\u201cYou\u2019re upset that I suggested the others keep tabs on you,\u201d Angel commented as he turned the car down a side street heading back to the west side of town.<\/p>\n
Cordelia shook her head and continued to tap her nails against the doorframe. \u201cNot really. I\u2019m not stupid. I told you I\u2019d be asking for a little Slayer protection. This just complicates things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Between us?<\/p>\n
He left the question unspoken because he wasn\u2019t sure if such a thing existed. Terms like \u2018us\u2019 usually implied more than friendship, and Cordy had made it clear enough that was all she wanted when she avoided kissing him. He called himself a fool for thinking she would consider it in the first place, although for an instant he\u2019d seen desire flash in those beautiful eyes, unless he\u2019d imagined that, too.<\/p>\n
To be on the safe side, Angel asked, \u201cComplicates what?\u201d<\/p>\n
A heavy sigh sounded followed immediately by a self-derisive snort as Cordelia confessed, \u201cThere are things you don\u2019t know about me. Nobody does except Faith and she kinda blackmailed me into telling her,\u201d a smile revealed that the memory of it was amusing rather than painful.<\/p>\n
Angel slowed the car down to a halt at the next stop sign. He knew this had to do with whatever made her so sad back at the cemetery and he did not want to say or do anything to stop her from telling him what it was.<\/p>\n
\u201cTurn here,\u201d Cordelia pointed in the opposite direction of the flashing turn signal he had automatically flipped on.<\/p>\n
Following her instructions, Angel maneuvered the car onto Quincy Street, now heading in the opposite direction of the Chase family estate. Slightly isolated from the rest of town, there were several similar properties, all secured with electronic devices, high stone walls and steel gates. He had never been to Cordy\u2019s place, but even he knew it was not in this direction.<\/p>\n
The only places on this part of Quincy Street were a fleabag motel, a trailer park and a few old houses that had seen their prime back in the 1920s. It didn\u2019t help that Cordelia told him to pull over directly in front of the Downtowner Motel and Apartments.<\/p>\n
\u201cCordy, why are we here?\u201d There was a hint of panic in his voice. Angel felt sure he did not want to hear what was coming. He was seconds away from skipping the explanation and demanding to know which room was hers. It was not a big leap to imagine stuffing all of her belongings into the trunk of the Plymouth and taking her back to the mansion.<\/p>\n
\u201cSheesh! Take a chill pill, Angel,\u201d she told him, shifting in her seat to face him. \u201cI have some stuff to say and I\u2019d rather do it before we get there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel held a tight grip on the steering wheel. \u201cOkay. I\u2019m\u2026 chilled.\u201d<\/p>\n
Snorting, Cordelia rolled her eyes skyward. \u201cYeah, I can see that. Angel, I don\u2019t want everybody to know about this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou mean Buffy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLike I said,\u201d she shrugged, \u201ceverybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
He understood that Buffy, Willow and Xander kept few, if any, secrets from each other. They had always had a close bond. It was not that big a stretch to imagine that Buffy would say something to them. Promising Cordy, with a wry twist of his lips, he told her, \u201cI don\u2019t gossip.\u201d<\/p>\n
A little smile appeared and then disappeared. \u201cToo bad, otherwise I\u2019d be the one asking the questions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJust tell me,\u201d he prompted softly recognizing her delay tactics. \u201cI\u2019m in no position to judge you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia took in a deep breath, and after letting it out, she started talking. He let her go on uninterrupted, partly because he wanted her to tell him everything, but also because he did not know what to say.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaddy made some bad tax decisions,\u201d was the first revelation. Tagging on, \u201cLike not paying them for a few years.\u201d<\/p>\n
She went into detail about the argument her parents had the night before they left town. Angel knew that Cordelia\u2019s age technically allowed her to live alone, but her parents left her here in Sunnydale while they headed out of the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not like they were going anywhere cool,\u201d Cordy shrugged. \u201cBesides, Daddy got arrested before they could leave town.\u201d<\/p>\n
The authorities stepped in, arrested Daniel Chase, and seized his property on several counts of tax evasion. After a couple of days, Cordy\u2019s mother declared that she couldn\u2019t bear the thought of living in poverty and used one of the airline tickets she had purchased before her husband\u2019s arrest.<\/p>\n
Emelia Chase apparently wasn\u2019t as cold-hearted as Angel initially imagined. She left her daughter with one hundred dollars, which was the only cash she had to spare and made contact with her mother, Beverly Quinn. They had not spoken since her father\u2019s funeral years before, and before that their contact was limited to sending newspaper clippings of Emelia\u2019s engagement to the Chase heir, their formal wedding announcement, and Cordelia\u2019s birth.<\/p>\n
Cordelia did not go into the details of Emelia\u2019s estrangement from her parents. She did hint that her mother wanted something more than life here on Quincy Street and had managed to marry into one of Sunnydale\u2019s wealthiest families. It was years before Daniel Chase discovered the truth about his wife\u2019s poor origins and he preferred it to remain a family secret.<\/p>\n
So, it had been a stranger\u2019s funeral Cordelia attended with her mother the day that her grandfather was laid to rest in the Trinity Baptist Church cemetery. She sat on the bench, watching the ceremony as her mother stood in the background wearing a veil.<\/p>\n
