Gwen and Faith
Gwen made it to Tulsa fairly early in the morning. She'd been running from place to place, emotionally raw from the events of the 19th. A large part of her longed to be with Mordred again, but she knew it was best if she stayed away. She'd hurt him, and she wasn't going to risk that herself.
She'd gone back to see Angel, and he'd accidently let it slip that Faith was in Tulsa. Even though she didn't know Faith much, she ad a feeling that they were alike. And so, she headed to Tulsa to see if Faith could help her.
Knocking on the door, she felt nervous, she wasn't sure if Faith was gonna let her in. Not that it was a problem, she was a thief, she could get in anyway if she really wanted too.
Faith opened the door to see Gwen standing there. A look of confusion crossed her face.
"Hey, Gwen, right?"
"Yeah... can I come in?"
"Sure."
Gwen sat in Faith's living room after having explained everything. She was tired, sore, and weak. Ever since she'd left Mordred, she'd been running non stop. Now, it was time to rest.
Faith had been fairly understanding... considering they weren't friends or anything, but Gwen knew on some level, Faith could understand.
Gwen had showered and changed, borrowing some of Faith's clothes.
"Faith?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks."
"Hey, no problem. I mean, I've been in this situation before."
"What do you mean?"
"Running away. I know this is gonna sound fairly hypocritical, but running isn't always the best answer."
Gwen was silent, leaning against the comfort of the couch, and enfolding herself in a blanket. Dark thoughts were in her head, visions of Mordred's face and battered body after what she'd done.
"Why not?"
"In my experience... I've found that the more I run, the faster my past catches up with me."
"I just... I can't go back."
"I get that, I really do. Trust me, I've been there, but sooner or later... it's gonna catch up with you. What do you do then? Run again?" In Faith's mind the words rung true. Angel had said this to her, and she'd refused to listen, so there wasn't much of a chance that Gwen would listen to her. But she had to try.
"What else can I do? I hurt him, Faith. I almost killed him."
Faith sighed. "You think that I've never hurt anyone? I ran away from it too, but sooner or later, if someone doesn't find you, you'll lose yourself in the darkness."
"I don't care."
"Don't you care that he's probably worried sick about you? That he's probably hurting as much as you are, if not more?"
"It doesn't matter! Because if I go back, he's gonna get hurt again!"
"Gwen! Listen to yourself! If you don't go back, he's gonna hurt even more, and he will resent you for making him feel this pain!"
Gwen started to cry, unable to stop and Faith felt a pull on her heart. She'd been here... hell, half the time, she was still there. But right now, Gwen was the one hurting, and she was gonna help her see the light. The way Angel had helped her.
"I just need some sleep."
Faith sighed again and nodded. She stood and turned the light out. "Gwen, maybe you should ask yourself what you're running from. Is it from him, or is it from yourself?" And with that, Faith left. She went into her room and grabbed her phone, dialling for Angel.
"Angel Investigations... um we hope you're hopeless?"
"Angel, still haven't mastered the phone, have you?"
"Faith, nice to hear from you."
"Right back at ya. Look, Gwen came here. She's staying at my house right now. I don't think I'm meant to tell you, but I thought you should know. Don't tell anyone, or if you do, or someone finds out, tell them not to come after her. I'm gonna bring her back, but I'm gonna make sure it's what she wants."
"Are you sure about that?"
"Angel, you know what I was like... you can't make someone go back to face something they don't want to. And she's hurting too much to even see reason. So I'll talk to her, and I'll work with her, and I think I can get her back there again."
"Alright, well give me a call when -"
"I will. Thanks."