Chapter 9

A Little Too Late

They were laying together on his bed. They weren't touching and haven't been doing much talking. They've just been laying on there sides looking at each other for a while.

After, Toby brought Spencer into his apartment, he made her dinner. Then he lent her some clothes to wear after she got out of the shower. When she was out, he was sitting in the living room with an ice pack for her cheek. For a some time they were sitting in the living room as Toby held an ice pack to her cheek. He saw her try to stifle a yawn, he decided it was time for them to get to bed. He picked her up bridal style before she could protest and carried her off to bed.

After making sure she was tucked in, he went off to shower and prepare for bed too. When he returned from the bathroom, she was still awake. He could tell that she as afraid to be alone right now and he didn't want to leave her alone. So, he just laid down with her, but stayed on top of the covers and has been laying down with her ever since.

"Where's your truck?" She asked and Toby found it adorable the look on her face when she was trying figure something out.

"It's, uh, it's getting some work done." He said honestly because his truck was in need of some serious work. He didn't want to mention Andrew because he didn't want to upset her.

"Is that the truth?" She questioned and he couldn't help the chuckle that escaped his lips.

"Yes, it's some of the truth, but I think we've both had a long day and we can talk about it tomorrow."

"Actually, I think it's the perfect time to talk." She said as she sat up in bed."You're not tired and I'm not tired, so lets talk."

"You're very stubborn, you know." He said as he sat up in bed too and turned on the lamp next to him.

"It's okay because you'll just have to deal with my stubbornness for tonight. Now, lets talk about what happened after I left and tell me everything." She said firmly and took a deep breath before straightening up."I know that you think I can't handle things because of...Andrew, but I can. I've been handling a lot of things for years, so I think I can take it."

He looked into her eyes and couldn't help, but love the fire in her eyes when she was determined."Alright, you wanna hear it, then let's talk."

He kept pacing the room back and forth. He didn't know what to do. Everything that he had planned was falling apart. He couldn't let this happen. He worked too hard to let things fall through. So, he had to fix it by any means necessary.

"Peter." Peter stopped pacing the floor when his name was called by Andrew's father, Robert Campbell.

"Robert." Peter acknowledged him as he crossed the room to shake his partners hand.

"Have a seat, Peter." Robert instructed as he took a seat himself on the left side of the table. Peter sat down on the right side of the long table.

They were inside Robert's boardroom at his corporate office. All the other employes and staff had gone home because it was late and he thought it would be the best place to have a more private meeting. Shortly after they sat down a very angry Andrew with a very terrible headache walked into the room and sat down next to his father.

"Peter, I think you know why we're here tonight." Robert said in his business tone as he gestured to his son next to him."My son has been going through hell with your daughters. The girl he loves is cheating on him and Melissa struck him in the head earlier tonight. I'm not happy."

"What Melissa did was an accident. She heard her sister screaming and she protected her without a moments hesitation." Peter said and then turned his gaze over to Andrew."If your son hadn't been trying to strangle my daughter, then maybe Melissa wouldn't have had to play baseball with his head."

"Watch it because you're already on thin ice, Peter." Robert growled and Peter clenched his jaw together to keep his comments to himself.

"I didn't sign up for this kind of drama." Andrew spoke up and the attention shifted to him."Your daughter was supposed to be with me and only me. Everything was going perfect, but now everything is ruined. I don't like it when things are out of my control, Mr. Hastings. We have to fix this situation before we have to make drastic decisions."

"How drastic?" Peter questioned and Robert and Andrew got that similar sadistic smirk on their faces.

"Like, I'll have your partnership with me and my family and my company terminated. That means no more expensive jewelry that your wife likes or no more big house or no college for your daughter Spencer. You have a choice here to make and I suggest that you make the right one." Robert said with a satisfied smirk on his face.

Peter never expected his life to turn out like this. He met Robert back in college and they were the best of friends. They climbed the corporate ladder together, but Robert always seemed to do slightly better. That's why when Robert got promoted to the top and offered Peter a taste of what it was like, Peter jumped at the chance. All it took was one wrong business deal to make everything change Peter's life.

Robert thought it would be great since their families were the two most elite families in Rosewood that their children should get together. Peter basically signed over his daughter to Andrew and his family. And if Spencer wouldn't be with Andrew, then their family would lose everything.

"What can I do to fix it?" Peter asked and watched as Andrew pulled out a folder from his bag and slid it across the table to him. He opened up the folder and was faced with various pictures of a young man, then the pictures showed the same young man with his daughter acting like a couple."Who is this?"

