Chapter four
Broken promises.
Buffy pulled up at her house and let out a sigh, it had been a long and annoying drive home from L.A to Sunnydale. First, Cordy had nagged her non-stop about who she had spent the night with and then once she had realized that her lips were sealed and wasn’t going to tell her a thing, she went on to tell her how amazing her night with Xander had been. Buffy had to stop her best friend on more than one occasion for over sharing.
Cordy had spent majority of the drive thanking Buffy repeatedly for taking the trip with her and of course, going out to the club too. The silence after that had been brief, Cordy had gone back to nagging, trying to get a name out of her. Buffy had simply smiled, saying she wasn’t the type to kiss and tell and besides, there was nothing to tell, she had simply stepped out early for breakfast. Cordelia had huffed, not believing Buffy for a second.
For the first time in four years Buffy was glad to sit in her car in silence, breathing in deeply as she drove away from Cordelia’s house.
Stepping out of her car, she grabbed her bag from the back seat and locked the doors. She started across the front lawn and was halfway to the front door when she noticed her mother’s four-wheel drive in the drive way. Her mother wasn’t supposed to be home for a few more hours. Hesitantly she walked inside, the smell of freshly cooked pancakes filled the house and she couldn’t help but smile. Buffy dropped her bag near the staircase and walked into the kitchen, smiling at her mother Joyce.
“Hi sweetie. Where have you been?” Joyce asked with a smile.
“Oh um… I stayed at Cordy’s over the weekend.”
“That’s nice, do you want some pancakes?”
“Yes please,” she smiled, taking a seat at the kitchen bench.
“So did you girls have fun over the weekend?” Buffy’s mind imminently flashed back to last night.
Her body flush with Spike’s as they lay on his bed, a tangled mess of arms and legs, sweating, moaning and thrusting against each other as they screamed in release.
“Uh huh.” Buffy swallowed hard, shaking the memories from her mind as she tried desperately to focus on anything but the ache that was now between her legs.
“That’s good.” Joyce smiled, turning off the stove and placing a large plate of pancakes in front of Buffy. She took a seat across from Buffy, her own plate of pancakes in front of her.
“Buffy, there’s something I need to talk to you about.” Joyce said, looking up from her plate to meet Buffy’s eyes.
Buffy thought she might choke on her mouthful of pancakes at the serious look of her mother’s face. “Oh god! She knows I lied about being at Cordy’s on the weekend. I’m a dead woman.” her mind screamed. “Stay cool Buffy. That might not be what she wants to talk to you about.”
“What is it mom?” Buffy smiled, trying to look innocent.
“It’s about Christmas,” Buffy let out a soft sigh in relief. “You see, I know I promised I would be here but…”
“Please don’t say you have to go out of town on business?” Buffy begged, her eyes pleading. Joyce felt guilt rush over her at the saddened expression on her daughters face,
“I’m so sorry, sweetie.” she whispered.
“You’re not going to be here for Christmas?”
“I’ll be home Christmas morning I promise you but the weeks before that while your on your break I won’t be… I have to fly to England to meet a very important client…”
“Who’s more important than spending time with your only daughter?” Buffy snapped.
“No one, sweetie…please let me finish Elizabeth.” Buffy knew that when her mother used her first name it was time to be quiet.
“This client it a very big art collector and he likes to invest in businesses like mine,” she met Buffy’s eyes. “Buffy, if I can get this guy on board it means finally getting rid of your fathers debts and that means I can cut back my hours at work, be home more with you… like it use to be.” Buffy’s face lit up, hope in her eyes.
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Okay, but where will I be staying? ‘Cause you know I’m old enough to stay home alone now.”
“You’re sixteen years old.”
“I turn seventeen in three weeks.” Buffy said, determined. Joyce shook her head and Buffy knew this was one argument she wasn’t going to win.
“I talked to Jenny and Giles last week when I thought I might have to take the trip and they are more than happy for you to stay with them over the school break.” Buffy sighed, defeated.
“Fine… at lease I’ll get to hang with Cordy.” She smiled, trying to look on the bright side.
“You’re such a good girl Elizabeth, so grown up… Things are finally starting to look up,” she let out a sigh. “I know things have been hard the past couple of years but….” Joyce started but Buffy was quick to stop her.
“It’s not your fault mom, none of it…it’s his fault.” Buffy said in a dark tone, thinking of her father.
“He has a name.”
“You’re right, he does… jerk?” Joyce shook her head.
“Elizabeth…”
“Fine… Hank.” she spat.
“He’s still your father.”
“I don’t have a father.” Buffy simply stated. It was true as far as she was concerned, her father was gone, dead… he was barely a father when he had lived with them, constantly putting her down. When she was only fourteen he had ran off with his eighteen year old secretary to Spain, a woman who was only four years older than her and twenty two years younger than he was. The icing on the cake was that he’d left her and Joyce to clean up his financial mess, making Joyce have to work ridiculously long hours and spend vast amounts of time away from Buffy.
“I’m going to have a shower.” Buffy told said, sliding off her stool and placing some more pancake in her mouth before she left, grabbing her bag from the staircase before heading up stairs to shower.
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