A/N: Hello, again! Glad to hear that you are enjoying the story. I'm trying to do the best I can. I decided that the party will be the next chapter. Also, I kinda compromised... We are going to start off with EZRIA, but depending on where the story goes, JARIA could be in the future. Jason will still be in the story though. In this story, he is Jason Hastings (Spencer's full brother).
Keep reviewing and following! :)
Chapter 3
(Spencer)
The sun was just beginning to rise and light was entering the room through the curtains that were slightly ajar. Spencer awoke from one of the best sleeps she had ever had. Looking around the unfamiliar room, everything from last night came back to her: Wren, his abuse, Toby, the entertaining movie night. Spencer swung her legs over the side of the bed and faced the clock on the bedside table. Her internal clock had awakened her at 7:02 am. She had always gotten up early, which was lucky for her considering she had a class at 10.
Hopping off of the very comfortable king sized bed, Spencer walked into the kitchen area. She was greeted by a shirtless Toby who was cooking a big, delicious smelling breakfast. The scent of bacon and eggs wafted throughout the entire loft. But, Spencer's mind was far from the food. She was focused on Toby's abs. His left side was facing her, and she could she how ripped he was. He was sculpted like a Greek god. She also took notice of a tattoo on his hip. 901 FREE AT LAST.
Wow. I mean I knew he worked out but… wow. I mean you could literally grate cheese on his abs! Toby makes Wren look like a 12 year old boy who has yet to hit puberty. Her brown eyes grew wide. Spencer's jaw and dropped to the floor, and she could almost feel herself start to drool.
Bringing Spencer out of her thoughts, Toby lifted his head up to see Spencer gawking. He just assumed that she was just impressed with all the food.
"Hey, Spence! Do you like bacon? I also made French toast and eggs." Toby said. He had gotten up early to surprise her. He was being diligent in his attempts to "woo" this special girl.
Quickly closing her mouth, she replied, "Toby. You really did not have to do this." She smiled at him, he was just too sweet.
"I get lonely. I like having you here." He gave her a boyish smile that made her heart melt.
"I like being here. I have way too much fun when I'm around you," Spencer said.
"That's not a bad thing, nerd!" he shouted from the kitchen as he shoveled the eggs onto a plate.
Spencer sat down at the already set table. Toby joined her, bringing over the remaining food. They ate their food together, talking about absolutely nothing and enjoying every minute of it. Toby also asked her about her classes she was taking to become a physical therapist and she asked tons of questions about carpentry.
"I'm just saying that I'm never going to need to know the definition of ataxia." Toby simply stated.
"Maybe not, but I need to know. Are you going to quiz me or not?" she asked, while jokingly rolling her eyes.
"Alright, alright," he said, going back to the textbook to give Spencer another definition.
Spencer stretched her arm across the table, reaching for another piece of French toast. She didn't notice the sleeve of Toby's shirt inching its way up her arm, but Toby did. His head snapped up and he got that feeling again. It was the feeling in his stomach telling him that something was wrong. It felt like a firework was going off inside of him.
"Spence, what's that?" Toby asked, pointing to her bruised arm.
In one swift motion, she pulled the sleeve back down. Her eyes dropped to the floor, too embarrassed to meet his sparkling blue orbs.
"It's no big deal," she mumbled. She crossed her arms so they were folded over her stomach.
Toby knew better than that. After what he had been through, he knew that a bruise like that didn't come from falling or running into a wall.
"Look at me, Spence," he commanded. His voice had become stronger and was filled with worry.
Slowly, she raised her eyes to meet his. His eyes looked like waters before a storm; waves undulating under the influence of the wind and current. She saw confusion and concern.
"Who did this to you? Don't tell me that it was some sort of accident because I know it's not," Toby said.
Spencer was still unsure about how to respond. She started to ramble. "It's not as bad as it looks. Wren and I just had a misunderstanding and –"
Toby interrupted her, "Wren did this to you? He has no right to hurt you like that." His voice started to rise, anger following. He was pointing his index finger directly at her arm, which she was still trying to hide under the table.
"Please Toby, relax. Wren just had a bit of a temper tantrum."
