Shorter chapter, but I can't help a good cliffy! We're almost done, guys! This is the beginning of the end!

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Chapter 20

TPOV

Present: Midnight

Lightning flashed across the sky, an ominous setting for their dire situation.

It felt like he was on fire. Something was clawing its way through his chest. He couldn't think clearly. All he could focus on was her cool hand against his heated neck. Her thumb stroked out a soft circle.

"I'll come with you. I'll do whatever you want. Just- just leave him alone. Let me call 911 once we get down the road, okay? I'll come, and I'll never fight you again."

As if her words weren't bad enough, the fear in her voice increased his pain tenfold. He should have listened to his instincts and brought more protection for her. He should have known he wouldn't have been enough to protect her. When had anything good in his life stayed?

"Spencer, get out of the way."

Black danced around the edges of his vision, distorting his vision, the shapes and colors all blurring together. But what couldn't be missed was the distinct clicking of a gun.

"No."

Past: 6 pm, same day

It was storming out. The weather channel said it was going to last all day, and well into the evening. Bad storms weren't common in the city, so it all had an ominous air about it that was making him nervous.

But as he watched his girlfriend on the couch, chatting animatedly with her best friend, his concerned ebbed to the edges of his mind. She was happy, so he was happy. It was funny how it worked out, that his happiness could be so intrinsically wrapped up in the well-being of another human being. But it was Spencer, and he loved her.

Things were almost back to normal, in the most tense way possible. Spencer was acting like she was fine, and sometimes he would believe it. But then she would flinch, or she would lean into him in just the right way that would remind him of everything that she had gone through. It was enough to break the strongest of people, but she was still standing. She always pulled through. But God, he wished that she didn't have to deal with any of it.

"Toby, come play with us!"

He forced a smile and sat down next to Spencer and across from Hanna. He supposed that Hanna's calling him by his name was a far cry better than asshole. "What are we playing?"

"Spencer wants to play Scrabble," she whined. "I suck at Scrabble, but I suppose I can indulge her."

"Toby's the real challenge here," Spencer mumbled, staring at her tiles. "He's way smarter than he comes across as."

"Wait, is that a complement?" He laughed.

She looked up at him with a half smile. "I'm just bitter."

He laughed again. That wasn't the first time she said those words to him.

"What did you get on the biology test?" She asked him, nudging his thumb off his screen as she peered over his shoulder.

"86," he answered hastily, shoving the phone into his pocket.

She rolled her eyes and snagged it from him. "You're lying to me, Toby!" She laughed and flipped through the pages until he found the email. But when she did her smile immediately vanished. "You got a 100? Really? I only got a 95."

"Spencer-"

"I mean if you got a 100 I really should have done better. Maybe I should have-"

He tilted her chin up and kissed her softly, effectively interrupting her rant. "Should I be offended right now?" He chuckled, not offended at all. He actually found her neurotic grade obsessed side to be kind of endearing.

"No!" She shook her head, like she was clearing her mind. "No, no. You're smart, baby. I'm just being a bitter jerk."

He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and kissed her again. "No, you're adorable."

"You guys and your cute little Scrabble war," Hanna laughed and spelled out glove to start the game.

He didn't even really pay attention as they game progressed. He was just happy to hear Spencer's laughter, and he knew that having Hanna there was a big part of it. There was something about Hanna, something you couldn't be sad around.

Spencer's victory whoop brought him back from his dazed state. "I won!" A nearly invisible flinch passed over her face at her sudden movement, but it was gone almost as fast as it appeared. Apparently the month separating themselves from her escape was enough for her to begin to heal. Maybe she would be okay. Maybe she would be able to move on from this.

But as soon as the optimistic thoughts entered his mind a loud knock rapped on the door, and she jumped. He reached for her hand, giving it a comforting squeeze before pulling himself up to answer the door. On the other side was a cheerful man in a grey colored shirt. "Hey! We're here to check the heater, water softener, and all that junk," he gestured toward the back of the house with his head. "It's all out back in the equipment shed. I just wanted to let you know that we were here."

"We?" He asked, only seeing the one man. Maybe he was being paranoid, but could you really be paranoid when someone was out to get you?

"Oh," he looked behind him. "I don't know where he went off to, but I'm training the new kid today. He's only been with us for a couple days, and is still trying to get a feel for things. Is that alright? I can-"

He shook his head to cut the man off. He hadn't meant to give off an impression of distrust. He was just being overly protective. "No, that's fine. We'll be in here if you need anything. Try to stay dry." He firmly shut the door behind him, and when the lock clicked shut he turned back to his friends.

"Who was that?" Spencer asked, scooting closer.

He put a reassuring hand on her knee. "Just maintenance. Everything's fine."

"No," Caleb groaned, finally joining them. "everything is decidedly not fine. There is no food in this house and I need a pizza."

"Then go get a pizza, you cry baby!" Hanna smacked her boyfriend in the face with a pillow. They were so nice to each other.

He looked at her questioningly. "Are you not coming?"

"Are you kidding?" She turned to look out the huge picture window. "It's pouring out there. This," she pointed to her straightened hair, "might only be for the three of you, but it still took an hour. Not messing that up for a plate of cheese and carbs."

The mock betrayal on his face was almost enough to make him laugh, almost. He just huffed and stood to his feet, making his way to the door. He felt Spencer take in a breath, preparing to talk, but before she could Caleb spoke. "I know, Spencer. No sausage."

She giggled and leaned into him for a second before rising and heading off into the kitchen. He knew she was after a diet Mountain Dew. Ever since she began to cut down on her coffee intake she practically lived on the stuff, but he didn't have the heart to tell her that the coffee was actually probably better for her.

He turned to Hanna, about to ask her if she wanted to play another game when his girlfriend's voice came from the kitchen. "Toby?"

She sounded scared, and that wasn't okay with him. He launched up from his spot and made it into the kitchen in just a few steps. "What's wrong?"

Hanna was on his tail, and snatched up a butcher knife from the table. He'd have to lecture her about her choice in weapons later, because he didn't see a scenario in which someone didn't get that off of her.

Spencer didn't acknowledge him. She just stared out the window. He came up behind her and put a hand on her waist to steady her. "Spencer-" but he stopped, spying exactly what had her so concerned. A large, body shaped lump laid sprawled out on the grass. The rain made it hard to see exactly what had happened, but he was pretty sure it was the man who had knocked on the door. It could have been a coincidence, maybe he fell or was having medical issues. But he didn't think so.

He turned and framed Spencer's face with his hands. "Go into the bedroom, lock the door, and put something against it. Don't open it unless it's me or Caleb." He paused. "Hanna, put the knife down." He rifled through the junk drawer and grabbed his sidearm, passing it to her. A gun was probably a better choice, but none were especially comforting. But he knew they needed a way to defend themselves.

"Toby-"

He wasn't hearing it. There wasn't time for this. "I'll be okay, Spence. I'm trained for this, remember? Just keep yourself safe." He kissed her forehead before shrugging out of her grasp and walking toward the door, praying that this wasn't what he was afraid it was.