That was the first time Cordelia had ever seen Beverly Quinn. Black was not her color. Her face had been red and blotchy, but there were no new tears in her eyes. She had looked over at Cordy, their eyes connecting for one of those endless moments until the pastor said something that turned her attention away. After the funeral, Emelia told Cordelia that the woman was her grandmother, but said that she was not supposed to ask any more questions.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I didn\u2019t,\u201d Cordy admitted somewhat shamefully. \u201cMom bought me a pony and I sort of forgot about anything else. That was before I got Keanu, of course.\u201d<\/p>\n
During one of their earlier patrols, Cordelia had mentioned owning a Palomino. He had gotten the impression that she loved to ride. At the time, he was simply glad to find a topic that he actually knew something about. Now it occurred to him that she had spoken about it almost longingly, as if it was a pleasure she could no longer experience.<\/p>\n
Without him asking, Cordy revealed, \u201cThe IRS hauled him away right after they took my car. It was in Daddy\u2019s name even though I got in on my birthday.\u201d<\/p>\n
Finally, Cordelia told him to turn the engine on again. \u201cWe might as well get this over with.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel glanced over at the motel again. \u201cA-are you staying here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEew! No,\u201d Cordelia slapped his arm. \u201cI\u2019m living with my grandmother. Haven\u2019t you heard anything I\u2019ve said?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn\u2019t exactly say,\u201d defended Angel as he turned the key in the ignition. \u201cI\u2019m just glad you\u2019re not living in that place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia felt wary about revealing one thing to Angel, but she figured it could only help. \u201cActually, that\u2019s where Faith is staying.\u201d She had tried a couple of times to convince the Slayer that she could afford to stay somewhere else.<\/p>\n
To his credit, Angel was outraged at the idea. \u201cShe\u2019s living there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not exactly the Ritz,\u201d Cordy had to agree, \u201cbut I\u2019ll let you try to convince her to move out. I\u2019ve done everything, but offer to let her move into Bev\u2019s garage. Not that Faith would actually do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia directed him to a small, one-story house. Even in the moonlight, Angel could see the peeling paint and broken shutters. A single porch light hung outside the front door. Parking the car in the empty driveway, he turned off the engine.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really not so bad,\u201d Cordy tried to make it sound that way. She did not wait for Angel to come open her door. He was still sitting there looking sandbagged. \u201cI\u2019ve got a job at April Fools.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel took the keys out of the ignition and got out of the car, meeting her at the front. Knowing that he had no clue where or what that was, she told him, \u201cIt\u2019s a formals dress shop downtown.\u201d<\/p>\n
Understanding dawned. \u201cThat\u2019s why you\u2019re always late.\u201d Angel connected another piece to the strangely alluring puzzle that was Cordelia Chase.<\/p>\n
\u201cMrs. Finkle doesn\u2019t believe in closing early, so I sometimes miss the eastbound bus.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel could understand why Cordelia might be hesitant to tell the others about her father being in jail, but it seemed strange to hide the fact that she had a job. \u201cChases don\u2019t work unless they have to,\u201d she told him. \u201cThey\u2019d know something was up. Besides, it\u2019s only temporary. Graduation isn\u2019t that far away and then I\u2019m outta here.\u201d<\/p>\n
He found that thought more unsettling than anything she had said so far. As they stood on the front step, Angel had to fight his own instinct to pull her into his arms and give whatever comfort he could offer. Something told him that she would not want that. Cordelia had an independent streak and he had heard enough to tell him that he would have to be careful about doing anything beyond ensuring her safety.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you want to come in?\u201d Cordelia asked him. \u201cBev is probably asleep on the couch in front of the TV again, but if you can survive the resonant snoring, it won\u2019t be so bad.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I need to ask around town about Spike and Dru,\u201d Angel told her. \u201cProbably start with Willy\u2019s place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia wasn\u2019t so happy with that idea. \u201cYou\u2019re hurt. I\u2019m pretty sure you\u2019ve got a broken rib. I should\u2014 do something,\u201d even though she didn\u2019t have a clue what that might be. \u201cI don\u2019t want you going in there looking like a used punching bag.\u201d<\/p>\n
After everything that had happened to her tonight and despite the revelation of such an emotionally draining story about her personal woes, Cordelia was actually worried about him. That only reminded him that he\u2019d been right in thinking she was far more than the spoiled rich brat she\u2019d been when they first met. He had been one back in the day and had been far more selfish than Cordy could ever claim to be.<\/p>\n
Angel knew that her whole world had crumbled around her. It was no wonder that she was clinging to her role with the Scoobies. It wasn\u2019t just her family\u2019s sudden fall from wealth to poverty. All she had was her reputation and the hope that no one would find out the truth. She had lost her parents, her relationship with Xander and been forced to live with a virtual stranger.<\/p>\n
He thought of Buffy\u2019s scheme to get Cordelia to quit the Scooby Gang. Now he\u2019d make damned sure she knew that Cordy was staying. As for Xander, that boy was just a fool. He obviously did not appreciate what he had. Still, Xander and Buffy were the least of his concerns.<\/p>\n
Because of him, Cordy\u2019s life was in danger. He needed to find Drusilla and set her straight before something terrible happened. Not that he would let it.<\/p>\n