"Your wife has some connects with a few detectives, right?" Robert asked, completely ignoring Peters question.

"Yes." Peter said warily

"Meet Toby Cavanaugh." Robert said."I want you to use every connection you have with those detectives and I want you to make him disappear."

"...So that's everything that happened." Toby just finished explaining to Spencer what happened after she left him. He left out the part about Jenna because emotions were too high to talk about it right now.

"Toby, I am so sorry! You have to let me pay to get you truck fixed."

"It's okay, Spence. I'll take care of it and in the mean time, I can ride my motorcycle."

Her eyes beamed with excitement."You have a motorcycle? Since when?"

"Correct, I have a motorcycle in progress. I found it in a junkyard and I've been saving money to buy parts to repair it."

"So...you like to fix things?"

"Yeah, I do. Is there something wrong with that?"

"I just mean you work as a carpenter, fixing and building things everyday. You restore motorcycles. And you're trying to fix me."

He reached over to gently caress her cheek with his hand."I'd never want to fix anything about you. I'm just trying to help you."

She grabbed his hand that was touching her cheek and gave it a tight squeeze."Who hurt you?"

"What?" He knew his face went pale and he had the sudden need to throw up."I don't understand."

"You have this need to fix things and make them better. So either you've had something happen to you or you know someone who went through the same things I have."

"I have...had something happen to me, but I can't talk about it." He turned his head away from her in shame.

"You make me share stuff about me and when I refuse, you say you don't like when I do that and you pry it out of me. Now, don't you think it makes you a hypocrite if you do it too?" She teased, but stopped when she noticed tears dropping down his face onto his shirt. She cupped his face in her hands to turn his head back around to face her."Well you tell me someday?"

"I promise I will."

Spencer woke up the next morning feeling slightly refreshed, but her cheek still hurt a little. She and Toby had fallen asleep last night after spending about another hour of talking. She wished that they hadn't fallen asleep because she wanted to keep talking to him. She turned over to ask Toby where he put her clothes from last night, but he wasn't next to her. She sat up and noticed a note on his pillow. She picked it up and read it.

I had a work emergency back in Yardley. But I left you donuts and coffee. I washed your clothes and put them on top of the dresser. You can leave whenever you want, but It'd be nice to see you when I get back...

-Toby

She smiled to herself before rolling out of bed. She took her clean clothes off the dresser and went into the bathroom to shower. After she got out of the shower and redressed, she wandered into the kitchen to get a little breakfast and some ice for her cheek. What she didn't expect to see was Jason sitting at the table in Toby's kitchen.

"You scared me." She said as she entered the kitchen."Jason, what are you doing here?"

"I,uh, I came to give Toby the price that the mechanic said it would cost to fix his truck. He wasn't answering his phone." Jason held up the folded piece of paper with the cost on it.

"He left early this morning because he had a work emergency."

"Oh, you spent the night?" He questioned and Spencer momentarily blushed because of what the situation might seem like.

"Yeah, I didn't want to go home and he let me sleep here."

"Okay." Jason said, but he could tell by the red mark on her cheek that there was something more to the story."Sit. I'll get us some breakfast."

She sat in the seat next to Jason. She watched him as he pulled a few donuts out a box and put them on a plate. He poured some coffee into two cups for them. He sat everything down in the middle of them. Spencer expected him to sit down and eat, but he went to the freezer to retrieve an ice pack.

"I just thought you might need it if your cheek hurts." He said as he sat down and handed the ice pack to her.

"Thanks." She said meekly because she was slightly embarrassed that he probably knew how her cheek got that red.

"You don't have to put up with it, you know. You can always leave him."

"It's not that simple. I can never leave Andrew because my parents are always pushing us together. I don't know why they want us to be together so badly, but they're never gonna stop."

"You could have told the police." He said seriously and Spencer could tell that Jason was getting in his protective mode."More importantly you could have told me."

"Jason, what could you have done?"

"You may just think of me as Aria's boyfriend, but I'm your friend too, Spence. If you needed me or if Hanna or Emily needed me too I'd be there."

Before Spencer could say anything the sound of the doorbell interrupted her. She got up from the table and walked over to the door to answer it. She was surprised to Andrew waiting on the other side.

"Andrew! What are you doing here?" She asked nervously because she knew he had to be pissed about last night.

"I came here for you, babe." He said sincerely to her, then his eyes drifted to behind her.

She turned around to see what he was looking at. He was looking at Jason standing a few feet behind her with a scowl on his face.

