Good morning friends! I hope this weekend was kinder to you than it was to me. I got literally no writing done, which sucks. On Saturday, I was getting my grandparents' house ready because they're coming up from Florida for the summer today. But yesterday's the real kicker- home with the stomach bug and a fever because the worst part about working with kids is that you get all their diseases. Blegh. Anyway, I had to call in to work today because of the fever, but I'm feeling better so hopefully I can maybe get something done today? We shall see.
I'm sure you didn't need my excuses. You probably didn't even read them but that's okay. Here's chapter seven- I hope you enjoy it. Review and tell whether you did or didn't? It'll make my day. ;) Thanks for all your feedback and commentary and such on the last chapter. I'm so glad you liked it. Honestly. I'm never sure what's going to go over well and what isn't. So yeah. I'm out but thank you and enjoy!
Seven
Toby does not recognize the name and Spencer can't say she does either, so they search the ends of the Internet for anyone named Sorenson. They get nowhere. They search, then, for the name Sorenson in connection with Radley. Still, they are met with nothing. They're forced to throw in the towel for the evening and Spencer has barely any time to look over her physics notes before she calls it a night. Morning comes and the test is placed before her. Spencer draws a blank. She's pretty sure she's failed the exam as they all exit the classroom and has to ignore Andrew's shit-eating grin. It's fine. He'll end up number one in the class and get to make the valedictorian speech, but at least, if her efforts are rewarded, whomever it is that keeps torturing her and her friends will stop trying to kill her. That's got to count for something, right?
At lunch, Spencer brings the news to the girls. She's not sure they can be of much help, but she and Toby have already drawn too many blanks. Spencer needs another mystery to solve like she needs a hole in the head, but this one's different. It always has been. She loves Toby more than she ever thought she could love anyone and watching him suffer over this, agonize over the possible outcomes and continuously come up short has been an absolutely trying process. She wants to do anything she can to ease his pain. After all, his pain had always broken her more than her own ever could. Clearly, if –A is going through this much trouble to get a rise out of him, the answers Toby is hungry for are far juicier than she could have ever imagined.
"Sorenson," Emily says, trying the name on for size. "No, I've never heard that before."
"I had a counselor at fat camp with that last name," Hanna offers. "Her name was Ingrid and she got fired for sneaking snacks in from outside the camp. They said she wasn't setting a good example for us."
"Strange, but not insane," Spencer comments. "Dr. Palmer says that this person is dangerous and severely deranged."
"The name sounds really familiar," Aria replies. "But I can't quite place a finger on it."
"Well, try, okay?" Spencer prods. "I just want to figure this out so I can have one thing off of my plate and Toby can have some peace for once."
"How is he?" Emily asks. "I called him a couple days ago. He hasn't called me back."
"He's fine, I guess," Spencer shrugs. "He's taking it better than I thought."
"Well, I don't think he's going to miss her, do you?" Hanna probes. "I mean, she basically molested him."
"She raped him," Spencer corrects, frowning. "There's a difference."
"Wait, Spence, do you have your laptop with you?" Aria asks suddenly, sitting straight up.
Spencer notes the urgency in her friend's tone and nods, handing it over. "Yeah."
Aria says nothing more, but opens a fresh browser and types in the web address for Hollis College. She goes to the English department website and searches through the pages of faculty and staff until she gets to the section for teaching assistants. Scanning through the list of names, she finally finds the one she recognizes. There, before the girls, is the reason why the name had sounded so familiar to her- Meredith Sorenson. Aria turns the screen towards the others, her eyes wide, and the other four are immediately alarmed. Meredith hadn't been present in their lives long, but she'd made a hell of an impression while she had.
Hanna asks, "Isn't that the girl your dad cheated with?"
"More importantly," Emily adds. "Isn't she the one who drugged you and locked you in your own basement?"
"The very same," Aria confirms. "Spence, I think this is your girl."
"I need to find out for sure," Spencer says. "Is she still here? In town?"
"No, she kind of skipped town when my dad called the police," Aria replies. "No one's seen or heard from her since and I'd kind of like to keep it that way. She tried to kill me."
"Yeah, well she may have killed Toby's mom," Spencer states. "And I'm going to find out the truth."
"How are you going to do that?"
"You're going to ask your dad for me," Spencer answers easily. "I need to know what he knows about Meredith's mental history."
Aria pulls a face. "Fine. But you're coming with me."
"Why?" Spencer implores. "You're afraid of your dad now?"
"No," She disagrees. "But he doesn't like when I bring up Meredith and he's less likely to blow up if you're there too."
