Spencer's POV
Anxious, I wait in complete silence as Em reaches inside the truck and pulls out a note, crunched in her hand. I can feel my throat close up in worry.
The moment I hear Emily say, "It's for you," my heart skips a thousand beats. Palms sweating, I grip the yellowed note that she hands me, which has my name scribbled across the front in blue marker, and begin to read fast and furiously, wanting to devour what Toby had to say. I imagine his gorgeous, husky voice reading it to me as he holds my hand. God, I miss him already.
Dear Spencer,
After Emily told me about your relationship with him in the hospital, I couldn't believe it. I thought I knew you better than that. Spencer, I love you. But I cannot believe that you'd keep something that big from me. And having a relationship with the doctor? I just find it hard to realize that you, my smart, lovely girl, wouldn't have the guts to tell me yourself. Of all the people in the world, I would have guessed that you'd been the strongest. But I suppose not. Because it wasn't you who told me the truth. It was Emily. And despite your argument, despite what Em told me - that you wanted to tell me yourself but couldn't - it cracks my heart that you would do this to me. That you would betray us. And I don't think I can live with knowing that you cheated on me. I can't go on knowing that while what we had was completely real to me, it was just a game to you. A miserable, tragic game. I love you, Spencer, and if had loved me, I know we could have been happy until the end of time. But you don't, so remember the good times we has together. Goodbye.
I'll love you always,
Toby
Panicking, I feel my heart contract as realization sets in, sparking tragic ideas to come to mind. What, oh what, has Toby done?
Devastated, I gasp as I stare, mortified, into Em's eyes, "He's gone."
"Gone?" She repeats as if she doesn't understand what the word means. But right now, neither do I. Just the idea that Toby, my love, may be dead has me sickened. Especially since I may be the cause of his death. Have my good intentions only led to more disaster in this town, or am I completely mistaken?
The blood drains from my face as I realize what this may just mean. Has Toby committed suicide? Over me cheating on him? Is he really someone to be so depressed by this that he does such a thing?
Quickly, I race over to the truck and search the truck that Em did once again for more clues, desperate to find something to tell us exactly where he is, or that he is for sure alive. Emily stands still while I rummage through the front compartment, as well as the backs of the seats.
Nothing.
"Maybe," Emily says slowly, "He didn't kill himself. Maybe he's still out here. Didn't we hear the car door slam, and somebody stalk off, just after we saw it arrive in the driveway?"
As I process that, my hands slow down their unneeded work of sorting through the car. It's possible that Em is right. I'm getting ahead of myself here. Toby hasn't had time to actually kill himself, not that I believe he would. But if Toby isn't the one desiring to die here, who wants him to? And suddenly, I know.
A wants him to die. Because although I tried to leave him out of it, that isn't how A plays the game. Like always, A has been a step ahead of us this whole time.
I slam my fist into the side of the car, scraping my skin and letting the truck ring out with a pinging noise as I shriek, "Where is he?"
Staring at me confused, I let Emily follow me as I hurriedly explain to her the twisted situation. I stumble over rocks, wood chips, and then roots as I make my way toward the woods, determined to find Toby and hunt A down once and for all.
"What exactly did you tell Toby when you talked with him, or broke up with him, for me?" I ask shortly, my words directly coming to the point, and very harsh sounding.
Emily looks abashed and flustered when she answers, "That you were involved with another man the whole time, like you told me to. That that man was Wren."
I turn wildly on my heel to glare at her, "You told him what? We didn't agree on that part!"
"What was I supposed to do? He asked who you were involved with, and Wren was the first person I thought of! Besides, it isn't completely untrue," Emily crosses her arms as she stops dead in the middle of the woods, forcing me to come to a standstill too.
"What else?" I hiss, annoyed at the outcome of my bidding, but knowing that it was my fault that all of this has happened. If only I hadn't asked Emily to break up with him for me. If only I'd been strong about it and decided that we could let someone else into the A secret. Surely in the course of events now, Toby would have been safer had he known what A was capable of.
Besides, I think, Toby is close with Jenna. He's her sister, and she's our main suspect. Perhaps we could have gotten a hold of more information and figured out who A is after all.
"Well," Emily says hesitantly, "He was upset. Like really upset. Honestly, Spence, I think he was furious. He loves you; anyone can see that. So if he really is going to commit suicide, I could see why."
"But I told you," I protest, "He isn't committing suicide! It's obvious that A kidnapped him and is going to kill him, so that's why we need to get moving now!" I stress, making my legs move in quick strides that push me over the gravely forest ground in a fast pace.
Em struggles to keep up with me as I strive to control my breathing as I sprint faster than I ever have before.
I have a rough idea sketched in my mind of where A might just want to take Toby.
When Toby and I have come out to the forest before, just to walk or to have a picnic, we've always ended up in the same place. There is a quaint little abandoned cottage that sits in the middle of a sweet meadow, which lies a ways into the woods. Toby and I have worked to fix the place up a bit, and he's used his impressive handiwork to fix the roof from leaking, as well as make the walls sturdier with more plywood. It's our little place, and we've never told anyone about it. However, I'm sure that if A is curious as we know he or she is sneaky, they've found it already without us knowing.
