Well here it is, THE chapter. This one has one of the first scenes I ever wrote for this fic and the rest got built on from there. It's been such a wild ride! I can't believe there's only a few chapters left. Thank you so much to everyone who reviews, I can't tell you how flattering and valuable it is as a writer to see people responding to something I've created. And I would LOVE to hear from you after this chapter!
The girls settled into old habits remarkably fast. Hanna read gossip rags aloud while the manicurists worked on the bridal party and Emily pulled out all the best stories of her disaster of a love life that Spencer missed over the last few years. Aria flit in and out of the portion of the gallery set aside for wedding prep, constantly pulled aside by the wedding planner and her future mother in law for arbitrary decisions Aria couldn't be bothered to care about.
"I should have just eloped," she swore, sweeping in from the main gallery tossing the curtain open dramatically.
Hanna snorted. "Well yeah, I'm surprised your monster in law even let you guys get married in a dinky art gallery at all," she added the finish touches to her hair and assessed herself in the mirror.
"Hey," Aria snapped. "That's my dinky art gallery you're talking about."
"And it's beautiful," Emily assured her. Aria shot her a bemused grin before instructing the girls to get into their dresses while she had her make up done.
The dark red dresses were simple but beautiful (even though Hanna complained they showed off her "chubby knees"). Spencer couldn't believe how much had changed in the 16 or so hours since she'd last worn the dress.
Then Aria came out in hers. The vintage dress featured a short skirt and laced elbow length sleeves, and while traditional enough to appease Ezra's mother (and wedding planner) Aria's personal flair shone through.
It was the moment when she saw Aria in her wedding dress that Spencer realized how happy she was to be in Rosewood.
After some teary fawning over Aria, her assistant popped in to let them know it was time. The space was decorated tastefully, with tiny lights hanging from the ceiling and a simple white arch at the end of the aisle where Ezra was waiting.
As Spencer took her place at the front of the room with Emily and Hanna, she scanned the crowd. Her breath hitched in her throat when she saw Toby. She knew he would be there of course, and had been warned to that effect multiple times during her short stay in town, but her heart raced regardless when she saw him watching her.
The music swelled with the traditional wedding march and the guests stood. As everyone watched Ella and Byron walk Aria down the aisle Toby and Spencer were locked staring at each other. Neither smiled, neither registered their surroundings, and neither looked away.
Her peripherals blurred with only his face in focus. It held no anger as far as Spencer could tell, no happiness either. Just a sense pained longing hung between them. She was vaguely aware of the officiant beginning to speak, and Hanna digging the ring out of her clutch, and the pronouncement of husband and wife; it was a short ceremony that felt like eternity.
And then it was over. Spencer was violently pulled out of her muted trance as she was directed outside with the rest of the wedding party for pictures while staff transitioned the space for dinner and dancing.
Spencer picked at her food from her spot at the head table and kept trying to catch Toby's eye again. He was seated with Caleb at a back table reserved for distant relatives, people from work, and those that you're not really sure what to do with. Toby didn't look back up at Spencer.
The music began with husband and wife tearing up the dance floor, and shortly after Hanna dragged Emily out there as well. Spencer resolved herself to finding Toby. She approached him slowly, watching as he spoke with one of their old high school teachers a pleasant smiling adorning his face. It faltered when he saw her coming. Her lips parted, ready to speak once she settled on the words.
But she'd never find them. Instead, her heart raced fearfully as long blond hair swept into her peripheral vision. Whoever it was ducked into the woman's restroom. Spencer glanced back at Toby before slipping into the crowd of guests after them.
Spencer was greeted by long, blonde hair cascading over a woman's shoulders. She's dead, Spencer had to remind herself as she had so many times before. And just like every other time she didn't believe it.
"Spencer," the voice said in a faux warm tone.
Her heart slowed in relief. "What are you doing here?" she asked as Alison turned from her reflection in the mirror to face Spencer.
"I was invited," Alison said obviously, crossing her arms.
"I'm sorry, you surprised me I wasn't expecting to see you after everything," Spencer mumbled. She wanted to kick herself for how worked up she'd gotten herself. It couldn't have been Charlotte.
Alison raised an eyebrow. "I could say the same for you," she said.
"Look, we never really spoke after," Spencer started awkwardly in an attempt to clear the air.
"After you killed my sister?" Alison finished for her.
"It's not like I planned to," she mumbled defensively. "She came and attacked me, remember?"
"Well maybe she wouldn't have if the judge had let her serve her time in an institution getting proper treatment instead of that God forsaken men's prison," Alison responded bitterly. Charlotte deserved a lot of things but being misgendered and placed in an abusive system were not on that list. "But we'll never know," she said.