"He's not a three year old who couldn't get the action figure he wanted, Spence. There's no way to justify abuse. There's no excuse." He had brought his voice to become calm, yet firm, but that didn't reflect what was going on in his mind.
Spencer felt ashamed. She was ashamed that she was basically lying to Toby. Why the hell am I defending Wren? Yes, Wren had a bit of a temper. No, it was not fine. It's definitely a big deal. But, I can't just break up with him. For all I know, he could've gone out to have drinks and gotten a bit tipsy. She didn't want to admit it, but she knew that was not the case.
Silence filled the room and Toby's stare burned Spencer's face. They sat looking at each other while Spencer searched her brain for something to say.
Finally, she spoke up. "You have to believe me, Toby. I don't think this is going to happen again. I promise I will talk to Wren and sort this out after class." That was her lie. Spencer was not sure if he would do that again. She was frickin' terrified to go back to the apartment. But, Spencer didn't want Toby to see her weak. "Talking" to Wren would not solve this; it would make it worse. Spencer was sure of that.
The thought of Spencer walking back to Wren made Toby queasy. He wasn't sure what would happen to her and he wouldn't be there to protect her. Only two weeks of knowing each other and he already felt drawn to her. He yearned to be there for her and make her feel safe. Yet, Toby knew that he needed to trust her. She was a strong woman.
Toby let out a sigh. "Okay," he replied reluctantly. He would definitely be on the lookout for anything else suspicious. He even thought about taking matters in his own hands and marching down to the hospital and talking to the man himself; without Spencer. He decided to wait. He would wait until he had grown a strong hatred for him was sure that the British bastard was pure evil.
Spencer reached for his hand. They sat in a comfortable silence, not breaking their eye contact. No one has ever cared about me this much. And I never thought that anyone would. It was a new feeling for Spencer. Her parents had never been very caring since they were so absorbed into their work, and Wren definitely hadn't made the effort.
In an effort to lighten the mood, Spencer had an idea. "There's a party tonight at my friend Hanna's apartment." Toby looked up at her as she spoke. "She just moved into this gigantic penthouse with her fiancé. Do you want to come? I'm sure my friends would love to meet you. They'll probably want you to join our group." Spencer said.
"Are you sure they wouldn't mind?" he asked.
"Don't worry. Hanna told me to invite anyone. I have a plus one," she reassured him.
He smiled at her offer. "I would love to. Is this one of those fancy parties with suits and stuff?" he asked.
Spencer laughed, got up from the table and motioned for Toby to follow her. With Toby in tow, she walked to his bedroom and searched his closet. She pulled out a light blue button up, a black sports coat, and a pair of jeans from his drawer.
"There," she said while neatly laying the clothes out on his bed. "You can wear this. I'm sure the jacket will come off within the first 5 minutes. With Hanna's parties, you'll feel like you're in high school again. Loud music, dancing, and then the cops show up to shut it down. Party starts at 9 so how about I just meet you here and we can drive over together?" She was kind of over excited about taking Toby to a party to meet her friends. Tonight she would forget about all Wren and have a blast with her closest friends, or so she thought.
Toby nodded. "Sounds like fun. I can't wait to see you breakdance. Pop it and lock it."
Spencer started laughing. "That will definitely not be happening. And isn't pop it lock it from the Miley Cyrus Hoedown Throwdown song? My, my Toby! I didn't know you watched the Hannah Montana movie!" she said, trying to control her laughter.
Toby pretended to cry, wiping an invisible tear off of his cheek. "It was just so emotional when she took off the wig and revealed her true self." He sniffled.
They both fell over from laughing so hard and literally started rolling around on the floor. It wasn't that funny, but they had the same sense of humor.
It's easy to laugh around him. He just makes me giggle. Yes, giggle. I'm becoming girly and flirty. What's that all about? She felt comfortable around Toby. She could picture a future with him, but she needed to deal with Wren first. Just not tonight, she didn't want him to kill her joyful mood.
