Chapter 79: Lucy, I'm Home!

One Month Later. BPOV

If this day were any longer I’d swear I was in hell. Or maybe Andrew went “evil” again and decided to mess with me like he did when he was a trio member. Nah, he wouldn’t do that. Because he knows if Faith found out she’d tease him to death and he’s too fragile for her insults. I remember when we were getting the slayer school set up those two would be arguing like kids, and Faith would make a trekkie joke and he’d get this little tear in the corner of his eye that he’d try to wipe away without anyone noticing, but of course we all did and Faith would be smug for the rest of the day. I haven’t talked to Andrew in a really long time. Maybe I should call, see how he’s doing? Or maybe I can just ask Giles instead of listening to Andrew go on and on about pointless things for three hours.

Anyway, back to what I was complaining about. Today was possibly the longest day in the history of the earth. I’m sure scientists everywhere are baffled by this but I’m not. This is karma kicking me in the ass. A month ago Ruby died, but you already know that. That was just so awful, and it’s been really hard on everyone. But what’s worst is Faith didn’t think it was fair to let Tucker suffer because we were all grief stricken, so only a week after Ruby was killed, she took Tucker into the vet, and had him put to sleep. She told Matthew about it before she did it, but she wouldn’t let him go with her. She really didn’t think he should be there to see his dog die, and I was a little mad at her for that. The way she handled it was completely fucked up and I was pissed off at her for it.

She told Matthew that he needed to be put down because he was old, and his quality of life was so far gone it wasn’t fair keeping him alive anymore. Matthew was upset of course because he’s had that dog since he was two. That was his dog, you know? But she didn’t tell him when the appointment was, and while he was at school she took Tucker, and when Matthew got home he freaked out. He didn’t get to say goodbye to his first best friend, and we were both really pissed off at her. She acted like a complete asshole about it too, but I know it was because she was upset. She was defensive about her decision because she thinks it was the right one, and she was so fucking sad because Tucker was her first dog too. What she didn’t need right then was a verbal attack from me telling her how horrible she was for not letting her son say goodbye to his dog.

All of that happened a couple of weeks ago, and I’m paying for it now. I was stuck in traffic for two hours so I was late for work. Normally that wouldn’t be a problem. I would’ve just apologized to all of the women who missed out and given them a free session. Sounds fair right? But that’s not why I needed to be at work on time. See today I had to cancel the classes because a building inspector was coming to make sure we were up to par with all of the safety codes or whatever. Giles had the building put into my name for legal issues so I really needed to be there. Not only was the person not there when I finally showed up, but there was a notice duck taped to the door stating the building will be shut down until the inspection can be done. I’ve already lost a lot of business from when I shut the class down while Faith was missing. I have no idea how I’m going to get the bills paid this month.

And it wasn’t just that I had to put up with. I had a lot of other stuff I had to get done too. One thing Faith really didn’t think about when she suggested setting up the slayer outreach program, was how much food a slayer eats. Now multiply that by however many slayers are living in that damn building, and that equals a lot of fucking food. We have to shop every week for groceries. Normally Faith does it because the program is like her baby or something, and I do my best to but out. But today she had a very heavy work load because she told her dad to take the day off since Brittany has been complaining about how much time he’s spending at the shop, so I offered to do the shopping for her. Little did I know that the store was having some kind of sale and, I swear half the women in Vegas showed up for it. I had to steal someone else’s cart because there were none left. I hope she wasn’t an old woman, I would feel really bad.

I had to make a really tough decision at the store, and I know how dumb that sounds so just let me explain. Outside of the store a person was sitting down in one of those foldable lawn chairs, and right in front of them in a cardboard box was a litter of puppies. They were all so cute I wanted to kiss their little faces, but I didn’t because that would’ve been insane. Instead I seriously thought about paying the twenty dollars the guy was asking for and taking home the little white one. He said they were part German Shepherd and part Husky so they’re going to be big dogs, but that wouldn’t have mattered really. We have a huge backyard and a big house so that wasn’t really a concern. I had to really think about it though, but I finally decided against it. It’s too soon to bring another dog into the house, and I if were coming home with a little puppy Faith and Matthew would both freak out. I’m sure Addison and Joseph would’ve loved it because kids love cute puppies.

