Chapter 10

A Wake Up Call


He had a girl on his lap and a drink in his hand. He could see tons of people moving around him and the music blasting all throughout the house. Toby wasn't really paying attention to anything or than the brunette on his lap, kissing his nap. The brunette was gorgeous. She had dark brown hair, but her eyes were blue not brown. Toby didn't even remember her name.

When Toby arrived to the party, Noel and Sean came to greet him at the door. They went into the kitchen and had a few drinks together. He lost his friends after that and went into the living room to sit down. A girl just slid herself into his lap and he just let her. She would whisper her name to him, but he was too buzzed to remember or care.

"Do you want to go upstairs?" The brunette whispered in his ear.

"You do realize I don't even know your name, right?"

The girl laughed and then kissed him before she answered."I don't care. I don't even know your name. I just want to have a good time."

"Okay." Toby let her get off his lap before he stood and she took his hand to lead him towards the stairs.

The girl was very beautiful, but there was something about her that didn't attract him to her. Maybe it was the way she dressed provocatively or that she didn't want to do anything other than sleep with him in that moment. When she found an empty bedroom, she pushed Toby onto the bed and climbed on top of him. She immediately started kissing him and gripping at his clothes. His shirt was off before he knew it and her dress was long gone. She started working on his belt when he felt his pocket starting to vibrate.

"I'm sorry, but I've got to take this." Toby apologized.

"It's okay." The girl said, but didn't get up. She stayed on top of him kissing his chest and neck.

"Hello?" Toby said in a husky voice.

"Toby, where are you?" He wasn't sure, but it sounded like it was Caleb on the phone.

"I'm at a party and I'm kinda busy." Toby said and the girl laughed as she was kissing his neck.

"Are you with a girl? What about Spencer?"

"Spencer? Don't you mean Alison? She's my girlfriend and she's the the one who broke up with me. Spencer's just my friend and I'm with another friend right now."

"I know about what happened in Vegas. Spencer told Hanna and Hanna told me. How could you be doing this right now?" Caleb argued and Toby was getting upset.

"Look, she's just a friend. We were drunk that night and we didn't sleep together. She said she's with her boyfriend and I didn't promise her anything, so goodbye." Toby hung up his phone and turned it off.


"You're a nice girl, Ashton." Toby told the brunette as he was readjusting his clothes. He learned the brunettes name after they finished having sex.

"Please, don't tell my you're one of those nice guys who thinks they can change me into one of those wholesome girls."

"I'm just telling you the truth. You don't have to do this to get a guy. You shouldn't because you're beautiful." Toby said and the girl laughed.

"You know, you're are like the only guy who's ever said it to me after sleeping together. Most guys just tell me that beforehand to get into my pants."

"Well, I got into your pants and I still think your beautiful and very intelligent." Toby said and kneeled in front of her as she sat back down on the bed.

"Toby, I'm not that smart and how would you know if I'm intelligent? All we've done is fool around."

"Then maybe I can take you out for coffee sometimes, so I can prove you wrong?" Toby asked and she thought it over for a few minutes. She leaned over to the nightstand, so she could writer down and give him her number and she put the slip of paper in his pocket.

"Call me." She said before pecking his lips and letting him stand up and exit the room.


Toby walked back down the stairs to see that the party was still going on. He looked at his watch to see that it was 3:45 a.m. He figured he'd find his friends and go home. He walked around the house to look her them, but kept coming up empty. It wasn't until he heard raised voices in the backyard that he found his friends in a predicament. They were arguing with all of the guys in fraternity because they were drunk.

Toby ran outside to put some space between his friends and the big frat guys. It wasn't the best choice because he accidentally pushed one of the frat guys backwards, making then fall down. The next thing he knew was that he was being hit over the head with a bottle. He fell down and started feeling the punches. Then everything went black.


Toby tried to open his eyelids, but they felt too heavy. His eyelids felt like they were stitched together. He tried to say something, but his mouth was too dry and his jaw hurt. His eyes started to flutter open and he began to see bright lights on a ceiling.

"Toby?" It was his step-sisters, Jenna, calling his name.