Spencer agrees to accompany Aria home and when school lets out later that afternoon, they head straight to the Montgomerys' residence. Byron's nowhere to be found and Mike gives the girls some kind of half-assed excuse about meeting up with friends before bounding out the door. So they wait; the home is large and empty and solemn. Spencer can remember a time when it wasn't; as kids, she and the others used to run around these big empty hallways and make the most of all the space. But things hadn't been the same since the Montgomerys moved back from Iceland. Ella had moved out, Byron had moved on and the kids were stuck in limbo. Spencer knows her own family is ten kinds of screwed up, but at least they're not in purgatory.
When Byron does come shuffling through the door hours later, it's with a pizza box and a load of apologies. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, my meeting ran late. Oh, hi Spencer."
"Hi, Mr. Montgomery," She greets cordially.
"You're welcome to stay for dinner. There's plenty of pizza," Byron offers and Spencer issues a thank you. "Where's Mike?"
"Um, I don't know," Aria answers. "He left soon after we got home. Said something about meeting friends?"
"Oh, again?" Byron frowns. "Looks like he's trading us in for the newer model."
"Dysfunction junction, like mom said," Aria tries a joke on for size, but it doesn't quite fit. "Looks like it's just the two of us again."
"Well I'll gladly take you up on the pizza offer," Spencer says in an effort to diffuse the tension. "My dad's in New York, my mom's in L.A. and the extension of Melissa's cooking knowledge is cereal and if you're really lucky, only slightly burned toast."
Aria grins and Byron chuckles. "Well, the more the merrier. I'll grab plates. Aria, drinks?"
It is a little strange; Spencer knows firsthand what stilted dinner conversation looks like. After all, when the Hastings' sit down to dine, their conversation always includes some form of one-upping the other. It's never polite; they're story toppers, her parents and sister are. She tries mostly to keep to herself because she's learned, over the years, to bite her tongue. Her parents' issues in the courtroom and her sister's tales of internships and ogling boys pale in comparison to Spencer's problems for sure. But she doesn't talk about them; she can't. And her parents never ask. Instead, they have tense dinners and leave before dessert. Spencer knows this isn't what normal families look like and she'd always assumed the grass was greener elsewhere.
But sitting here with one of her best friends, she knows it isn't. The conversation between Byron and Aria is awkward to say the very least. Spencer realizes then and there that she doesn't really know much about what happened to disband the Montgomerys. She knows the logistics, of course, but over the past year and a half, whenever Aria opened her mouth, it was never news about her family that poured out. It was always about Ezra. Spencer has to wonder whether Ezra did more harm than good, if he only served to drive the wedge further between Aria's already feuding parents. She lets them converse and puts in a few different comments here and there, but mostly she just observes and learns that every family has their crosses to bear.
As Byron begins to tidy the kitchen following the end of their meal, Aria begins to broach the subject at hand. "Dad, we actually had a few questions we wanted to ask you."
"Okay, shoot," Byron says. "I'll do what I can to answer to the best of my ability."
"Don't be so quick to agree," Aria warns. "We have questions about Meredith."
Byron stills his actions momentarily, but quickly continues rinsing out their glasses in the sink. "Okay. What about Meredith?"
"We have reason to believe she might be really dangerous," Spencer says. "And we were wondering what you know about her mental state."
"Well," Byron sighs. "She isn't very mentally stable, I know that. When I talked to her parents, they'd mentioned she'd had a history of mental illness."
"What did she suffer from?" Aria asks. "Was she medicated?"
"I'm not sure," Byron answers. "They didn't go into detail."
"Do you know if she was ever institutionalized?" Spencer then questions. "Possibly at Radley Sanitarium?"
Byron shakes his head. "I don't know. I really don't. Why the sudden interest in Meredith?"
"Like I said," Spencer repeats. "We heard she's dangerous."
"Yeah and we don't want her to hurt anyone else," Aria adds.
Byron nods. "Well, I don't think you have to worry about that. I'm sure wherever she is, she's getting the help she needs."
The girls are not as confident.
On Thursday morning, Spencer wakes up and a hatches a brand new idea. Byron had gotten her nowhere and Radley's records are, of course, not open to the public. She still has the override codes, but being at Radley during the night had not really been her cup of tea and nighttime is the only time she could easily sneak in and out. When she and Toby done so earlier, ever in search of answers about his mother, she had done all she could to keep her composure for him, but inside, she was screaming. Inside, she'd seen his bloody, battered body slumped in the woods. Inside, people were calling her Jane Doe and Mona was there, telling her she was just as sane as the devil herself. Inside, her walls were crumbling and a teeny, tiny voice was telling her, Stay a while, Spencer. You belong here.
No, she doesn't want to go back at night. She can't. But she can go back during the day; after all, she'd done that, too, when she'd paid a visit to Eddie Lamb. She'd been fine; she'd handled it well. Her insides might've screamed just a tad, but she'd shut them up quite effectively and she hadn't lost her cool. Radley seems to be the end-all, be-all of issues in this town and Spencer should have known that sooner or later, she would end up with another reason to go back. She's just hoping and praying with everything she has that she never has to go back as a patient. Even still, she knows it isn't ruled out as a possibility.
Thursday passes in a long, slow blur of activity. She gets a seventy-two on her physics exam and it isn't technically failing, but in her eyes, it certainly is. Andrew teasingly asks if she'd like a tutor and Spencer's not sure if he's asking out of genuine friendship or if he's hinting at wanting a relationship, like last time. She also wonders where all of the attention came from; no one had bothered to glance her way before she started dating Toby. Ever since, it's like every guy she considers a friend now considers her to be the one who got away. She doesn't have time for that; she shoots back some sarcastic comment to Andrew and makes it through the rest of the day, somehow, and when she exits the school, she notes that infamous tan truck and frowns, feeling like a disappointment once again. They'd made plans to go to dinner and a movie that evening because, embarrassingly, in the year and a half they'd been dating, they'd never been on a proper date. But the moment she gets into the passenger seat, she knows he can tell by the look on her face that she's going to cancel on him yet again.
"Let me guess," He deadpans. "You're sleuthing with the girls tonight and blowing me off."
"No, I'm actually sleuthing with you," Spencer promises. "Do you have plans tonight?"
"Yeah, with you, remember?" Toby reminds her. "Dinner? Movie? Alone time? Any of this ringing a bell?"
"I'm sorry, but this is really important and we'll have to take a rain check. We can go tomorrow," Spencer pleads. "We have to go to Radley. Like, now."
Toby frowns. "Why?"
"Because," Spencer takes a deep breath. "I figured out who Sorenson is. And I think she might've killed your mom."
Toby's quiet a beat or two before turning the key in the ignition, the engine rumbling to life. Spencer takes his silence to mean the worst and says, "If you don't want to go, we don't have to. Believe me, I'd much rather go on the date. I just thought that-"
"No, let's go," Toby shakes his head, pulling out of the parking lot. "I want to know. We've come this far, right?"
She nods and they're on their way. The ride to the sanitarium is so silent, Spencer can hear a fly land on the window beside her. She can hear the faint whistle of the wind through the tiny crack in the window. She can hear her irregular heartbeat, the way it palpitates when she's nervous or scared, and she can feel it banging against the cage of her chest. She can't tell if Toby's mad at her; that's the one infuriating thing about him. All of his feelings are always so sincere, but they're almost identical. He could be scared, he could be frustrated, he could be angry with her, or he could be nervous; he could be all four, he could be none of the above. But Spencer, after all this time, still can't tell the difference. He reacts the same; he holds it in, he bottles it up, and then he's a ticking time bomb. Then, he explodes. She doesn't want to get hit by the shrapnel, this time. So, when they arrive and park and receive visitor's badges, she decides to just hit the problem straight on.
"Toby," She stops him, grasping his arm. "I know you're mad that I ruined another date, and I'm sorry, but-"
"I'm not mad at you," He halts her apology. "I'm impressed that you managed to get an answer out of a blurry photo and I really appreciate that you're helping me figure this out."
She softens. "Well, of course. Why wouldn't I?"
He shrugs. "I'm not mad. I don't know what to feel right now, you know? Am I about to find out what really happened to my mom? Am I going to get real answers?"
"Do you want them?" Spencer asks. "I think that's what we really need to figure out before we go through those doors. Do you really want to know exactly what happened that night or can you live with the blissful ignorance? I highly doubt that whatever he's going to say is going to be something you want to hear. Likely, it'll take you back to a not so pleasant time and I'll support your decision either way, but you need to figure out if it's really, truly worth it."
"Whatever the outcome, I deserve to know what really happened to her," Toby remains firm. "I need to know."
"Okay," Spencer nods. "Then let's go."