Anyway, after I went shopping and dropped off all the food at the apartments and put everything away, I stopped by Willow’s to see how she’s been. Her parents have been staying at her place for the last month and she’s going a little insane. Sky loves it because she gets along great with Will’s parents, but she’s starting to get a little grouchy. The baby keeps her up at night kicking and moving around so she’s always tired which is becoming a problem for her because she’s cranky when she’s tired. After I went to Willow’s I stopped by Dawn’s and helped her go through some designs for the new lineup. She’s been a little scatterbrained because the boys have been going over to Michael’s every other week and she’s not dealing with it very well. I did the whole ‘sisterly support’ thing, which I think worked out very well. She was definitely a lot more cheerful when I left then when I showed up. When I left Dawn’s I ran to the bank, and now I’m on my way home.

My day was pretty full and a little stressful and now I just want to go home, and soak in the tub for a while. I want to be there for my friends and family because that’s what good friends and sister do, but it’s a little draining helping someone who’s upset. And today I helped out both Willow and Dawn so my nerves are a little fried. I just want to kiss my wife, have some dinner and take a bath. I can bathe the kids tomorrow. They don’t have school tomorrow it won’t matter if they smell a little bit. What the fuck is this shit?! My business has been temporarily shut down, I almost got hit in the head with a purse because some woman wanted the last frozen chicken just a little too badly, and I had to listen to my best friend and sister whine about their problems and now this shit?! I’m going to fucking kill whoever parked in my spot. That’s my driveway dammit! The spot next to Faith’s with the oil stain is mine!

I park my car next to the curve where that piece of shit Ford should be, and I stomp up the driveway. I don’t care if I look like a spoiled eight-year-old right now. This person needs to learn some fucking manners and one of them is you don’t park in someone else’s driveway. Who the hell is it anyway? I don’t recognize the car and I think it’s a rental. I didn’t really look at the license plate, but why would someone purposely drive one of those ugly things? So if it’s a rental then who is here? I really hope karma decides to stay the hell out of my personal life and my dad isn’t sitting in my living room waiting for me to come home because that is so the kind of day I’ve been having. No, he can just stay with whatever tramp he’s with now and leave me the hell alone. I really don’t need that shit today.

I open the door and force myself not to slam it closed. I don’t want to seem overdramatic or anything. I put my purse and keys on the little table and just stand here. It does feel really good to be home, I’ll admit that. I know I missed dinner because it’s now eight o’ clock and we always eat at seven. I know Faith saved me a plate because we do that for each other. I probably should’ve called and said I was going to be late, but when you’re listening to your sister get really upset about the fact that her babies are all the way in LA with their father and probably having a really good time and she’s missing out on all of those moments it’s pretty rude to keep looking at the clock. I didn’t even know it was this late until I looked at my watch. But I’m sure she’s not mad. It would be very hypocritical of her to get pissed off at me for being a couple hours late, when she stayed out all night not so long ago.

I can hear to talking to someone but I can’t make out the other person’s voice. She’s talking to a guy, I know that much but I can’t hear what he’s saying. It doesn’t really matter. I’m so tired from everything I just want to head upstairs without even seeing who it is. But I’m Buffy, remember? I have to know everything. So instead of sneaking upstairs, hugging my kids, and then getting a nice warm bubble bath, I walk towards the living room. The closer I get the louder their voices become and that voice is very familiar. So familiar that I already know who it is before I take one step into the living room. Faith is sitting in her recliner and I roll my eyes a little bit. Her ass has been glued to that thing since she had Tucker put down. After dinner she would come in here, kick her shoes off, sit in that ugly chair, and turn on a game. I’m very glad that the TV is off, and she’s smiling again.

