Title: I Saved Yo Evil Ass part 8
Authors: Lilyana_Vamp & Sunscorched
Email: Lilyana_vamp@yahoo.com Aurora_plym_uk@yahoo.com
Rating: PG-15
Summary: Some vampires are just ungrateful.
Content: C/Aus
Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: We own nothing
Distribution: Just ask us if you want it
Part 8
Broken
Cordelia walked through the front door into her dark, dreary house. She walked up the stairs and into her bedroom, where she managed to peel off her uniform and pull on a loose sweatshirt and shorts. She turned to see Angelus sleeping in her bed and the tears came to her eyes again.
"Angelus, wake up," she pleaded desperately. Angelus stirred a little but didn't fully come round. "Angelus, please." She touched his arm lightly. "We need to talk."
His hand shot out to halt the intruder before any harm came to him. He stared at Cordelia's desperate face, narrowed his eyes and slowly sat up. "What?"
Her bottom lip quivered as she started to explain with a defense. "I didn't mean to, I swear."
"You told her" it wasn't a question as much as it was a statement. "Cordelia..."
"No. I didn't tell her. It was...he made me tell him," she cried, kneeling on the floor beside the bed. "I'm so sorry..."
Angelus looked at her, "Sorry doesn't cut it Cordelia, I told you not to go and you disobeyed me on purpose. Now, you're going to get either me or the Slayer killed, who would you prefer to live?"
"We could leave," she pleaded, reaching for his hand. "We could go away where they can't find us. I swear, I'll never do anything to disobey you again. Please." She was desperate and waiting for the inevitable pain.
"Do you really think it's that easy?" Angelus cupped her chin and brought her to sit on the bed. "Did you think I would take one look at your pouting, teary-eyed face and forgive you?"
"Hoping is more like it. Angelus, I swear I didn't mean to. I tried to make him not push me. He just pushed and I snapped...and slipped. It was an accident."
"Who did you tell? Xander, your little playmate hoping he would come rescue you?"
She remembered the feeling of his hand on her wrist and lowered her eyes. She touched her wrist and shook her head. "No, it wasn't Xander. And why didn't you tell me that he came here?" she asked, hoping to stall him a little.
Angelus pulled back a little, "Three's a crowd where something of mine's concerned. I wanted it to be just us, wasn't that sweet of me?" he mocked as he stared at her with hard, unreadable eyes.
She winced at his expression and the tone of his voice. "I don't want anyone to get hurt."
"A little late for that Cordelia, tell me just who did you open your big mouth to?"
"He was only being concerned for me. He was just trying to help. It's what he does best." She looked up at him, her eyes full of fear.
Angelus smirked knowingly at her, "The Watcher. What did he do? Take one look at you, take you into his safe arms and tell you everything was going to be ok? Bet you liked it, didn't you? I just bet you gave him plenty to think about flouncing around in your little skirt and tight sweater. Did he feel as good to you as I did?" he asked harshly as he got out of the bed.
"No! He just, he looked at this," she pointed to the mark on her neck that she had left visible for him. "He asked me what happened. I tried to be vague. I didn't...he didn't...nothing..." she stammered.
"Nothing happened? You didn't cozy up to the Watcher while he was whispering comforting words into your ear? Did he tell you that he could, what, help you escape your abusive relation..."
Her head snapped up at the word that he trailed off. "Relationship? What do you mean?" She wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer.
"You're mine, at least you were, now I'm not so sure if I want something that's been 'touched' by another man. Something about second hand things don't get me as excited. I'm sure you of all people could agree with that statement" Angelus replied with another smirk as he pulled his shirt on.
She lowered her eyes and the realization of what he had taken from her officially sunk in. She curled up on the bed and began to cry. "Nothing happened..." she sobbed, trying to reach for him.
"Why did you tell him about us Cordelia? I'm sure you didn't try as hard as you could have to 'protect' me as you seem so keen on doing" Angelus stepped away from her touch as he buttoned up the final button.
"I told you, I didn't mean to. He said that I didn't know what kind of danger I was in and that they could help me. I told them I didn't want them to help me. That I didn't want them to come here. Please Angelus, believe me. I never meant for them to find out."
"You tell me all these things, like how you found me all beaten and defenseless in the alley. How do I know that wasn't you leading me into some trap like you might be doing now? How do I know you're being honest Cordelia?" Angelus asked, he couldn't help but enjoy her torment as she pleaded with him to leave with her. He wanted to pick her up and take her with him, but he wanted to make her suffer for her mistake first. And he knew he could make her suffer.
"Angelus, I have NEVER begged for anything before in my life, not like this. Please, you have to leave. Take me with you if you want. But they'll come." She pleaded with her eyes. "I'm begging you now."
"You really want to leave with me Cordelia? You think you can handle what I am?" Angelus vamped out to prove a point. He pushed her onto her back roughly, "This is what I am, you want to be with this? Be with me? Tell me Cordelia, or I will walk out of this house, your life right now"
She touched his mark and she nodded. "God knows why, but yes. The whole time I was gone, I was thinking about you. I felt like you were pulling me back. You pull me back to this hell and I want to be here."
"If this is hell to you then why?"
"I don't know!" she cried out and sat up, grabbing his arm tightly. "I don't know. I don't know anything anymore except that I know that I belong to you. My place is with you. That's where I'm supposed to be. I'm yours, right?"
"Good girl" Angelus replied as his voice instantly softened when she said what he wanted her to say.
Her sobs came more frequently, the softness of his voice scaring her more than the expressionless. "As soon as it gets dark, we'll leave?"
"We'll leave"
She buried her face in his chest. "Are you going to hurt me for telling them?" she whispered fearfully.
"Aren't you hurting now?"
She nodded against him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "What can I do?"
"Wash your face, you look unattractive to me right now"
Cordelia nodded again and walked into her bathroom. She scrubbed her face vigorously and stared at herself in the mirror. She had made her choice, even if it wasn't really hers to make. She walked back into her room.
Angelus looked her up and down, she wore no more make-up, and even though her eyes were red and puffy she was still beautiful. "Why don't you come and lay down? You look like you need some sleep Cordelia. I won't hurt you or try to bite you in your sleep" he told her somewhat honestly, he never used the 'promise' word because that was something he couldn't keep.
Cordelia slid silently into the bed beside him. She lowered her eyes when he looked at her, feeling ashamed that she had let herself slip and put her possessor in danger. She felt the tables had turned and she was now the one not worthy to be touching him.
