Thanks for the great reviews! This chapter is going to have the first of many flashbacks. The flashbacks will reveal what happened to Spencer while she was gone. They will be a bit graphic. If that kind of thing bothers you, then don't read the parts in italics. I hope you guys like it.
We make are way down the halls of the hospital, not as a group, but as a family. And I silently swear I will never leave them again. I watch as each of the girls mentally prepare themselves to be strong for their hurting sister. They do a good job at making their faces seem relaxed. But those calm expressions shatter when we hear a heart stopping scream coming from Spencer's room.
Chapter 7 – Scream For Me
Toby's POV
We run the rest of the way to Spencer's room. I reach the door and throw it open. Inside, Spencer is thrashing around in her bed. Her eyes are shut tightly and her face is twisted with pain. Her parents are standing over her, calling her name, but she doesn't seem to hear them.
"What's happening?" I ask.
"I don't know." Says Mrs. Hastings. "She was sleeping just fine a moment ago." I notice a few spots of blood on the front of her hospital gown.
"Her stiches." I say.
"I'll get a doctor." Says Hanna as she runs back out into the hallway. Spencer whimpers as she struggles against the nightmare playing out in her mind.
"We tried to wake her up, but that only made it worse." Says Mr. Hastings. I walk closer to Spencer. I reach out to touch her, to comfort her, but Mr. Hastings grabs my arm before I can.
"Don't touch her. You'll only make it worse. Trust me." he says. I pull out of his grasp.
"If we let her keep moving she'll rip more of her stitches." I say. Right then, Hanna returns with the doctor. His eyes quickly take in the situation and then he jumps into action. He calls for a nurse to bring him some sedative, then he turns to me.
"Help me hold her down." He say.
I don't waste another second. I reach out and rest my hands on Spencer's shoulders. But as soon as I touch her, she throws open her mouth and screams.
Spencer's POV
I hear something just ahead of me. I look in that direction, even though I can't see through the hood. I hear footsteps. I hold my breath.
"Thanks for the gift." Says a voice that wasn't from that night. "What can I do with her?"
"Do whatever you want." Says the voice of the man that attacked me with the knife. "Just make her life a living hell. And when she finally begs for death. Kill her."
I start sobbing. I can't help it. They hear me.
"Looks like she's awake." Says one of the men. "How about I introduce you to Ms. Hastings."
"I thought you didn't want her to see your face." Says the other.
"It doesn't matter now. It's not like she'll live to tell anyone." I hear someone walk up to me. They stop in front of me. "Time to see your new home Spencer." he says. Suddenly, the bag is torn from my head.
I'm in a dimly lit room. There's windows, but they're boarded over. There's a man standing in the doorway in front of me, but the bad lighting keeps me from seeing his face. But that doesn't matter right now. I'm much more concerned about the man standing over me. The man who stabbed me. A man I'm all too familiar with. The one and only Detective Wilden.
"Hey Spencer. Surprised?" he says. I should be terrified. I'm god knows where, I've been stabbed, abducted, and tied to a chair by a psychotic police officer. I should be terrified, but all I feel in this moment is anger.
"Not as surprised as I should be." I say.
"Is that so." He say.
"You're not that subtle." I say.
"I guess I'll have to work on that." he says.
"So how long have you been working for –A?" I ask.
"Do you ever stop?" he asks. "You're all tied up and you're still digging for the truth."
"What have I got to lose?" I say.
"You're something else." He says
"I'll take that as a complement." I say. "So why are you working for –A." Wilden laughs.
"You think you're so smart Spencer. And I guess you are, but you have no idea what's going on. I've watched you. That mind of yours in constant overdrive, trying to figure things out. And you came close a few time, but it just wasn't close enough. " He say. "You know, I was angry that you came home early and found us in your house. Angry that you forced me to take you out of the equation. But maybe it was for the best. You probably would've figured it out eventually, so it's best to take care of you now."
"I'm not the only one you need to worry about." I say. My voice shakes a little as my fear starts to creep back up my spine.