“Oh my God, Xander!” I yell a lot louder then I meant to. They both look over at me like I’m completely insane but I don’t care. They both stand up and I instantly run over and wrap him up in a big bear hug. He wraps his arms around me, and I can’t help but smile. I didn’t realized how much I’ve missed him until just now. Xander’s like the big brother I never had, and I feel like an ass for not keeping in touch with him. After a minute or two we pull back from the hug and I can’t wipe the huge smile I have on my face. He’s smiling too and it feels good to see it. He looks really tired though, and he has the whole five o’ clock shadow going on. He looks really skinny, but that could be from all of the stress he’s been going through. “When did you get here?”

“About fifteen minutes ago,” he says and he still has a big smile on his face. “I’m going to go surprise Willow next.” That’s a great idea. I’m sure seeing Xander will cheer her up a lot. “I’m sorry for not calling but it’s my week with Miranda and I needed to get away from home for a few days.” Faith and I reassure him at the same that it’s completely ok for him to just drop by like this. Faith starts talking about how tomorrow night we should all go out to dinner together to celebrate. That sounds really fun, and I’m sure we can make it just us grown ups. I’m sure the slayerettes wouldn’t mind babysitting for us. Joey loves being around the girls because they shower my baby boy with affection. I’m still smiling even as Xander calls Miranda down so they can leave. I wanna tell him so much but I don’t even know what to say. I’m completely speechless and I still can’t believe it. Xander is here!

FPOV

I can’t fucking believe this. Can you fucking believe this? Xan-man is here! That’s right ladies and gents, and drove for fuckin twelve hours to get here. Well, not twelve hours straight. He went down to LA, which is like nine hours from Redding depending on how much traffic there is. Then he drove the rest of the way here. He was still fuckin tired as hell, and not just from all the driving. This shit with is ex has him completely worn out. I’ve never seen him like this before. Xander’s always had this light in his eyes…well now it’s eye, but that’s gone. It’s like Katie reached in and stole everything from inside. Like a succubus. Hmmm, maybe I should look into that? I should pay her a little visit, get her side of the story and see if I get any evil vibes from her. I never did in the past but she coulda been doin like a cloaking spell. Nah, ‘cause Red woulda picked up on that shit right away.

But none of that shit really matters. Past is past, and there’s nothing that can be done about it now. Don’t get me wrong, I feel bad for the guy but right now isn’t about dwelling on it. Xander came here to get away from all of the bad feelings. So I’m takin the day off today so I can show X-man around the town. I talked to my dad about it and he was a little pissed at first, but he understands that Xander is important to me and I haven’t been able to hang out with him in a long time. I showed him around the shop, and he thought it was pretty badass. I took him for a spin on one of the bikes, which we’re not supposed to do but since when do I follow rules all the time? We give our clients a free tank of gas when they pick up their bikes so it’s not like they got a lot to complain about.

We’re not at the shop anymore though. After I showed him what I do for a living and how fuckin pimp I am, we just kinda drove around. I’m gonna take him over to Jake’s later so we can just hang out. I’m sure Xander and Jake will get along, and if not we can just watch a game on the big screen and shoot some pool. Right now we’re at the school, sitting on the bleachers, and watchin Mattie. It’s football practice right now, and my little man is kicking ass like normal. Nah, he’s not kicking ass or anything. Me and B encourage him to act like a normal kid during practice but he always shows off a little bit. Buffy doesn’t like him showin off but I tell him it’s ok as long as it’s only a little and he doesn’t get cocky. Anyway, I take a sip of my soda and give Xander a look like he’s out of his damn mind.

