Chapter 16
| A Simple Act of Faith Chapter 16 |
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Someone was singing beautifully when Angel and Doyle came into Cartias. Angel listened to the lyrics intently, while Doyle went to the bar to get a drink.
Pretty girl on every corner.
Sunshine turns the sky to gold
It’s warm,
It’s always warm here,
And I can’t take the cold.
“Oh, god,” Doyle said, after he got his drink. He recognized the voice. “Lindsey?”
Angel looked at Doyle. Doyle had not been in good shape the last few days. He said all he could think about were the people in his visions. There were still dark circles under his eyes and he said that he had trouble sleeping. Angel then looked at the stage. Lindsey was playing a guitar and singing.
“Wow,” Angel said. “You were right, he is amazing.”
Pretty as a picture
Settles me with love and laughter
I can't feel a thing...
“Isn’t he fabulous?” the host said, coming over
to them. “I’m happy to have him back. He’s promised me two sets
a week.”
“He’s amazing,” Angel admitted.
“It’s hard to return back where you came from,” the host said. “But some people try very hard.”
The sky's gonna open
People gonna pray and sing
Oh, I can feel...
The host went over to Lindsey as he got off the stage.
“Glad to have you back in the saddle back, pilgrim. Can I get you something to drink?”
Lindsey shook his head. “I want to win her back. I’ll do anything. What do I need to do?”
“It’s only be the first set. You said two.”
“Please—“
Lorne rolled his eyes. “Ah young love, I can’t resist it. Well, your path has become a lot more clear, I was worried I might be losing my ringer. Look, here cowboy, she’s pissed. She’s pissed about a lot of things.”
“Mostly about me. I betrayed her, I worked for Wolfram and Hart. I was wrong. I know that now, but I can’t get her to talk to me.”
“Ain’t all that,” he said. “You see, last year, Faith put her darkness to rest. That enabled her to be able to forgive. She was hoping that you would do the same and when you didn’t she felt utterly alone and when you preferred the darkness over her, she doubted her own judgments. However, cause of you and her life here, she forgives with a lot more ease. Two years ago, she would have cut you off completely. Now you have a chance.”
“What do I need to do?”
“Catch her attention first. And then talk to her. You got a seventy percent chance she’ll see the light. She needs a simple act of faith.”
Lindsey nodded.
“Now because of your second set will bring back all the people who are just about to leave due to the next singer.”
Lindsey nodded and went to the bar. Someone else got on stage and started singing Everybody Wang Chung. It was terrible. Lindsey looked at the stage and saw it was Angel. He understood why the Host was so desperate to get him to sing at Caritas regularly.
He wondered how a person who could have such a big soul, sing so badly.
He took a sip of a drink.
“Hey there, mate,” Lindsey looked up and saw Doyle. Doyle looked terrible. Lindsey knew it from the spell Vocah had done on him. He never wanted Doyle to get hurt.
“Doyle—“ he said, unsure what else to say. Doyle smiled to lighten up the mood.
“Could you ever forgive me?”
“Already forgiven.”
Lindsey smiled and put his hand on Doyle’s shoulder. “I lost Faith.”
Doyle nodded. “I know lad.”
“I feel like such an idiot.”
“Well, you were, but now you’re not.”
Lindsey looked down. “I want to win her back. I don’t know how. Can you talk to her? I just want to talk.”
“She’s really pissed at you.”
Lindsey frowned. “How’s Lilah?”
“She’s in bad shape,” Doyle admitted.
“How?”
“Catatonic. Angel took her to the hospital. She may never get better. I don’t know what she went through.”
Lindsey gulped down his drink. “I screw up everything. I didn’t want her to suffer.”
“Time sometimes moved differently there,” he explained. “She could have been there for years. She looks a little older.”
“She did the right thing in the end. She sacrificed herself to save us and the world. She deserved another chance. She didn’t deserve to be in hell.”
“We’ll see. I’m sure she’ll love to see you—“ Doyle’s voice trailed off.
“Hi, Lindsey,” said Angel’s voice.
Lindsey turned around.
“Get what we need?” Doyle asked.
“Yep,” he said. He turned to Lindsey. “How are you doing?”
“Like I’ve been asleep for while.”
“Faith left him,” Doyle said. “We should help him get her back.”
“I don’t think so.”
Lindsey got slightly angry. “You owe me.”
“Owe you?” Angel questioned. “I saved you from being a Darla sandwich. I owe you nothing. You’ve been the one conspiring against me. I’ve only been trying to make up what I’ve done.”
“Come on, lads,” Doyle said. “He loves her. She obviously loves him. Let’s give this story a happy ending.”
Angel sighed. “If you promise me something,” he said, to Lindsey.
“What?”
“You’ll forgive me.”
He was over Cordelia’s death and ready to move on. However, it was still very painful.
“I can’t promise,” he said. “But I swear I will consider it. Honestly, I don’t know if I’m ready.”
Angel nodded. “I’ll accept that. So what do you want to do?”
“I don’t know,” Lindsey admitted. “She won’t speak to me.”
Doyle smiled. “I got an idea.”
Faith was sitting at home waiting and planned to go out and stake vampires for a while.
She had spent the day sitting on the couch, crying and eating large quantities of ice cream. It made her sick to her stomach and did not help the despair she was feeling. She felt abandoned. She had never had stability in her life. For the first time she had thought that maybe Lindsey could provide it. Instead he betrayed her like all the others.
Lilith did not bother her about her day’s activities, instead she made arrangements for the move. Faith wasn’t sure she wanted to move without seeing him. She had time to calm down enough to just tell him how much he hurt her. She also remembered what the Host told her. Los Angeles had been the only place she would call home.
Her cell phone rang. She shuddered. She remembered when Lindsey was working with Wolfram and Hart how she loved to get those calls.
Faith picked it up on the third ring.
“Hello?” she said.
“Faith?”
“Angel?”
“Yep, listen this is very important. Lindsey is about to do the stupidest thing in the world.”
“What now?” she asked, unsure if she wanted to do anything for Lindsey.
“I can’t talk about it on the phone, it’s unsafe. Can you meet me at Caritas in an hour.”
“I don’t know.”
Angel sighed. “Please. He won’t
listen to me. He might listen to you. Please, it’s a matter of
life and death.”