"You mean your friends? I doubt I need to worry about them. You were the brains for your little group Spencer. The only one capable of uncovering the truth." Says Wilden. He leans in close to my face. "Without you, your friends don't stand a chance. They're going to drowned, and I'm going to be the one to do it."
"Don't you dare touch them." I say through clenched teeth. The fear I was feeling for myself leaves me again when he threatens my friends.
"Why not? You think you can stop me?" he says with a smirk.
"I think anyone with half a brain could stop you Wilden. You're nothing but pathetic little boy with a badge who needs to bully teenage girls so he can feel all grown up." I say. I know my words are a mistake as soon as they leave my mouth. Wilden's expression darkness and anger comes off of him in waves.
"A pathetic little boy. Is that what you think of me?" he says. He swings his fist and hits me in the face. The force of the blow tips the chair over. My breath rushes out of me when my back hits the floor. I struggle to breathe as Wilden kneels down next to me.
"Do you want to know what I think of you? I think your nothing but a lying little bitch with a pretty face." He says. "And do you want to know the best way to silence a pretty face?" he takes out knife and holds it up to me. "You make it ugly."
Wilden brings the knife closer to my face. I try to move away, but I'm still tied to the chair. Wilden holds my head down as he drives the knife into my cheek.
I scream.
I scream and struggle but he doesn't stop. I feel him hold me down tighter. I feel blood pour from my body as he drags the knife down my face. Down my neck. My skin splits open. I feel like I'm being cut in half.
I keep screaming.
The knife cuts through my skin and clothes as Wilden pulls it down my chest.
I scream.
The pain is too much. I feel it everywhere. In every corner of my mind. In every inch of my body. I can't take it. And as the blade trails down my stomach, I fall into blackness.
But I don't stop screaming.
My mind still screams as I fall unconscious. The sound of my own agony crushing every other thought. I think I might be dying. And I'm okay with that, if it means the screams would stop.
"Spencer" a voice echoes around my screams.
"Spencer. Please wake up." It says. Toby. It's Toby's voice. He sounds so close. My pain lessens.
"It's me Spencer. You're safe. Open your eyes." He says. My screams disappear. I feel familiar hands on my shoulders. Not Wilden's hand. Toby's hands. My mind starts to clear. I start to wake up from my memories.
Toby's POV
"It's me Spencer. You're safe. Open your eyes." I say. Spencer's thrashing starts to stop just as the nurse returns with the sedative, but the doctor doesn't give it to her. He waits to see if she's really calming down on her own.
"That's it beautiful. Wake up." I say. Her body stills completely and her breathing changes. I can tell she's awake, but she keeps her eyes closed. Like she's afraid to open them. I let go of her shoulders. I smooth her hair back and hold her hand. "It's okay Spencer. It's safe. I promise." She slowly opens her eyes. She quickly scans the room before letting her eyes land on me.
"What happened?" she asks.
"You were having a nightmare." I say. "You were screaming."
"Oh. I…. I'm sorry." She says.
"You have nothing to be sorry about sweetie." Says Mrs. Hastings. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine mom." Says Spencer. "Sorry to worry you. All of you."
"Didn't you mom just tell you that you have nothing to be sorry for." says Hanna. Spencer smiles. She tries to sit up, but winces and places a hand over her stomach.
"Looks like you tore some of your stitches." Says the doctor. "I'll have to take a look at those. Could everyone step out of the room please?"
No one argues with the doctor. I kiss the top of Spencer's head and follow the others out into the hallway. As we wait I think about the pained look that Spencer's face had before she woke up. I've never seen anything like it. And that scream. What was she dreaming about? What happened to her? What do I have to do to make her stop hurting? I wish I knew.
Spencer's POV
It's been a long day. Not a bad day, but a long one. The nightmare surprised me. I didn't have nightmares while I was gone. But I guess that's because I never really slept. The nightmare wasn't so bad though. I can deal with nightmares. I just wish everyone wasn't there to see it.
After my doctor stitched me back up, I was wheeled off for more tests. In between all the testing, my mom tried to get me to talk about what happened, but I gave her the run around. My dad had to keep leaving to deal with reporters that had snuck passed hospital security. And of course the girls and Toby never left my side. They never pushed me for answers. They only comforted me.