“Come on, man, what the fuck is the problem? B’s not gonna care if we go out this weekend. Hell, she might call up the babysitter and tag along.” I know that’s not gonna happen ‘cause B would never go to a place like that even if I begged her. And trust me, I have. I hear the coach blow that stupid whistle and I look over. All of the boys drop down to the ground and start doin pushups. I guess they messed something up. I feel bad for the other kids but Mattie can handle it. We do way more then just twenty push ups, and all of this training, every week. He isn’t as into slaying as we thought he was gonna be but I’m sure his instincts and the urge to slay something will be kicking in soon.

“I don’t know Faith. Going to a strip club sounds……fun.” Fuck yes it does. “But it might be a little weird.” Why the fuck would it be weird? “I know we’ve always been best buds.” I guess we can say that. I mean, we’ve always been kinda close but I always thought Ken was my best friend. Man, I fuckin miss hanging out with her. Maybe I can convince her to settle down with Queenie and move here? I’ll have to look into that later. “It’s just…you’re a girl so it would be a little strange having you there watching me watch other girls.” Fuck that shit. I don’t know what the fuck he’s talking about.

“Trust me, X-man, we go to a strip club and you’re the last person I’m gonna be keeping my eyes on.” I give him a playful smile and bump his shoulder with my own. He has kind of a point. It might be a little weird at first but I’m sure once we have a couple drinks and relax everything will be fine. “Just chill Xander. You think too much. It’ll only be weird if you think it’s weird. Just relax about it and it’ll be fine.” He nods his head a little bit and takes a sip of his soda. I watch the field again ‘cause practice is gonna be ending soon. Normally Mattie walks home with Lucas, but I thought I’d surprise him. He hasn’t seen Xander in fuckin forever so I think I’ll let him ride in my car even though he’s all sweaty and gross. I can always just spray some Fabreeze or something later.

“I guess it would be fun,” he says and I squeal on the inside. There’s no way in hell I’m letting that girliness out. I do have a rep to keep up, you know? He’s looking down at his feet and he’s startin to look a little sad. I guess he’s thinking about being with Katie. I know that look of longing and pain. I used to wear it all the time when B and me were on the outs and I was livin at his place for a while. He still hasn’t said anything about why they broke up, but I haven’t asked yet. I figure maybe if I can get him around some hot girls, and get some booze in him he’ll open right up. But right now definitely ain’t the time for a heart to heart since football practice just ended. I nudge him with my shoulder to get his attention and he looks a little startled. I guess wherever his mind went to must’ve been pretty intense.

“It’ll be fun, trust me. We’ll go out, find a nice lookin club, get a couple a drinks and it’ll be just like old times.” He gives me a weird look as we stand up and start walking down towards the field. “Well, kinda like old times. Only instead of tearin ass on the dance floor we’ll be sittin on our asses while gettin lap dances.” I smile a charming smile and wiggle my eyebrows. That does the trick and he has a big smile on his face now too. We stand on the edge of the field and wait for the boys to finish drinking from the fountain. Well, it’s not really a fountain. It’s a long ass pvc pipe with holes cut in it, and a hose with holes cut in the same spots runs through it. So when you turn the water on it shoots out the holes and the kids can get some water. They look like farm animals or somethin, all lined bent over a little and drinking as much as they can. “Matt, over here!” I wave my arm so he sees me and waves back a little.

“I think you just became the embarrassing mom who tries too hard,” Xander says and chuckles a little bit. I laugh too and shake my head. I try not to embarrass my kids but it’s gonna happen no matter what, so why fight it? He used to embarrass me all the fuckin time at the park, especially with what I had to say. B didn’t want me yellin at him ‘cause “it’ll ruin his self esteem, Faith”. So instead of saying “we’re at the park, keep your pants on” I had to say “big boys don’t pull down their pants in public”. Yeah, talk about embarrassing. But I’ll definitely get him back the next time he brings a girl home. That’s right, Buffy finally got her wish and Mattie and Ashley split up. It happened a couple weeks ago and trust me, he was devastated. He stayed in his room the entire weekend just moping, and he didn’t want to come out or eat anything or do anything but lie in bed. Buffy was getting all worried, but come on, seriously?

