Revenge chapter 22
"Miss Summers, are you sure you want to do this?" The lawyer, a nice man with the lovely name Smith, asked her.
Buffy nodded again, for about the twentieth time since that morning. They had been practicing some of the question that were possible during her witness report in the stand. The questions of Mr. Smith were quite nice, only one or two mean ones, but he was preparing her for the cross examination of the opposing party, namely the lawyer of the state.
"Mr. Carrington never liked his victim, did he? From the moment he set foot in America something was up between the two of them."
"No, that's not true. It was Angel who started every fight between them from the beginning. He didn't like it that Sp… That William was popular without trying to be. He wasn't on the football team or anything, but people still liked him."
"But they did fight?"
Buffy nodded slowly.
"Nodding is not enough, Ms. Summers, I'm afraid. You'll have to answer some of the details or they'll not be satisfied."
"Yes, they fought several times, but more with words, just threatening each other."
"And then came the assault on Mr. Carrington."
"That was much later."
"Yes, after the two of you were going out together, something that the victim couldn't cope with, was it not? You betrayed him by dating Mr. Carrington while he was certain that you were his steady girlfriend."
"That's not true!" Buffy shouted immediately. "I told Angel a long time before that I wanted to break up with him because of his attitude. He treated me like dirt and I didn't want that anymore…"
"What happened after the assault?"
"William didn't recognise anyone anymore in the beginning. Or he didn't want to recognise anyone rather. He became Spike… a tougher version of himself."
"Ah yes, we have all heard that story." The lawyer began as he explained to the jury the transformation of William into Spike, not only outwardly, but also on the inside. That being established, he turned back to Buffy.
"He was smart that time though, he went to the police with everything."
"From the moment he had evidence he did, yes." Buffy nodded.
Then they let several years of the life of Buffy and Spike fly by, happy years where they were together. Buffy got it difficult then, tears streaming down her cheeks, but she gestured for the lawyer to continue. If she couldn't do this now, then she wouldn't be able to in the courtroom either.
"Angel returned from prison and he visited you one night."
"He broke in in my house!"
"That might be how you call it, Ms. Summers, but it seemed like he had the right to be in that house since you had given him the key."
"That was years ago!"
"Perhaps, but still he had that key and you had never changed the locks. Even in your great feeling of insecurity, you never changed the locks."
"I… Spike was with me. And I never thought about that key again after Angel was locked up in prison. I thought he would have thrown it away, never think of me again. I didn't know I was such an obsession for him."
As she had to give the report of the last night when Angel was alive, she broke down. She couldn't do it anymore, although she wanted to. How she loathed to be so weak when it came to that very night. Willow stood quickly and hugged her tightly as she looked at Mr. Smith.
"I'm sorry, but we can't continue this today. Buffy has had much… to deal with and I don't want her to fall back in her earlier state. I think she did well enough for today."
"Of course, but the trial is not far away and…"
"I'll do it then… witnessing… it'll be fine, I can do it." Buffy said to both Willow and the lawyer. She would testify no matter what.
"You do know that Mr. Carrington will not be too pleased with you."
"No, he won't, I know. I'm used to that kind of thing from him, but he'll thank me in the end."
"I do want to warn you again, Ms. Summers. Your testimony might lower the punishment for Mr. Carrington, but it might not be enough to release him fully. He did know what he was doing at the time of the murder and the knife was stabbed in the back… it wasn't self defence."
"They won't be able to go around my testimony. I swear that the jury will hear everything about that evening!" Buffy said as her eyes almost pinned the lawyer to the wall. He nodded quickly and let both young women out.
"Well, Mr. Carrington, quite a defence you have there." He muttered.