He could feel the shame and guilt coming off her in waves as she lay there next to him. Angelus smirked as he slipped his arm protectively around her and began murmuring comforting sounds and hushing her when she whimpered slightly in her restless sleep.
***********************
Cordelia wasn't sure how much time had passed when a noise woke her up. She looked over and saw a wooden cross lying on top of the covers that protected Angelus' body. "What--" she started when a warm hand clamped over her mouth.
Giles shook his head at her as he lifted her out of the bed, trying to keep her from screaming loudly and waking the vampire next to her. She thrashed against him, trying to wrestle free of his grasp. She kicked out as he pulled her from her rightful place and into the sunlight. "Cordelia, calm down will you. You're safe now, you're safe" Giles tried to soothe her frantic state with words as he carried her out of the house.
"No!!!!" she shrieked as she managed to get his hand away from her mouth.
"Bloody stupid girl" Giles groaned, "I have to get you out of here and away from that-that-him. He's obviously doing you no good Cordelia, for God's sake listen to me"
"No!! Let go of me!" she screamed, hoping that Angelus would come and save her. "Angelus!!!!"
"Shut up will you?" Giles hissed as he tried to stop her from fighting and screaming at him. He shook his head, what the hell had been going on with her? He wanted to, needed to know. He had heard about vampire-human mating before, and knew of the link it could create if both parties allowed it. He hoped that hadn't happened with them. He hoped and prayed that it hadn't happened.
She kicked and screamed as he pushed her into his car and pressed her hands against the window. She rested her forehead against the cool glass and began to cry.
Angelus watched helplessly from her window as Giles drove off with Cordelia. A slow, sick smile crossed his face with two things on his mind. Giles painful death and Cordelia's recovery. Nobody took what was his away from him. Nobody.
Cordelia turned away when she couldn't see her house anymore and pulled her knees to her chest. "Why are you doing this to me?" she asked. "I just want to go home. I belong there."
"No you don't Cordelia, you do not belong with Angelus. You belong in a healthy, normal relationship with a boy your age and not a evil, soulless vampire the likes of him" Giles replied as he turned a corner. "He has obviously done something to make you act like this, he must have you under some sort of spell. I want you to tell me, in exact detail, how all of this came about"
"I do belong there! I belong to him! I'm his!" she cried, touching Angelus' mark. "We're supposed to leave. He's taking me because I'm his and we're going some place where no one will find us. No one will get hurt."
"Are you serious?" Giles asked incredulously, "You cannot believe that he won't hurt you surely. You know what and who he is and I'm so very certain you have a fair idea of what he's capable of. I don't understand any of it, I can't begin to fathom how you and he could have..."
She looked at him, the pain of knowing what Angelus took from her still evident in her eyes. "He didn't try to kill me when I told him. He just made me see my mistake. He doesn't like having things that are used. He thought I had been used by someone."
"The only person using you Cordelia, is Angelus. Why can't you see that? What hold does he have you?" Giles demanded, maybe he could fix whatever the vampire did to her. He hoped he could fix whatever he did to her anyway.
"I have to be with him. He told me that I disobeyed him. I'm not allowed to leave him again. I..." She struggled with the door handle, trying to open it frantically. She screamed when the safety locks prevented her from escaping.
"Cordelia, I won't let you go back to that, you have to see what he's done to you. For crying out loud, look in the bloody mirror and see for yourself" Giles hissed at the panicking girl.
She gave up her struggle momentarily and sat in motionless silence. "He's calling me back. He's telling me to come home." She reached into the back of Giles' car and grabbed a thick, hardcover book and proceeded to throw it through the window and try to climb out of the moving car.
Giles swerved the car to the side of the road in an effort to prevent her from causing herself any more injuries. He reached over into the back of the car and grabbed one of her ankles to stop her from leaving the car. "Cordelia stop it, you're going to hurt yourself. Please, stop it" he yelled as he twisted round in his seat to gain more of a hold on her.
'Angelus was using the link they had established to control her,' Giles thought as he held Cordelia down.
A thought occurred to him, "Cordelia, do you think Angelus wants to see you hurt yourself? Do you think he would like it if he saw you acting this way?" he asked lightly. Hoping the use of the vampire's name would get her to quiet down long enough for her to listen to him.
Cordelia stopped and slumped into the seat. "No. No one else hurts me," she whispered.
"Does he hurt you? Answer me or do you want me to make him mad by hurting you?" Giles hated himself for doing this but maybe it was the only way to get through to her.
She stared at the dashboard as she spoke quietly. "He says that no one touches me but him. He told me that he wouldn't kill me or bite me while I slept."
"That was generous of him" Giles said, keeping the sarcasm out of his voice. "What else has been going on Cordelia, tell me or I will hurt you and he will get mad at you"
"He says that he'll do what he wants with me. I don't have a choice. I belong to him."
"Do you think that's good?"
"I don't have a choice," she repeated emotionlessly.
"Do you want to have a choice? You can be safe with me or you can go back to him and he can do whatever he pleases. What do you want Cordelia" 'Please, if there is a God, let her see sense' he prayed with everything in him.
She looked at him with a momentary plea for help in her eyes before she became expressionless and silent again. "Cordelia" Giles pressed again for what he hoped would be the right one from her.
"Giles," she whispered. She was visibly torn and then burst into tears again. "I don't want him to hurt me. I just don't want him to hurt me anymore."
Giles reached out and held the crying girl, giving as much comfort as she needed from him. "He won't I promise you that Cordelia, I won't let him hurt you anymore. You're safe now, you're safe"
"Safe..." she repeated. "What if he comes for me. He will come for me. I'm supposed to be with him." She held her head tightly; it ached and swam with thoughts and words.
"No he won't Cordelia, Buffy will..." Giles mentally kicked himself hard for his foot-in-mouth disease.
Her face became cold and hard at the slayer's name. "Angelus will come for me," she told him flatly. "And he'll kill anyone who gets in his way."
"I very much doubt he will be able to get that far with Buffy, you don't have to worry about him coming after you. I promised you would be safe, you are and will continue to be safe"
"You think you know him," she told him seriously. "You don't have a clue. You can't feel him with every breath you take. You can't hear him talking in your mind. You can't possibly know what lengths he'll go to. I'll never be safe. He'll find me wherever you take me." She looked longingly out the window.
"No I can't, but if you can then you should also know that you will be far better off away from him than with him" Giles responded as he started to relax a little now that she was calming down somewhat. Maybe he was getting through to her at last, making her see the amount of control he had over her.
