"Buffy? Wake up Buffy." Angel was tapping her shoulder. It was dark out now. She must have slept for over 5 hours.
"Angel?" She rubbed her eyes and looked up at him in the light. The park light just hit him perfectly and made him look as beautiful as he had ever been.
"Are you all right? No offense but you look like crap." He brushed a few scattered strands of hair back off her face.
"No, I mean, I don't know. I'm confused. I want to get out of here!" She screamed into the dead air.
"Here. Let's go somewhere quiet. Maybe get you changed and washed up. What in the world-" He stopped to look over the bruise on her neck. He studied her closely. More bruises covered her body. Her short black skirt didn't hide the one's on her legs. "What happened to you?" He stared at her in amazement that she wasn't healed.
"That's what I don't know. Please, let's get out of here. Please. I can't stand it." She started to cry as she reached the car. It had been a long time since she'd seen it and the pending situation didn't help much either. She watched as Angel pulled out of the parking space and headed down the street towards his in town abode.
"Do you mind? You don't look like you want to go back to the dorm. Unless you want to go home?"
"No. This is fine. As long as no one else is there. I'm just so scared." She wiped her eyes with a tissue. Her mascara had already dripped down her face and she attempted to scrub it off. "Damn fake waterproof." She giggled at that which was bother her. He had already seen her so what was she trying to hide.
"At least you're in a better mood than when we talked on the phone." He unlocked the door and turned on the dim lights in the house. "What do you want to talk to me about? I'm here for you." He held her in a bear hug. Her hair smelled of the dumpster and her clothes were filthy.
"Do you by any chance have some clothes I can borrow. I need to get out of these." She looked up at him through her tear stained eyes. He wandered over to a chest and opened one of the drawers.
"Here. You can use the bathroom if you like. There is a towel in there already." He gently threw her some pants and a t-shirt. She stumbled over to the bathroom door and shut it. He could hear her crying in the bathroom while the shower was running.
"How are you doing?" Angel pulled Buffy up into a giant hug. Her hair was wrapped turban style in a towel. His clothes hung loosely off her small frame, but she was still sobbing.
"Confused. What else is there to say?" She sobbed into his chest. It was comforting to know she could count on one she loved.
"Tell me what happened. All that you remember. We can try and figure this out." He led her over to a large couch and sat her down. She wiped her eyes onto the shirt she was wearing and started.
"All I remember, is, is, I was at the Bronze, by myself. Drinking." She stumbled to find words. "Drinking coke. The bartender kept smiling at me and passing them down to me. There wasn't any alcohol in them. As far as I remember. And, and then..." She racked her brain looking for clues to what happened next.
"And then, what happened?" Angel's eyes pleaded with her. He looked torn that his love was hurt and he could do nothing.
"My stool fell out from under me, the bartender helped me up, and then I, I woke up outside behind the Bronze next to the dumpster. My clothes were scattered about and, it was cold." She shivered. Nothing like this had ever happened to her before and her thoughts were scattered throughout. She whimpered and grabbed the pillow on which she was resting. She cuddled it and watched as Angel silently repeated to himself what happened.
"Do you not remember anything else?" He had an idea of what had happened but wanted to be absolutely sure.
"Other, than a bruise, no." She rubbed the spot where there had been a purple mark earlier, it had disappeared. Angel reached his hand to rub the spot and feel for anything and moved her blonde hair back over her shoulder, on her neck were two fading pinpricks.
"Shit." He cursed aloud.
"What? What's wrong?" She watched his face change. He was definitely angered at something unknown to her.
"You were bit. Whoever did this to you is going to tell me what happened and isn't going to have a good night." He got up and stormed around the apartment. It was still light out and he would have to wait to find the one who marked Buffy.
"Holy cow. But, I'm not a vampire, what the hell happened to me!?! I want answers, I need answers!" She ran into Angel's arms.
"I may have an answer, but not a good one, nothing that you've dealt with before." His tone scared her. His face was back to normal and he held her close. She felt as though nothing could happen as long as he protected her.
"Don't hold the truth, it's inevitable." She waited patiently.
"You were raped by a vampire." Her body stiffened up at his words. She cried into his chest attempting to hold back the tears.
"No! No! I just passed out, and the bouncer's just dumped me in the back. And that was after I had put on a strip show. I...I got into a cat fight, my clothes ripped off and we got into the back of the Bronze, that's your mark, yeah, that's it, it's your mark." She trembled trying to force herself to come up with different options.
"Put, the facts together. You're not stupid." He gave her a small kiss on the top of the head. He grabbed her some Kleenex. She took them and ran into the bathroom. This was worse than loosing her mother, almost. Buffy leaned over the toilet bowl and spilled whatever she had had that last evening.