Once it became clear Spencer couldn't argue her house move anymore she grabbed Hanna's hand and dragged her up the stairs back to her bedroom. They both sat on the bed facing each other, much like they used to do when they were away at boarding school together. Being room mates for years had made them thick as thieves.
-'Hanna Marin, what's going on with you and Caleb? And don't you dare blame it on my imagination. You have that look on your face, the one that says "I'm the one that put chewing gum in Jenna's hair while she was sleeping" look. What's up?' Spencer had made a life for herself as a legal consultant and negotiator for the police. She had been the first to walk away from the family business and was soon followed by Jason who picked a career as an Air force officer, only to retire once he'd been promoted to captain.
-'Oh Spence, I'm so glad you're here. I really needed someone to talk to. I can't call Aria because she already took a big risk by helping me escape Akimi. Noel had someone take me away from the island on a boat . Then I had to wear wigs and change clothes several times before I took a plane and got back to the US. I did the same thing twice here before I managed to reach Caleb's office. It was only after he agreed to take my case that I finally managed to get some sleep.' Spencer watched her in shock as she listened to everything Hanna had gone through to get away from Akimi's clutches. 'And to make matters even more complicated I'm sort of crushing on Caleb. I kissed him today'.
-'You did what?' The two women jumped off the bed as they heard Toby's exasperated shout. They exchanged a curious look and silently made their way out of the bedroom and right to the top of the stairs, where they could quietly listen to the conversation between Caleb and Toby
-'I said we accidentally kissed today, right before you and Spencer arrived'. Spencer raised her eyebrow towards Hanna, who blushed and covered her face with her hand. 'We did some training and she slipped and before I knew it she was sitting in my lap and we were kissing'. Caleb groaned as he saw the look his best friend gave him.
-'Oh you poor thing and naturally you must have really disliked it given how flushed you were when you came in the kitchen earlier. You can't tell me that was just because of the training exercises you two did.'.
-'Toby, watch it. She's not Allison and deserves better than for you to judge her this way. She's going through enough already so cut the girl some slack will you?' Caleb froze as he realized he had just admonished his friend for doing the exact same thing as Caleb had done when he first et Hanna; he had also judged her. Once again the similarities and differences between Alison and Hanna weighed on his mind and he settled for a course of action. 'Hanna's cute and has a nice personality, she's hot and sexy and don't look at me that way. I'm not blind. I noticed she looks great, but I'm not willing to dance with one of my clients again. I'm a ship wreck and that girl deserves better. I'm supposed to protect her not sleep with her.'
Toby groaned as he sat in a chair, studying Caleb. He, just like Olivia, had noticed the sparks between Hanna and his best friend. While he agreed that the situation was very dangerous, he really hoped that by the end of it both his friend and Hanna would manage to walk away in one piece.
Hanna silently tried to move Spencer back to the bedroom. They stopped, however, when they heard Caleb speak once again as he took a seat across from Toby at the table.
-'So what's going on with you and Spencer? What did you do to manage to piss her off like this?' Toby watched Caleb with tired eyes, while Caleb felt the need to grab a beer as he spoke to his friend. Sadly they were both still working and no such thing was possible.
-'You mean other than just exist? She hates me for not being the person that she felt she needed. When she lost the baby the doctors had me choose between them. I chose Spencer, thinking we could always try to have another baby, but as I later learned she took that as a sign that I didn't want the baby. Truth be told, when I found out that we were going to have one I had panicked because I honestly thought we weren't ready for it. But once the idea settled in, I wanted the baby just as much as Spencer did'. Caleb sighed as he watched his friend show his broken side, knowing it wasn't something either of them did very often. Hanna gave Spencer a worried glance as Toby finished talking, wondering how his words had affected her friend. Spencer's face was frozen in an emotionless mask, but her hand gripped Hanna's arm in a very painful way, which clearly said a lot about what was going on in her mind.
-'I find it strange that Hanna and I never ran into each other, given the number of shared friends we seem to have.' Caleb used that as an excuse to change the subject and end the uncomfortable silence that had suddenly filled the house.
-'As far as I know, she got involved with Akimi around the same time you married Allison and when Olivia had just left for her year-long internship. As you remember, it was around the same time Spencer and I broke up. But you're right, it is pretty strange that things have turned out this way, given how close Hanna and Spencer are. Speaking of which, why don't you ladies just join us here instead of eavesdropping?' Toby looked directly at the two women as he finished talking. The pair sighed as they had been busted and slowly made their way downstairs, both of them musing over what they'd just heard from their observation point. They made their way to the kitchen table they sat down as Caleb rose and ordered something for the four of them to eat. Once he returned to the table an uncomfortable silence filled the room.
Hello my lovelies,
I have finally managed to get the time and update my stories. I'm sorry it's taken me so much to do so but I probably will manage to update sooner starting next week. Thank you for all your nice thoughts and reviews and for all the support I receive for the fics I write. they were a real ife saver, I went through a couple of depressing few weeks but all of your support has helped me move on through it. I hope you guys enjoy the new chapter and please et me know what you guys think about it? does it answer some of your questions? does it create new ones? Katie I promise you'll find out more about Caleb and Allison's marriage later on in the story. I'm not planning on bringing tornado Allison in Haleb's life for another caouple of chapters. But she will show up.
Anyway thank you all for the reviews. I hope to hear soon from you.
Nico