"I don't know why but...I feel...I have to be with him. He pulls me to him. I want to run but at the same time, I need to stay. I'm scared Giles. I'm scared to be with him and I'm scared to be away from him," she explained flatly. There was little emotion in her voice to match her words.
"When he marked you, he created a 'link' between you both enabling him to control your thoughts and actions. I need you to listen to me very carefully, you can break this link but you must truly want it gone" Giles explained seriously from what little he knew. "You will be safe from him, I've already guaranteed my promise on that. I can't break this link for you, you have to do it yourself"
"I don't know..."
"Cordelia"
"I don't know Giles. I have to...I have to think..." Her body began to shake with confusion.
"He has been playing you like a puppet, is that what you are? Some toy to be used then discarded by a bored child? Are you something to be played with?"
She felt the tears stinging her eyes again. "Please Giles, don't..."
"No, this is exactly what you need to hear. He has been using you as his plaything, do you want that? Does it feel good when he does things to you? Do you enjoy it when he hurts you?" Giles asked, once again finding himself in deep self-loathing.
She flinched at the Watcher's words. "No. But he said..."
"I don't bloody care what the pillock said" Giles exploded angrily. "It isn't him who is the one being hurt by all of this. It's you that's being hurt"
She felt the tears flowing freely down her cheeks and she huddled against the car door, waiting for the pain that always followed the anger to come. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to..."
"Cordelia, I'm not the one that has you like this. Do you see what you've become?" Giles asked in a softer voice as he retracted his anger. "This is what I'm talking about, don't you see?"
She cried openly, wanting nothing more at that moment than to be out of the car. She felt trapped. It was too small. She needed room to retreat. "I want to go home. I want to go with you. I want to be anywhere but in this car."
"It's alright Cordelia, I'll take you to my apartment and give you some space to breathe. We won't take long, only five minutes or so"
She nodded slightly and stared out the window into the sunlight. It seemed so harsh to her now. She longed for the darkness of night. "It's karma, isn't it?" she finally spoke.
"What is?" Giles asked as he restarted his car and resumed the drive to his apartment.
"What's happened to me. I was always so mean to everyone. I acted like I was better than them. I deserve this for the way I acted. It's bad karma. I brought it on myself."
"This isn't karma Cordelia, this is you being a victim. Yes, I'll admit you are handful at times but you're only young and haven't learned how to deal with others yet. That will come in time" Giles told her wisely as he glanced at her out the corner of his eye.
"Oh just say it Giles, I'm a bitch. I admit it." She rested her head back on the seat and closed her eyes. "He can be so tender. He took care of me when I got hurt."
"He was the one who hurt you in the first place"
"Yes. But he couldn't kill me. Instead he made me better. How can I want to be with him and as far away from him as possible at the same time?"
"You're asking the wrong man, I only know Angelus as somebody who is as evil and as sadistic as they come. I still don't understand how you came to be in this situation, how did he get an all out pass into your home?"
Cordelia hung her head in shame. "I saved him. He was all beat up in an alley and I brought him home. I wasn't thinking, and after I woke him up, I invited him in by accident. I'm so stupid," she sighed and hugged her knees tightly and closed her eyes again. "He watched movies with me."
"No, you just proved a point then and there. You didn't take advantage of his weakened state because you are nothing like he is. Angelus is vicious, cruel and beyond all reason a cold-blooded murderer. He may have watched movies with you and anything else, but that still doesn't make him any more or any less than what he is" Giles replied as he pulled up outside of his little apartment. "Ah, we're here" he told her.
As soon as she heard the locks release, she sprung from the car. She tried to run as fast as she could, but she was still injured. Her attempt came out as little more than a limp.
Giles quickly got out after her, "What are you trying to pull?" he demanded hotly as he held her against him.
Every instinct in her told her to run but she didn't have the energy. She collapsed against Giles. "He's going to kill you. He's already planning it. I have to go back so no one else gets hurt. He won't hurt anyone if I come back."
"Cordelia, I will not allow you to sacrifice your life for anybody, do you hear me?" Giles asked as he shook her slightly, trying to get her to see sense.
"But I can do something to help. I can make him leave here. I want to do something to help," she explained as he took her into his apartment. "Do you want to die? Do you want everyone else to die?"
"I'm sorry, but I won't allow you to do that. I will keep you here until this mess is sorted once and for all" Giles told her sternly as he gently but firmly guided her to his apartment.
She sat on the couch and looked around at her potential escape routes. She didn't think she could resist instinct and needed to know where her possibilities lay. "You aren't going to tell them, are you?" she asked, suddenly filled with fear again.
"I will tell Buffy what I think she needs to know, I will keep your private details just that. Private" Giles assured her and saw relief flood her tear- stained face. He felt so sorry that she was going through all this and damned the vampire to hell.
"But she'll kill him." She was so confused that she didn't know who she was protecting anymore. She lay on the couch and closed her eyes. She was so tired.
"That is the only choice Cordelia, the only way to keep you and others safe. That is what you want isn't it? To be safe from Angelus?"
"The only place I'm safe is with him," she repeated the words that echoed through her head. She covered her ears, trying to block the voice that continued to call her back.
"That is the one place where you aren't safe, far from it. I hope for you sake you start understanding that soon" Giles told her as he sat down in a chair tiredly and rubbed his eyes.
**********************
Buffy looked at Cordelia as she slept restlessly and shook her head. "Never thought I'd see the day that Cordelia Chase was a basket case," she said and turned to Giles. "So, who had the honors?"
"Buffy, she's had a hard few days let's leave it at that shall we?" Giles told rather than asked the Slayer with a look that said 'don't start.' Buffy raised her eyebrows but didn't say anything.
"So, why are we here?" Xander asked, watching Cordy as she whimpered in her sleep. "And what's with the windows being nailed shut? Is the G-Man afraid of the Boogie Man?"
"Something like that" Giles replied mysteriously as he cleaned his glasses on his shirt and ignored the looks from the others.
"So what's the what Giles? Shouldn't I be out there looking for Angelus? Why am I here with nutsoCordy?" Buffy asked seriously.
"I have a feeling this is where Angelus may end up" Giles replied and once again refrained from saying anything more to Buffy.
Buffy looked at Giles with a confused look and it was Xander who caught on first. "That evil, dead thing did this to her!" His voice was full of rage, causing Cordy to jump in her sleep.
