I'm sorry this is shorter, but I live for cliffies. And I figured you guys would want me to draw this out as long as possible :). Probably 3 or 4 more chapters to go!

If you haven't yet go check out my new story, Falling to Pieces.

MY INTERVIEW IS A WEEK FROM TOMORROW AND I'M HAVING A MINI PANIC ATTACK. I can't stress the words dream job enough here.

Chapter 21

TPOV

He searched the entire yard, but he didn't find anything. And when he said that he didn't find anything that's what he truly meant. He saw the man in the yard; he knew that he had. Spencer and Hanna saw him too, he was sure of it. But there was no one to be found, and it was making him feel uneasy... exposed...

He turned and ran back into the house. The uneasiness wasn't for himself, but it was for Spencer. Alex had to have found them. There was no other explanation that made sense, and he had to get them out of there. He had Hanna to worry about too. Literally any other time he would have searched for the maintenance man. The poor man was just caught in the cross fire, and he deserved better than that. But nothing could ever surpass his desire to protect Spencer. One life wasn't more important than another in the grand scheme of things. But to him it was.

The backdoor was hard to open, and for a horrible moment he thought that Alex beat him inside and rigged it shut. But right on the brink of a panic attack it popped open. He locked it behind him, ran to lock the front door, and shook his hair out as he took the steps two at a time to reach the bedroom. He knocked on the door and heard Hanna shriek at the noise. "It's just me. Let me in."

Scuffling was the only noise he heard as they worked to move whatever they had barricaded the door with. As soon as it was open a crack he stepped inside and wrapped Spencer up in his arms, swaying her back and forth. "Are you okay? Did you guys hear anything before I came inside?"

Hanna answered him. "I didn't hear anything, but I didn't hear you come in either. The storm is really loud. Toby, should we leave?"

He hesitated, looking between the terrified girls that were depending on him to make the right decision. In any other circumstance he would have told them to run along ahead of him, while he covered them with his weapon. But that seemed too risky to people that he genuinely cared about. He could defend a doorway better. But what if Alex was anticipating that? He was smart enough to figure out their next move.

He had only felt this level of indecision once before, and it honestly explained his profound dislike and distrust of her parents.

His cell phone rang, granting him a momentary distraction from his German text book. He had a test the next day, one he was determined to get an A on. Dating Spencer had been good for a lot of reasons, not the least of which was his grades. She was so smart, and he wanted to be academically inclined enough to hold her interest.

Speaking of Spencer, he smiled when he saw her name flash across his phone's screen. "Hey. I thought you were having dinner with your parents?" There was a long pause. "Spence?"

The first thing that he heard were quiet sniffles. "Hey," she whispered. "I'm sorry, I know you said you were studying, but-"

"What's wrong?" He asked her quietly, already on the defensive. She didn't get upset very often, but when she did it was usually about her parents. "Are you okay?"

"I know it's a long drive, and I understand if you can't but-"

His keys were already in his hand. "Where are you?"

He drove faster than was probably advisable, but none of that mattered when he crunched over the gravel of Rosewood Community Park's parking lot. He spotted her lithe figure immediately, in the slow, pendulum-like movement of the swing set. Her toes scraped along the mulch as she swung slowly.

"Spence-" he whispered as he approached. He tried not to scare her, but she jumped at the sound of his voice. He stepped in front of her to stop the swing, and put a hand on her chin, tilting her face up toward him. The light caught her cheek, revealing the makings of a black eye. His whole demeanor changed immediately. He dropped his hands, not trusting himself to even touch her. "Who did this to you?"

Actually, he didn't need to wait for her answer. He knew who did this. He turned on his heel and marched back off in the direction of the car with violence on his mind. How dare anyone hurt her? Especially her parents. He was beyond angry. He was livid.

"Toby!"

Any other time her voice would have been enough to stop him, literally any other time. But he wasn't sure anything could stop him right then until she darted in front of him and put both hands on his chest. "Toby, stop. Please, just stop." Her voice cracked at the end.

This wasn't what she needed. He knew she would prefer that he just hold her, but was that the right decision? Shouldn't he go let the person that hurt her know that if they ever touched her again he'd kill them? He framed her face with his shaking hands. "Who did this to you, Spencer?"

She put her hands on top of his. "He was drunk," she said softly. "I doubt he'll even remember tomorrow, and my mom didn't see. She was getting some more wine."

"Your dad? Your dad hit you?" But the tears in her eyes already had him softening. She needed him more than she needed to be defended. If she wanted that she would tell him.

"Do you want me to take care of it?" He whispered into her hair, pulling her closer, having to check before he let the issue go. If she wanted him to he would go destroy the Hastings patriarch in a literal heartbeat. It wouldn't take much.

But she shook her head, burrowing herself into his solid embrace. "Don't leave me."

"Never," he whispered. "I'll never leave you, Spence."

He let her down. Not that night, he was confident that he made the right decision there, because Spencer was later proven right. Her dad had no memory of the incident and never hurt her again. The thought still made his blood boil, but it was truly an isolated incident. No, he let her down by falling for Alex's plan; he let her down when he left her alone. He wouldn't do it again.

"We need to leave. Pack some things and then we're leaving town. You too, Hanna. We'll meet Caleb somewhere. I think we should pick up Emily too. We can't leave behind anyone that he might be able to use against Spencer."

"My parents?" She whispered.

"He obviously knows about your relationship with them," he explained. "I don't think they're in any trouble."

Her face twisted in guilt. "Guys, I'm-"

Hanna beat him to the reply. "Spencer Hastings, if the next word out of your mouth is an apology I'm going to shove one of those $500 pillows down your throat."

"They hardly cost $500," she mumbled.

"$100?" Hanna's voice was tense, but she was obviously trying to diffuse some of the crushing tension in the room. When Spencer shifted uncomfortably a ghost of a smile appeared on Hanna's face. "Pillow snob, oh my God. I think I pay like-"

But her voice stopped at the sound of a pronounced creak above their heads. It wasn't the sound of the house settling. The creak that immediately followed it confirmed his fears. It was someone walking.

He was already inside.

APOV

He couldn't hear what they were saying, but he knew by the increase in pitch they had heard him. They knew that he was coming. He weighed the loaded gun in his hand with satisfaction. It would end tonight, one way or another. If he couldn't have Spencer no one would. He would take her, and he would eliminate any threats to their eternal solitude.

It would end tonight.