Chapter 2

The Mask

As the hot water cascaded down her body, Spencer didn't even notice how the hot water burned her skin. She didn't care. She only cared about rubbing her skin until it was pink, so she could no longer feel dirty. Many times she's done this before and time and time again she can't seem she can't seem to shake the feeling of being dirty.

She flinched when she pressed against a bruise too hard. The bruises were everywhere, but her face. If they were on her face, she wouldn't be able to keep up her lies. It was really easy to make up lies on the spot because she got so good at it. She made up lies like:

"I got the bruise on my thigh during field hockey. A girl became a little too competitive on the field."

"I'm on so many pills because I need them for health. My mother had a cancer scare and my doctors were giving me prescriptions to try to prevent it."

"I took a dive for the ball during tennis at the club and landed on the ground hard. That's why my shoulders all banged up."

Sometimes she even believed her own lies. She would believe her lies until she had to return home. That's when things turned back into reality. A reality where her boyfriend would raise his hand at her, but would also use her body against her will for his own desires. A reality where her family always made her know that if she wasn't a winner, then she'd probably never be a winner at anything. A reality where her father would make her be with Andrew, even though he knew about what he did, he just always told her that he's the kind of guy she should be with because he's got a bright future ahead of him. A reality where her sister would turn her head away from it all because she didn't want to ruin the precious Hastings name. A reality where her mother wasn't around enough to see she's in pain. The reality where she felt numb about it all.

Spencer stayed in the shower until the hot water went cold. She stepped out and wrapped herself in a towel. Her gaze lingered as she looked at her body in the mirror. The bruises looked awful on her skin and felt even worse. She was a Hastings and she knew that she just had to suck it up and play the game.

She quietly tiptoed out of the bathroom and walked stealthy across Andrew's bed room floor. He fell asleep early after he grew tired of her last night and ended up staying asleep. Spencer knew she had to be quiet because if he woke up, he would want his hands on her in a loving way or a painful way. She really dreaded both of his touches.

She made it to his desk where her clothes where last night were from. She quickly dressed because she didn't want to be late for school. Her stomach growled, but she couldn't stick around to have a bite because she really didn't want to. After she finishing getting dressed, she gathered her things and headed for the door. She hand her hand on the bed room door knob when she heard him speak.

"Spencer." To most girls their boyfriends voice would make their hearts flutter, but when he said her name she cringed. Spencer turned around to face her boyfriend.

"Yes?" She knew her hands were shaking because she didn't know what kind of mood he'd be in today.

"I'll see you later at school. My parents I want you to stay the night again. Okay?" Andrew said in hoarsely voice because he had just woke up.

"I can't. My nana's coming over for dinner tonight. It's supposed to be a very important family thing because nana's getting sicker and it's just supposed to be a quiet family night at home." Spencer said and turned right back to the door, but as soon as she turned the knob, he clamped his hand tightly on her shoulder and spun her around.

"...Alright, you'll just spend the night tomorrow. I love you." He said and Spencer let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding. She looked into his eyes and didn't see the charming guy she met, but a most she never knew.

"I love you too."

Andrew kissed Spencer on the lips roughly before letting her go. As soon as he released her, she bolted out of the door. Only when she made it to the parking lot, she broke down in tears right next to her car.

Spencer made it home with enough time to change clothes for school. Thankfully, her father wasn't there and she didn't know if her mother was because she rarely even saw her. For a little while she had the house to herself and she didn't have to feel vulnerable.

Spencer drove herself to school and parked her car. Upon entering the school, she moved quickly through the halls to get to her locker. She was stopped halfway to her locker by her friend Emily.

"Spence, I need to talk with you." Emily said and Spencer urged her to continue."Well, my mom is throwing a welcome him party for my dad. I just need to know if you'll be bringing Andrew because we need to know how many chairs to set up."

Spencer knew what time it was. It was time to put on her mask of lies.

She smiled at Emily before saying."Of course I'm bringing him. We would love to come."

"Thanks, Spence. I'll see you in fifth period." Emily said before hugged Spencer as a show of gratitude in supporting her and her family. Emily didn't notice the way Spencer winced when she squeezed her tightly. Spencer was trying to ignore the pain and was doing pretty well for a few hours until Emily squeezed her body tightly. She couldn't show Emily she was hurt, so she just sucked it up.

Spencer smiled at Emily and waved as her friend left her. Her body was now throbbing in pain. She ran down to her locker and hastily cracked it open. Hidden in the very back of locker behind all her textbooks was a strong acting pain killers. She always kept them close by for when her body would ache or when Andrew just got the urge to hit her in school when no one was looking or when she just felt like she needed it. She threw a couple of them into her hand and grabbed a water bottle out of her purse. She was about to throw them into her mouth when someone came up next to her.

"Whoa! Did you get hit by a car?" The strange guy with blue eyes asked.

"Excuse me?" Spencer asked and was surprised when he smirked at her. He took the pills out of her hand and only left her with one. He put the rest back into the bottle.

"You don't need all those pain killers. Trust me," The guy looked her up and down with a unfamiliar look in his eye."because you look fine to me."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you were my doctor." She said sharply and rolled her eyes at him.

"No, I'm not a doctor, but I know what's right and what's wrong. And because I used to take those pain killers once." He looked at her again with unfamiliar look in his eyes. When she was just about to look away, he smiled at her."I'm sorry, but I'm new here. I'm Toby. Toby Cavanaugh."

Spencer rolled her eyes at him. She clued in to what he was doing he was trying to flirt with her."Well, Toby I have a boyfriend, so you can just go ahead and find another conquest."

Toby laughed at her and that sort of threw her off."I'm not trying to flirt with you. I'm not a manwhore. I don't have conquests. I treat women with respect. And I was just trying to be a nice guy and not make you seriously hurt yourself with all those pills. I wasn't flirting."

Spencer felt embarrassed now and could feel her face heating."I sorry-"

"It's okay." Toby shrugged it off and began to walk away from her. She watched him go, but for some reason her turned around and had a smirk on his face."I'll be seeing you soon, Spencer."

Spencer couldn't help, but think about one thing at that moment. She wasn't thinking about her family. She wasn't thinking about Andrew. No, she was thinking about the new blue-eyed boy and how he had known her name.

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