When all the tests were done, I thought I would finally get a moments peace. But then told me it was time for my psychiatric evaluation. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the psychiatrist they got was one I was familiar with. Dr. Sullivan.
She stunned me by saying that I didn't have to tell her what happened. She said she didn't need to know what happened to know if I was mentally stable. After an hour of standard questions she found me mentally fit to leave the hospital, but in need of weekly therapy. I could've told her that.
When the doctor allowed visitors back into my room, only one person came. And it wasn't someone I was expecting to see.
"Melissa?" I say when I notice her standing in the doorway. Her eyes are red, and her face wet from crying.
"I…. I came as soon heard." She says. She slowly moves into the room. "I almost didn't believe mom when she called me."
"That's understandable." I say. "Where's everyone else?"
"Mom and Dad are talking to Dr. Sullivan, and the girls made Toby go to the cafeteria with them so he could eat." She says. She glances at me then looks down at the ground.
She looks different. She's thinner. There's dark circles under her eyes, and her hair is limp. Her mannerisms are nervous and stink of guilt. Which makes sense. After all, she is on the –A team. The same team that put me through hell. Part of me wants to let her squirm in her guilty conscience, but another part wants to let her off the hook. She is just a pawn. As much a victim as me and the girls.
"Don't beat yourself up too much Melissa. I don't blame you." I say. Her eyes get wide. I smile. "What? Surprised I know the truth?"
"H….how?" she says.
"The last few months have been…informative." I say. She looks down in shame.
"What do you know?" she asks.
"I know that someone called –A started blackmailing you into helping harass me and my friends, making our lives a living hell." I say. "I know you don't know who –A is, but that you knew –A was responsible for my disappearance. I know they told you I was dead. And I know that you've been blaming yourself."
"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry Spencer." she cries.
"It's okay." I say.
"How can you say that? How can you say it's okay after what I did?" she sobs.
"Because I know what it's like to be blackmailed by –A." I say.
"You know I left you some of those blackmail notes." Says Melissa.
"I know. It's fine." I say. "But if you want to make it up to me, you can answer a few questions."
"Anything." She says.
"Do you know who the other members of the –A team are?" I ask.
"Just Mona and Jenna." She says. "I know there was others but I don't know who they are."
"Did you work with Jenna a lot?" I asked.
"No. She just gave me orders some times. She put on this big show. Tried to get me to think she was –A. That she was the leader of the entire thing." she says.
"You didn't buy it?" I ask.
"Of course not. She didn't have the ability to pull it off." says Melissa.
"Are you still working with –A." I ask.
"-A will always have something against me, but I haven't been contacted since a day after you disappeared." She says. I already knew she wasn't with –A anymore, but it's nice to hear her say it.
"A day after? What did –A ask you to do?" I ask.
"Nothing, just left a note." She says.
"What did it say?" I ask.
"It….it said Spencer Hastings, rest in peace." She says.
"Well, lucky for me, -A is a liar." I say.
"You don't look lucky Spencer." she says. She studies my scarred face. "You look like you've been through hell."
"Honestly, I think hell would've been an upgrade." I say.
"This is all my fault. I shouldn't have been a coward. I should've done something to protect you. I….. I never wanted you to get hurt." she says.
"It's not your fault. And blaming yourself won't make things better." I say.
"I've never been a good sister to you." She says.
"Well I wasn't so great to you either." I say. "But I think we can put that behind us." She smiles sadly and holds onto my hand. She looks down at my hands and sees the bandages surrounding my wrists. New tears start to fall from her eyes.
"Oh god Spencer. What happened to you?" she asks.
"I was about to ask the same question." Says a sickening voice from the doorway. My head snaps in their direction. I narrow my eyes and curl my hands into fists. I force my breathing to stay normal and my heart to stay steady.
"Can I help you?" asks Melissa.
"I just need to ask Spencer here a few questions." He says.
"And you are?" says Melissa.
"I'm Detective Wilden."
So what did you guys think? I hope this chapter wasn't too confusing. I kind of dumped a lot of info. PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW and tell me what you think.
-Rin Shade