"Jason, I'm gonna talk to Andrew, but if I need you I'll call you."

He was hesitant at first, but then Spencer started pleading with him with her eyes."Okay, I'll be right in the kitchen."

She stepped outside to join Andrew and closed the door behind her.

"What do you want, Andrew?"

"I want my girlfriend back." He said and Spencer resisted the urge to roll her eyes."And I came here to do anything to get her back."

"Andrew, I can't keep doing this with you. I can't keep letting you...hurt me."

"Baby, please." He begged as he got down on his knees, which was hard to do since he was on crutches."I've been changing. I go to anger management counseling and I'm seeing a therapist. Please, I just want the chance to have a talk with you. Please."

She wiped away the few tears that were falling down her face. She'd never seen him so vulnerable and sincere. He was acting like the guy she knew when she first started dating him. He was acting like the guy she fell in love with.

"Okay, I'll go with you and we can talk. I doesn't mean we're back together, but we can talk."

"Thank you!" He said as he stumbled back up to his feet."Get your things and I'll wait in the car with the driver."

He quickly pecked her cheek before heading down the stairs to his car. Spencer reentered Toby's loft and went into the bedroom to get her phone. She decided it'd be best if she told Jason that she was leaving before she just disappeared on him.

"Hey, I'm leaving." She said and Jason head immediately snapped up to look at her.

"You're leaving with him?"

"Yeah, he wants to go talk about some things and I think that's what we need to do."

"I don't like it, but I can't stop you, Spencer."

"Tell Toby that I said thanks for letting me stay here." She said before turning and walking towards the door.

"Some people can't change! Remember that, Spence!" He yelled out to her as she was leaving, but that didn't seem to stop her from opening that door and walking out.

Toby didn't expect to have many orders for cabinets on a Saturday, but when he finally got to his job in Yardley, his boss was swamped with orders or calls for repairs. He knew that his boss needed help badly, so he just jumped into work. His boss left Toby to run the shop, so that he could go out and makes house repairs for the cabinets.

Toby was currently working on a special custom cabinet designs. It was special because it was his boss's daughters order. She was getting married and she wanted Toby to renovate her new kitchen for her. He was finishing up his sketch when a middle-aged gentleman in a suit walked in.

"Hi, you must be Mr. Jones, my boss told me that you were coming in today to check on your order." Toby said as he put away his sketches and turned his full attention to the man in front of him.

"Actually, I'm not a customer and I'm here to speak with you." The man said and held out his hand for Toby to shake."I'm Peter Hastings."

The name Hastings clicked in Toby's head, he knew that name because it was Spencer's last name. She didn't have a brother and that left him with only one conclusion. And that conclusion instantly made his blood boil.

"You're Spencer's father. Aren't you?" Toby asked and crossed his arms over his chest, refusing Peters handshake.

"Yes, I am. And what are you to my daughter?"

"I'm one of her friends. More importantly, I'm someone that cares about her because apparently you don't."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Peter snapped.

"It's means you're a sorry excuse for a father! What kind of man lets someone repeatedly sexual assault and beat up on their daughter!?"

Peter slammed his fist down on the counter in frustration."Stop! You don't know anything about me or my family."

"I know enough. Now, if you don't mind, I have work to do." Toby said before he pulled back put his sketches.

"I came here to talk to you. I have a business proposition for you." Peter said as he reached into the pocket in his suit to pull out an envelope. He placed the envelope on top of Toby's sketches.

"What is this?" Toby asked as he picked up the slightly heavy envelope.

"That is $25,000." Peter said and Toby furrowed his eyebrows."And I'm giving it to you."

"What? Why?"

"It's $25,000 and you get to keep if you stay away from my daughter and leave Rosewood forever."

Toby chuckled in disbelief before tossing the envelope back on the counter."I can't take that. No, I'm not gonna take it."

"What do I have to do? Double it? Because I will if you just do as I say."

"Okay, Mr. Hastings, listen to me loud and clear. I'm not going anywhere and I'm going to be around for as long as Spencer wants me around."

"Kid, you don't understand. I'm trying to give you a way out. This is your only chance."

"My only chance?"

"To walk away before things get bad."

Toby picked up the envelope since Peter wouldn't take it back and threw it in the trash."I think I'll take my chances."

"I tried to warn you, Toby." Peter said before he retrieved the money from the trash bin and walked out of the door.

"Have a nice day, Mr. Hastings." Toby said sarcastically before he went back to work.