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Disclaimer: I own no one. They are all the property of Joss Whedon.
Author's Note: Aside from that, I suppose this story and the ones that will follow it require some explanation. As of the episode, “Expecting,” I have decided it might be fun to write down journal entries the way I imagine Cordelia would write them. There will be at least one to mark each episode of the series thus far, and will end whenever the Angel Series Finale airs. Hope you enjoy the look into Cordelia’s mind as much as I will enjoy writing about it.
On a side note, each entry will be subtitled with a quote from the episode of which it’s about. Enjoy:
“Do You See A Light Anywhere? Go Towards It!”
November 9, 1999
Okay, I think I’m well on my way now to learning that NOTHING in LA is safe! Don’t get me wrong. I’m down with some of the stuff that goes on in this city. You got vampires posing as businessmen, a demon who can assume a new form night after night, and even a doctor who can psychically remove parts of his own anatomy. I guess, compared to all that, I didn’t think a little thing such as getting a new apartment would kill me!
This little adventure began one evening when I’d returned home to my old rather shabby place, after ranting to Doyle about my lastest failed audition at the office. Well, of course, during the said ranting, I completely ignored a call that was coming in which I’m sure got on Angel’s nerves... especially when I let the machine get it. It was okay though; turned out to be my old friend, Aura, from Sunnydale, who I didn’t particularly want to talk to at that moment. As I said to Doyle, I’d give her a ring when things started looking up, with the acting gig or otherwise.
Anyway... Doyle offered to take me in for a night if I ever wanted to flee my rundown place, even gave me his number. I almost didn’t take him up on it, except for the broken doorknob, the brown spurty water, and, oh yeah... the cockroach infestation! But the real kicker was that when I did call Doyle in desperation, no one picked up! So much for being there for me! In any event, what could I do but pack what I could and run back to the office to crash there?
Now that I think about it, maybe barging in on Angel like I did wasn’t such a good move on my part. I suppose I did commandeer the place, what with stealing the bathroom and his bedroom, and insisting he sleep on the couch. But I was upset at that point! And Angel was bound to get over the intrusion sooner or later... although he still seemed pretty peeved the next morning, when Doyle finally turned up.
The tension between Angel and myself was boiling beneath the surface; I can understand that. What I couldn’t figure out at the time was why Doyle seemed so tense. Or why he had a nasty bruise on his hand or why he was asking me if anyone at all had called in asking for his address. I didn’t find out what the deal was until later. You know how I wrote that Doyle gambles a lot...? Well, as it turns out, he’s in debt and now owes people a hefty amount of money from what I understand. In any event, Angel had it all worked out in no time: Doyle would help me find a new apartment, and in turn, Angel would deal with Doyle’s bookies.
After some debate and looking at several duds, I finally gave in to Doyle’s suggestion that we go through one of his guys to find me a place. And, that last one... oh, it was so perfect! Big and roomy, pre-furnished, sort of an elegant atmosphere about it. The only thing I could find wrong with the place, despite the amount of awe I was experiencing was that there was this big oversized wall just smack dab in the center of the place. Looked ugly and sort of like it didn’t belong there compared to the rest of the interior.
Nevertheless, I struck a deal with the realtor and was moved in by that night... which is when the trouble started. Something--a loud banging--woke me up around midnight and I was surprised to hear the nearby radio playing tunes from some AM station--definitely NOT my type of music. It didn’t take me long to guess that my new place was haunted, especially when the bed itself started levitating with me on it. This activity continued into the next morning; I guess my ghostly roommate was just trying to scare me away at that point. In any event, all supernatural happenings died completely when Doyle and Angel dropped by to visit.
I tried my best to hide the fact that there was a ghost from the guys, but it soon became apparent when she tried to kill Doyle with one of my high school trophies and wrote the word, “DIE”, in blood on the wall. Any normal girl would have fled screaming at that point, but I’m not any girl. I’d been in a rut ever since my parents lost their money, and I’d been looking for something that would mark a turning point in my life, something to prove that things can and do get better. And what could better than my new place?! I wasn’t about to give it up to an angry spirit or anything and was relieved when Doyle said maybe we could exorcise her from the apartment. Nevertheless, it meant fleeing my new home for several hours, while the three of us came up with a battle plan.
As we found out from our research, a Maude Pierson used to live in that room and owned the building back in the fifties or sixties. But, we didn’t know anything beyond that, which was what prompted Angel to go see Detective Kate Lockley for further assistance. Doyle, on the other hand, went out to collect spell ingredients for the exorcism, leaving me all by my lonesome. So, when Maude actually called me disguising her voice as Angel’s and told me to come to the apartment... who was I to argue?
Things got very hazy and confusing from here, as Maude appeared to me right off and verbally hit me where it hurt the most. I know, she’s a ghost, but... it was like she knew me, even though, according to Angel, I represented someone she blamed for killing her. She said all these things like I didn’t deserve anything good, because I had been so rotten for most of my life, and then she tried to strangle me to death. Fortunately, Angel and Doyle arrived in time to save my life, but not my confidence.
I was too much of a wreck, breaking down in tears, to be of any use for the spell. I have to give Angel credit for trying to snap me out of it, but when it didn’t work, he and Doyle instead tried to get me out of there. Too bad they were stopped and subsequently occupied by Doyle’s gun-toting demon bookies who had tracked them here, giving Maude the opportunity to sweep me away into the bedroom during the confusion.
Fortunately, Maude’s fatal mistake was reminding me of who I was and that I take crap from no one, not even a mean old lady ghost. When I stood up to her, she just vanished and things quieted down rather quickly, but that wasn’t the end of it. When I emerged from the room, I noted that the bookies had been made short work of--both of them lying dead on the floor. But what happened next really surprised me and my friends. When I felt myself being taken over, I thought that it was Maude, but given what I knew about her obsession to keep the apartment as it was, I doubted she’d be intent to take out the oversized wall I wanted rid of. And for good reason too...
The whole story is that Maude had a son--Dennis--who, when he grew up, was going to leave her to marry a woman she didn’t approve of. They fought about it, and Maude finally gets the idea to seal him INSIDE a wall so he can’t do so. I’ve heard of people who have trouble letting go, but that’s downright disturbing! And, of course, she suffered a heart attack right after building the darn thing, and no one found her (or rescued Dennis) for three weeks after. So, what does Dennis’ spirit do when it’s set free but take out dear old Mom permanently?
Dennis is still around; apparently, he hasn’t figured out where that light to a better place is yet. But he’s not as bad as Maude. He hasn’t tried to kill me or anything. What he does do instead is find ways to annoy me: trying to steal my drink, playing the TV when I’m on the phone, etc. But he’s okay, and he’s a roommate I can live with.
Unless, of course, he starts getting violent tendencies, in which case I’m prepared to contract Angel for another exorcism... and I’m suddenly hoping that Dennis isn’t reading this as I write, since he is invisible and all... Oh, why did I have that thought? Now I’m never going to enjoy showering here again...