Chapter 24- Walk Out The Door

"Are we likely to find out in the next 10 years?" Hanna muttered as the group waited almost patiently for the couple in front of them to tell them what was so important "I have a hair appointment on Friday and I'd appreciate it if I could get too it..."

"I know Hanna but there is absolutely no easy way to say this; considering we're still trying to get to grips with it ourselves." Spencer looked up at her boyfriend for reassurance before she spat out what she had to say "Basically, Jenna came round here earlier with some information for us."

"What?" The other three girls gasped in unison

"Is it –A related information?" Aria whispered as she came to terms with the fact that the apartment had been infiltrated by the enemy. Spencer and Toby nodded slowly at her question, they themselves trying to figure out what was going on. "Well, what did she have to say?"

"At first it was the same old Jenna behaviour, she was making snide remarks and just trying to wind Spencer up. But once she got past that she actually had some pretty good information, I was surprised that she brought it to us actually." Toby took his turn to explain the turn of events "She said about how there was someone looking in Emily's window the other night, she never really made it clear which night but there was someone there. At first she couldn't see who it was but then she saw the car; it was Garret's car, well not his anymore."

"Didn't they just sell that car to a random stranger?" Hanna cut in, staring directly at Spencer.

"Apparently not Han, she said that she'd seen Wilden driving around town in it like last week or something." Spencer replied.

"So what are you saying?"

"I think you can take a wild guess" Toby chuckled

"You think Wilden's on the –A team?"Emily shouted "And Jenna told you this? Why all of a sudden are we believing Jenna? Do you remember what she did to you Toby? ARE YOU BEING SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?"

"Emily calm the hell down! Don't go off on one before you've heard the whole story, there's more too it" Spencer carried on to tell them about the letter and her apologising for what she had ever done to them. "She even told us what Ali said when she visited her in the hospital"

"Really?" None of the girls had ever been told about what Alison had said to Jenna which made them all the more curious; Hanna wanting to know the most.

"Yeah" She had memorized word for word what Jenna had said when she went over it again and again in her head "I wish I could let all the other girls take the blame for what I did but I know that would be a stupid thing to do; after all they have been the ones there for me. But I swear to you if anyone finds out I had anything to do with this then I will tell everyone about your little sexcapades with your dear step-brother, and I swear to god you will regret it. Anyway who would believe your lies when I have the Hastings on my side, if I'm scared of Spencer Hastings and her wrath then I think you should be too. All four of those girls could give you a run for your money; so if you tell anyone about this, then you will only be playing with fire. You wouldn't want to get burned now would you?"

Everyone stood there for what seemed like an eternity with their mouths agape, the wheels in their minds obviously spinning ten to the dozen as they thought about it over and over again.

"Wait, you said you got a letter?" Jason questioned, he had been the only one to remember something that could potentially be a huge part of their search. Toby nodded frantically as he rushed out of the room to find it lying on the kitchen counter exactly where he had left it.

"It could just be from my Nan or something like that you know?" He queried before they all got their hopes up.

"Does your Grandma have the exact same hand writing as Alison?" Emily snapped. She was still a bit on the edge about the fact that Jenna had suddenly decided she was going to do the right thing and tell them what she knew.

"True, well do you want me to read it or someone else?"

"No Toby, she wrote it to you so you should be the one to read it." Jason was trying his hardest to make this situation seem a lot less morbid but since they were getting old letters sent through the post it was always going to be that way.

"Ahem" Toby coughed getting everyone's attention before he started reading.

"Dear Toby,

If you got this letter then it has been made apparent that you are doing everything in your power to help my girls out. I told the person that was going to send this letter only to post it when it was clear that you were helping the girls and that you were in serious need of answers. I can't tell you who actually sent this but I have a feeling that you will work it out anyway; if you do then it is merely a coincidence.

I should probably get to the point now shouldn't I? If I know you girls then you're probably sat biting your finger nails, playing with your hair, tapping your foot and grinding your teeth into oblivion. You can probably guess which one of you has each of those habits; the habits that make you all so adorable.

Well, you're probably wondering why I chose to sent this letter to Toby not any of you four. I did this purely because I know that Toby can fight to keep this letter safe, after all if this got out it could cause some serious trouble for the lot of you and that is the last thing that I want.

Here is all you need to know for now:
I found out some stuff completely by chance this summer that could have got some people into a whole lot of shit. Like I said last time it regarded the Kahn's and Jenna, she had something to do with that family a lot longer than since she moved here. I always thought it was weird that Jenna and Noel would meet up in secret places to try and keep whatever they had secret. One day I followed them home from school and they turned up at their cabin, the one that they throw parties at. Well when Noel went out of the room his older brother Eric came in; at first I had absolutely no idea what he was doing there until she started shouting at him. It was something about how he owed her money, by the sounds of it there was a lot of money at stake.

That was all before I went to Georgia and you all know that I came home from Georgia a lot earlier than I let on. That was mainly because I didn't want any of you following me there and hearing what I had to say to her. I threatened her with the video's of her abusing you (Toby) then told her about how I'd heard of the money troubles she was having. I have no idea why Eric had borrowed that money but I know that someone is after me because of it. I got a text about an half an hour later from –A. It said:

When bitches like you know more than they need to, bad things happen. I'll give you until midnight to say goodbye –A.

I knew from that moment that my fate was set in stone. If you are going to stop this then I beg of you, do it with caution. Don't let what happened to me happen to you.

Once again, I am so deeply sorry for everything that I have had you put up with. I want you all to know that you are the most amazing people I have ever met.

Alison."

Toby looked up from the discoloured paper he had been so enthralled by and saw his captive audience, each one of them mouths open in complete shock. There were things going on in each of their heads that the others would not be able to comprehend but to each individual it made perfect sense.

"A-are you thinking what I'm thinking?"Aria stuttered; breaking the unbearable silence that had taken over the apartment.

"If you're thinking that my crazy bitch of a step-sister had a hell of a lot to do with Ali's death and she is –A then yeah, I think we all are." Spencer looked up at Toby as she blinked in shock at his sudden outburst. She had seen a wide variety of moods that have been shown by Toby Cavanaugh but this one was completely new; despite Jenna having such a horrible impact on his life, he had never once said anything like that about her. "Don't look at me like that Spence, if it is how it seems right now then she's been making your life hell since the minute she moved here. I have a right to make my opinion about her known and it just so happens that's what it is"

"Toby, I understand that completely but y-you finally said what I was pretty sure you were thinking since it all happened with her. I've just never heard you speak like that about someone in the entire time I've known you"

"Yeah well, desperate times call for desperate measures."

"Woah guys, before we go making any more accusations we need to think about the facts here" Caleb stepped in to be the voice of reason "We know that the Kahn's are well known for being top class sleaze bags and as Toby rightfully pointed out; Jenna is a crazy bitch. But do you really think that either she or that freaky family would kill Ali because she found out about Eric owing Jenna money?"

"I understand what you're trying to do Caleb but if you think about it then it would make sense. Jenna already lied about being blind for longer than she was and made it out like her and Ali had planned it. Why would she and Ali plan to set that garage on fire with Jenna in it?" Emily was making all the points that everyone so badly wanted to know.

"Wait, Toby when did you tell Jenna that you wanted nothing more to do with her dirty little secret?" Jason asked, his voice filled with urgency.

"About a week before the fire, she told me that it was either I carried on or she'd find a way to make my life hell. Why?"

