didn’t recognize.
“May I please speak to Edna?”
“She’s not here right now.”
“When do you expect her.”
“I don’t think she’s going to be here until this evening. Can I help you with something?”
“No, please just tell her to call Elizabeth as soon as you see her, alright?”
“Will do,” answered the perkily, disinterested voice, unceremoniously hanging up on her.
Sighing, Buffy took the extra duffel bag out to the car, along with two pillows, (one hers, one his) a fleece blanket from the couch, and other various items William had forgotten. Throwing them into the trunk, she roared off down the drive, and headed into town.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was a little past noon, when William finished showering, and dressing in something clean. It felt humiliating to be in the position of having to use someone else’s bath, but at the same time, it felod tod to feel decent again. He harrumphed at his notion of decent, wondering when he’d been Spike, if he’d felt the same Victorian sentiments regarding cleanliness, “What was that saying? Cleanliness is next to Godliness?” He supposed that answered his quandary.
Too tired to give it any more thought, he wandered around the house for a while, before sitting down on the sofa to wait for Wallace to return.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2:30PM
“Hey man, I’m back! I got the parts, sorry it took so long, I ran into a friend who I haven’t seen for...” Wallace called, as he walked in the back door, and out to the living room. His voice trailed off as he saw William asleep on the couch.
“...and guess I’ll just go put them in.”
No use waking the guy up, besides, he looked like hell.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4:30PM
“I’m just going to put my things away dear, then I’ll meet you over at the restaurant,” Edna said, as she got out of the older model Lincoln.
“I can wait,” Lawrence offered.
“No dear, you go on and order us up something,l bel be over in about 10 minutes.”
“Alright mother, I’ll see you there.”
Edna let herself into the large, three story house that had once been a hotel, and temporary home for prospectors and other workers who had come to this area to mine for gold, when she and Lawrence had first opened up for business. Of course, it hadn’t been used for that in over half a century.
The top two floors had gone pretty much unused altogether, until Wallace started staying the summers with her, and she felt it would be in both their best interest to not be right on top of each other. Old ladies and teenage boys had quite a bit of difference in their lifestyles.
Still, he had been a good great-grandson, and she hoped that one day he might take over the business from her, when pas passed. Neither, her son or his two children, her grandchildren, had been content to just stay in a small town and run a restaurant.
Edna was musing along these lines of thought, as she lay her purse down on the table near the door, when a foot hanging off of her small sofa caught her eye.
“Wally, what on earth are you doing in the house on a nice day like this?” Edna asked, smiling indulgently as she walked into the kitchen, “What time did you get back frelpielping your friend out at the school?” she continued as she put away the food that Lawrence’s wife had sent home with her.
“Well, I’m glad you’re here. Molly called off tonight, so we could use you over at the restaurant, especially during the dinner hour,” she said, walking around the other side of the sofa.
Abruptly she clamped her hand over her mouth, when she saw it was William, fast asleep.
She stared at him quizzically, and was about to say his name, when a closook ook made a frown knit her brow.
Hearing the front door, she hurried out of the living room to intercept whoever was coming in.
“Grandma! You’re back!”
“Shh!” she said; hurrying towards Wally, and motioning him back out to the front porch.
“What’s going on? Why is William here?” Edna said, a worried look on her face.
“Oh, you saw him, huh?” Wallace asked, looking sheepish. “I’m just helping him out with his car. It wasn’t running right, and I’m tuning it up.”
She looked Wally in the eye, until he glanced down, “Why is William asleep on the couch, aookiooking...just awful? And don’t you lie to me either, young man!”
Wally’s shoulder’s slumped.
“Well?”
“I am helping him with the car. He didn’t want me to say anything, grandma!”
“What? What didn’t he want you to say?”
“He’s...him and Elizabeth...they’ve split up.”
Wally heard his grandma gasp and looked up at her with pleading eyes, “I wasn’t supposed to tell you, he asked me not to.”
“Then tell him I beat you up for the information,” she said, marching down the stairs.
“Where are you going?” Wally asked, running after her.
“To the restaurant. And if he wakes up, don’t you dare let him leave.”
“How am I going to stop him?”
“I don’t know, tell him the car’s not working or something.”
“What are you going to do?” he called after her.
She just put up her hand, as she walked down the sidewalk.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Mom, you’re here,” Lawrence said standing up, as she walked towards the table.
“Mom? What’s wrong?” he asked, as she hurriedly walked by.
“Mom!” he called as she went through the kitchen and into the office. Moving things around her desk, as she looked for her phone book, her eyes lit on the little yellow post-it memo, with the words, “Call Elizabeth, important,” written on it, along with her number.
“Ah!” Edna said, picking up the phone, and calling the number.
“Mr!” r!” Lawrence said, exasperated. “What on earth is the matter?”
“Hello, Elizabeth? This is Edna, William is over here!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Buffy had been driving around for hours; she’d been through town a half dozen times, checking on their favorite haunts. She’d been past the library, and inside it, asking about him. She’d driven past the school, the restaurant, the parks, and a nature preserve they’d picnicked at once. She’d even gone driven all the way to the university at San Marcos, as well as their neighboring town, Santa Ysabel.