"Xander" Giles hissed as he rushed to soothe Cordelia in her restless sleep. "Do lower your voice please, she's been through enough these last few days"
"Oh, when I get my hands on that vampire, I'm so gonna kick his ass. And then I'm going to pull my sorry, beat up self to the nearest hospital...or morgue."
"Xander, you're not helping matters the last thing Cordelia needs right now is to be surrounded by any more anger. So please lower your voice and pull yourself together" Giles pleaded with the young boy with his words, expression and tired tone of voice.
"Right on G. Voice lowered. Still ready to kick ass. One question though, how did he do this to her. Like Buff said, I've never seen her like this. Cordy's never let anyone walk all over her."
"I didn't ask for details, I can only tell you that he has hurt her physically and emotionally. I kindly ask all of you not to ask for details either, it may cause her to retreat more into herself" Giles asked and explained the reason why not asking was a good thing.
Cordy opened her eyes at the sound of voices and looked around the group timidly. "Giles...I want to go home," she pleaded.
"You know I can't allow that to happen Cordelia" Giles repeated earlier words only more firmly as he looked at her. She was pale, her bruises now a slight yellow colour except for the ones on her head, they were still a little purple.
She lowered her head and looked at the nearest window. She sighed with defeat when she saw the nails.
"I now see the need for no windows" Xander commented when he saw Cordelia's face fall when she saw them nailed shut.
"Can I be alone?" she asked Giles, needing to be away from the crowd. "I promise I won't try to run."
Giles sent an accusing look her way before looking around the room for an exit he might have missed that would lead to her escape. Satisfied he couldn't see any, "I don't see why not, Buffy, Xander would you care to join me in the kitchen?" he asked meaningfully.
"Thank you," she whispered honestly and curled into the corner of the couch.
Buffy looked at Giles when they got into the kitchen. "So Angelus is responsible? And we haven't killed him because? I mean, I'm not a big fan of Cordelia's, but I don't want to see Angelus torturing her."
Giles sighed, "When he bit her, he created a link between them. I've done a bit of researching, and if you kill Angelus while she is still linked with him, then you may well kill her too"
"I retract my earlier comment about kicking his ass. I don't want to be responsible for kicking Cordy's."
Buffy rolled her eyes at Xander. "So what do we do?"
"We can't do much of anything, what Cordelia is going through right now is something akin to what a drug addict goes through when withdrawing. This is a tricky situation, one I hope doesn't go down the loo" Giles replied as he went to put the kettle on for a cup of tea.
"That's English for toilet, right?" Xander whispered to Buffy.
Buffy yet again rolled her eyes at Xander, "Yes Xander, that is English for toilet, what do you want to know next? The English word for toilet paper?"
"They call it something else?" Xander asked in confusion.
"As it happens, a lot of people call it bog roll" Giles commented as he got off track and went along with the mindless conversation.
Cordelia took the opportunity while they were discussing her to slip out the front door. She had managed to grab Giles' keys while he wasn't looking and ran to his car. "Sorry Giles. I have something I need to do," she apologized as she started his car and sped off.
***************
Angelus sat in Cordelia's living room, absolutely livid at Giles for his stupidity at trying to take what belonged to him.
Cordelia opened the door and walked in quietly, wondering where Angelus was within her house. She shut the door soundlessly and walked through the hallway.
He knew as soon as she walked through the door but he sat still, waiting for her to come to him. Angelus folded one leg over his knee and relaxed immensely and simply waited.
She walked into the living room and didn't know whether to smile or run when she saw him. "Hi," she managed quietly.
Angelus raised an eyebrow at her, "Hi" he replied as he waited for her to say something else.
"I...I came back," her voice was shaky, but somewhat resembled her own again.
"I can see that, what took you so long?" he asked as he stood up. "I've been waiting for you"
"I know. I came back as soon as I could." She felt incredibly small next to him.
"Did you have a nice time at the Watcher's house?"
She looked at her feet. "I didn't want to be there. I didn't want to leave."
Angelus tilted her face so she was looking at him, "You didn't want to leave? Why?"
"Because I'm yours. I didn't want you to be angry with me." She refused to look him in the eye.
"You didn't run away Cordelia, you were taken. I wouldn't be angry with you for that. I would be angry, however, if I knew you didn't want to come back" he told her seriously. "You told me you wanted to leave, go somewhere where I could protect you, keep you safe. How could I keep you safe with me if you didn't want to come back?"
"But I did come back. I could hear you...in here," she whispered and pointed to her head. And then she swung up with the baseball bat she held in her other hand and knocked him to the floor in shock. "And if you ever reduce me to that again, I will beat you to death with this thing, or die trying. I may not have your strength, but I have more will power than you've ever imagined. It just took me a little time to see that." She looked down at him with rage in her eyes.
Angelus tried to shake the pounding from his head as he tried to sit up. He raised rage filled eyes to rage filled eyes. "You'll pay that you little bitch" he hissed and tried to get up.
She raised the bat, ready to strike him again. "You may own me Angelus, but that doesn't mean that you can do whatever you want to me. I won't let you break my spirit. Break my bones, kill me, torture me, but you will never break me." She dropped the bat and walked up the stairs to her bedroom.
Angelus watched her walk away with a throbbing head. That had been the last thing in the world he expected she would do. He forced himself to stand up, vamping out to let the demon handle some of the pain. He quickly followed her up the stairs to the bedroom where most of this started.
Cordelia stood in her bathroom, taking the clip out of her hair and letting it tumble down her shoulders. She stared at herself in the mirror and actually recognized herself again. She was getting herself back, even if it killed her.
He walked into the bedroom and instinctively knew she was in the bathroom. Only pausing for a second before going inside. "You hit me" Angelus stated as he leaned against the wall.
"You're a fast learner," she commented without turning around.
"Did the Watcher tell you to do that? Take away the power from your controlling and abusive lover? Try to get you to run into the safety of his tender and gentlemanly arms?"
"No, he only told me that it was up to me what I was going to do. Of course, he tried to keep me locked in his apartment, but you can see how well that worked. I can be knocked down Angelus, but I always get back up." She pulled on the pinkest shirt she could find, just to annoy him and pushed past him, back into the bedroom.
He followed her, "Did your little playmate turn up to save his fair maiden? Was my ex there, threatening to kill me for all the bad deeds I've done?" Angelus asked with a smirk. Thoroughly enjoying himself.
"No, I believe she was actually there insulting me, but that doesn't matter. I followed our end of the bargain. I'm here, you don't hurt them. End of discussion." She crawled into bed and closed her eyes.