She finally complained enough that I gave in and had a heart to heart with him. We sat out on the deck one night and I didn’t really know what to say at first. We sat there for about fifteen minutes just enjoying the cool night air. At least I was. He wanted to go back to bed. I took another drink of my beer and let out a big sigh that got his attention, and I explained how women are pretty awesome but sometimes they really suck. I told him how breaking up with a girl can feel like the end of the world but later in life when he meets the person he’s supposed to be with then he’ll back and be glad that she dumped him. Yeah, she dumped him. The nerve of that little twat. But whatever, we’re all over it now. Except for Buffy. Say a name that just begins with an A and she gets pissed. It’s actually kinda funny.

“Hey, you kicked ass today.” That’s the first thing out of my mouth when my boy walks up to us. He doesn’t say anything back though, he just stares at Xander. I can instantly feel the tension comin off of him in fuckin waves. God, he still hates Xander? What the fuck happened that was so bad that Mattie fuckin hates him? He’s never really liked Xander all that much, and then when he was little something must’ve happened ‘cause he’s hated Xander ever since. I don’t know what happened but it couldn’t have been that bad. X-man would never do anything to hurt my boy in any way, shape, or form ‘cause he knows B would whoop his ass and I’d him off. Ok, so how am I gonna break this tension? “You remember your uncle Xander, right?” Of course he does, but it’s been so fuckin long since Xander’s been here. He was here for Addy’s third birthday party but that was it.

“Yeah,” he says and he squares his shoulders a little bit. His muscles are pretty fuckin tense and I don’t like that look in his eyes at all. That’s the same look B gets when we go slaying together and she gets into “hunting mode”. I glance over at Xander and he looks a little…shocked I guess but he’s also squaring his shoulders. These guys are so fucking……male, I guess is the right way to put it. They’re sizing each other up like cavemen about to fight over a woman or somethin. I’m surprised they haven’t whipped ‘em out and started markin territory. They’re thinking with that primal side of ‘em instead the human side and that’s gonna get us nowhere fast. I’ll definitely have to talk to him about this later. I wanna know if some shit went down or not, and if it did then I need to have a little talk with Patch Adams over here.

“Why don’t we head back to the house and you can grad a shower and we’ll get somethin to eat?” I ask and he looks over at me. He doesn’t look happy at all. What is up with him? I’ve never seen him look so……territorial before. He nods his head a little bit and picks up his gym bag. We start walking towards the car and I let out a sigh. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. It’s fuckin obvious Mattie has some issues with Xander and this isn’t helping. But fuck that. The only way Mattie’s ever gonna get over whatever the fuck happened is if he spends time with Xander and sees he’s a pretty cool guy. They both nod their heads and we start walking towards the parking lot. I’m ahead of them so I don’t see what happens but I hear something scrape against the pavement and then I hear:

“Watch where you’re fucking going.” Mattie just said that. I’ve never heard him sound so fuckin hateful in my entire life. And it isn’t so much what he said, but it’s how he said it. I whip around so fast my head would’ve kept goin if it wasn’t attached to my neck. My eyebrows furrow when I see Xander getting up off the ground and Mattie just standing there looking like a total dick. Before I can think of something to say Xander’s up and really pissed off.

“How about having some manners for a change? I don’t know what your problem is but that’s no way to talk in front of your mom.” I have to force myself not to roll my eyes. And here comes poppa bear Xander. Mattie gets right in his face and I swear to God they look like two pit bulls sizing each other up. Well, more like a pit bull and a cocker spaniel ‘cause Xander will definitely get his ass handed to him if this gets violent.

“Guys, let’s just calm the fuck down,” I say but no one hears me because Mattie is too busy talking at the same time. I hate it when shit like that happens.

