Chapter 21 – Serious
Spencer was still crouching down when the kitchen light flickered on. A second later, a pair of pink and white Sketchers came into view as one of the trespassers stood before her.
"Spencer?" the woman called out with concern etched in her tone.
Spencer's eyes alleviated upwards to meet a set of familiar honey colored orbs. Dropping the blade, Spencer jumped to her feet and hugged the brunette. She was so grateful it was who it was. But then Spencer broke the embrace and pointed her slim finger at the woman.
"Emily, what the hell are you doing in my house at this time?!" Spencer shrieked.
Emily quickly placed her index finger over Spencer's moving lips, signaling her to keep her voice down. Emily nodded her head towards the person standing behind her. Spencer's eyes followed to see Maya with a snoozing blond toddler draped over her shoulder while she caressed his back soothingly.
"Ohhhhh," Spencer whispered, exhaling profoundly. "Me…. Babysit… you… shop."
Spencer felt like a complete idiot. Emily had just mentioned it to the lawyer hours ago that they would be bringing Cody over, so the mamas could get some Christmas shopping done. Of course, the best Black Friday deals were scored during the ungodly early hours of the morning, so the girls brought their son over at four a.m., so they could get in line at the stores before it got ridiculously too long prior to opening.
Whispering to Maya, Spencer instructed her to lay Cody down in her bed in her room. As soon as Maya disappeared from the kitchen, Emily shot Spencer an alarmed look.
"Are you ok?" the swimmer worried, taking notice of how visibly shaken her friend was.
"Yeah, yeah," Spencer partially fibbed. She was still trying to calm her nerves from what she thought almost occurred. "I just forgot how early you guys were coming over, that's all."
"Uh-huh," Em stated, half believing her. "You should've known we weren't intruders. This place has high tech security. Something else has you jumpy. Talk to me, Spence."
"It's noth-" Spencer began.
Emily quickly interrupted, "Spencer! Spill it!"
"Ok, ok. Some lunatic sent me this text trying to scare me."
"Who?"
Spencer shrugged, "I don't know. It was from a blocked number."
Em frowned up, "I didn't know you could text from a private number. Anyways, what did it say?"
"It was a death threat to drop Toby's case," Spencer explained.
Emily's eyes broadened in fear. "Oh my gosh! What did Toby say about it?"
Spencer looked away. "I didn't tell him, because it's no big deal. Trust me, it's best that he not know. He already freaked out on me earlier over some unfortunate events, blaming himself. This would only make things worse. Don't worry, Em. Lawyers, judges, cops, we get threats like this all the time, but it doesn't mean anything. Everything is ok," she said. In the midst of her monologue, Spencer tried to believe in what she was saying, too.
Emily exhaled; she was relieved to know her friend was ok. "Well, if you are ever in danger, at least you got Cavanaugh. And trust me, that's saying a lot. He'll always be there to save you."
Emily, unfortunately, knew that was factual due to her near death experience that she never shared with anyone. Only the four people who were present that awful day knew. Her pupils diverted down to the ground as flashbacks of how she received the nasty laceration to her abdomen started to play a marathon in her head. Just thinking about the person who did it to her made her want to sob. Although the swimmer planned to take this secret to the grave, she felt inclined to disclose the event with her best friend to assure her that no matter what, Toby would always be there for her.
"Spencer, this past summer…" Emily began to recall the fatal events. At that very moment, Maya reentered the kitchen. Emily terminated her speech, not wanting Maya to relive the horror.
"He's all settled and tucked in. Is my girl ready?" the jazz musician smiled brightly at her girlfriend.
"Yes," Em piped up blissfully. "Spencer, here's his diaper bag. Everything you need is in there. After we're done shopping, we're going to go home, wrap and hide his gifts."
"Ok, that's fine. Just call me when you're done, and I'll drop him off before I meet up with Toby."
"Ohhh, date night?" Emily teased.
Spencer playfully rolled her eyes as she blushed shyly. "Get out," she joked.
"Thanks for babysitting, Spence," Maya appreciated.
"No, thank you in advance for the amazing Christmas gift I know I better get for waking up before the roosters," Spencer grinned.
"You already got the best gift you could ever want," Emily sheepishly beamed.
Emily and Maya shared an appealing look before singing in unison. "You got Tobias!"
Spencer's jaws were starting to ache from how hard she had been smiling since Toby came into her life. She placed a hand on each of the girls' backs, ushering the teasing pair towards the door. "Goodbye," she snickered.
"Cody needs a playmate, so hurry up and unwrap that gift!" Emily shouted before Spencer shut the door.
…
"Spongy Carepants, Spongy Carepants, Spongy Carepants, Spon-geeee Care-paaaants!" Cody sang before bursting out into a round of laughter, trying to mimic the guffaws of the narrator of his favorite cartoon Spongebob Squarepants.
Spencer watched the toddler watch television from her stance in the kitchen where she was making him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch.
It was her first time babysitting Cody, and she wanted to make sure he felt adored considering his past. Although he was only two, Cody's life wasn't the best prior to Emily and Maya adopting him. His parents abandoned him when he was barely one, leaving the precious gem wrapped in dirty blankets on the steps of Rosewood's orphanage center where he resided until recently. When the adoption agency shared his heartbreaking story with hopeful parents Emily and Maya, they quickly elected to give the little one a home and lots and lots of love.
"Time for lunch," Spencer called out. "I made your favorite."
"Yaaay," the two year old exclaimed, running into the kitchen with his arms outstretched and a blanket tied around his neck which he called his cape. "Tanks you, Auntie Pency."
