Chapter IV

Spike opened his eyes and saw Mrs. Stapelton at the side of the riverbank. William had washed up on shore a couple of miles away and when she had found his note she went looking for him. She sat on the bank crying, hugging William's unmoving body, and rocking him back and fourth. All of a sudden William started coughing, water pouring out of his mouth. His eyes where still shut, and he was still unconscious, but he was alive. Mrs. Stapelton smiled as William opened his eyes and looked at her.

"Why aren't I dead?" He asked. Mrs. Stapelton smiled at him sadly.

"Come on, I'll take you home!" William struggled, weakly, to get away from her.

"I can't go home!" He shook his head, crying. "He'll kill me." He said.

"What do you mean?"

"He killed Emly and he'll kill me." He sniffed. "Emly's dead and its all my fault." He finally managed to get out of her grip and fell hard on the ground. "I should have gone home. It should have been me! Not her! Never her!" He curled up into a ball and hid his face in his arms. Mrs. Stapelton knelt down in front of him and pushed his hair away from his face.

"Would it help if I said that he couldn't hurt you anymore." William looked up at her.

"He already has." William said. "And he always will." Mrs. Stapelton shook her head sadly.

"Your father was taken to jail early this morning." She said. "Someone reported seeing him with Emly last night and got suspicious. Its not your fault William, even if you were there, there was nothing you would have been able to do."

Spike scoffed. Yeah that helped, lets just make me feel weak and useless.

William looked up at her. "He confessed this morning, that he was going to kill both of you. All you did was save your own life."

"But I should have taken her with me."

"William, listen to me, there was nothing you could have done. She's probably happier where she is now. And she'd want you to get on with your life. Not end it short. Live on and do all the things she wasn't able to do." William thought a moment before nodding. "Now come on. You can come and stay with me until everything is all settled and figured out." She picked him up and carried him home.

Spike never realized how small he had been then. He knew he was smaller than everyone else his age. But never did he realize...

Spike once again closed his eyes and when he opened them again he found himself… or more properly stated, William, sitting in the corner of what appeared to be some type of social party. He's dressed nineteenth century-style, with floppy blonde curls and smallish spectacles. Spike shook his head. Why here? Of all the times and places in the world, why here??? Why now?

Spike watched as William struggled to find the 'proper' word to use. He shook his head and sighed. He watched as William walked over to a group of people. One of the men, Cyril Lasher, grabbed the poem out of his hand and looked at it. Grab it away you fool Spike thought. Don't be a wimp. He watched at William's weak attempt to get the paper back and saw that Lasher had started reading it. He heard everyone laugh and saw William take the paper back and follow Cecily into another room. He didn't want to follow, but did none the less.

"William," Cecily said, "I'm going to ask you a very personal question." William nodded. "Your poems, there not about me, are they?" Deny it! Deny it!

"There about how I feel." William responded.

"Yes, but are they about me?" William looked down at the poem in his hand and took a deep breath, trying to gain the courage to get the words out.

"Every syllable." He forced out. Cecily turned around, completely distraught. "Oh, I know I'm a bad poet… but… There just words. All I ask… is that you see me…" Cecily turned around and looked at him.

"That's the problem. I do see you." She said. Spike shook his head. I told you to deny it. "You mean nothing to me William." She said standing up. "Your beneath me." And with that she walked away.

TBC…. Plz R&R