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” Mattie asks and throws his gym bag to the ground. What I wanna know is who the fuck does he think he is? I thought I taught him better then this. I guess I was fuckin wrong. “You think you’re my dad or something? ‘Cause your fucking not. So why don’t you go back home where you fucking belong.” I thought I at least taught him to leave off the ‘g’ on fucking because it sounds way cooler when you do.

“I think you need to take a step back because you’re way outta line. You should know by now not to talk to people this way.” Fuck, Xander doesn’t know how to help worth shit.

“Don’t tell me what to do! I don’t have to fuckin listen to you.” I can feel it happening before it happens. Xander is about to reach out and grab Mattie by the shoulder. I can feel the subtle changes in his body because of my slayer senses. I can hear his heart rate picking up ‘cause he’s getting so fuckin angry, and I just know what he’s going to do. Just like I knew Red was gonna take a swing at me with her bag when I woke up from my coma. But the thing is Mattie knows it too because he’s a slayer, and I know exactly what he’s going to do, but he’s faster then me so I can do a damn thing to stop it. In the blink of an eye Mattie swings a perfect punch, just like I taught him, and Xander gets hit right in the fuckin face.

He didn’t hit him as hard as I can I know that for sure, but it doesn’t matter. Xander stumbles back, and I know later he’s gonna have a black eye. I step forward but Mattie’s quicker then I am. I thought him being like a super-slayer or whatever would be a good thing ‘cause he stands a way better chance of not dying out on patrol but now I don’t think it’s so cool. He lunges at Xander and knocks him to the ground. He kneels down next to him and just starts punchin him over and over. I’ve never seen him like this before. What the fuck is his problem?! I run over to ‘em and get him in a chokehold from behind and pull back as hard as I fuckin can. He’s resisting and he manages to get in one more half assed punch before he finally moves back with me.

“You need to calm the fuck down right now, little boy,” I say and I’m nothing but pissed. I ease up my hold on him and he steps forward and whips around, ripping my arms from his body. I should fuckin slap him for doing that shit. I don’t wanna be the kinda person who beats their kid in public, or ever, but that was so outta fuckin line. All of this is just so fucked up. “You get your fuckin ass in the car.” He doesn’t move, he just stands there staring at me. “Now!” He walks over and picks up his bag. When he gets into the front seat he slams my door closed. If he broke it it’s comin out of his allowance. I walk over to Xander, and I’m a little worried. He hasn’t gotten up yet. I hold out my hand and he gladly takes it. I pull him to his feet and wince a little bit. The left side of his face is all swollen, and bruised, and his lips are bleeding pretty bad. “You alright, Xan-man?” I dumb question, I know. He just nods his head. I look over my shoulder and see Mattie just fuckin glaring at us. Oh he is so grounded. That’s for fuckin sure.

BPOV

As relaxing as today has been I don’t really like it. I couldn’t go to work because that stupid inspector shut it down so I had to stay home. You’d think that would be good, right? Just a nice relaxing day with the house all to myself? Well it wasn’t really all that relaxing. After I dropped Joseph off at daycare I came home to an empty house and it was a little weird. I was going to just keep him out today and spend some one on one time with him because I don’t think I get to do that enough with any of my kids, but then I remembered that it’s picture day and I didn’t want him to miss out on that. I got all of the housework done, which is nice, but after that I was bored as hell. I thought about taking Addison shopping, you know, have some quality mother-daughter time, but she has a play date over at Brad’s house. She doesn’t get to spend that much time with him anymore, and I promised her last week she could go over there.

I don’t want to become the type of parent that breaks their promises. So after I dropped her off I did a little bit of shopping by myself but I couldn’t buy anything. Money is really tight this month and it’s going to get even tighter because the studio is shut down. Faith is getting more business this month then normal so we’ll be able to make ends meat. As long as we don’t go into debt I won’t be stressing out. I guess we are in debt a little. I would like to get some of the credit cards paid off so we can start saving our money up again. We want to start taking vacations more often and go to more exotic places then Monterey, California. Maybe we can go to Hawaii, or Brazil, or some other really nice place that has a beach. I do want to start spending some time at the beach. Nevada doesn’t have a beach and for that I am sad.