But that isn't where I suppose that A will bring Toby.
There's also a ravine, rocky and steep, located just a few hundred feet behind the cottage. It suddenly swerves, and it is ridiculously dangerous because of all the sharp points jutting out from the wall, and it is hidden from sight by the trees and bushes. One day, when Toby and I were picking some berries for lunch - which I'd checked already for poison - he'd stopped me just in time from falling off the side of the ravine. If he hadn't known that it was there, I'd have gone plunging to my death without knowing it. My point is that the ravine would be a convenient place for A to set up Toby's death. It would appear as if he'd just fallen down there without the knowledge that it existed in the first place; it'd look accidental, like it was never connected with Ali to begin with. But I would know better.
The best part of all this for A is that both the locations are just another couple hundred feet from Ali's murder site, which makes it all that much more juicy for A if I'm caught with the girls again near the crime scene of Toby's death this time. It would remind the town how much they want to get over Ali and forget about her, thus forcing them to forget about Toby's death also, and put it on a stand-still case, so that it isn't investigated as severely. But no matter what, I'm determined that I'll rescue Toby in time, which eliminates A's hopes for the long run.
If there's one thing I'm not allowing A to do to me, it's mess with my love. No way is A going to take Toby from me. Only over my dead body, should it ever happen.
Branches scrape my face, leaving red streaks across my fragile skin, as I race confidently through the woods with Emily hot on my trail. I wish I'd brought a light jacket for a moment, because the breeze in the air is chilling me. I rub the goosebumps that form on my arms as my eyes scour the forest for any such sign that Toby has been through here.
Suddenly, I come to a complete stop.
Something unnatural colored on the bush that I just flew past caught my attention. Slowly, I turn back around and look for what it was.
Jaw muscles tighten in my expression as I survey the scene before me. It appears to be undisturbed, except for the single bracelet caught in the luscious emerald green bush.
Toby's bracelet. It's the one he always wears; the worn, braided one that used to be red, blue and green before he washed it as many times as he has.
It dangles there as though it was caught by accident and yanked off his wrist as he passed. But I know that isn't the case. I know Toby well enough that I can recognize that he left it here on purpose; he would never be as careless as to let it fall off of him. My heart speeds up as I think about my suspicions. He has to be around here.
"Isn't that Toby's?" Emily asks, aghast.
I nod in a hurry and say yes, and then full-out sprint to the cabin. My lungs burn with the exhaustion of running for so long, although it doesn't much bother me because I'm so used to it; I've has this stage lately where all I want to do is run marathons.
Trees and grass and sky fly by in blurs of different shades of greens and blues sparkling in the wind. I ignore the sharp pain as the branches off the trees whip across my bare skin, leaving stinging red lines.
Eventually I make it there and forcefully slow my breathing to its regular rate. I look around and with a pang I realize that it's beautiful.
No one would ever have guessed that my friend died just forty yards from here, and my boyfriend is going to die at the mercy of a manic here also.
The mahogany wood of the cabin logs gleam in the clear sunlight. The meadow, just like I would have expected during this time of year, is filled with vibrant colored flowers of all different kinds, overflowing and spilling into the forest. The vines of the rich, rough trees tumble out and extend their needy limbs to the edge of the woods. To the left of the cabin is the setting sun, leaving its colors dancing over everything it touches. The pinks, purples, and reds leave a magical sort of glow across the cabin's walls, just like I remember it. But now is not a time for memories; I throw them aside and focus on the importance of the situation; stopping A from killing Toby.
I frantically race into the cabin, not caring about anything else as I yank the splintered, but still intact, 1800s style wooden door open, hopping into the house to begin my hunt for anything that could help us with this case. My sneakers squeak on the waxed wooden floor as I move cautiously through the lodge, searching each of the three rooms with an experienced eye.
The living room is sparse as usual, with only a couch, chair, coffee table and rug to give the space definition. The connected kitchenette appears to be untouched, as well as the next room; the bathroom. Finally, when I reach the only bedroom in this small cottage, I have to stop and think about whether it looks like how I last saw it or not, because it is so much more complex than the other rooms; there's so much more crammed into such a compact area.
I'm finally forced to admit that the house is fine; it's spotless; not even a dust mite is misplaced. Running out through the back entrance of the bungalow, I slam the door open, making it vibrate with the force. Anxiously, I look around, and that is when I get the worst, twisted feeling I've ever had in my guts.
And I guardedly make my way over to the ravine. I peek over the edge of it, hesitant to look and what is down there.
The answer is worse than I ever could have imagined. A has done it again.
Hey all! I'm not sure if I should continue this or not... I know you're all just dying to see what happens, aren't you? Ha, well maybe I'll keep it up, make it into a short story. But I need your input - I need to know how many of you are interested, so please review and tell me how you liked it! Constructive criticism is always appreciated! Thanks!
Reviews please? (: