Chapter Five
Hey guys! Oh my gosh, please, give me a long time out for taking so long to update. I'm such a wuss… what with the Spoby breakup, I couldn't bring myself to write this chapter. I hope you enjoy every sad minute of it…and keep calm because true love conquers all. ; )
Time Period - 2x04 Blind Dates… Ian's body will be discovered tomorrow
(remember that my storyline is intertwined loosely with the actual events that occur in the show; its not an exact science, but I do my best.)
Both of their chests panged with fear as Toby quietly lowered Spencer from his back to the ground.
Hearing the small thud of their daughter's feet hitting the hardwood, both Hastings parents turned around to face the bottom of the staircase, expecting to see Spencer standing alone, ready for a freshly brewed cup of Saturday morning caffeine.
Of course today, Spencer was not alone.
When the pair saw Toby, standing shirtless and stock still next to Spencer, all hell broke loose immediately.
Veronica gasped, clapping her hand to her head. Peter stared menacingly, his face glowering, his skin tone changing shades rapidly from red to purple to blue and back again.
Barely a second had passed. Spencer's lip quivered, not knowing what to say. She took a breath. "Dad, I can-"
But Peter Hastings had no intention of letting her finish. "Oh, stop. Save your explanations, Spencer. How could you?" his voice was slowly increasing in volume, making Spencer cower. "We leave you alone for one night, and this is what you do? With him?" Peter sneered, his eyes shifting to Toby.
Anger surged through Spencer as her father glared accusingly at her boyfriend. "Dad, we didn't DO anything! It stormed last night, and he was just-"
"SPENCER!" Peter bellowed, taking a step forward. "STOP MAKING EXCUSES FOR HIM! YOU KNOW HOW YOUR MOTHER AND I FEEL ABOUT HIM, YOUNG LADY! YOU ARE A PERSON OF INTEREST IN A MURDER INVESTIGATION, AND I FORBID YOU TO SEE SOMEONE WITH SUCH A RABID REPUTATION!"
Spencer glared back at her father. "Excuses for him? Excuses for WHAT? HE HAS NEVER DONE ANYTHING WRONG!" she screamed back at him. "I love him!"
Spencer's mother scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Love him? He's playing you, Spencer," she said, gesturing to Toby, who was looking helplessly from Peter to Veronica.
Spencer's eyes bulged. "Playing me? OH MY GOD, mother. IAN is the one playing YOU! For the thousandth time, IAN KILLED ALISON! IN CASE YOU HADN'T HEARD, HE TOLD ME THAT THE NIGHT HE TRIED TO KILL ME."
Veronica pressed her hands to her face, weary of her daughter's "obsession with accusing Ian of killing Alison."
Tears pricked the sides of Spencer's eyes, and Toby gently placed his hands on her slender shoulders. She turned, trying to communicate with him with only her expression.
Suddenly, Peter yanked Spencer's arm roughly, wrenching her away from Toby. "KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF HER," he screeched.
Spencer began to cry, and Toby's eyes narrowed. "Sir, I swear nothing happened. She was so scared, and I knew that she-"
"GET OUT. OF MY HOUSE. NOW," Peter Hastings shrieked at him.
"DAD," Spencer cried, trying to wrestle away from him, but to no avail. "STOP."
"IF YOU DON'T LEAVE THIS HOUSE RIGHT THIS INSTANT, AND STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER, I WILL PERSONALLY CONTACT YOUR CONTRACTOR AND INFORM HIM THAT THERE IS A SEXUAL ASSAULTER ON HIS CONSTRUCTION TEAM."
Toby's jaw dropped, and Spencer sobbed harder. "Toby, go," she stammered through her tears. "I'll be okay. He's not kidding," she added, attempting to sever her father with her hatred-filled gaze.
Toby's expression was murderous, his jaw clenched. Spencer watched him tearfully as slowly he stepped forward. But instead of heading toward the door, Toby's gaze landed on Spencer's father, and he strode towards them. He quickly planted a kiss on Spencer's forehead and turned, but not before Peter's fist came in contact with Toby's jaw with a sickening crunch.
Spencer screamed, horrified. Toby didn't say a word, swiftly turning and walking to the door, seemingly unaffected by the blow. He twisted the handle and pushed it open. But before he left, he smiled gravely at Spencer. "Love you, Spence," he said pointedly, before gently shutting the door.
Spencer stared at the closed door, her entire frame shaking with tears. She turned to her father.
"I'm sorry, Spencer," He said strictly, "But this is how it has to be. You can't spend time with him. Just because the blood evidence was corrupted, doesn't mean he didn't do it."
Spencer's eyes became even wider as she tried to comprehend what her father was saying. All she could think about was Toby's loving, protective hands perched on her shoulders. How she missed him terribly, already. Suddenly, her phone beeped.
She went to raise her arm to see who had texted her, but her mother snatched the phone out of her hand stealthily before she could see. "Spencer, I think it would be best if we took care of that for a while," she said evenly, trying to arrange her features into a look of pity. "We're only doing what's best for you, honey."
Spencer bit her lip, and jerked her arm out of her father's tight grasp. She marched to the staircase…the very same one that she had descended happily not five minutes ago.
Spencer sniffled, and before taking the stairs two at a time, she glowered at her parents. "You two. That's what isn't good for me," she growled, and before they could respond, she turned and ran to her room.
