Spencer's POV
I was in the barn. Again. I immediately closed my eyes, recognizing the nightmare I had been having for over three months. I could feel the cold breeze coming from the open window and the presence of someone. This time, I opened my eyes. I almost jumped in shock. They were here. Hanna, Aria and Emily were standing right in front of me with sad smiles on their faces.
What the hell was going on? What were they doing here? Was this a different nightmare? My head was spinning but I didn't have time to think because there was a scream, a laud scream that broke my heart.
It came from Emily's mouth, and her once brown eyes were now gray, cold, dead. I noticed that her shirt was starting to get red and I already knew what was happening.
"Noooo!"I screamed loudly, the tears falling like rain. I ran towards Emily, but before I could reach her, she suddenly disappeared. The three of them disappeared and I was suddenly alone. Had I imagined all of this?
I couldn't stay in that place for much longer, so I ran to the door and got out. My backyard wasn't the same, it was full of graves, looking more like a cemetery than a graveyard. What the hell was going on? I heard an explosion and looked back, only to see the barn being slowly consumed by flames. I watched in horror as everything that my parents had worked so hard to get was turned into only ashes.
The only thought running in my head was that I needed to get out of here. I started running through the graves, but suddenly a hand grabbed my foot and I fell to the ground. I was lucky not to hit my head on the grave in front of me. That's when something caught my eye: In the grave were written a few words, words that I would never want to see.
Aria Montgomery (1995-2013). A great sister and daughter and the best of friends.
I started crying as soon as I saw it and I slowly got up. A noise was heard behind me and I watched as my three best friends (or should I say ex-best friends?) stood there, dresses cut and blood falling everywhere. I looked down and saw that I was holding a knife and there was blood in it.
I stared at it in shock as reality sunk in. No. No way. There was no way that this was happening! I looked back to them and they were staring at me with dead eyes.
"Noooo!"I screamed loudly, but it was like no one could hear me. "This is just a nightmare. I didn't do anything!"I tried to convince myself, but the evidence was locked against me. That's when I heard another scream. This time, I didn't want to see it or even hear it. I felt something cut my fingers and then there was only darkness. I was gone.
I wake up from my nightmare, covered in sweat. I am breathing really quickly and my heart is beating so fast that I feel like it is going to jump from my chest. I still feel scared and the darkness of the room does nothing to help with it. My hand touches the lampshade and light fills the room. I sigh in relief, but not even a second later I hear a sound.
I looked around slowly and try to scream when I se her, but her hands cover my mouth before any sound can escape it.
"Shhh…"She says and her blue eyes stare into mine with determination. Once she's sure I won't scream, she releases her hand.
"What the hell are you doing here?"I ask her in confusion and it sounds much more rude that I planned.
"I needed to talk to you, but it wasn't safe before."
"Talk to me about what?"I asked her and her face grew serious. She looked around the room and then back at me.
"Look, I don't have much time, so just listen to me. Something terrible is gonna happen soon and you're the only one that can stop it from happening. You need to be strong, Spence."Before I could ask any questions, there was a noise coming from the corridor and Alison immediately got up. She moved to the other side of the bed and turned off the lampshade. Stuck in the darkness again, the fear came back to me but it was long gone by the time my father opened the room and asked if everything was okay. I said that it was and he closed the door and went back to his bedroom.
I sighed as soon as he was gone and turned on the lampshade again, but Ali was no were in sight. Had I imagined that she was here? Or was she real? I was too tired to think of it now, so I just closed my eyes and went back to sleep.
The morning came really fats, I had barely close my eyes and the sunlight was already coming through my closed windows. I got up slowly and made the way to my closet, before putting a yellow shirt and black leggings. I washed my teeth and brushed my hair until it fell perfectly on my shoulders. I went upstairs slowly, trying not to wake up my parents.
When I got to the kitchen, my stomach growled, showing how hungry I was. I had gotten used to not eating much over the past few months, but right now I felt like I could eat the whole kitchen. I grabbed some ingredients from the refrigerator and started making breakfast.
