The Present
Angel stared at her.
"What happened to you? What did they do to you? I need to know. I searched for you for so long, and I never found you. And now you’re back and it turns out you were so close. I want to touch you more than anything else, but every time I come near you, you get all jumpy."
Buffy looked away. She couldn’t break now. She couldn’t let five years of torture and pain come out now. It was too much.
"Please, Buffy," Angel begged. Buffy looked at him. Tears were streaming down her face.
"They beat me. But not before chaining me to the wall. Then they would occasionally cut me and suck my blood." She began to let her tears flow down her quivering chin. "Is that what you wanted to hear? Because if it is, there's plenty more tales from the dark side!" She looked at the floor while she sobbed.
"They were vampires? I mean, I saw vampires taking you away, it’s just that I thought they were getting paid to do it," he asked.
"Yes, they were vampires! And they tortured me all by themselves! And every time you touch me I remember how much I hate your kind!"
Angel stumbled backward. He looked as if had been punched in the stomach. Buffy looked eyes widened. She couldn’t believe she had said that.
"Angel, I-"
"No, you...I should go." Angel turned toward the door.
"Angel! I’m sorry! I need you. I need you so much." Angel turned back, as tear running down his cheek.
"Five years I have waited for your return. But I never expected you to hate me! You’re the only person that I ever loved!"
Buffy wiped at tear away from his cheek.
"I love you still. I will love you my entire life," Buffy whispered. Angel hugged her. Buffy sucked her breath in. Pain shot through her body. A tear welled up in her eye.
"Buffy?" Buffy let a sob escape her lip.
"It hurts so much Angel."
Angel shook his head in confusion. "What do you mean? I hugged you too hard?"
Buffy turned around and unbuttoned her shirt. She let the cloth fall down to her mid-back. Angel looked at the scars on her back. Some of them were fresh, and some of them were so old that he could only guess when she got them.
"Oh, God, Buffy! How could they do this to you?" Angel tentatively ran his fingers down her scars. "By my stripes you are healed," he whispered, remembering a Bible memory verse from when he was young. Buffy pulled her shirt back over her shoulders.
"What?" she asked as she turned around. Angel sat on the couch. Buffy touched his face.
"Be strong, my love. The fight is yet to come."
Angel looked up at her with angry eyes."You don’t deserve this. You never did. You are the savior of the Earth many times over, and you get this shit! You didn’t deserve it. I did. You deserved the sun and the moon, and everything life could offer. Instead you get tortured for five years straight, and you come back to find that your family and friends have all moved on and gotten over you."
Buffy’s face tightened. Not now. She was not going to cry now. Be strong. ‘Be strong, you can do that at least. You can fight the tears.’ Her thoughts were so loud in her head that she wanted to scream. Buffy left the room.
The Past
Buffy winced as Telsan hit her. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of hearing her scream. It wasn’t her style. The whip struck her with force, but she could take it. She just didn’t know how much longer for.
Telsan growled angrily. "Scream for me, Slayer. You know I like it."
A ran down her cheek. Buffy bit her lip."Kiss my ass, you bastard!"
Telsan smiled. She was strong willed. He would enjoy breaking her."Ooh, you like it rough, don’t you?" The whip snapped as it hit her raw flesh.
She squeezed her eyes shut. ‘Oh, God! Oh, God! Oh, God! Please make this stop!’ Telsan angrily hit her again. She would break, and he would be there to watch.
The Present
"So what’s the plan, Giles?" Buffy said. Her foot tapped nervously against the floor. Angel squeezed her hand. Her foot stopped tapping.
"Obviously they will be out to recapture you. You can either get out of town with Angel. Or you could fight."
Buffy considered her options. "I fight. I have a little payback that I owe. You know me, I always pay my debts."
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