"Well, a few days before the fire happened I remember hearing Ali on the phone to someone. She was practically whispering but I could tell by her voice that she was scared; she said something to do with a plan. I heard the way she was talking and it was in a way I've never heard Alison's voice, I didn't even know it was possible but she was terrified"

"Do you think someone had something on Ali? I mean no one actually knew any of Alison's secrets did they?" Aria questioned. Toby and Jason shared a nervous glance at each other, hoping that no one would notice because it would be a tell tale sign that they knew something and hadn't shared it. However Spencer caught on to her boyfriend's and brother's secret looks, they should have known better than to show any sign of knowledge when they were around the one person they both held most dear.

"What the hell was that about?" She muttered as she stepped away from Toby's side to look him straight in the deep blue eyes she adored so much. "You know something don't you?" She could see that he was drowning in his own guilt after keeping something from her but he still wouldn't budge.

"Fine, Jason you tell me" She turned around so she was starring her brother straight in the face, practically begging him for answers.

"Spencer, I honestly wish I could but this could change everything..."

"Isn't that the point? Aren't we meant to be getting closer to the truth, to ending all of this?" Everyone in the room could see from the brunette's face that she was becoming more frustrated than she had ever been before. "I have more than one person to think about now Jason, I need this to end. My son is potentially in danger and my god if anything happens to him I wouldn't be able to cope" She was screaming so frantically at her brother that she hadn't noticed the tears that were falling so rapidly down her cheeks.

"Spencer honey, come here" Hanna pulled her into her warmth and held her as she cried.

"Are you both stupid or something? Your sister, the person that would die for you Jason and your girlfriend, the mother of your son is crying her heart out because of something you're not willing to share. It's obvious it's pretty big if you had to draw each other's attention to it; especially when Spencer is in the room, are you idiots?" Aria had gone into fully blown protective mode, seeing her best friend stand there begging for the answers that she needed so badly, the answers she needed to keep her child save and they were both denying her.

"Aria it's not that simple; I'm not willing to get you involved in this." Jason replied, fear lacing his voice despite doing his best to stay strong. "If you understood that then you wouldn't push us on this."

"Listen here, I don't care if you're not willing to tell us. You are going to tell us and you are going to tell us now. Toby Cavanaugh your son could be at risk because you're not willing to tell us this, how would you feel if you exposed him to more danger just because neither of you could let us all in on this. I thought you were better than that Toby; I honestly did" As Emily shouted at her best friend, the hurt in her voice broke his heart.

"Emily I just can't tell you this, I'm sorry" He looked her straight in the eye, pleading with her to see it from where he was standing but he was just greeted with a look of pure disgust and what could be seen as hatred.

Spencer pulled herself away from the sitting position she had taken on the floor with Hanna and picked herself up; she wiped her face as she walked over to Toby so she was stood directly in front of him.

"I've felt a lot of things for you Toby Cavanaugh but it has never been this. I'm actually disgusted that you can't get past your fucking ego and tell me for the sake of our son, the one thing that we swore we would protect with our lives. How the hell do you expect me to protect him when there could be something I need to know so I can do that? He's already in enough danger as it is and if he gets into the hands of one wrong person then that's it, my life would be over. But you know what let's all pretend that he doesn't matter in all of this because neither of you can fucking tell me what's going on. So you know what, fuck you, fuck you both. Until you're ready to tell me you can get the fuck away from us because I can't bear to look at you and you definitely don't deserve to be near my son." Hanna, Aria and Emily all formed the infamous formation around their best friend; all in complete shock at what she had just said but 100% behind her all the way.

"Spencer honey, you don't mean that. You're just angry, why don't you sit down and I'll get you something to drink so you can calm down."

"No Toby, I don't need anything from you other than for you to get the fuck out of here. I'm ashamed of you right now and I don't want to be anywhere near you." She pushed her way past him and started to walk down the hall of their apartment.