Less than an hour later, I was sat on the counter eating eggs with bacon and drinking orange juice. My parents were still sleeping and everything felt normal, for once. After I finished having breakfast, I washed the dishes and went back upstairs.
I looked around the room, thinking about what to do. I was used to always having a schedule in Radley, I always knew what I had to do and when. Now that I was free from that hell, I had no idea what to do. I paced around the room when I heard the doorbell ringing. Who would be coming to my parent's house so early? (it was only 8:30)
I went downstairs and stopped right in front of the door. I don't know why, but I was afraid of opening it. I was afraid of seeing whoever was on the other side. But I opened the door anyways. And it was a big surprise to me.
"Can I come in?"He asked as soon as I opened the door. I was speechless, a million thought running through my mind. What was he doing here? Did he want to fight with me? Did he want to apologize for the way he acted yesterday? I finally remembered that I was still staying in front of him holding the doorknob like an idiot, so I stepped back and let him come in.
I sat in the white couch while he sat in front of me. We stayed like there, in silence, for a few more minutes. He was the first to break the silence.
"So… Hmmm…"
"What are you doing here?"I snapped back, somewhat rudely. I was feeling extremely tired and confused after everything that happened last night.
"I just wanted to… apologize, I guess. I shouldn't have acted like that towards you."
"Good. Apology accepted. Now you can go."I replied and stood up, but he suddenly grabbed my arm. The sudden contact shot sparks down my arm and I stood there, paralyzed. I haven't felt like this in a long time, a little more than three months.
"Wait, Spencer."He said my name in the same tone he used to say back when we were dating and I felt my heart flutter. How much I missed him, holding him, kissing him. But I needed to be strong now because I didn't know if he was the same guy I used to know. I knew that I wasn't the same girl he used to know.
"What?"I asked him, less rudely but still not falling for those beautiful blue eyes.
"Look, I know that you're not the same girl I used to know, I'm different too, but I don't want to lose you. I never stopped loving you, not even after all these three months."
"If you didn't stop loving me, why didn't you visit me? Why did you let me go through this all alone?"I asked him and this time I was unable t control my tears and I started crying unstoppably.
"I tried, I swear to you. I tried to visit you many times, but they never let me. They said that it wasn't good for you, that you should stay alone."
"They were wrong."I replied through my tears. At least I had a decent explanation to why no one visited me. I was so afraid that they all hated me for what I did.
I didn't realize that he was holding me until I felt his strong arms encircle my waist. I gasped, surprised and he looked at me as if asking for permission. This time, when I looked into his ocean eyes, I couldn't think. I needed him to hold me. So I just nodded my head and he wrapped his arms tightly around me while I wrapped my delicate arms around his neck. We stayed like this for a few more minutes and before I even realized what was happening, we were leaning forwards, our lips almost touching. I didn't make one sound this time and we were almost kissing when there was a noise behind us.
I looked back and was surprised to see my mom standing there in her work clothes, her hair done perfectly. She was staring at us suspiciously and we immediately pulled apart and pretended that we weren't doing anything.
"Hi, mom." I sad quickly at the same time Toby said "Good morning, Mrs. Hastings."
"Good morning, honey."My mom replied as she looked at me."I'm sorry if I'm interrupting anything."She raised her eyebrow and I was the first one to deny any thoughts she could be having.
"No, you didn't interrupt anything. Toby just came to wish me good morning And he was just about to leave."I looked back at Toby and he had a hurt expression on his face, but I decided to just ignore it. He gave me a quick hug and left the house, leaving me alone with my mom. She just gave me a knowing look and a quick kiss on the forehead before leaving to work (I have no idea why she's working on a Sunday, but…)
Now I had nothing to do. Great! I went back to my room and as soon as I entered it, I felt like there was something terribly wrong. My fears were confirmed when I looked on my nightstand and saw a paper on the ground. Picking it up, I realized that it had changed from its normal white color to a strong red. I felt my blood go cold as I realized what it was. I dropped the paper to the ground, but the words written on it would be forever on my mind.