Authors: Lilyana_Vamp & Sunscorched
Email: Lilyana_vamp@yahoo.com Aurora_plym_uk@yahoo.com
Rating: PG-15
Summary: Some vampires are just ungrateful.
Content: C/Aus
Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: We own nothing
Distribution: Just ask us if you want it
Part 8
Broken
Cordelia walked through the front door into her dark, dreary house. She walked up the stairs and into her bedroom, where she managed to peel off her uniform and pull on a loose sweatshirt and shorts. She turned to see Angelus sleeping in her bed and the tears came to her eyes again.
"Angelus, wake up," she pleaded desperately. Angelus stirred a little but didn't fully come round. "Angelus, please." She touched his arm lightly. "We need to talk."
His hand shot out to halt the intruder before any harm came to him. He stared at Cordelia's desperate face, narrowed his eyes and slowly sat up. "What?"
Her bottom lip quivered as she started to explain with a defense. "I didn't mean to, I swear."
"You told her" it wasn't a question as much as it was a statement. "Cordelia..."
"No. I didn't tell her. It was...he made me tell him," she cried, kneeling on the floor beside the bed. "I'm so sorry..."
Angelus looked at her, "Sorry doesn't cut it Cordelia, I told you not to go and you disobeyed me on purpose. Now, you're going to get either me or the Slayer killed, who would you prefer to live?"
"We could leave," she pleaded, reaching for his hand. "We could go away where they can't find us. I swear, I'll never do anything to disobey you again. Please." She was desperate and waiting for the inevitable pain.
"Do you really think it's that easy?" Angelus cupped her chin and brought her to sit on the bed. "Did you think I would take one look at your pouting, teary-eyed face and forgive you?"
"Hoping is more like it. Angelus, I swear I didn't mean to. I tried to make him not push me. He just pushed and I snapped...and slipped. It was an accident."
"Who did you tell? Xander, your little playmate hoping he would come rescue you?"
She remembered the feeling of his hand on her wrist and lowered her eyes. She touched her wrist and shook her head. "No, it wasn't Xander. And why didn't you tell me that he came here?" she asked, hoping to stall him a little.
Angelus pulled back a little, "Three's a crowd where something of mine's concerned. I wanted it to be just us, wasn't that sweet of me?" he mocked as he stared at her with hard, unreadable eyes.
She winced at his expression and the tone of his voice. "I don't want anyone to get hurt."
"A little late for that Cordelia, tell me just who did you open your big mouth to?"
"He was only being concerned for me. He was just trying to help. It's what he does best." She looked up at him, her eyes full of fear.
Angelus smirked knowingly at her, "The Watcher. What did he do? Take one look at you, take you into his safe arms and tell you everything was going to be ok? Bet you liked it, didn't you? I just bet you gave him plenty to think about flouncing around in your little skirt and tight sweater. Did he feel as good to you as I did?" he asked harshly as he got out of the bed.
"No! He just, he looked at this," she pointed to the mark on her neck that she had left visible for him. "He asked me what happened. I tried to be vague. I didn't...he didn't...nothing..." she stammered.
"Nothing happened? You didn't cozy up to the Watcher while he was whispering comforting words into your ear? Did he tell you that he could, what, help you escape your abusive relation..."
Her head snapped up at the word that he trailed off. "Relationship? What do you mean?" She wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer.
"You're mine, at least you were, now I'm not so sure if I want something that's been 'touched' by another man. Something about second hand things don't get me as excited. I'm sure you of all people could agree with that statement" Angelus replied with another smirk as he pulled his shirt on.
She lowered her eyes and the realization of what he had taken from her officially sunk in. She curled up on the bed and began to cry. "Nothing happened..." she sobbed, trying to reach for him.
"Why did you tell him about us Cordelia? I'm sure you didn't try as hard as you could have to 'protect' me as you seem so keen on doing" Angelus stepped away from her touch as he buttoned up the final button.
"I told you, I didn't mean to. He said that I didn't know what kind of danger I was in and that they could help me. I told them I didn't want them to help me. That I didn't want them to come here. Please Angelus, believe me. I never meant for them to find out."
"You tell me all these things, like how you found me all beaten and defenseless in the alley. How do I know that wasn't you leading me into some trap like you might be doing now? How do I know you're being honest Cordelia?" Angelus asked, he couldn't help but enjoy her torment as she pleaded with him to leave with her. He wanted to pick her up and take her with him, but he wanted to make her suffer for her mistake first. And he knew he could make her suffer.
"Angelus, I have NEVER begged for anything before in my life, not like this. Please, you have to leave. Take me with you if you want. But they'll come." She pleaded with her eyes. "I'm begging you now."
"You really want to leave with me Cordelia? You think you can handle what I am?" Angelus vamped out to prove a point. He pushed her onto her back roughly, "This is what I am, you want to be with this? Be with me? Tell me Cordelia, or I will walk out of this house, your life right now"
She touched his mark and she nodded. "God knows why, but yes. The whole time I was gone, I was thinking about you. I felt like you were pulling me back. You pull me back to this hell and I want to be here."
"If this is hell to you then why?"
"I don't know!" she cried out and sat up, grabbing his arm tightly. "I don't know. I don't know anything anymore except that I know that I belong to you. My place is with you. That's where I'm supposed to be. I'm yours, right?"
"Good girl" Angelus replied as his voice instantly softened when she said what he wanted her to say.
Her sobs came more frequently, the softness of his voice scaring her more than the expressionless. "As soon as it gets dark, we'll leave?"
"We'll leave"
She buried her face in his chest. "Are you going to hurt me for telling them?" she whispered fearfully.
"Aren't you hurting now?"
She nodded against him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "What can I do?"
"Wash your face, you look unattractive to me right now"
Cordelia nodded again and walked into her bathroom. She scrubbed her face vigorously and stared at herself in the mirror. She had made her choice, even if it wasn't really hers to make. She walked back into her room.
Angelus looked her up and down, she wore no more make-up, and even though her eyes were red and puffy she was still beautiful. "Why don't you come and lay down? You look like you need some sleep Cordelia. I won't hurt you or try to bite you in your sleep" he told her somewhat honestly, he never used the 'promise' word because that was something he couldn't keep.
Cordelia slid silently into the bed beside him. She lowered her eyes when he looked at her, feeling ashamed that she had let herself slip and put her possessor in danger. She felt the tables had turned and she was now the one not worthy to be touching him.
