Hey everyone! This is the first chapter of my new story. I'd like to start things off by thanking 4everliars for giving me the idea for this story. This story takes place a month after the end of season 2. I really hope you guys like it. So without further ado, here is my new story Struggle and Crawl. And as always, I don't own anything.
Chapter 1- regrets and promises
Toby's POV
The warm air rushes into the open windows of my truck as I slowly make my way through the streets of Rosewood. My left hand grips the steering wheel loosely, while my right arm wraps gently around the slender body of my girlfriend. I glance down at Spencer as she sighs and rests her head against my chest.
It feels so good to have her next to me. Pretending not to love her was the hardest thing I have ever done. Now that Mona has been revealed as A, we can finally be together again. We've been making up for lost time this past month. We spend all our spare time together. That's what we'd been doing tonight before Spencer got a text from Aria.
"Sorry we had to end things early." She says. We had been on a date. I had taken Spencer to the grill for dinner, but Aria sent Spencer an SOS before we could even order.
"You don't have to apologize." I say. "Emily is more important than dinner." Spencer had called Aria after she got the text. Aria and Hanna said that they needed her at Emily's house. It's been a month since she found out that Maya was dead. Murdered. She hasn't been back to school, and she rarely leaves her house.
She has been doing a little better, but I guess tonight was a bad night, and she need Spencer and the girls there for support. It makes me feel guilty for being so happy with Spencer, while she's suffering. I wish she had gotten her happy ending like I did.
"I wish I could do something for her." She says. "I feel like I should know what to do to make things at least a little bit easier for her."
"You're doing everything you can Spencer. Being there for her when she needs you is all you can do." I say. Spencer kisses my shoulder.
"I don't deserve you." She says as she looks up at me with her chocolate brown eyes. "You're always so kind and understanding. You're too good to be with someone like me."
"You're right." I say. "You don't deserve me, you deserve someone so much better." She leans away from me and frowns.
"I'm being serious Toby." She says.
"So am I." I say. "You're beautiful, smart, loving, thoughtful, driven, and just down right sexy. You're way too good for anyone, including me." I reach up and brush some hair away from her blushing face. She rests her body back against me and kisses my cheek.
"I love you." She whispers. I pull into her driveway and park my truck. I turn to her and kiss her lips slowly.
"I love you too." I mumble against her mouth. She smiles.
"I better go." She says. "I told Aria I wouldn't take long."
"Are you going straight over to Emily's house?" I ask.
"Yeah, I'm just going to run up to my room and grab a few things before I drive over there." She says. "I might end up staying the night."
"Do you want me to come in and help you?" I ask.
"No, it's okay. You should go home and get some rest, you have to get up early for work." She says.
"Okay." I say. "Are you still coming over after school tomorrow?"
"Yes." She says.
"You promise?" I ask. Spencer laughs at my mildly desperate plead.
"I promise." She says. She kisses me quickly hops out of the truck. "I'll call you later."
I watch her as she disappears into her house. For a split second, my heart stops as a feeling of dread washes over me. This isn't the first time I felt this. For the past month, every time I watch Spencer leave, I worry that I'll never see her again. The weeks I spent separated from Spencer have made me paranoid, and I have an overwhelming need to rush in the house after her.
I know I'm being an idiot. Spencer fine. Mona is in lockdown. A is gone. There's no more danger. I shake my head and sigh. I start up my truck and pull out of the Hastings driveway. Spencer's fine, I tell myself as I drive away. You'll see her tomorrow. Everything's fine.
Two hours later
Aria's POV
I can feel Emily's body shake as she cries silently. Hanna and I are curled up next to her on her bed. No one has spoken in over an hour. There really wasn't anything left to say. Emily said it was enough just to have us here.
My eyes drift to the clock on Emily's nightstand. It's ten past nine. Where the hell was Spencer? I called her over two hours ago. I think about calling her again, but I don't want to ruin the quiet. When we first got to Emily's house, she was having some sort of panic attack, and was sobbing and screaming. So I didn't want to break the quiet calm atmosphere that took us so long to achieve.
The silence was broken anyway a few moments later when there was a knock at the door. I turn my head to the door, expecting to see Spencer, but it's not her. It's Emily's mom. She's on the phone with someone.
"It's….just….just wait and I'll see." Says Mrs. Fields. She covers the phone with her hand and takes it away from her face.
"Sorry if I woke you girls up, but Mrs. Hastings is on the phone and she wants to know if Spencer is here." She says.
"No, she not here. Why?" says Hanna. Mrs. Fields ignores Hanna's question and presses the phone back to her ear.
"I'm sorry Veronica, she's not here." she says. I can hear Spencer's mom talk in a panicked tone. "I….hold on don't…..don't panic, I'll ask them." Mrs. Fields pull the phone back again and she turns to us.
"Do you know where she is?" she asks us.
"I talked to her a couple of hours ago." I say. "She said she was on her way over hear, but she never showed." The color in Mrs. Fields face drains away, and it makes me feel sick.
"Mom, what's wrong?" asks Emily. Mrs. Fields looks at Emily with a heartbreaking expression. It's the look a mother gives her daughter when she doesn't want to hurt her anymore then she already is.
"I don't know." She says, and then goes back to the phone.
"Veronica. They said they don't know where Spencer is. Aria said she was going to come over here, but that was hours ago." A pain filled cry echoes from the phone. "Veronica please. I….this doesn't mean anything. I'm sure she's fine. Veronica? Hello?" Mrs. Fields looks down at phone and frowns.
"Mom, what happened? Did something happen to Spencer?" says Emily, her voice quivers.
"I really don't know honey." She says.
"That was Spencer's mom right? She seemed really freaked out about something." Says Hanna. "What was wrong?"
"She's just a little worried. She's having trouble getting in touch with Spencer." She says, and struggles not to look worried.
"It's more than that." I say. "Mrs. Hastings doesn't just break down because she can't get in touch with Spencer after a few hours." Mrs. Fields hesitates. She's not sure she should tell us.
"Please mom. I need to know." Says Emily. "We're going to find out anyway. If it's something bad, I'd rather hear it from you." Mrs. Fields shoulders sag.
"I…I don't know much. Veronica was hysterical. But apparently, when Veronica got home tonight, the door to the house was wide open. When she walked in the house, I guess there was some over turned furniture. Spencer's car was in the driveway, so she rushed up to Spencer's room to see if she was okay. And…when she got to Spencer's room she…she found." Mrs. Fields pauses and looks down.
"What did she find?" asks Hanna. Mrs. Fields looks up at us with tears in her eyes.
"She…. She found blood. A lot of blood, on the floor of Spencer's room." She says. We all gasp. Before we can say anything, the sound of sirens fill our ears and red and blue lights illuminate the dimly lit room as police cars race pass the house and head to the Hastings home.
Spencer's POV
I have so many regrets. I'm practically drowning in them. For me, a new day guarantees a new regret. I regret not being a better person. I regret wasting so much time on trying to be perfect. I regret no taking time to enjoy life more. I regret not being a better friend. And right now, more than anything, I regret the fact that I won't be able to keep the promise I made to Toby. I'm not going to see him tomorrow. I might never see him again. But god, I wish I could.
One week later
Toby's POV
Spencer has been missing for seven days now. Aria called me today with news. The police sent the blood in Spencer's room off for testing. The blood belongs to Spencer. The police aren't looking for Spencer anymore, they're looking for a body. They almost positive that if they find her, she won't be alive.
I don't know if I agree with them. I don't know what I believe. I don't even know what to feel. I'm numb.
So what do you think? Did you like it? Would you like me to continue? PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW and tell me what you think.
-Rin Shade