THERE WAS MUCH MORE BLOOD THAT NIGHT, AND IT WASN'T JUST YOURS. STILL DON'T BELIEVE ME?
I looked around the room, terrified. Someone had been here, someone had came into my room and put this here. But, who? Was it –A? I heard a noise behind me and my heart started beating really fast. I was so scared that I didn't even consider searching for the source of the sound, I just ran to the door and hid behind it. I could hear steps coming towards my room and my breaths increased a lot. Was it –A? Were they going to kill me? I saw a shadow on the carpet and someone entered the room slowly.
"Spencer?"The person said and I finally realized my mistake. It wasn't a cold-hearted murderer, it wasn't any stalker. It was my dad. God, how stupid I could be sometimes.
"Dad!"I screamed and I ran to him, jumping in his arms. He almost fell to the ground, so surprised he was by my sudden hug, but he hugged back and kept his balance.
"Hey, it's okay…" he said when he realized that I was crying and he tried to comfort me, but it didn't work.
"I'm scared."I managed to say through my tears and this just made him hug me tighter.
"It's okay, you don't need to be scared. I won't let anybody hurt you."His words comforted me enough and my cries soon turned into sobs and then stopped. When I felt completely okay, I parted from the hug and so did he.
"Look, I have to work right now, but you can call me if anything happens, okay?"He asked and I just nodded my head. It had been years since I had hugged any of my parents like this and I felt like there was still hope that our relationship could change for the better.
My dad left the house twenty minutes later, after checking that I was truly okay and that I would be okay alone. Once he was gone, I went back to my room and searched for the paper, but it was long gone. Maybe I had imagined it? I had been in a mental hospital for three months, it would be no surprise it I invented scary messages.
The rest of the day passed by slowly and I felt my stomach contract when I thought that I would be going back to school tomorrow. I was in no way ready to face all of those people that believed I was crazy and probably hated me, but I was a Hastings, I had to be strong.
Toby didn't come back for the rest of the day and I felt sad, I missed him. I was so close to kissing him today, why did my mom have to appear suddenly? I guess that it was fate warning me that I shouldn't be doing that. I sighed as I thought of how long it had been since we last kissed.
It was right after we made up when he finally appeared after our fight on the country dance. We were laying on the couch with a red blanket covering our bodies. He had his left arm wrapped around my shoulders in a comforting hug as I lay my head on his shoulder.
"I was so worried about you today."I said softly and I sighed, breathing into his scent.
"I know. I'm sorry that I didn't answer your calls, but I needed some space."
"It's okay. Just promise me that you'll warn me the next time."
"Okay."He said and our conversation ended. We stayed in silence for a few more minutes before he turned me so I was looking directly at his blue eyes. I had no idea what he wanted, but it was clear when he leaned down and captured my lips with his. I kissed back with passion, loving the feeling of his arms holding me close, protecting me from everyone and everything When we finished the kiss, both breathless, I started giggling.
"I was not expecting that."I said softly after I had regained my breath.
"Me neither." He replied and we smiled at each other, remembering our first "date". In that moment, I never wanted him to let me go, I wanted to stay with him forever. Things soon changed and the next night was the night they found me. That's when everything that we once had was torn to pieces and we had to be apart for three months.
I wished that we could go back to what we used to be, but I knew that it wouldn't be possible until I found out what really happened that night. Toby was a really great person and he had a heart of gold. If I let him be there for me and then I found out that I did something terrible that night, it would break us both. So that was decided. I needed to stay away from Toby Cavanaugh. The only question was, how in hell was I gonna do that?
What did you think? Are you mad at me that I didn't let you get your spoby kiss? Don't worry, it will come soon. Right now, Spencer just wants to be sure she didn't do anything bad. But who knows if she did or not? And who do you think left the messages for her? I'll post next chapter as soon as I finish writing it.