She had just gone home to check to see if maybe he’d come back there when the phone rang.
“Oh thank God! How is he?” she asked, realizing immediately that Edna knew something was wrong without her having to tell her.
“He’s asleep on my couch. Wally said he was helping William tune up his car or something. Elizabeth, what’s happened? Why does he look so...?”
“What? How’s he look?” Buffy asked, alarmed.
Edna searched her mind for a way to say it, without worrying Elizabeth unduly; “He just looks...different is all. Thinner, too.”
“I know,” Buffy said, letting out a breath. “I’m coming right over. Do you think you can keep him there?” she asked, not even knowing what she was going to do if she did see him.
“I told Wally not to let him leave. As far as I know, he’s still asleep.”
“I’ll be right there,” Buffy said, hanging up and hurrying out the door.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lawrence stood there taking it all in, as Edna hung up and looked over at him.
“William’s in trouble,“ she said.
“How so? I gathered there’s been a split of some sort between Elizabeth and him, but how do you figure...?”
She looked up at him without answering; her blue eyes wise with having lived a long life, having seen things he never could guess at, and experienced love very much like William’s and Elizabeth’s.
“I see,” he finally ceded. “What do you want me to do?”
Edna sighed, shaking her head; “I don’t know what you can do, dear...”
“I do.”
She looked at him, questioningly.
“I know it’s not what you have in mind as far as helping them, but if William has left his house, he’s going to need to find another...” he looked at Edna and saw her frowning, “...um temporary place to live, right? He’s going to need access to money right away, which I don’t think he’s thought of by the sounds of things. Even if he’s working, he’s going to need more than a paycheck to set himself up. I can open an account, so he can access some of his money right away, something separate from their ‘money’ I’m supposing he would prefer. Guess that’s what I can do, mother.”
“That’s very important, dear. It’s what you’re good at. Very good. Let’s just hope it doesn’t come to that.”
“Um...do you want me to go over and talk to him? Man-to-man?”
Edna shook her head, “Wally said William didn’t even want me to know, I doubt that he’d want all of us...interfering in their business. Though you are a man, so maybe... No. Oh, I just don’t know.”
Lawrence nodded, relieved, “Very well then. I think I’m going to head home, so I can take a look at William’s portfolio and start working on putting together a plan that I can implement quickly for him, should it come to that. Just tell him to give me a call as soon as he can. Elizabeth, too. At least I can do something for them in that way...”
Edna nodded.
He started to walk out the door, “You know mother, I never thought those two...Oh well, guess you never know about people,” he said, shaking his head.
“No, this has got to be some temporary thing, it has to be! They belong together, I know it, I feel it; look what they’ve gone through, what...” Edna’s said, her mind a swirl with the history of the two of them, as well as the history of William, as she knew him before. And even further back to his father, and grandfather the thoughts and images merged. She shook her head to clear the rie oie of memories, and hints at something else.
“I refuse to believe otherwise, and don’t you dare discount them yet either,” she finished, tears in her voice.
“As you wish mother, I’m sorry to have upset you.”
She waved him away, “I’m fine, go on now.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A FEW MINUTES BEFORE 5:00PM
As Buffy got closer to The Rittenhouse, she looked around for William’s car, worried that he’d already left, until she remembered that Edna had said that Wally had it in the garage to fix. She turned the next corner, and drove up the alley, The DeSoto was there, but nobody was around. Pulling into the double driveway, she parked her car, and turned it off. Before she got out, she hesitated, her hand lingering over the strap of the duffel bag, then let it go. She needed to see him first, try to convince him to come home.
She walked up to the back door and knocked softly. There was no answer, so she tried the handle, but it was locked.
Lawrence was just walking out of the restaurant as Buffy came hurrying in.
“Where is he? Have you seen him?”
“Um...no, mother has. I believe he’s still at the house. Mom’s in her office.”
She stared at him for a moment, looking more lost than when he’d met her the first time.
Lawrence cleared his throat, “Elizabeth, I’m sorry to hear about your troubles.”
e jue just continued to stare at him, so he continued, “And, I’m very sorry to bring this up to you at this time, but I need you and William to call me, and the sooner the better, if there’s going to be any change in your...living arrangements.”
Buffy nodded, “I know, he’ll need...money, things...” her voice trailed off, disbelieving that she was even having this conversation.
“I’ll get working on it. Hopefully, it will all iron itself out before long anyway,” he added.“Tha“Thanks,” she said, and headed towards Edna’s office.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Edna was still standing by her desk when Buffy walked in, “Where is he? I was at the house, but nobody answered the door, and it was locked.”
“The front door?”
“No, the back door, I didn’t try the front door.”
“He was sound asleep when I left there about half an hour ago. Did you see his car?”
Buffyded,ded, “It was still out in the garage.”
“Was Wally out there?”
“No, nobody was there.”
“Where on earth is that boy? Let’s go on over, I’ll let you in.”
“Okay,” Buffy said.
At the door, Buffy stepped aside to let Edna go first. Edna stopped, looking into her eyes, “It’s going to be alright, Elizabeth,” she said, patting her arm.
“Is it?” Buffy asked, her voice small.
Edna nodded, emphatically, “No doubt in my mind, what so ever!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A FEW MINUTES PAST 5:00PM
William opened his eyes, not knowing for a moment where he was as he stared up at the ornately carved ceiling above him. As he took stock of himself, he suddenly realized where he was. He sat up, embarrassed to have found himself asleep on the couch, and reached for his watch fob.
“Bugger!” he hadn’t meant to sleep so long, well not at all, actually. He looked around, wondering if anybody had seen him. He wouldn’t be surprised, given the time. He only hoped that Edna hadn’t yet returned home and seen him there. She would surely know that something was amiss.
He quickly grabbed his dirty clothes off the floor near him, and went out to the garage. Wallace was just about to walk in, when he ran into William on the way out.
“Hey, where you going?”
“It’s getting late, I’ve got to go. I’m sorry. Is my car finished?”
“Yeah, it’s been done a couple of hours. What’s the rush, William? Why don’t you go with me over to the restaurant and have a bite to eat first.”
William shook his head, “No, that’s alright. Really,” he said, although breakfast had long worn off and his stomach was grumbling again. “What do I owe you for the car part, and the work? I can’t pay you right now, but I want to know, so as soon as I have some money, I can pay you.”
“You don’t have to worry about that right now.”
William nodded, “I do. Please, Wallace.”
“The part, well there were two parts actually, came to $32.99, including tax, but I’m not charging you for labor.”
“Very well. Thank you,” he said, shaking Wallace’s hand. “I’ll pay you as soon as I’m able, and if I can ever repay you another way someday, I’ll be glad...” he suddenly stiffened as he saw Elizabeth’s car, in the driveway.
“Where is she?” he said, accusingly to Wallace.
“Who?”
“Elizabeth,” he said, motioning. “Did you call her over here?”
“No man, absolutely not, but grandma came home early. She found you sleeping on the couch, maybe she called her.”
William ran his hands through his hair, as he slowly walked down the sidewalk to the driveway, “Where is she? Have you seen her?”
Wallace shook his head. “You were sleeping, so I wnextnext door to play some video games for a while with my buddy. She must’ve come while I was over there. I haven’t seen her. She’s probably next door at the restaurant with gram.”
William nodded, distractedly, as he neared her car. She would be coming over soon. Of that, he had no doubt. What could he say to her? Better still, how could he face her, after what he had done? After walking out?
He turned and looked at Wallace, who returned a questioning look.
“Do you want me to go get her?” he asked hopefully.
He hesitated a moment, then nodded, accepting the inevitable. “Tell her...tell her I’m back here...if she wants to talk...”
“Okay, be right back!” Wallace said, sprinting off.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to leave, I didn’t...” he paced closer to her car, rehearsing what he might say. Would she want him to come home? Well, if she did, he didn’t think he had the guts to walk away from her again, it had taken everything in him to leave yesterday, and he hadn’t even gotten very far.
His thoughts came to a halt, as he distractedly looked into her car. The duffel bag, which they’d bought for him in Michigan, was on her front seat. He opened up the door, and unzipped it. It was packed up with things he had left yesterday: his razor, wallet, phone charger, and other clothes. His pillows, and blanket from the couch lie in the backseat.
That’s why she had come! She’d brought him the things he’d forgotten to take; it wasn’t to talk him into coming home!
Steeling himself, he hurriedly took the things from her car, and put them into his. Before getting into the car, he pulled out two twenties from his wallet, and left them on the workbench in the garage for Wallace.
Then, checking to make sure his key was in the ignition, he started the car, and pulled out of the garage, down the driveway, and into the alley.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
5:10PM
Wallace met Buffy and Edna on the stairs of the restaurant, just as they were walking out.
“Wallace! Where were you? Elizabeth was over at the house and nobody was there. Where’s William.”
“Grandma! I was next door playing some video games waiting until William woke up,” he said, then turning to Buffy, “he’s up. In fact, he’s outside in back, waiting for you. He said to tell you, if you wanted to talk.”
“He said that?” Buffy said, daring a bit of a smile.
Wallace nodded, grinning.
They walked down the sidewalk towards the house.
“Oh no!” Buffy said, suddenly, taking off at a run.
“What is it, what’s the matter?” Edna called after her.
“His car!” Buffy said, running around the back of the house. The DeSoto was gone. She ran to the alley and looked up and down it, but didn’t see it anywhere. She ran back around the house, looking up and down the street.
A few minutes later, a defeated looking Buffy walked back around the house, where Edna and Wallace stood waiting.
“I don’t understand this,” Edna said, looking at Buffy, then at Wallace. “Why would William tell you to ask Elizabeth to come over to talk, then take off? That’s not like him!”
Buffy walked over to her car and looked in, his things were gone.
“Shit!”
END CHAPTER 158
* In chapter 9 of the prequel, One Normal Day, it explains about Spike killing his brother, after having been vamped, as well as why and how he came to own the land in Julian.