(Spencer)
Eventually, Spencer left Toby's loft. She threw on the pair of jeans she was wearing yesterday, but kept on Toby's shirt. If she had it her way, he wouldn't be getting it back. Maybe it will be lucky for my test. As Spencer walked to Hollis College, she thought about her situation with Wren. She wanted to break up with him, but if she tried he'd probably just hit her again. She was scared, terrified, to even go near him. Spencer wanted to procrastinate. It was something that she refused to do when it came to homework or studying, but this was a completely different situation. Breaking up with Wren would mean risking getting beaten up or abused. On the other hand, she wanted to move forward with Toby. This meant she needed to end things with Wren.
She planned on going back to the apartment to change into her outfit for the party tonight. Toby said he wasn't busy today, so maybe she could get him to come help her move her stuff out. Wren would be at the hospital all afternoon. She could get in and out before he got home. Maybe leaving a note for Wren saying it was over would be okay. She had some boxes left over from when she moved in and not that much stuff'; it wouldn't take long. Of course, Toby would want to know why she needed help packing. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. I just need to get out of that apartment. And out of Wren's reach.
Spencer typed out a quick text and sent it to Toby.
Can you meet me at my apartment after my class? I need some help with something. Shouldn't take long –Spencer
She took her seat, waiting for class to start. Toby texted back less than a minute later.
Sure! See you then. Good luck on your test. –Toby
She put her phone away, thinking about her plan and waited for the test to be passed out.
(Spencer)
Spencer walked up the cold, metal stairs to the door of the apartment. Toby was standing there waiting for her. His mouth became a grin when he saw her walking towards him.
"Hey, Tobes," she greeted.
"Hey. So what do you need help with that only I, your trusty sidekick, can assist you with?"
Spencer rolled her eyes and giggled. "I just need help packing." She tried to keep her answer vague, but she should've known he would ask questions.
"Packing? Are you going on vacation?" he asked curiously.
Spencer bit her lips and pulled out boxes from the tiny storage closet. "I think I want to move."
It only took a minute for Toby to get it. His brain clicked and he realized what was going on. He stepped closer to her, slowly.
"You didn't talk to Wren, did you?" he asked. He watched as her eyes turned to pools of sadness and her face muscles completely dropped.
Spencer felt her eyes start to sting. Tears started to form and the warm salt water raced down her cheeks. She stayed silent, her tears speaking for her. Toby moved even closer to her and let his thumb slide across her cheeks, erasing the tears' tracks. Spencer knew the truth was going to come out and she knew that Toby would be the one to help her through.
"I'm scared," she admitted. To say it out loud felt like a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. "I want to break up with him, but if I do it in person he's just going to hurt me." Or rape me. I think I'll keep that to myself.
Toby enveloped her in a gentle, warm hug. Spencer cried into his shoulder as he stroked her hair and whispered "Shh, it's going to be okay. You're okay," with a soothing voice. He had to fight his anger from erupting after remembering what the British bastard had done, but he knew he had to keep calm for Spencer. Unfortunately, he understood exactly what she was going through. He had felt the same way only a few years ago.
After a few minutes, Spencer straightened up and sniffled. She wiped the remaining tears from her eyes.
"We should start packing," she said. She handed him a rough, cardboard box and they started to collect her things.
A few minutes later, Toby looked over at her. "Where are you going to stay?" he asked.
Still placing her books into a box, she thought for a moment. "I haven't really planned that far ahead yet," she concluded.
"Okay. You can stay with me."
"I don't know, Toby," she said, unsure.
"Come on, Spence. It will be like a really long sleepover. We can have Disney movie marathons and eat ice cream and –"
"Eat skittles!" she shouted, cutting him off.
"See? We'll have a blast! Whatcha think?" Toby looked at her with puppy dog eyes, trying to recreate her own adorable face.
"Okay, Cavanaugh. But, you need to work on the puppy dog face. You look kind of constipated," she said, giggling again.
"We have time. You can tutor me, nerd."
They spent another hour packing. They took it up a notch and sang songs. Toby especially enjoyed Spencer's rendition of I Like Big Butts. He swore he had never laughed so hard in his lifetime.
Spencer grabbed some last minute things and they sped off to Toby's loft to get ready for the party. They were ready for a fantastic night, but they had no idea an unexpected guest would be making an appearance.
A/N: Who do you think will show up at the party? Yeah, you're smart so you already know.
Hint hint* The abuse isn't over yet...
Spoby fluff coming next chapter