The moment they're through the doors of the psych ward, a piercing scream emanates from down the hall. Three orderlies in white rush off in the direction of the sound and Toby and Spencer share a look filled with trepidation. When they reach the recreation room, a girl is in the corner, talking to herself, and a man is playing the piano, but he's only playing chords; long, droning ones, at that. At a table nearby, a handful of elder patients are downing medicine and the nurse handing them out checks beneath their tongues to be sure they've swallowed the pills. A man on the couch is eating playing cards, a woman by the window is sitting, catatonic, and another is at a table by herself, playing Connect Four with only the black checkers, muttering incoherently. Spencer takes a few calming breaths and there's an unparalleled horror in Toby's eyes. She's sure he's picturing his mother here and maybe, just maybe, he's picturing his girlfriend as well.
Spencer spots Eddie a few feet away and waits until he hands a board game to a more lucid patient before approaching him. The color drains from Eddie's face at the sight of the couple, as if he'd expected and dreaded their arrival. "Spencer. What are you doing here?"
"It's good seeing you, too, Eddie," Spencer replies and motions beside her. "This is my boyfriend, Toby."
Toby nods and shakes the man's hand. "We've met before."
"What a coincidence," Spencer deadpans. "It was the same Toby, after all."
"I'm about to go on break. Give me five minutes," Eddie asks and turns away from the couple. Neither of them moves. Time passes slowly when the only thing to do is watch patients cry or eat their own hair. When Eddie turns back to them, he easily leads them away. "Believe it or not, you actually caught us on a good day."
"I'd hate to see a bad day, then," Spencer replies sarcastically. "We've come with questions."
"Spencer," Eddie sighs. "I told you last time, I can't disclose information to you. I'll lose my job."
"I'm not asking for my mother's medical records or for a play-by-play of what happened that night," Toby puts in. "I just want to know one thing."
Spencer pulls out the photo of Meredith and Eddie's eyes flick towards it. Toby asks, "Is she the one? Was she on the roof that night? Did she… Did she push her?"
"I can't say who it was. That situation is top secret and highly private and if it ever got out, you can kiss this entire hospital goodbye," Eddie says.
"Maybe we should," Spencer suggests. "This place has caused people nothing but harm."
"What can you tell me?" Toby then asks. "Please Eddie, I just… I need to know."
"I recognize her," Eddie admits. "Meredith, right? Meredith Sorenson?"
"So she was a patient here," Spencer concludes. "Was she violent?"
"You didn't hear it from me," Eddie prefaces. "But I remember that blonde hair. You can't forget a feature like that. In fact, after that girl went missing a few years ago, I thought maybe it was Meredith. But they released the name and the age… It didn't add up."
"Did she escape from Radley?" Spencer probes. "Is that why everyone's trying to cover it up? A vicious killer escaping a sanitarium; it makes sense."
"No, she was released in December of 2007," Eddie explains. "She was deranged, but she was fragile and her family wanted her moved to a more private facility."
"My mom died in October that year," Toby comments. "She's the one, isn't she? The one who killed her? And you released her… You released her to cover it up."
"Hey, I didn't release anyone," Eddie defends. "And I'm not saying one way or another who was on the roof that night."
"But it was her," Toby says softly, his voice torn with emotion. "It was Meredith."
"Dr. Palmer was still working here at the time?" Spencer then asks and Eddie nods.
"He retired in January," Eddie confirms. "The incident had been far too trying for him."
"And you," Spencer wonders. "Where were you?"
"Not even on this floor," Eddie tells her. "I don't know how either of them could get to the roof and I never saw who was up there with her. It's speculation-"
"No," Toby shakes his head. "It's Meredith."
"Like I said, I'm not allowed to say," Eddie replies. "But I am sorry. Your mother… She had her problems; everyone in here does. But she was a nice woman. She was willing to work to get better. She missed you and she missed being with you. I could tell she really, really loved you."
Toby nods, blinking rapidly in a way that tells Spencer tears are inevitable. Eddie says gently, "Let that be what you take away from this, Toby. We don't know too much, but we know that she loved you. Very much."
Eddie claps a hand on Spencer's shoulder and nods before turning and heading further into the hallway. Spencer calls, "Eddie?"
He turns back, his face questioning, and she smiles halfheartedly. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," He smiles back. "What are friends for?"
When she turns back to Toby, he's wiping furiously at his damp eyes. "Well that's that. Meredith killed her. Meredith killed her and she's still out there, somewhere."
She inches closer to him and wraps her arms around his waist, pressing her cheek against his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I know that there wasn't really a possibility of a positive outcome today, but… At least you have answers now and maybe now your mom can finally rest and you can have some peace."
"No," He's shaking his head as they make their way back to the truck. "No, they're still covering it up and I don't know why. You said Mrs. DiLaurentis is on the board, right? She has to be connected to this."