“You get your fucking ass upstairs right now!” What the fuck is going on? I jump up out of the chair and rush towards the foyer. “You get your ass in your room and you fucking stay there until I say you can come down. You fucking got that?” Why is Faith yelling at him like that? I’ve never heard her talk to any of our kids that way. Something really bad must’ve happened because there’s no way in hell she’d ever speak to anyone like that unless she had a damn good reason. By the time I step into the foyer Matthew is stomping towards the stairs. He throws his gym bag into the living room and I hear a large crash and I don’t think the coffee table survived. Before I can say anything he’s up the stairs and out of sight. I look over at Faith and Xander is standing next to her, and the left side of his face looks like it was hit with a Mac truck.

“Oh my God! What happened?” I ask and put my hand up to my mouth. The only time I’ve ever seen Xander like this was…well, I’ve never seen Xander like this. Were they attacked by something, a demon maybe? But that doesn’t make sense. Why would Faith be pissed off at Matthew for a demon attack? Unless Matthew just stood by and let Xander get beat up and he wouldn’t………well, I guess it’s a possibility. Matthew has never really liked Xander all that much. But I’d like to think that we raised someone who would jump in and save the person being attacked no matter who they are. It’s not our job to judge who gets saved and who doesn’t. We’re slayers we protect the world from the evil creatures. I thought he understood that.

“Happened?” Xander asks and he sounds weird because he can’t talk right. His face is so swollen it’s affecting his speech. I hope he didn’t lose any teeth. He’ll be really pissed off if he did. “Oh, not much. Your son decided to bruise his fist with my face.” His eyebrows knit together a little bit and a cold chill goes down my spine. “Only I don’t think there were any bruises on his hand.” What the fuck is he talking about? That demon must’ve hit him really hard because there’s no way Matthew would do this, ever. He knows better then to go around hitting people, especially people we consider family. “Yeah, it was pretty shocking.” I guess my expression isn’t hiding anything that I’m feeling. He keeps talking while we walk towards the living room. “Never been punched in the face by a slayer before. No wonder you never let me train with you.” I can tell Matthew was holding back otherwise Xander wouldn’t have a face right now.

“So what the hell happened? Matthew doesn’t normally go around beating up on people.” I need to find out what happened. My entire body is so tense right now. When you find out your kid has done something so awful you want to know the whole story. This couldn’t have been Matthew’s fault. At least not really. Sure he didn’t display the best self-control but there has to be a reason he did this. My little boy would never do anything like this without a good reason. Faith gets this look on her face like she really wants to know what’s going on too. I take it she didn’t see the whole thing. So maybe there is a good explanation for all of this. Xander shrugs a little bit and gently touches his face. I’ll get him some ice after he explains.

“We were walkin back to the car and we bumped into each other, and he pushed me down.” No way. It was an accident. Matthew would never push somebody down like that. I’ve taught him better then that. “He told me to watch where I was going, only not as polite. I stood up and told him to stop being so disrespectful, but he kept getting right in my face, and he hit me.” No way. There’s no fucking way Matthew would do anything like that. “Ask Faith if you don’t believe me.” So Faith was there when all of this way taking place? And what was she doing, sitting on her ass and cheering them on?

“You were gonna touch him,” she says looking Xander right in the eye. My eyebrows knit together and I watch Faith. She still looks pissed as hell but she’s starting to calm down. “I felt it, and I know Mattie felt it. That’s why he hit you.” I go to say something and I guess she knows I’m gonna argue ‘cause she interrupts me. “I’m not saying it’s right, and he’s not getting off light that’s for fuckin sure.” I still don’t get it though. Matthew did all of that damage with one hit? He must’ve only held back a little bit. I can’t believe he fucking did this. I don’t know what’s been going on with him but it needs to stop. He can’t treat people like this.

