Haha okay I really don't have anything to say. Just review and let me know what you think, okay?

Chapter 4

TPOV

He was going to wait, he really was. But he had a bad feeling, and it could only be caused by Melissa's presence. He always suspected that the older Hastings blamed her sister for their father's death, but he wouldn't say anything. It wasn't his place. He would just be there to pick up the pieces in the aftermath. Because that's what he did, and he did it happily.

The ringing of the phone tore him from the latest installment of the Harry Potter series. He was about five years too late to jump on that bandwagon, but he was thoroughly enjoying them. He grabbed the phone from his bedside without bothering to look at the caller id. "Hello?"

"Toby? Hey it's Veronica Hastings."

That had him sitting up straight. "Mrs. Hastings? Is everything alright?"

"Melissa and Spencer had one of their blow outs, and I can't find Spencer anywhere. I was hoping that she was with you."

He knew that Spencer wouldn't want to be pitied, and he didn't necessarily feel bad for her. It sucked that she couldn't see, but it didn't define her. What he did worry about, however, was her wondering through the streets alone. She couldn't see, and she was just impulsive enough to think before darting across the street. That being said, he did have a fairly good idea where he could find her. "She's not here, but I'll go find her. I'll call you when I do, okay?"

He hung up before she could answer, pulling on his shoes in a smooth motion and striding out the door. He told her not to come out here alone, he told her he would bring her any time that she wanted. She was great about navigating places she knew, but this was too transient. Things changed from one day to another. He pushed through the treeline and scanned the edge of the lake, feeling relieved when he saw her a few feet away, her bare feet in the water.

Tyrion sat next to her, looking about as happy about their current location as he was feeling. He perked up when he saw Toby, as though he were saying, 'bout time you got here, bro. He smiled faintly and sat down next to them. Tyrion whined and nuzzled his arm with his nose. He laughed quietly and ran his hand over the needy dog's head. "Spence, what's going on?"

She just shook her head, her face tilted up. "I just wish things were different sometimes."

He reached over and grabbed her hand. "Well, I'll be 16 next week, and my license is only a little longer than that. We I can drive we'll go anywhere we want to go. And your bitchy sister isn't invited."

She smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder, Tyrion wriggling out from between them. "Sounds perfect. Let's run away."

Sometimes he was overprotective of Spencer, he knew that. Hell, everyone in the world probably knew that. But the shouts and lights coming from the second floor told him that maybe his fears weren't unfounded. He walked inside and took the stairs two at a time, finding the source of the yelling.

"I can't believe that you would do this to me!"

"I didn't do anything." Spencer's voice was calmer, but it was it was laced with an uncharacteristic tone of sadness; one that he didn't like at all. Her arms tightened around Tyrion as he growled and tried to move toward some tool by Melissa. "I swear, Melissa. It wasn't me."

He ducked into the room and stood by Emily, who reached out and touched his arm with a small sigh of relief. He looked at her questioningly, but she just shrugged.

"I would never hurt you like that, Melissa," the tool's voice sounded sincere, but if it was him against Spencer he'd be betting on Spencer every time. "She kissed me. I was getting ready to push her off when you walked in."

Spencer laughed bitterly. "Looks like you're into a real winner, Mel. I'm blind, remember? If I had done what he's accusing me of, it would have taken an act of God for my to find his lips in one go."

He felt his fists clench, and he had to remind himself that killing this bastard before hearing the whole story was probably not the best idea.

"Mom!" Melissa shrieked, whirling around to face their mother. "Are you seriously not going to do anything about her?"

Mrs. Hastings looked between her daughters for a long moment. "Spencer-"

"Are you kidding?" Spencer asked, her voice breaking at the end. "This is brilliant."

He had officially had enough. He grabbed Tyrion's leash, shouldered past Melissa, and squatted down next to them. Tyrion whined and nuzzled his arm with his nose. He smiled softly and reached out to put a hand on Spencer's arm. "It's just me," he murmured when she flinched away. When she relaxed he let her go and quickly hooked Tyrion's leash to his harness. "Come on," he said softly, helping her up, keeping a tight hold on the leash as they passed Melissa and her tool. He made brief eye contact with Mrs. Hastings, trying hard to keep the accusation out of his eyes. The woman was a wonderful mother when it was just one of her children she was dealing with, but for some unfathomable reason when she had them both she always chose Melissa.

He paused next to Emily. "Em, you coming?"

She looked over his shoulder for a second, presumably at her mother, before nodding. "I'll go grab my car." She ducked out of the room and was down the stairs before he and Spencer even started moving again.

"I won't forget this, Spencer! I'll never forgive you for ruining every good thing in my life." Melissa was way too smart to be acting so irrational.

He looked over his shoulder at her, giving her the coldest look he could manage. "Kind of like allowing your sister to be assaulted by your tool of a boyfriend, right? I sincerely hope no one ever shows you that level of disrespect, Melissa." He wasn't listening to her response. He took Spencer's hand and lead her carefully down the stairs.

"Did you get Tyrion?" She whispered, the tears that she refused to shed were more than obvious in her voice.

"I did," he confirmed, passing her the leash. "I didn't mean to come in there like that, Spence. If you want to stay-"

"Keep walking, Cavanaugh," she interrupted him. And so they walked together, climbing silently into the SUV that was both Spencer's and Emily's in name. Although, obviously only Emily drove it.

"Where are we going," Emily asked, pulling away from the curb.

"Just drive," Spencer said softly. "I can't go back there until he's gone."

He took her hand, squeezing it comfortingly. "Let's just get a room at the Edgewood Motorcourt," he said softly. "My mom's home, and I doubt either Hanna's mom or Caleb's foster parents will be up for taking in the stragglers." As tense as the situation was, he couldn't stop a smile remembering the last time he was there with Spencer.

"What does the sky look like today?" Spencer asked, holding onto his arm as they walked together behind his mom.

"Um," he was glad she couldn't see the blush on his cheeks. For some reason, Spencer was turning his insides into a wobbly bowl of Jello. "The sky is blue, but not light blue. Like ocean-y blue. And there are really big, fluffy clouds that look like cotton candy and cotton balls. Maybe it's going to rain."

"I like the rain," she said softly. "It feels like it looks, so I don't feel so weird anymore. It's like I can see it."

"Who told you that you were weird?" He demanded, ready to take care of anyone that made her sad.

He couldn't see her eyes, but he was sure that she was rolling them. "I am weird, Toby. No one had to tell me that."

"Hey!" Why couldn't she see what he saw when he looked at her? She was all kinds of awesome, the best friend ever, and pretty okay for a girl. "Stop it, Spencer. Seriously."

She paused. "What does the building look like?"

He smiled. It was enough for now. "Like a big house, but there's probably about a zillion rooms. And-"

His words were cut off by the slamming of a door. "Marion, damn it, stop!"

He yanked on Spencer's arm, pulling her away from his stampeding father. "Are your parents fighting again?" She asked him sadly.

He didn't want to talk about it. "The building is red bricks," he said loudly over his parents' shouts.

She gave him a quick hug. "What about the doors?"

As they pulled in he promised himself that he would give Spencer a good night if it was the last thing he did. "Em, I'll go get the room. Can you call Han and Caleb? We might as well have some fun."