Shaking with anger and despair, Spencer slammed her door audibly. She staggered to her bed, picking up Toby's pyjama shirt and cradling it to her chest, utterly sobbing. As she crawled up to the top of her bed and got under the covers, she sobbed even harder when she realized that Toby's precious scent still lingered discreetly on her pillow.
She absolutely could not wrap her mind around what had just happened. As she lay alone on her bed, she sorted the events into two piles.
The first pile was heaping with her father's hateful actions. The accusations. The threats. Yelling at him to leave, to keep his hands off her. Dragging Spencer away from him. Punching him. Hatred towards her father radiated through her. How dare he punch her Toby.
Toby. The tears flowed faster as Spencer sifted through the second pile. His hands, hovering protectively over her shoulders. Standing up to her father, trying to explain. He'd bravely approached ornery Peter Hastings, jut so he could kiss her one last time. "Love you, Spence," his words echoed in her ears. Based on this pile, it was so evident, so blatantly obvious that there was no doubt that Toby truly loved Spencer. How could her parents not see that? Were they blind?
Spencer knew the answer to that one. Of course they were blind-blind to everything and anything that possessed even the slightest imperfection. Her sobs dragged on, continuing for hours.
After about two, long hours, her mother knocked on the door, calling her name softly. Spencer had yelled for her to go away, not feeling up for another feud.
After another two hours, someone knocked on the door again. "Go. Away," Spencer ordered sharply, sniffling.
"Spencer?" a perky voice called worriedly. "It's me. Are you okay?"
Spencer jumped up, becoming momentarily dizzy from sitting up too fast. She trudged quickly to the door and swung it open, flinging her arms around Aria.
Aria put her arms around Spencer, gently leading her to the bed. They sat down and Spencer continued to sob against Aria's shoulder, practically sitting on her lap.
Aria rubbed Spencer's back tentatively, confused. "Spence, what's the matter? What happened? How come you haven't been answering my texts?"
Spencer lifted her head, her puffy eyes meeting Aria's concerned ones. "Last night…the storm…A…my dad HIT TOBY," Spencer sputtered, wailing.
"Oh my God," Aria said, pulling Spencer into a tight hug. "Tell me everything, Spencey."
Spencer cleared her throat before shakily reliving this morning's events, her face adorned with a haunted expression. "And my mom took my phone, and then she-" suddenly, a painful stab of need surged through her. "Ria your phone! Where is it?" Spencer cried.
Aria dug hurriedly through her purse, retrieving her cell phone and handing it to Spencer without hesitation. Her hands shaking, Spencer dialled his number and pressed the phone desperately against her ear.
It rang only twice before he answered. "Hello?" Toby's voice said urgently, most likely guessing the reason for the call.
"Toby!" Spencer sobbed, her tears making a billionth appearance. "Toby, that was all my fault, I cant believe that he-" she sputtered.
Toby cut off Spencer's fragmented cries of apology. "Shhh, Spencer, shhh, sweetheart. It's okay, it's okay."
"It's not!" Spencer insisted. "My father threatened to accuse you of rape and then punched you! If I hadn't acted like such a baby, if I had just gone to sleep like a normal person, this never would have-"
"Spencer, shhh. Stop, baby. Listen to me. We're going to figure this out," Toby assured her.
Spencer took another deep breath. "How?" she asked shakily. "How can I do anything when I'm not with you?"
"I know, Spence, I know, sweetheart. Look, I called Tod, and he said there's a five day construction job waiting for me in Yardley."
Spencer interrupted him with a curt and shrill sob. Aria was still sitting next to her, rubbing her back soothingly.
"I know, Spencer. But if I go, it will give your parents a chance to cool off. They're just really stressed right now," he said comfortingly, "Melissa's going crazy and they still don't know where Ian is."
Spencer was absolutely perplexed. Toby was defending her parents? Her father? After what had just happened? She sighed. Never in her life would she ever be able to compare herself to him.
"Ian's dead," Spencer said. She was getting dreadfully sick of repeating that particular phrase.
"Oh, I know. I believe you, sweetheart. But you have to find him, you have to figure it out. And when you do, your parents will have no excuses. Prove them wrong, Spence. I know you can. You can do anything, jungle queen," he said lightly.
Spencer's heart throbbed. "I miss you," she whispered, the wondrous memories of the previous night flooding her mind.
"I miss you too, Spence. So, so, so much, baby. But don't worry. In five days, everything will be okay, I promise. I'll come home and we'll kiss and I'll kick your ass at Scrabble once again."
Spencer giggled through her tears. As she was about to respond, her mother called up the stairs. "Spencer? Aria? Dinner's on!"
Spencer's heart froze. "I have to go. They took my phone, Tob, but I'll call you whenever I can. I love you, Toby," Spencer said, her voice thick.
"I'll love you until the end of time, Spencer Hastings. Don't worry." and with that, the line went dead.
Spencer took a deep breath as her mother hollered a second time. "We should go downstairs," Aria whispered.
Spencer looked up at her best friend. "We have to find Ian," she whispered urgently, desperately, "We have to prove that he killed Ali."
Aria pulled Spencer in again for another hug. "Don't worry," she said, stroking Spencer's tangled curls, "we will."
TO BE CONTINUED : )