He could feel the shame and guilt coming off her in waves as she lay there next to him. Angelus smirked as he slipped his arm protectively around her and began murmuring comforting sounds and hushing her when she whimpered slightly in her restless sleep.
***********************
Cordelia wasn't sure how much time had passed when a noise woke her up. She looked over and saw a wooden cross lying on top of the covers that protected Angelus' body. "What--" she started when a warm hand clamped over her mouth.
Giles shook his head at her as he lifted her out of the bed, trying to keep her from screaming loudly and waking the vampire next to her. She thrashed against him, trying to wrestle free of his grasp. She kicked out as he pulled her from her rightful place and into the sunlight. "Cordelia, calm down will you. You're safe now, you're safe" Giles tried to soothe her frantic state with words as he carried her out of the house.
"No!!!!" she shrieked as she managed to get his hand away from her mouth.
"Bloody stupid girl" Giles groaned, "I have to get you out of here and away from that-that-him. He's obviously doing you no good Cordelia, for God's sake listen to me"
"No!! Let go of me!" she screamed, hoping that Angelus would come and save her. "Angelus!!!!"
"Shut up will you?" Giles hissed as he tried to stop her from fighting and screaming at him. He shook his head, what the hell had been going on with her? He wanted to, needed to know. He had heard about vampire-human mating before, and knew of the link it could create if both parties allowed it. He hoped that hadn't happened with them. He hoped and prayed that it hadn't happened.
She kicked and screamed as he pushed her into his car and pressed her hands against the window. She rested her forehead against the cool glass and began to cry.
Angelus watched helplessly from her window as Giles drove off with Cordelia. A slow, sick smile crossed his face with two things on his mind. Giles painful death and Cordelia's recovery. Nobody took what was his away from him. Nobody.
Cordelia turned away when she couldn't see her house anymore and pulled her knees to her chest. "Why are you doing this to me?" she asked. "I just want to go home. I belong there."
"No you don't Cordelia, you do not belong with Angelus. You belong in a healthy, normal relationship with a boy your age and not a evil, soulless vampire the likes of him" Giles replied as he turned a corner. "He has obviously done something to make you act like this, he must have you under some sort of spell. I want you to tell me, in exact detail, how all of this came about"
"I do belong there! I belong to him! I'm his!" she cried, touching Angelus' mark. "We're supposed to leave. He's taking me because I'm his and we're going some place where no one will find us. No one will get hurt."
"Are you serious?" Giles asked incredulously, "You cannot believe that he won't hurt you surely. You know what and who he is and I'm so very certain you have a fair idea of what he's capable of. I don't understand any of it, I can't begin to fathom how you and he could have..."
She looked at him, the pain of knowing what Angelus took from her still evident in her eyes. "He didn't try to kill me when I told him. He just made me see my mistake. He doesn't like having things that are used. He thought I had been used by someone."
"The only person using you Cordelia, is Angelus. Why can't you see that? What hold does he have you?" Giles demanded, maybe he could fix whatever the vampire did to her. He hoped he could fix whatever he did to her anyway.
"I have to be with him. He told me that I disobeyed him. I'm not allowed to leave him again. I..." She struggled with the door handle, trying to open it frantically. She screamed when the safety locks prevented her from escaping.
"Cordelia, I won't let you go back to that, you have to see what he's done to you. For crying out loud, look in the bloody mirror and see for yourself" Giles hissed at the panicking girl.
She gave up her struggle momentarily and sat in motionless silence. "He's calling me back. He's telling me to come home." She reached into the back of Giles' car and grabbed a thick, hardcover book and proceeded to throw it through the window and try to climb out of the moving car.
Giles swerved the car to the side of the road in an effort to prevent her from causing herself any more injuries. He reached over into the back of the car and grabbed one of her ankles to stop her from leaving the car. "Cordelia stop it, you're going to hurt yourself. Please, stop it" he yelled as he twisted round in his seat to gain more of a hold on her.
'Angelus was using the link they had established to control her,' Giles thought as he held Cordelia down.
A thought occurred to him, "Cordelia, do you think Angelus wants to see you hurt yourself? Do you think he would like it if he saw you acting this way?" he asked lightly. Hoping the use of the vampire's name would get her to quiet down long enough for her to listen to him.
Cordelia stopped and slumped into the seat. "No. No one else hurts me," she whispered.
"Does he hurt you? Answer me or do you want me to make him mad by hurting you?" Giles hated himself for doing this but maybe it was the only way to get through to her.
She stared at the dashboard as she spoke quietly. "He says that no one touches me but him. He told me that he wouldn't kill me or bite me while I slept."
"That was generous of him" Giles said, keeping the sarcasm out of his voice. "What else has been going on Cordelia, tell me or I will hurt you and he will get mad at you"
"He says that he'll do what he wants with me. I don't have a choice. I belong to him."
"Do you think that's good?"
"I don't have a choice," she repeated emotionlessly.
"Do you want to have a choice? You can be safe with me or you can go back to him and he can do whatever he pleases. What do you want Cordelia" 'Please, if there is a God, let her see sense' he prayed with everything in him.
She looked at him with a momentary plea for help in her eyes before she became expressionless and silent again. "Cordelia" Giles pressed again for what he hoped would be the right one from her.
"Giles," she whispered. She was visibly torn and then burst into tears again. "I don't want him to hurt me. I just don't want him to hurt me anymore."
Giles reached out and held the crying girl, giving as much comfort as she needed from him. "He won't I promise you that Cordelia, I won't let him hurt you anymore. You're safe now, you're safe"
"Safe..." she repeated. "What if he comes for me. He will come for me. I'm supposed to be with him." She held her head tightly; it ached and swam with thoughts and words.
"No he won't Cordelia, Buffy will..." Giles mentally kicked himself hard for his foot-in-mouth disease.
Her face became cold and hard at the slayer's name. "Angelus will come for me," she told him flatly. "And he'll kill anyone who gets in his way."
"I very much doubt he will be able to get that far with Buffy, you don't have to worry about him coming after you. I promised you would be safe, you are and will continue to be safe"
"You think you know him," she told him seriously. "You don't have a clue. You can't feel him with every breath you take. You can't hear him talking in your mind. You can't possibly know what lengths he'll go to. I'll never be safe. He'll find me wherever you take me." She looked longingly out the window.
"No I can't, but if you can then you should also know that you will be far better off away from him than with him" Giles responded as he started to relax a little now that she was calming down somewhat. Maybe he was getting through to her at last, making her see the amount of control he had over her.