"Spencer please you don't need to do this." He spun around and grabbed her arm so she would stop "You're just over reacting"

"How fucking DARE you tell me I'm over reacting? I thought you out of all people would understand why I'm making such a big deal about this. When your baby is threatened because of some bullshit situation we're all in, it puts you on your guard Toby. The world just got a whole lot scarier and it's not me I'm scared for. So get what you need and just go because right now I can't do this." The tears that had been threatening for so long to escape had finally found their way down her face. "Oh and you Jason, until you're willing you tell me what the fuck is going on, you mean nothing to me. Absolutely nothing."

"I'm not going anywhere Spencer; not until we sort this out." He was quickly interjected by Mike standing between him and the brunette beauty he so badly wanted to console.

"Can you not hear a word she's saying? She doesn't want you here Toby and I think you know exactly why so get your stuff and leave. Make sure you take him with you" Toby had never seen Mike with so much anger, he looked around the room to see what everyone else was thinking and they were all stood there with the same look on their face. Proving that none of them wanted either of them there while they refused to tell them what they wanted, no needed to know.

"Fine I'll go, but I need you to know Spencer that I would have told you this in a heartbeat but I can't, we can't. I love you Spence; I will be here as soon as you need me. It's not fair that you use Elijah against me because you know that I would die to protect him, but this is something that could get you into more danger. I can't tell you this for your own good, I need you to be safe too Spence; I couldn't live without you." She looked deep into his eyes and saw the pain and torture this was causing him but she knew that she had to stand her ground if she was ever going to find out what they were hiding. She looked at her brother who couldn't even find it in himself to look directly at her; instead he just starred at the ground as he shuffled his feet.

"I'm ashamed of you Jason. I want absolutely nothing to do with you right now. I don't want you anywhere near my son either." And with that she pulled her arm out of Toby's grasp and marched off into the nursery where her son was lying fast asleep, safe and sound. She shut the door gently and leant against it as her whole body racked with sobs and she slid onto the floor, hugging her knees to her chest.

"Go, now" Emily glared at the two men stood in front of her and pointed towards the door. "Come back when you are willing to be honest with her, right now you're breaking her heart."

"Please Em; just tell her I love her" Toby pleaded.

"No, you can tell her that when you tell her the truth. I have never disliked you so much in my life Toby Cavanaugh now get the fuck out of my sight" She hissed; it was the tone of voice that only the girls had heard come out of Emily and it was only used by any of them when they were protecting their best friends.

"We best leave before they go rogue, I'm actually pretty scared of Aria right now." Jason joked, looking at Toby to try and lift his spirits.

"I would have thought you knew the extent that we go to when it comes to protecting each other. I swear to god I'm not scared of going rogue, especially for the sake of my best friend." Aria growled her voice matched that of Emily's. Jason and Toby were experiencing what it was like to be on the receiving end of their protection and it was icy.

"I'm sorry Aria, I really am. I'll come by later and try talk to her." The sincerity in the blue eyed boys voice as he spoke could have broken any one's heart, just not those of Spencer's three best friends who were already willing to ice the two of them out completely. They took the hint and within seconds they were finally gone and the girls had gone to make their way to the broken girl that was crying on the floor of the baby's nursery.

"Spence, will you come out please?" Hanna whispered trying not to wake the Eli after it took her so long to get him to sleep. Mike, Caleb and Ezra all stood in the living completely in shock as they listened to the girls' talk Spencer out of the nursery; the way they spoke and their body language was a complete contrast from when they were talking to Toby and Jason.

"Are they really the same people?" Ezra whispered as he observed his girlfriend closely.

"I think so, man I'd hate to be on the receiving end of whatever the hell just happened" Caleb muttered in reply.

"Actually I think we've all been there, just not the four of them. My god that would be cold." Mike laughed as he thought of all the fights he had gotten into with Aria and compared them to what had just happened.

"I now see why people are scared of them; they are a force to be reckoned with" Caleb sighed.

"They are absolutely terrifying" Ezra mumbled; his eyes wide open as he watched the three girls wrap themselves around Spencer's distraught body when she emerged from her safe haven.

AN: Please review guysss :D -Chloe :-)xx