She giggled as she secured the little one in her arms and then deposited him atop her countertop. She slid his pre-cut sandwich and sippy cup of milk to him. She loved the nickname he'd given her. She remembered the day she told him her name, and he looked like she was speaking another language. Eventually, Pency was deprived from Spencer, and she fell in love with it.
The cutesy scroll down memory lane was interrupted when Spencer heard someone knocking.
"Be a good boy while I answer the door. I'll be right back," Spencer firmly instructed.
With a mouthful of bread, Cody consented, "I's will."
Spencer made a quick detour to visit her full length. After verifying nothing was stuck in her teeth and that her hair was suitable, she sashayed over to the front door wearing a wide grin. She and Toby agreed to meet up later that evening, but knowing him, he was probably missing her just as much as she was missing him and couldn't wait to see her. The feeling was mutual. When she opened the door, her smile dispersed. It wasn't Toby. It was the devil disguised in a navy Chanel dress.
"What do you want?" Spencer impolitely questioned, her eyes narrowed in on her target.
"I'm not here to fight with you," Melissa replied, her tone disbelieving. "Mom and dad are in the city shopping, and I really really need a babysitter right now."
Spencer didn't mind babysitting her niece at all. She wasn't going to let her rivalry with Melissa taint the bond she had with Taylor. So, she welcomed the curly haired girl who appeared from behind her mother's leg.
"Where's Ian?" Spencer asked.
Melissa rolled her eyes, remaining silent.
"If you want me to watch her…" Spencer began.
"I don't know. He didn't come home last night after you ran him off. That's why I need you to watch Tay, so I can…"
"Go find your husband," Spencer concluded. She had heard the declarative countless times before.
"Don't judge me, Spencer!" Melissa elicited. "You went after Toby yesterday."
"Because Toby is worth fighting for!" Spencer defended.
"And so is my marriage!"
"Not if the other party doesn't care!"
"Spencer, stop! You don't know everything!"
"I don't have to be a genius to know Ian is a complete jacka-"
"And I'm no saint either! I've done WORSE!" Melissa blurted before she could stop herself.
Spencer raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"
"Here's Taylor's diaper bag. I'll pick her up later this evening," Melissa dully stated. "Bye, Pumpkin," she forced a smile at her daughter who was inside playing with Cody's toys scattered all over the floor. "Thank you for watching her." And with that, Melissa departed.
Spencer rolled her eyes in disgust before slamming the door. At that very moment, Spencer's cell phone rung. The nauseated feeling that began to consume her as a result of her distasteful chat with her sister quickly evaporated as the ringtone reserved for Toby rang through her ears. That boy must have had a sixth sense and knew now was the perfect time to call her. She picked up on the first ring.
"You're alive?" he gasped.
Instantly, Spencer froze up. Confusion and fear consumed her. Had Emily betrayed her and told Toby about that damn text?
"I thought you'd be buried underneath a layer of Lego blocks surrounded by tiny dinosaurs by now," he clowned.
Spencer quickly calmed down, realizing he was joking around and referring to how her babysitting was going. "Oh, I'm fine. You can put away your Avengers' action figures."
"Awl, man," he cooed while laughing.
"Cody is a good little boy," she informed him.
Cody heard her statement and frowned up immensely. "I mean, big boy; he's such a good big boy."
His smile returned, displaying his brown and purple covered teeth.
"I can't talk long, Toby. I'm working doubles," she told him. "I'm babysitting Taylor, too."
A second later, Cody started crying, because he spilled his milk all over the counter. Seeing him cry made Taylor sad and she began to wail, too. "Uh-no. Gotta go," she stated before hanging up.
Two hours and several silly things later, Spencer was chasing a naked Taylor around the coffee table. Spencer was in the middle of changing her diaper when she made the mistake to take her eye off of her for one second. Taylor utilized the moment to crawl away sans pants and diaper.
"For such short legs, you sure can move fast," Spencer said as the laughing toddler continued to circle the furniture.
In the midst of playing ring-around-the-rosie, Spencer hadn't acknowledged Cody's actions. His curiosity of the product that Spencer had sprinkled on Taylor's butt caused him to pick the bottle up. Replicating what he saw his aunt do, he shook the bottle up and down, baby powder raining down like snowflakes.
"Got cha!" Spencer smiled when she finally claimed the naked toddler. While she attended to clothing her, Cody had voyaged down the hall.
"Ok, Cody…" Spencer called and turned around to find a white trial leading out of the room. She followed the baby powder down the hall and into her bedroom. "Ok, mister, you're in a lot of tr…" she began but cut her warning short when she saw Cody.
With a frightened expression plastered on his pale face and tears rolling down his cheeks, Cody was balled up in the corner.
"Cody, sweetie, what's wrong?"
With a quivering hand, he pointed inside Spencer's closet. She peeked inside her closet. The sight caused her to vomit instinctively.
Sloppily written on the wall in all caps read: This is the little white bastard I was talking about. Drop the case, bitch!
Near her feet was a red-stained, lifeless Sandals.
…
Author's Note:
sPoByIsMyoT3—Yes, I was guilty of that in my other two stories (unintentionally), and she did bring that to my attention. That's why I took those stories down. I do respect and admire her work, and I have apologized to her for that. Last chapter was inspired from two Spencer scenes from the show when she mistaken Wren then Toby for maniacs and armed herself with a knife. I hope you read this chapter to see it's not the same with this story. I really do appreciate your honest feedback.