"I don't know why but...I feel...I have to be with him. He pulls me to him. I want to run but at the same time, I need to stay. I'm scared Giles. I'm scared to be with him and I'm scared to be away from him," she explained flatly. There was little emotion in her voice to match her words.
"When he marked you, he created a 'link' between you both enabling him to control your thoughts and actions. I need you to listen to me very carefully, you can break this link but you must truly want it gone" Giles explained seriously from what little he knew. "You will be safe from him, I've already guaranteed my promise on that. I can't break this link for you, you have to do it yourself"
"I don't know..."
"Cordelia"
"I don't know Giles. I have to...I have to think..." Her body began to shake with confusion.
"He has been playing you like a puppet, is that what you are? Some toy to be used then discarded by a bored child? Are you something to be played with?"
She felt the tears stinging her eyes again. "Please Giles, don't..."
"No, this is exactly what you need to hear. He has been using you as his plaything, do you want that? Does it feel good when he does things to you? Do you enjoy it when he hurts you?" Giles asked, once again finding himself in deep self-loathing.
She flinched at the Watcher's words. "No. But he said..."
"I don't bloody care what the pillock said" Giles exploded angrily. "It isn't him who is the one being hurt by all of this. It's you that's being hurt"
She felt the tears flowing freely down her cheeks and she huddled against the car door, waiting for the pain that always followed the anger to come. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to..."
"Cordelia, I'm not the one that has you like this. Do you see what you've become?" Giles asked in a softer voice as he retracted his anger. "This is what I'm talking about, don't you see?"
She cried openly, wanting nothing more at that moment than to be out of the car. She felt trapped. It was too small. She needed room to retreat. "I want to go home. I want to go with you. I want to be anywhere but in this car."
"It's alright Cordelia, I'll take you to my apartment and give you some space to breathe. We won't take long, only five minutes or so"
She nodded slightly and stared out the window into the sunlight. It seemed so harsh to her now. She longed for the darkness of night. "It's karma, isn't it?" she finally spoke.
"What is?" Giles asked as he restarted his car and resumed the drive to his apartment.
"What's happened to me. I was always so mean to everyone. I acted like I was better than them. I deserve this for the way I acted. It's bad karma. I brought it on myself."
"This isn't karma Cordelia, this is you being a victim. Yes, I'll admit you are handful at times but you're only young and haven't learned how to deal with others yet. That will come in time" Giles told her wisely as he glanced at her out the corner of his eye.
"Oh just say it Giles, I'm a bitch. I admit it." She rested her head back on the seat and closed her eyes. "He can be so tender. He took care of me when I got hurt."
"He was the one who hurt you in the first place"
"Yes. But he couldn't kill me. Instead he made me better. How can I want to be with him and as far away from him as possible at the same time?"
"You're asking the wrong man, I only know Angelus as somebody who is as evil and as sadistic as they come. I still don't understand how you came to be in this situation, how did he get an all out pass into your home?"
Cordelia hung her head in shame. "I saved him. He was all beat up in an alley and I brought him home. I wasn't thinking, and after I woke him up, I invited him in by accident. I'm so stupid," she sighed and hugged her knees tightly and closed her eyes again. "He watched movies with me."
"No, you just proved a point then and there. You didn't take advantage of his weakened state because you are nothing like he is. Angelus is vicious, cruel and beyond all reason a cold-blooded murderer. He may have watched movies with you and anything else, but that still doesn't make him any more or any less than what he is" Giles replied as he pulled up outside of his little apartment. "Ah, we're here" he told her.
As soon as she heard the locks release, she sprung from the car. She tried to run as fast as she could, but she was still injured. Her attempt came out as little more than a limp.
Giles quickly got out after her, "What are you trying to pull?" he demanded hotly as he held her against him.
Every instinct in her told her to run but she didn't have the energy. She collapsed against Giles. "He's going to kill you. He's already planning it. I have to go back so no one else gets hurt. He won't hurt anyone if I come back."
"Cordelia, I will not allow you to sacrifice your life for anybody, do you hear me?" Giles asked as he shook her slightly, trying to get her to see sense.
"But I can do something to help. I can make him leave here. I want to do something to help," she explained as he took her into his apartment. "Do you want to die? Do you want everyone else to die?"
"I'm sorry, but I won't allow you to do that. I will keep you here until this mess is sorted once and for all" Giles told her sternly as he gently but firmly guided her to his apartment.
She sat on the couch and looked around at her potential escape routes. She didn't think she could resist instinct and needed to know where her possibilities lay. "You aren't going to tell them, are you?" she asked, suddenly filled with fear again.
"I will tell Buffy what I think she needs to know, I will keep your private details just that. Private" Giles assured her and saw relief flood her tear- stained face. He felt so sorry that she was going through all this and damned the vampire to hell.
"But she'll kill him." She was so confused that she didn't know who she was protecting anymore. She lay on the couch and closed her eyes. She was so tired.
"That is the only choice Cordelia, the only way to keep you and others safe. That is what you want isn't it? To be safe from Angelus?"
"The only place I'm safe is with him," she repeated the words that echoed through her head. She covered her ears, trying to block the voice that continued to call her back.
"That is the one place where you aren't safe, far from it. I hope for you sake you start understanding that soon" Giles told her as he sat down in a chair tiredly and rubbed his eyes.
**********************
Buffy looked at Cordelia as she slept restlessly and shook her head. "Never thought I'd see the day that Cordelia Chase was a basket case," she said and turned to Giles. "So, who had the honors?"
"Buffy, she's had a hard few days let's leave it at that shall we?" Giles told rather than asked the Slayer with a look that said 'don't start.' Buffy raised her eyebrows but didn't say anything.
"So, why are we here?" Xander asked, watching Cordy as she whimpered in her sleep. "And what's with the windows being nailed shut? Is the G-Man afraid of the Boogie Man?"
"Something like that" Giles replied mysteriously as he cleaned his glasses on his shirt and ignored the looks from the others.
"So what's the what Giles? Shouldn't I be out there looking for Angelus? Why am I here with nutsoCordy?" Buffy asked seriously.
"I have a feeling this is where Angelus may end up" Giles replied and once again refrained from saying anything more to Buffy.
Buffy looked at Giles with a confused look and it was Xander who caught on first. "That evil, dead thing did this to her!" His voice was full of rage, causing Cordy to jump in her sleep.