Spencer remembered the day they found out what facility Charlotte was going to be serving her time. Her heart went out to her, if not the twisted version of a person she had become.
She studied Alison's face. "They never actually found her body," she said, watching her reaction. For three years Spencer had been seeing Charlotte around every corner, in every crowd, and each reflection. And not for the first time the thought that she might not be dead came to mind, but this was the first time she could test the waters on her theory. If anyone knew something about Charlotte, it would be her deeply devoted sister.
Alison scoffed. "Is that what you tell yourself, Spencer? Is that how you cope with ending someone's life?" she said shaking her head, pushing past Spencer and out the door.
While she couldn't get a good read on Alison's reaction, Spencer still shook thinking about the possibility of Charlotte being still alive. She stared at the shining, stainless steel faucet as her mind pulled her back to that night.
Toby said Spencer could stay at his loft above The Brew for the night while he was on shift, but she couldn't help but feel nauseas at the thought of how many keys to the coffee shop were floating around, and how easy it would be to get in there. At the very least it wasn't her parent's home, or the homes of any of her friends – not that any of their places would be an option at the moment. Spencer checked her phone again bitterly, and unsurprisingly there were 0 unread messages and no missed calls.
She sent the usual suspects another message. Spencer didn't want to spend the night alone.
With a sigh she unlocked the door to The Brew, choosing to go in the front rather than the side entrance. There was no way she'd be going into any dark alleys alone tonight. Spencer booted up the coffee maker in the back of Ezra's office (feeling less sketchy helping herself to coffee from his personal stash rather than from his business). She made a face when she found he was out of decaf. Instead, she grabbed a bag of peppermint tea. Normally she'd be tiptoeing around and concerned she'd find Ezra working late nights, but he'd been gone all month building a church or school or something on some do gooder mission somewhere tropical.
Her phone was still frustratingly silent. In a last ditch effort, she sent Emily, Aria and Hanna an S.O.S. text before setting her phone down beside her purse by the register. Spencer wandered into the kitchen and busied herself filling the kettle and turning on the stove.
Toby often chastised her for using The Brew after hours, and when she heard the bells chime from the front entrance the knot in her stomach dissipated. He must have gotten off his shift early.
"It's only a tea bag I swear! I left the cookies entirely alone this time," she called from the kitchen with a grin on her face. It faded suddenly once Spencer remembered that Toby didn't have his keys to the coffee shop tonight – he'd handed them to her less than an hour earlier.
The kettle whistled.
"You should probably get that," a voice said behind her quietly. It was over a year since the roof but it still sent shivers down Spencer's spine.
She frantically looked around for a weapon; to her left down a ways on the counter was an impressive knife set and to her right was the kettle on the industrial stove. Spencer turned around slowly and willed the panic stricken look on her face to disappear.
Charlotte stood at the kitchen door, her head tilted slightly. She didn't look great – prison was not treating her well. Charlotte at her best (or worst, depending on who you asked) was cool and calculated. The woman standing there now just looked unhinged.
"You're not supposed to be here," Spencer said weakly, almost like a prayer. Maybe Charlotte would just vanish if she willed it hard enough.
Instead she gave Spencer a pitying look like she knew exactly what she was thinking. "Well my police escort seemed a little tired so I thought I'd stop by and pick them up a nice hot cup of coffee," she winked.
"Oh yeah, I'm sure you were going to bake them a fresh batch of cookies too," Spencer said sarcastically.
"Now that is not a bad idea," Charlotte humoured her. "I'll have to pencil that in for after I kill you."
Right to the point. "Where's the fun in just having us die?" Spencer hoped it didn't sound too much like she was begging. She wasn't going out on her knees pleading with her tormentor.
"No more games," Charlotte said. Her voice was low and threatening, and Spencer knew she'd make good on her promise. "I'm done playing," she growled.
"You and me both," Spencer said and lunged for the boiling kettle within arm's reach. She flipped the lid and tossed the scalding water at Charlotte, who shrieked loudly letting Spencer know she hit her target. Before she could retaliate she bolted towards the professional knives.
Charlotte ran after her and slammed Spencer into the counter. She let out a yelp as her back hit and the large metal bowls on the shelves beneath were knocked to the floor, clattering loudly. Spencer reached out for the knives but they were still just out of reach. Charlotte clasped her hand around Spencer's neck and pressed her down until she felt the cool stainless steel counter on the back of her head. Then Charlotte slammed her head against it. Hard.
Spencer felt like she was in a cartoon; she was sure some animated animal just crashed her head between a pair of giant cymbals that left her ears were ringing. Before Charlotte could repeat the action Spencer folded her arms over top of Charlotte's, breaking her grasp on her neck. She brought her knee up as hard as she could, and Spencer was pretty sure it landed uncomfortably around her hip. Not exactly where she was aiming, but enough to get free of Charlotte and grab a knife. Finally.
