Two weeks later.
I sighed with contentment as I placed the book I had just finished back on my bookshelf. I plopped down on my bed and started to laugh when I felt Sandy's cold wet nose rub against my leg.
"Sandy, you silly girl!" I told my seeing-eye dog sternly even though I was still laughing.
Jason had surprised me last week by giving me Sandy, a black and white collie. He told me he was planning on getting me a dog as a welcome home present but between starting his job at Rosewood High and finding Alison it sort of took the back burner. But I'm glad it got put off because even though I loved Sandy, I needed time to grieve for Shadow.
Shadow had been my guide dog for about seven months when Jason and I took him to the lake house for a Hastings family summer get together. One afternoon Jason took Shadow out for a walk while I sat inside talking to one of my cousins. A few minutes later Melissa came over and said that Shadow had been bit by a raccoon and Jason was taking him to the vet in case the raccoon had rabies. Four days later Shadow had to be put down.
"Hey, Spence, it's me Jason so open up." I heard Jason call out as he obnoxiously knocked on my bedroom door.
"Quit it, Jason, you're going break the door!" I yelled at him. "And it's not locked so just come in."
"Wow, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. What's up with you?" Jason commented as I heard him open up the door and walk over to my desk.
"Nothing, I was perfectly fine and happy until I heard you. I'm blind not deaf, Jason, so you don't have to knock on my bedroom door like a mad person. You're lucky my parents aren't home."
"Of course your parents aren't home. I'm not a genius like the rest of the family but I'm smart enough not to come by when they're around. And I know you're not deaf but I wouldn't be your annoying older brother if I didn't bang on your door now would I?"
"Jason, believe it or not, I'm glad that I found out you're my brother. But don't you think you're overdoing this big brother thing just a bit?"
"I'm glad you're my sister too, and yes, I might be overdoing it. But I have to since I missed out on fifteen years of being your big brother. And you'll probably hate me for admitting this, but it's really, really fun to annoy you sometimes. You make this face that's the perfect combination of cute, funny, and angry. And I can literally see the smoke coming out your ears like those old cartoons and…"
"Shut up, Jason!" I shouted at him and threw a large pillow in his direction.
"What was that for? And how did you do it?" He asked as he threw the pillow back at me but it fell short and hit my leg which was hanging off the bed.
A small smile came across my face knowing that I had hit him but he had missed me.
"I know that you're sitting at my desk chair because of the way it squeaked when you sat down. And I can almost perfectly throw anything into the wastebasket, a foot to the right of the chair you're sitting in, from my bed. So I grabbed a large pillow and threw it a little to the left." I explained with a smug look.
"Why do you have to be such know-it-all whenever you explain something?"
"Why do you have to be such an annoying person whenever you're around me?" I shot back at him. "Now, did you come over just to get under my skin or do you have a real reason?"
"As much fun as it is to annoy you, I actually do have a real reason for being here." Jason sighed suddenly sounding serious. "One that I know you're not going to like."
"What, are my parents shipping me off to boarding school because they still blame me for ruining Melissa's engagement?" I asked sarcastically.
It had been two weeks since Wren tried to kiss me and a lot had happened. Toby had sat with the girls and me at lunch three times, but only because Hanna's boyfriend Sean was there as well. And Emily's boyfriend Ben had sat with us once before Em broke up with him. It was a little sad since they had been together so long, but I don't blame Emily after what he tried to do. In two weeks the girls had gotten to know Toby and started to like him a lot, and in that same my parents had gotten to hear my side of the story countless times but still didn't believe me.
"No, this isn't about that. I was over at the police station trying to find out if they had anything new to tell me about Ali's case. Mona was there and they were questioning her and they're planning on questioning Toby next." He said slowly like he didn't want to be the one telling me this.
"What? Why are the police questioning them?"
"Right now, Toby and Mona are the main suspects. The police think that they kil…that they were the ones." He stated and I could hear how hard it was for him to talk about this.
"But they're wrong!" I shouted not wanting to believe what I was hearing. "I don't know Mona well enough to defend her but I do know Toby. He might not have liked Alison, to be honest I don't think anybody did, but he didn't kill her. How could he have done it when he wasn't even in Rosewood? He was in reform school because he took the blame for us."
"I don't know what the police are thinking, just that for some reason they're suspecting Toby and Mona. I'm sorry, Spence, I really am."
"Hey, I'm glad you're here. I was sort of getting worried." I greeted him with relief and went to give him a hug which he quickly pulled away from. "Toby, are you alright?"
"I'm fine." He replied. I could tell he was lying but decided not to push it. "And I'm sorry for being late and not answering my phone. I was just…"
"No, it's okay. You don't have to explain or anything, I'm just glad you made it." I told him as I lead him into kitchen. "Do you want a snack or anything before we work on the project? Or if you want, we could go straight upstairs."
"Um, do you mind if we study down here?"
"No, not at all, just let me bring my stuff down." I shrugged and then went upstairs.
I gathered all my stuff together and headed back downstairs. I stopped on the last step before turning the corner just to make sure I had everything when I heard Toby talking to himself.