His eyes opened up all the way and he could see that he was in a hospital. In a hospital bed. He looked around the room to see that his dad, step-mom, and Jenna were in the room. He tried to sit up, but was in too much pain to move.

Jenna got up to hand him some water when she saw him trying to speak.

"What happened?"

"Toby, you got jumped at a party and they almost beat you to death" Jenna said and Toby felt his his stomach drop.


A few days later, Toby was feeling better, but was staying in the hospital a few more days just to make sure. His friends and people from school came to visit him. Even, Alison came, but Spencer didn't. He learned that Noel and Sean were fighting with the frat guys was because Noel stole one of the guys girlfriends and Sean busted up their flat screen and refused to pay for it. Toby was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. The worst part was that Noel and Sean ran as soon as Toby was hit over the head with the bottle. They left him there to die while they got away scot-free.

It was on one afternoon when Toby was sitting up in his hospital bed and watching t.v that he heard a knock at his door.

"Come in." Toby said and sucked in a breath when it was Spencer who walked into the room.

"Hi." Spencer said meekly as she took a seat next to Toby's bed.

"Hi, what are you doing here?"

"I came to see how you were doing."

"I've been in the hospital for almost a week, Spence. If you really wanted to know how I as doing you would have came sooner like everyone else." Toby said sharply, but regretted when Spencer flinched.

"I know I should have and I'm sorry that I didn't. I was still getting over what happened between us."

"Spencer, look I'm sorry about what happened. We were drunk and I couldn't control myself. I want us to go back to us being friends." Toby pleaded and took her hand in his.

She sighed deeply before answering him."I can't be friends with you if you do things like this. You go out drinking and were probably going to drive home drunk. And partying almost got you killed. Hanging out with Sean and Noel almost got you killed. Is that not enough of a wake up call to you?"

"Spencer,-" Toby was about to saw he was going to change when he there was another knock at the door."Come in."

This time a man in a suit walked into the room.

"Hello, Toby, I'm detective, Wilden. I was here before, but you were on too much medication to remember me. I just have to ask you a few questions about the other night. Can you start by telling me everything that you remember." Wilden said as he pulled out a notepad and pen.

"Okay." Toby recapped the whole story for Wilden and left out the bits and pieces of Ashton because Spencer was in the room.

"And that's all you remember?" Wilden asked just to be sure.

"Yes, after I fell to the ground, one of them punched me in the face and I just blacked out." Toby said and could feel Spencer stroking his hand. Not in a romantic way, but in a comforting way.

"Do you remember the girl who called 9-1-1?"

"Girl?"

"A girl named Ashton Stone. She said you and her," Wilden glanced at Spencer before turning back to Toby."got close at the party. She called the police when she saw what was happening to you. She's actually been looking everywhere for you, but she said she didn't know who your family was or your last name and the hospital doesn't give out that kind of information."

"Is she here?" Toby asked.

"She's in the lobby. I can tell her to come see you on my way out. Thanks for all your cooperation, Toby." Wilden shook Toby's hand before he left.

Spencer slipped her hand out of Toby's."Who's Ashton?"

Toby stiffened. He didn't want to explain what happened. Especially when their friendship was still on the rocks. But Spencer was the one who said she didn't want him and she had Alex, so why would she be jealous and why should he hide Ashton?

"I meet Ashton at the party and we connected. I was gonna call her and ask her out, but this happened to me." Toby joked as he pointed to his still slightly bruised face, but Spencer wasn't laughing.

"By connected you mean..."

"I sleep with her and I'm not gonna lie about it." Toby said to be honest and swore he saw hurt flash across Spencer's eyes, but it was gone as quick as it came.

Spencer patted his hand before she stood up."I've gotta go, Toby. I forgot I was still grounded and my parents only gave me a little bit of time to see you."

"I understand. Say hey to Jason for me and Alex too." Toby said and watched as Spencer stiffened when he said Alex. But she turned around to smile at him.

"I will and I hope you feel better, Toby. I'll see you around." Spencer waved at him before she disappeared into the hallway.

A few minutes later Ashton walked into the room with a smile on her face and flowers in her hand.

"Hey, Stranger." She said as she set the flowers down next to him.

He smiled at her before she leaned down to give him a quick peck."Hey."