Ivy sat in the armchair nervously fidgeting with her
fingers. The handsome blonde man whose arm was wrapped
around Willow put her on edge, though she didn't know
why. Something about him exuded power and anger, and
the darkness that permeated his home did little to set
her mind at ease. It was only late afternoon, but the
windows were heavily curtained against any brightening
affects the rays of the sun might have created to
dispel the gloomy shadows in the room.
"I thought you might--might hate me," her voice
sounded small and weak in her own ears.
Willow gave her a reassuring smile, "You haven't done
anything wrong. Oz lied to you as much as he lied to
me."
"He did tell me about you," Ivy pointed out. "Well, as
much as he wanted me to know, anyway. He said he
wasn't planning on coming back here anytime soon, that
he wasn't sure if he'd ever see you again. So, I
thought--"
"You don't have to apologize," the redhead told her.
"It was his decision to go back to your place, and it
was his decision to leave you the next morning without
a word."
"I feel pretty stupid," she admitted. "It seemed so
romantic--like we were just two people looking for a
way to ease our loneliness. I'd deluded myself into
thinking we'd found something special. The truth is,
other than a few hours of conversation, I didn't even
know him."
"Loneliness can drive people to do all kinds of crazy
things," Willow said softly. "I've done more than my
share. I'm just sorry you got hurt by all of this."
"I don't understand him," Ivy replied as she looked
from Willow to Spike. "I mean, it's obvious the two of
you have been together for awhile. You look happy
enough to me. Why can't Oz leave you alone?"
"I don't know," she shrugged. "I've changed a lot
since he left. I guess he can't see it, or maybe he
just doesn't want to."
"Has he been carrying on like this since he came back
here?" Ivy asked.
"Pretty much," she nodded.
"Then I don't understand why she told me..." the young
brunette's voice faltered as Willow's eyes widened
with curiosity.
"Who told you? What?" the redhead prodded.
"Oh, nothing," Ivy had gone back to twisting her
fingers around one another. "I shouldn't even have--"
Willow shot Spike a quick glance before turning back
to the woman, "I think you should tell me. We've had
enough lies."
She sighed, "I guess you're right. It's
just--well--someone told me that Oz kind of--missed
me. That he--"
"Someone?" the redhead's eyebrows shot up. "From
Sunnydale?"
She stood up and turned to face Spike, hands on her
hips, "Okay, mister, what the hell is she talking
about?"
"It wasn't him," Ivy told her. "It was Anya who phoned
me."
"Uh huh," Willow nodded, her eyes fixed on Spike.
"Now, I _know_ you're involved. Why would you drag her
all the way up here? Just to hurt Oz?"
"Are you telling me he didn't deserve it?" he asked.
"That isn't the point! There are a lot of other
people--"
"Bloody hell, Willow," he stood up and put his hands
on her shoulders. "The mutt's been lying to everyone
since he came back here! He stuck his muzzle into
everything you'd been doing since he took off. But he
never talked about where he'd been or what he'd done
while he was gone. Made me wonder what the hell he was
hiding. So I found out."
"Okay, then why didn't you just tell me?" she asked.
"Why did you have to drag Ivy into all of this? He
hurt her, too!"
"Funny thing, pet. Yours is the only pain I give a
damn about," he told her. "What if I had told you
about his one-night fling? He would only have denied
it."
"You think I would have believed him over you?"
"Maybe not, but it would have been his word against
mine. He went on and on about how lonely he'd been,
how he could never hurt you like he did before he
left. It took him awhile, but he finally had everyone
else believing that he was sorry. He's been lying to
you for weeks, Willow, and you never twigged. None of
you did."
Her eyes dropped from his, "Okay, that's fair."
He placed a finger under her chin and drew her eyes
back to him, "When his little secret showed up in
town--in the flesh--he couldn't deny it. And hell,
yes, I wanted that bastard to hurt. But mostly, I
wanted to destroy any last chance he ever had of
getting you back."
"He never had a chance," she spoke softly. "Not even a
little one."
"Couldn't risk it. He hurt you, baby, and it took you
months to finally struggle back onto your feet. When
he dragged his sorry ass back here, I swore then and
there he'd never do that to you again. He
underestimated me, pet. When he found out that I'd
been--" he paused and shot a quick look at the
brunette who was listening with open curiosity. "He
thought there was nothing I could do to fight him.
Aside from ripping your heart to shreds, it's the
biggest mistake he ever made. He should have known I'd
have done whatever it took to keep him away from you
and out of your life. If other people got hurt in the
process--well, I didn't really give a damn. I'm a
cold-hearted bastard, Willow. You know that."
She shook her head and brought her hands to his
cheeks, cupping them gently, "Not to me."
Spike's arms slid around her waist, and he pulled her
into a fiery kiss, heedless of the one-woman audience
watching in rapt fascination.
End.