Author's Note: MERRICK FTW! Sorry, just had to get that out there...
Chapter Seventeen
Spencer touched the soft sheets enveloping her and her boyfriend gingerly. She looked over her shoulder at him, to find he was still sleeping sweetly. Whispers of a smile played on her lips. She pecked him on the cheek, waking him up.
"Spence? What are you doing up so early?" he asked, his voice half an octave lower and raspy due to him being only half-awake.
"Early? It's already nine," she commented, glancing briefly at the clock.
"I don't wake up until ten on the weekends," he replied.
She scoffed. "Well, excuse me for wanting to go out with my very sexy boyfriend for breakfast before noon."
"You want to go out?" he asked.
"Or stay in—it really doesn't matter. I just want to eat breakfast with you," she said.
He sighed after he glanced at the clock. "Give me fifteen minutes to take a shower and stop sleep-walking."
She smiled in victory.
Chanel stared at the box of memories before her. Taking a deep breath, she opened it.
She let out a shaky breath as she recalled all of the memories. On the top was a sweatshirt she had kept from him. She held it close to her as some kind of calming act. She proceeded to sift through old memories.
The next thing near the top of the contents was a framed photo of the two of them, which one of their friends likely took. All of her friends would usually comment on them being such a good looking couple. While she didn't disagree, she was certain which one of them was more attractive.
Setting that aside, she went on in the box, taking out a black journal. Well, it wasn't just a journal. It also had a calendar in it. She recalled telling him several times that she was going to a friend's place when she was really heading to the OB/GYN, who would give her tips on how to increase her fertility. She wrote down all the tips, the dietary suggestions, and the things to avoid in that book, along with marking the days where she was at peak fertility.
She put it aside. She also pulled out cards and letters from him. All of them were sweet and probably completely cheesy, but she wouldn't have it any other way.
Thinking about it more, this was probably what she missed the most about him, and this was what she wanted back. She wanted back that hopeless romantic.
Unfortunately, it had been too little too late. His heart had already been claimed by someone else. She knew it was wrong, but she felt betrayed. He wanted to marry her. Spend the rest of his life with her. Now, he was ready to take such a leap of faith with someone else?
The more she thought of his new girlfriend, the more her blood boiled. She knew that this new girl had never done anything to her, except prevent her relationship with Toby. But jealousy bubbled within her. She wanted whatever it was Toby so lusted for in Spencer.
What kind of name was that, anyway? Spencer. It was a guy's name.
Chanel tugged at her dirty blonde hair, holding her head in her hands. Her head began to pound the more and more she thought of them, so happy together.
What even possessed her to say no, anyway? She had been so stupid! He was wrapped around her finger; he was hers right then and there. She had the perfect opportunity and she blew it.
Now it was all over.
Her thoughts brightened as she remembered. There would always be a special place for Chanel in Toby's heart. She was certain of that.
Spencer poured herself a glass of water when the phone went off. When she saw who was calling, she was very mad Toby wasn't home.
"What do you want?" she answered venomously. She knew if she didn't answer, he wouldn't stop calling.
"Hey, Spencer!" he began eagerly.
"You can cut the crap, Andrew. What do you want?" she repeated.
He sighed. "I just wanted to talk to you."
"About your proposal? No, thank you."
She was about to hang up before Andrew cut her off. "Wait, Spencer! Please don't. I'm not going to talk to you about…what I asked you before."
She didn't hang up, but she didn't speak for a moment. "I'm listening," she said finally.
"I just want to talk. And I want to apologize, too. Can we meet up somewhere?"
She crossed her arms. She wondered whether she should talk things out with him and let him apologize. Then again, she knew if she said no, he would probably harangue her to no end. It was probably better to get this over with now.
"Well, when do you want to meet?" she asked.
Spencer spotted him sitting by himself. She reluctantly and cautiously made his way toward Andrew, who was sitting solemnly, waiting for her. She sighed as she sat down across from him. She wasn't here to play games.
"You were really vague on the phone; what exactly did you want to talk about?"
"I kind of wanted to talk about you and me."
Spencer tensed at that immediately. She wasn't really prepared or expecting to talk about this. "What about you and me?" she asked cautiously.
"How we broke up…why we broke up," he said.
"We broke up because you were cheating on me, with dozens of different women," she answered belligerently.
He sighed. "Alcoholism?"
She looked at him with surprise. "Alcoholism? Are you trying to tell me you're an alcoholic?"
He shrugged. "Not exactly. I mean, you know I had a problem with alcohol."
After a moment's hesitation, she nodded. "Yeah, I know."
"Well, I saw a therapist and I haven't had a drink in a while. I don't know if you noticed it, but I tried not to drink when you were around," he said weakly.
"It didn't keep you from drinking altogether," she countered.
He nodded. "Yeah, I know." He ran his hands through his hair. "What am I supposed to do, Spence? I just know anything I try to tell you will be in vain, anyway. You found someone else. I can't take back the things I did to hurt you."
She was silent for a moment, her expression unchanging. "No, you can't. Out of everyone in my life, you're the person who hurt me the most, because I trusted you and I was ready to take a vow to be faithful to you forever and you couldn't even hold out for one night. Out of all the disappointments in my life, you were the biggest."
After silence between the two of them, she let out a shaky breath. "But for some reason, I'm going to accept what I think is an apology here. You've…changed. Grown up, I think."
He nodded. "You leaving really made me think. How did you find out anyway?"
In the moment, Spencer realized that Andrew wasn't there when she discovered he was cheating. In fact, the last time she saw him prior to when they spoke about their son was when they went on their date in Paris. Spencer had found out while he was running something along the lines of an errand.
"I found a girl in your room, wearing next to nothing. I figured that you don't hide business partners in your suite, especially half-naked. I just…threw the ring and got out of there as soon as I could. I left while I knew you'd still be in Paris because…I didn't want to see you. Especially not when I found out…about…about…" she said, beginning to stutter on her words.
"When did you take a test?" he asked quietly.
"While we were in Paris. Right after I found out, actually." She wiped away a runaway tear. "I went to the store to find out for myself. It kind of just solidified what I already knew, which was that I wanted to leave."
He looked more crestfallen than he had in the entire conversation. "You were sure?"
She nodded. "I know that usually makes most people want to stay but—"
"—you're not like most people."
She looked at him in surprise. She nodded. "Yeah. I just knew that I didn't want to be with you, even with the baby. I needed to leave, so I just took my things and was…gone," she explained quietly.
"I still don't get why you left like that. It was like you were never there. You gave me nothing to remember you by."
"Maybe I didn't want to be remembered," she snapped back, anger rising in her voice. "Why did you need to remember me, anyway? You could've turned any of those whores into your wife, so why did you choose me?" she asked bitterly.
"Because there was something special about you," he said.
"It's all a freaking ploy, Andrew!" she exclaimed. "It's a ploy," she repeated. "All you're doing is trying to make me believe this bullshit reason why I'm so special. I'm not. I'm just a girl you met in college who you tolerated and your parents liked, whose parents liked you. You decided it would look great on your profile that you have an Ivy League graduate wife who comes from a wealthy family, so I was fit for the job. That's what happened. You don't have to pretend anymore. Stop pretending."
Before he could get a chance to stop her, she was halfway out the door.
This was it.
This was the moment she had been anxiously awaiting for so long. She had been doing everything in her power for this: eating all the right things, countless ovulation tests, making him do the right things, and all for this.
She tore away the brown paper bag, reading the instructions carefully.
After preparing the test, she sat, nervously waiting. It was the longest three minutes ever, but it really allowed her to think.
She had been disappointed before. Several times, actually. Still, she wanted this so much. She wanted a baby. Even though she was a bit anxious about becoming a mother, she still wanted this more than anything.
He would be happy, right?
Yes, she was sure he'd be happy. He was just that kind of person. He'd be a great father; she just knew it. And this baby would be so loved.
She rubbed her stomach, willing for there to be a baby there. Maybe, just maybe she'd get lucky this time. Maybe things would finally go right.
The timer went off, and she anxiously picked up the home pregnancy test.
As she stared at it, she felt tears swelling in her eyes. After so many attempts, she had finally gotten her one wish. She was pregnant, and they would finally be this happy little family she always dreamt about.
For obvious reasons, I didn't make the last section italicized, even though it may just be in the past. I can't disclose. I knew if I did/didn't italicize, it would be kind of obvious as to who the girl in question is (and that's my secret for now).
Addictedtospoby: It's okay! Just drop a review when you can! I get it with school (well, I don't study so...not really), but I kind of get where you're coming from. There are kids in my class who study for hours on end. But anyway, thank you!
HFrischmon: I've been reading Romeo and Juliet (and I'm really pissed because I lost it) and the balcony scene was just like...Romeo...you're an idiot, but you're still really cute. And I thought, Hmm, Toby is kind of like Romeo, but he actually means these things; he's not just blindly saying it to woo a girl he thinks he's in love with after dating her for like two hours. Some people think 8 months is too short to propose to someone...Romeo basically did it after 2 hours, so...who's crazy now? And that's a good question. I plan on making 33 chapters+an epilogue. It'll be slightly longer than its predecessor.
mrs-cavanaugh: Well, you won't get it just yet, but I plan on making the wedding chapter super-duper fluffy. Like, fluffier than a bunny.
Girlz-Rule: Thanks!
Spobyforever259: I adore Hanna and I love writing for her. I just think that even though she seems to be a simpleton, she's actually very complex when you think about it. She definitely has a lot of emotions and feelings that you can't see her clearly articulate. Regardless, I think she's very loyal and actually quite clever, when it comes down to it. I also kind of empathize with Hanna in many, many ways, so there's that. There's no real significance with May 25th. I just happen to like May and 25 (plus, it's two months after my birthday, so it seems kind of solid?) It also gives me time for stuff after the conclusion of Part II. You'll see. Just trust me on this :) And no, I don't blame you for being more excited. I think that things will pick up soon.
AL3110: Heh, we already discussed this. My jokes are hilarious (kind of).
spobettes: It'll be like the Toby/Andrew confrontation 2.0: new and improved. Let's see how this all works out.
eveningshades1107: The Jaria wedding will be so cute. I can't wait to write it! That's why I'm hoping to get out of this rut soon and just...get to Part III already so I can write a super-fluffy chapter. And now that you mention babysitting...I would love to see one of my (dream) OT3s babysitting: Hanna, Toby, and Spencer (dream because...well, we've never seen them in a scene together. My headcanon is that Spoby and Haleb are all cutesy and stuff, doing double dates and fluffy, cute things like that, since Spanna is awesome, Toby and Caleb are like brochacos, and Spaleb is also amazing). That would be amusing.
SpobyTreegan: I don't think you've seen the end of jealous Toby. I think he'll be making a reappearance sometime in the future. I think. Don't quote me on it.
Okay, so I need some of your super awesome magic right now. Last time I asked you guys to post #MerrickFTW, we placed first in SAC Day. Tomorrow, we're doing our House Volleyball Tournament semi-finals, and both of our teams made it to the semi-finals. We're up against Partington 1 and Stettinius 2, and we are going to win! Today, we went undefeated. He house that thinks they're the shiznit is now in dead last, so I feel pretty confident in saying they're not going to win this year (no matter how hard they try, we're at least 100 house points ahead of them).
So what I'm asking you, dear, kind readers, is to tag your post with #MerrickFTW to give us some extra team spirit! I will be cheering tomorrow for my house and it would sure feel awesome (since my contribution to my team is not playing and simply cheering since I royally suck at volleyball).
I would also love to get 10 more (so 192, I believe) reviews before I update! Also, I have posted my one-shot collection. It is called "Spoby One-Shot Collection" (because I'm just that original). Please check it out when you get the chance! -Kayson