Before she could turn around and use it she felt Charlotte yank her right foot out from under her and Spencer all but face planted onto the floor. She wasn't sure how much more her head could take. But she didn't have to think about it for long.
Charlotte slammed her heel down as hard as she could, and it landed exactly where it needed to. Spencer shouted in pain and knew her leg had just broken. Not even the adrenaline could keep the pain or tears away. She started to pull herself backwards in an attempt to get away from Charlotte, but after picking out a knife for herself she turned her attention back to Spencer.
She approached her faster than Spencer could drag herself away, and before she knew it Charlotte knelt down and straddled her hips. Spencer could no longer move away at all. She steeled herself for the worst – wondering if Charlotte was just going to slit her throat and be done with it or go for the more satisfying multiple stabs.
Instead she felt Charlotte lift her tank top up just over her belly button and begin to carve something into her stomach. Spencer screamed out at each deep, deliberate cut into her body and she wasn't sure how much longer she could stay conscious. She could feel herself succumbing to shock and with the last of her adrenaline she plunged the knife clutched in her right hand deep into Charlotte's neck. Once. Twice. Three times. Spencer wasn't sure how much damage she actually did considering how weak she was but she was certain she missed Charlotte's carotid. Spencer couldn't even pull the knife from her tormentor's body.
Charlotte fell backwards to the floor, and with the weight off her Spencer was able to prop herself up against the island. Her head was fuzzy and her body felt like it was on fire.
Spencer looked down at her stomach. The blood seeped out of the cuts and dripped down to the top of her pants and on the floor. She couldn't make out what exactly it said but before her vision went blurry she was sure she could make out that the cuts were actually letters.
Emily knocked on the door anxiously. She stood outside the alleyway entrance to Toby's loft and hugged her coat close. She checked at the Hastings' house but no one answered. Her parents must be out of town again, but after Spencer's S.O.S. text Emily was determined to track her down. Her stomach churned thinking about how the day unravelled and she felt incredibly guilty ignoring her friend. Aria and Hanna both urged her to leave it all until the morning but Emily couldn't. This wasn't like before. Something was off about Spencer, sure, but Emily was certain it had nothing to do with drugs again.
"Spence, open up!" She knocked again. After another few minutes she gave up and pulled her keys out of her pocket. Emily didn't like using her keys to The Brew when she wasn't working but this way she could get the spare loft key from Ezra's office and check for sure if her friend was there.
But when Emily got to the door she found it open. The guilt in her stomach quickly morphed into anxiety bordering on panic. Maybe Spencer's raving from earlier wasn't far off. Emily swore under her breath and wished her earlier self wasn't so quick to write everything she'd said off.
Her hand shook as she pushed the door open. All the lights were off but the streetlights illuminated the front of the shop. Emily felt an optimistic twinge of relief at the sight of Spencer's purse laying on the counter. She was here. The feeling quickly disappeared when dark, shiny drops of blood left a trail in front of her.
"Oh my God, Spencer!" Emily yelled and tore into the kitchen. It was a huge mess and the remnants of a clearly violent struggle lay before her. Puddles of blood covered the floor and she found Spencer on the other side of the island beside the biggest one. Her eyes were half shut and her skin had a bluish grey tint to it, with wet blood covering her abdomen and seeping into her clothes. Suddenly Emily felt like she couldn't breathe.
"Spence?" she whispered fearfully.
Spencer didn't move but her eyes flicked towards hers and locked onto Emily's gaze. She didn't say anything but her message was clear. I'm alive. For now.
Toby found Spencer standing in the corner of the gallery, ghost white. She'd looked fearful when she approached him not long ago, but that was nothing compared to the sheer panic that took over her features when she saw Alison. Toby had a hunch it wasn't Alison that Spencer thought she'd saw.
The music slowed and he held out a hand to her. Spencer sniffled a bit and wiped her eye, removing any remnants of tears that may have been there.
She shook her head, "I don't have it in me to talk right now, Toby." She looked like she could sink into the wall and disappear forever.
"I'm not asking to talk," he said over the music. Spencer hesitated, but ultimately took his outstretched hand.
Toby led her to the dance floor and placed a careful hand on the small of her back. Over the length of the song the pair slid closer, and Spencer felt her face heat up when she found their cheeks brushing against each other as they swayed. She leaned her head softly onto his shoulder and closed her eyes, letting the world melt away until all she could hear was the heart beat of the man she loved.
:')
Well there it is, I hope you enjoyed it! Please leave me a review to let me know what you thought!