"Xander" Giles hissed as he rushed to soothe Cordelia in her restless sleep. "Do lower your voice please, she's been through enough these last few days"
"Oh, when I get my hands on that vampire, I'm so gonna kick his ass. And then I'm going to pull my sorry, beat up self to the nearest hospital...or morgue."
"Xander, you're not helping matters the last thing Cordelia needs right now is to be surrounded by any more anger. So please lower your voice and pull yourself together" Giles pleaded with the young boy with his words, expression and tired tone of voice.
"Right on G. Voice lowered. Still ready to kick ass. One question though, how did he do this to her. Like Buff said, I've never seen her like this. Cordy's never let anyone walk all over her."
"I didn't ask for details, I can only tell you that he has hurt her physically and emotionally. I kindly ask all of you not to ask for details either, it may cause her to retreat more into herself" Giles asked and explained the reason why not asking was a good thing.
Cordy opened her eyes at the sound of voices and looked around the group timidly. "Giles...I want to go home," she pleaded.
"You know I can't allow that to happen Cordelia" Giles repeated earlier words only more firmly as he looked at her. She was pale, her bruises now a slight yellow colour except for the ones on her head, they were still a little purple.
She lowered her head and looked at the nearest window. She sighed with defeat when she saw the nails.
"I now see the need for no windows" Xander commented when he saw Cordelia's face fall when she saw them nailed shut.
"Can I be alone?" she asked Giles, needing to be away from the crowd. "I promise I won't try to run."
Giles sent an accusing look her way before looking around the room for an exit he might have missed that would lead to her escape. Satisfied he couldn't see any, "I don't see why not, Buffy, Xander would you care to join me in the kitchen?" he asked meaningfully.
"Thank you," she whispered honestly and curled into the corner of the couch.
Buffy looked at Giles when they got into the kitchen. "So Angelus is responsible? And we haven't killed him because? I mean, I'm not a big fan of Cordelia's, but I don't want to see Angelus torturing her."
Giles sighed, "When he bit her, he created a link between them. I've done a bit of researching, and if you kill Angelus while she is still linked with him, then you may well kill her too"
"I retract my earlier comment about kicking his ass. I don't want to be responsible for kicking Cordy's."
Buffy rolled her eyes at Xander. "So what do we do?"
"We can't do much of anything, what Cordelia is going through right now is something akin to what a drug addict goes through when withdrawing. This is a tricky situation, one I hope doesn't go down the loo" Giles replied as he went to put the kettle on for a cup of tea.
"That's English for toilet, right?" Xander whispered to Buffy.
Buffy yet again rolled her eyes at Xander, "Yes Xander, that is English for toilet, what do you want to know next? The English word for toilet paper?"
"They call it something else?" Xander asked in confusion.
"As it happens, a lot of people call it bog roll" Giles commented as he got off track and went along with the mindless conversation.
Cordelia took the opportunity while they were discussing her to slip out the front door. She had managed to grab Giles' keys while he wasn't looking and ran to his car. "Sorry Giles. I have something I need to do," she apologized as she started his car and sped off.
***************
Angelus sat in Cordelia's living room, absolutely livid at Giles for his stupidity at trying to take what belonged to him.
Cordelia opened the door and walked in quietly, wondering where Angelus was within her house. She shut the door soundlessly and walked through the hallway.
He knew as soon as she walked through the door but he sat still, waiting for her to come to him. Angelus folded one leg over his knee and relaxed immensely and simply waited.
She walked into the living room and didn't know whether to smile or run when she saw him. "Hi," she managed quietly.
Angelus raised an eyebrow at her, "Hi" he replied as he waited for her to say something else.
"I...I came back," her voice was shaky, but somewhat resembled her own again.
"I can see that, what took you so long?" he asked as he stood up. "I've been waiting for you"
"I know. I came back as soon as I could." She felt incredibly small next to him.
"Did you have a nice time at the Watcher's house?"
She looked at her feet. "I didn't want to be there. I didn't want to leave."
Angelus tilted her face so she was looking at him, "You didn't want to leave? Why?"
"Because I'm yours. I didn't want you to be angry with me." She refused to look him in the eye.
"You didn't run away Cordelia, you were taken. I wouldn't be angry with you for that. I would be angry, however, if I knew you didn't want to come back" he told her seriously. "You told me you wanted to leave, go somewhere where I could protect you, keep you safe. How could I keep you safe with me if you didn't want to come back?"
"But I did come back. I could hear you...in here," she whispered and pointed to her head. And then she swung up with the baseball bat she held in her other hand and knocked him to the floor in shock. "And if you ever reduce me to that again, I will beat you to death with this thing, or die trying. I may not have your strength, but I have more will power than you've ever imagined. It just took me a little time to see that." She looked down at him with rage in her eyes.
Angelus tried to shake the pounding from his head as he tried to sit up. He raised rage filled eyes to rage filled eyes. "You'll pay that you little bitch" he hissed and tried to get up.
She raised the bat, ready to strike him again. "You may own me Angelus, but that doesn't mean that you can do whatever you want to me. I won't let you break my spirit. Break my bones, kill me, torture me, but you will never break me." She dropped the bat and walked up the stairs to her bedroom.
Angelus watched her walk away with a throbbing head. That had been the last thing in the world he expected she would do. He forced himself to stand up, vamping out to let the demon handle some of the pain. He quickly followed her up the stairs to the bedroom where most of this started.
Cordelia stood in her bathroom, taking the clip out of her hair and letting it tumble down her shoulders. She stared at herself in the mirror and actually recognized herself again. She was getting herself back, even if it killed her.
He walked into the bedroom and instinctively knew she was in the bathroom. Only pausing for a second before going inside. "You hit me" Angelus stated as he leaned against the wall.
"You're a fast learner," she commented without turning around.
"Did the Watcher tell you to do that? Take away the power from your controlling and abusive lover? Try to get you to run into the safety of his tender and gentlemanly arms?"
"No, he only told me that it was up to me what I was going to do. Of course, he tried to keep me locked in his apartment, but you can see how well that worked. I can be knocked down Angelus, but I always get back up." She pulled on the pinkest shirt she could find, just to annoy him and pushed past him, back into the bedroom.
He followed her, "Did your little playmate turn up to save his fair maiden? Was my ex there, threatening to kill me for all the bad deeds I've done?" Angelus asked with a smirk. Thoroughly enjoying himself.
"No, I believe she was actually there insulting me, but that doesn't matter. I followed our end of the bargain. I'm here, you don't hurt them. End of discussion." She crawled into bed and closed her eyes.
