Chapter 6: Breaking the News
And so the story continues…
Disclaimer: Buffy and co. don’t belong to me.
Warnings: Some language, a bit of violence…
…Hank hung up the phone just as Buffy walked in, looking a little pale.
Surprised by his daughter’s sudden return, Hank jumped up and took a step back.
Now, why had he done that?
Reconsidering, Hank drew himself up, deciding to break the news then and there, but before he could speak, Buffy demanded “Where’s mom?”
She was looking around nervously, trying to figure out what had happened. It was obvious that there was no one else in the house anymore, and half the contents of the living room had been tossed around or were gone.
Hank cleared his throat and reaffirmed his decision to deliver the news now. “You’re mother left. And we’re leaving too. You’re coming with me.” He managed to throw in as much annoyance and contempt into his last statement. “So, go pack, we’ll be out of here within a week.”
Buffy just stood there, shocked. She could not have heard right. In fact, she had just successfully blocked out her previous encounter on her “walk” back home, and had just begun processing Hank’s first statement. …”Mother….left…” …Buffy shook her head hard, as if trying to rid herself of such a ludicrous thought. But standing there, just staring at her father, a voice in her head berated her. Is it really that crazy? Isn’t it what you’ve expected? Maybe even…wanted?
No! This, at least, she was sure of. She would have to be crazy if she’d wanted to be stuck with her dad, alone.
Not really knowing how to deal with this, and completely ignoring anything else that Hank had said, an overwhelming wave of mixed emotions suddenly surged through Buffy. Almost unaware of what she was doing, Buffy shoved her dad hard into the kitchen counter, and screamed at him. “You fucking screw up! What the hell did you do? What did you DO?!” Then she broke down and and started sobbing, but continued hoarsely speaking to Hank. “You just had to make everything worse, didn’t you? You had it all planned…you really hate us that much, don’t you? Then who’s the fucking whore you’ve been spending all your quality time with huh? Wanna at least tell--?
Hank himself had been shutting down a lot of his feelings, but had felt a dull throb of anger the second Buffy had started screaming at him. He didn’t ask for this. But Hank was still replaying the phone conversation in his head, not really noticing what Buffy was saying. He only tuned in to hear Buffy’s last couple accusations. He clearly heard her call Alice a whore.
That’s as far as he heard, though, because that’s when black, violent anger clouded his senses and before he knew it, he had Buffy slammed against the wall, his arm digging into her neck, as he hissed out angrily “Don’t you DARE say that again. Alice is a better woman than your mother or you could ever be. And you’d better learn to respect her fast, because she’s part of the reason we’re moving. We’re moving to where she’s living now, in Sunnydale.”
Buffy, already shaken from everything that just happened, could only stare into her father’s now hate-filled eyes, keeping as still as she could while trying to repress the fear that was threatening to engulf her. It wasn’t, as much, the fear of being physically abused. It was the fact that she could feel her world breaking apart, worse than it had ever been before. She was afraid of losing everything at once, and she was afraid of being alone now, unable to share her feelings with anyone, and having no one to work through this with her, to help her deal. Any remote connection she had ever felt was being ripped away, including her home town. She had heard him this time, when he had said they were moving, and also that she was going to be meeting the woman who might have caused all this, and would be forced to respect her. It filled her with a petrifying helplessness that made her want to just give up. Her life was a hell anyway.
Buffy jerked out of her father’s grasp, pushed past him before he could react, and ran up to her room, flinging herself onto her bed, struggling to control the torrent of emotions that she was now lost in. She had to be strong, she always had been. She had dealt with tragedy before. Suddenly, she remembered a dream she had the other night. In the dream, she was confident, strong, and she had a purpose. She was like a different person, but had felt at peace, knowing that she could handle anything, any challenge that was thrown at her.
Holding onto this memory, Buffy calmed herself. She knew that she could become that person. Feeling utterly exhausted, Buffy shifted into a more comfortable position, and started dozing off.
Back downstairs, Hank stood numbly. Then, something within him snapped. Only one thought registered in his mind. His own daughter had just sworn at him, insulted him, and had tried to physically assault him. Hank let himself build up his anger again. This was the easy way out. He desperately needed to punch something, or someone. His own life was getting screwed up, and instead of trying to deal with all the things that had happened, Hank needed an outlet. He grabbed a can of beer, downed it quickly, then stormed towards the stairs.
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