“And what were you doing when all of this was happening?” I sound a lot more pissed off at her then I should be but I don’t care right now. She gives me this look that just screams “fuck you, bitch” but I don’t give a shit how she feels. I don’t care if I sound like a total bitch right now. I know I do so there’s no point trying to deny it. I want to know what was going on. Faith runs her fingers through her hair and she lets out a very frustrated sigh. Her leg is bouncing up and down and I know right now she wants nothing more then a cigarette.

“I tried to grab him but he was too quick for me. I had to get ‘em in a headlock or he wouldn’t’ve stopped.” He wouldn’t have stopped what? I give her a questioning look and she sighs again. “After Mattie hit him Xander went down fuckin hard and Mattie jumped on top of him and started beating on him. He got in, what, five or six hits before I pulled him off?” What the fuck?! So that’s why Xander’s face is so messed up? Oh hell no. That shit is so not gonna fly in my house. I jump up from the chair and start running up the stairs.

“Matthew James Lehane!” I scream as I hit the top of the stairs. I’ve never been so fucking angry in my entire life. Well, maybe a couple of times, but not recently. I stomp down the hall and slam his door open. I see him sitting on his bed playing that stupid PSP. He looks up at me and before he can react I grab it from him and throw it against a wall. It shatters and he jumps up off the bed. He’s taller then me by two inches, and he’s trying to make himself look bigger. I guess he’s trying to be intimidating but trust me it isn’t working. “Why the hell did you beat Xander up? You know better then to use your slayer powers on a mortal! You could’ve killed him!” This is why I don’t want my babies being slayers. Accidents happen, things get out of hand, and fingers are pointed. You all remember the Finch thing, right? Perfect example.

“Get out of my room!” he yells and he looks pretty pissed. I probably shouldn’t have broken that stupid game but he can just buy a new one when he saves up his allowance. That is so not the point. He knows better then to talk to me like that. Who the hell does he think he is?

“You don’t talk to me like that ever. Now tell me what you were thinking when you punched Xander to the ground and started beating on him?” He doesn’t say anything. He just stands there looking all defiant. I know that look all too well. I guess he’s decided to take after Faith. And here I was hoping he’d be more like me. I don’t look over when I hear the other two walk in the room. I really don’t need the audience right now. “Answer me right now Matthew. Why the hell did you hit him like that? What do you think gives you the right to go around hitting people like that?”

“I don’t go around hitting people. I only hit him.” He isn’t yelling but there’s a lot of venom in his voice. And what a fucking smartass. I hate that he’s decided to take after Faith. I clench my jaw and try counting to ten, but it doesn’t work. There has to be an easier and faster way to try and calm down when you feel like you’re going to smash your fist through a wall.

“That doesn’t matter. Just tell me what your problem is. You’ve always hated Xander. Whenever he comes around you get pissed off, and start acting like a little punk. I’ve had enough of it now tell me what the fuck is going on.” He knows I’m dead serious because I don’t swear in front of my kids very often, and I never use the ‘f’ word. He looks pissed off enough to kill. I’ve never seen that look in his eyes before. It’s scaring the hell out of me but I can’t show that. If I show any type of fear or anything then he’ll just take advantage of it. Give ‘em and inch and they take a mile, right? He still doesn’t say anything and now I’m getting ready to kill somebody. “Tell me why you act like that whenever he’s around!” His fists clench and his ears turn bright red. I’ve never seen him this pissed off before.

“Because he fucked you!” What the fuck is he talking about? I’m too stunned to say anything. I look over to my right when I see something move.

“You son of a bitch!” Faith screams and punches Xander on the right side of his face. He crashes against the floor. He’s unconscious which is probably for his own good because if he wasn’t Faith would still be hitting him.

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