"Maybe she was," Spencer says. "She's dead."
"Well, someone has to know something," Toby argues. "I can't just let this go knowing what I know now."
"You have to," Spencer disagrees. "You signed that agreement."
"That just means I can't sue them, right? I can't bring it to court?" Toby implores. "It doesn't mean I can't do some investigative journalism on my own."
"Toby, you're getting obsessed," Spencer points out. "When does this end?"
"It ends when I learn exactly what happened to my mother," Toby shouts back. "Why aren't you more supportive of this? You're the one who urged me to pursue this in the first place!"
"I did, but I thought you wanted to know who was up there with her and you do now," Spencer claims. "You said you didn't want a play-by-play. Toby, it's only going to cause you even more pain in the long run and even if you get a freaking video tape from that night it's not going to bring her back!"
She regrets it the moment it's left her mouth. He nearly slams on the brakes outside her house and she's never seen him this angry. "I know it's not going to bring her back. I know she's gone. Forever. But she had no other family and my father gave up on her and I owe it to her memory to at least have an inkling of how she really went out. If you don't want to help me, fine. I'll figure it out for myself."
"Toby," She pleads but he doesn't look at her.
"Just go."
"I can't," She refuses. "Not if you're going to do something stupid."
"I'm not going to do something stupid," He growls. "I'm going to figure out why Mrs. DiLaurentis is trying to cover up a murder to save Radley. I need to know why she's so invested in that place. I need to get to the bottom of this."
"I told you, she's dead," Spencer repeats. "You can't get anything out of a dead body."
"No, but you can get plenty out of what they left behind," He sighs and finally looks at her. "Do you want to come or not?"
"Not," She insists and he frowns.
"Okay. Then go."
She does and he tears off down the road, a lump forming in Spencer's throat as she watches him go. She can't help but worry that it's all her fault; as she trudges up the driveway, she realizes she doesn't have Caleb to send after him, this time. She pushes open the back door and Melissa's eating yogurt on the couch, watching mindless television when she enters. Spencer wishes her mother were here because she really doesn't want to have this conversation with a sister she doesn't totally trust. But she must look visibly upset, because Melissa asks what's wrong and Spencer relays the entire afternoon's events to her over some yogurt of her own.
"Did I do that?" Spencer asks when she's finished. "Did I make him obsessed with answers? Is it my fault?"
Melissa considers this before nodding. "Yeah, I think so."
Spencer shoots her a look. "Not helping."
"What do you want me to say?" Melissa shrugs. "I think it is your fault. I mean, it's his, too. You can't blame him for wanting answers, especially since you encouraged it. But he shouldn't have gotten mad at you for something that was his fault, either. But you guys have been through worse; you'll be okay."
"I'm not worried about us, I'm worried about him," Spencer frowns. "If he gets himself into trouble… If he makes a wrong move… I don't know what I'll do if he gets hurt."
"Wow," Melissa smiles. "You love him a lot."
"I do," Spencer agrees. "Yeah. What tipped you off?"
"Hey, watch the attitude, I was just making an observation," Melissa shoots back. "I think Toby bit off more than he could chew when he got involved with you, but the crazy thing is, he threw himself into it wholeheartedly. He never backed down. So he'll be fine and so will you."
She stands to throw away their empty cups and Spencer asks, "What makes you so sure?"
"I'm the older sister," Melissa says, matter-of-factly. "I'm smarter than you."
Spencer rolls her eyes and says, "Hey, you didn't seem surprised by anything I told you."
"Why would I be?"
"Well, you knew Meredith, didn't you?"
"No," Melissa negates. "CeCe knew Meredith. They were not friends."
"Well, Meredith's crazy, so…" Spencer trails off and then adds, "Then again, so is CeCe."
Melissa shrugs and heads for the stairs, disinterested suddenly. "Yeah, I guess."
"I don't know. I'm surprised," Spencer says. "I guess I just always thought that the blonde who killed Toby's mom and the girl in Ali's grave were the same person."
"Well, they're not," Melissa replies. "I don't know who's in that grave, but her killer's escaped custody yet again."
"Meredith?" Spencer asks, sitting up straighter, her eyes wide. "Meredith killed that girl?"
Melissa smirks. "Mrs. DiLaurentis paid CeCe off the night Alison disappeared. What do you think that money was for?"
"CeCe," Spencer emits quietly. "CeCe killed her. Are you sure?"
"Oh Spencer," Melissa says as though she were talking to a young child. "Would I lie to you?"