"Come on, Cavanaugh; don't screw this up by worrying about Jenna. You're with Spencer and you're going to forget what happened earlier."
I was curious about what had happened earlier but I didn't want to ask. I stood there debating whether it would look like I was eavesdropping if I walked around the corner too soon. But my textbook made the decision for me when it fell to the ground making it obvious I was standing there.
"I wasn't purposely listening, Toby; I swear. I was just making I had everything before I came down." I said quickly as I picked up the book.
"How long were you making sure that you had everything?" He asked cautiously and he looked scared almost.
"Long enough." I replied quietly as I sat on the sofa. "Look, Toby, you don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to. It's probably none of my business anyway. But I promise I won't judge or tell anybody if you want to talk about it."
"Spencer, I know won't judge or tell anyone. But this is something that I'm not ready to talk to anyone about." He said looking down at the floor.
Toby and I spent the next hour working on our project. By the time we were done I was positive that we were going to get the highest grade in the class. And Toby seemed to be in a better mood than before.
"Spencer, about earlier, I'm sorry for being late and I'm sorry for shutting you out when you asked if I was okay." Toby said as he bravely tried to drink my coffee.
"You don't have to apologize, Toby. I have a habit of doing that myself sometimes." I shrugged as I sat down next to him. "But as lame as it sounds, it does help to tell somebody what's bothering you no matter what it is. And you already know that I won't judge or tell anyone."
Toby sighed in took a deep breath before speaking. "It's Jenna. I guess you could say that she and I don't exactly get along."
"Oh well, if sibling relationships are your problem you've come to the right person. Melissa and I are more like extra competitive rivals than sisters."
"No, Spencer, it's not like that. Jenna she…she likes me as more than a stepbrother." He said and it was barely audible.
"You think that Jenna has some sort of crush on you?"
"It started out that way, but it's more than that now."
"Toby, you don't have to tell me anything else if don't want to."
"I have to tell someone, Spencer; if I don't I'm going to lose my mind. And you're the only person I trust enough to tell." He stated and paused before continuing. "It was a couple of days after she and her mom moved in. I was making something for breakfast and Jenna asked me to grab a granola bar for her. So I did and she told me thank you and that I was so sweet or something. Next thing I knew, she was kissing me."
"She does realize that she's your stepsister, right? Which means that her kissing you is…"
"Creepy, twisted, and wrong." Toby finished for me. "And it didn't end there. I tried ignoring her but that only made it worse. A week later my dad went out of town for two days for work and Jenna's mom went with him which left Jenna and I alone. While they were gone we…Jenna wanted something. I knew it was wrong, but I still upset about my dad remarrying and I clearly wasn't thinking straight, and Jenna saw an opportunity and took it."
"Toby, I had no idea, I'm so sorry." I said trying to hide the shock from showing on my face. How come I hadn't realized that something so bad was happening to Toby?
"Don't apologize, Spencer, it's not your fault. It's all mine, I should have put a stopped her before it started. But it's too late now."
"Toby, this is not your fault. You said it yourself, you weren't thinking clearly. If Jenna really cared about you, and I can tell she doesn't, she wouldn't have done what she did at all, let alone when she knew how upset you were with your dad."
"Yeah, Jenna shouldn't have but I shouldn't have either. Both of us are equally at fault. Yes, I was upset but I still knew it was wrong."
"Toby Cavanaugh, look at me." I demanded. "Toby, you told me that I'm the only one that you trusted enough to tell. And I trust you enough to know that you would stop this if Jenna wasn't threatening you or something. That means she should be the one at fault more than you. So stop thinking that this is your fault when it isn't. Someone should tell Jenna that she can't treat you or anyone like this, and that it needs to stop."
"I want to, Spencer." He said with desperation and then he let out a defeated sigh. "But I can't. If I do she'll tell everyone I was the one that..."
"Yes, you can, Toby. I know you can, you just need have more confidence in yourself. You didn't do anything wrong no matter what other people think. All that matters is that the ones close to you believe you. And I'll always believe you, Toby."
"Come in, the door's not locked." I called out a few hours later when I heard a knock on my bedroom door.
"Hey, Spence, it's me." Someone said as they walked in and immediately I knew it was Toby.
"Hi, Tobes, what brings you here?" I asked and I felt the bed sink down as he sat next to me.
"The police think that I might have something to do with Alison's death. But I swear I didn't do it, Spencer, honest. I guess I just wanted to tell you in person before rumors started going around school. And I'd understand if you don't want to be seen around with the guy that might've killed your best friend."
"I already know about that, Toby. Jason was at the police station earlier and found out. And I don't care what other people say or think; I'm not leaving you to deal with this on your own. You told me that you didn't do it, and I'm going to tell you something I told you a long time ago. I'll always believe you, Toby."
So what do you guys think? I know this wasn't the happiest chapter, but I think the end is pretty sweet if I do say so myself. Next chapter is just Spencer and the girls hanging out and a big event is discussed. Speaking of the girls, do you think Mona had anything to do with Ali's death? Let me know your thoughts. And I would love to see some more guests reviews even though I can't reply to all of them. See you all on Tuesday!