One Week Later
I woke up and quietly got dressed before going downstairs. Hanna had slept over last night and I knew better than to wake her up unless I wanted to start a fight.
"Good morning, Spencer." I heard my mom say cheerfully as I reached the last step.
"Good morning, Mom. What are you doing here? I thought you would've been at work already?" I asked her as I sat down on one of the stools.
"I've decided to take the morning off. It's a Sunday and I don't have much to do. And also Melissa will be here in half an hour. I'm having brunch with a client at the club and they have a daughter that's Melissa's age." She replied as she placed a cup of coffee in my hands.
"Oh, that's nice. I hope you two have a good time. And thanks for the coffee." I told her trying to be polite.
I was doing my best to stay on my parents' good side. They finally seemed to be forgetting about the almost kiss with Wren. But it certainly wasn't an easy task.
"Oh, your sister's early." She commented when a car horn beeped twice. "Well, I've got to run. Tell Hanna I hope she enjoyed herself."
My mom gave me a quick kiss on the top of my head. A few seconds later I heard the door slam behind her.
"Hey, girl," I said smiling when I felt Sandy brush against my leg.
I petted the top of her head as I drank my coffee and helped myself to the fruit bowl sitting on the counter.
"Who on Earth blasts their horn multiple times on a Sunday morning? Don't they know that people are trying to sleep?" I heard Hanna rant as she came down the stairs.
"Good morning to you too, Hanna." I said trying not to laugh.
"Don't good morning me. This is anything but a good morning." She snapped. "Is there any regular coffee in this house or is it all bitter awfulness?"
"My mom made the coffee so it's not as strong as the stuff I make. But it's not weak like the stuff you drink. And sorry, that was Melissa who was blasting the horn. She was picking my mom up for brunch with a client."
"The coffee I drink isn't weak, it's normal and delicious." She argued. "And why am I not surprised that it was your heartless sister that woke me up."
"So, did you hear from Mona last night?" I asked her.
Last night was Mona's birthday party. It was camping in the woods but Mona called it 'glamping' instead. Hanna had really been looking forward to it, and it was the first things she had been happy about since Sean broke up with her, but she was disinvited. There was a rumor going around school about how Hanna had lost weight. Mona believed it and the two of them haven't talked in a few days.
"No, and I don't think we'll be talking anytime soon." She sighed and I decided to drop the subject.
"Hey, Spencer, have you listened to the news this morning?" She asked cautiously a few minutes later.
"No, not since yesterday evening." I answered shaking my head. "Why?"
"Oh, hey, Jason." Hanna called out and I heard someone walk in through the side door.
"Jason?" I asked. "What are you doing here?"
"Um, I'm going to get right to the point here, Spencer." Jason sighed. "Have you heard this morning's news?"
"No, I haven't." I told him "And actually, Hanna just asked me the same question. What's in the news that's so important?"
"Did you already tell her?" Jason asked Hanna.
"No, and to be honest, I don't want to." Hanna told him.
"Neither do I." Jason mumbled.
"Hello! I am sitting right here. Tell me what?" I demanded getting really annoyed.
"I'll tell her. She should hear from me. Can you give us a minute, Hanna?" Jason said to her.
"Sure, I'll go upstairs and change out of these pajamas." Hanna stated and I heard the stool creak as she got up.
"Ah, Hanna, it might take more than a few minutes for you to decide what to wear." I joked trying to lighten the mood.
"Ha, ha that's very funny, Spencer. Just be glad I have a lot of sympathy for you right now." She shot back and then I heard her stomp upstairs.
"So, what do you need to tell me?" I asked when Jason didn't start the conversation.
"Toby was arrested last night outside of the church."
"What? How?
"Someone anonymously tipped off the police that Toby was meeting somebody there at midnight."
"Who would know that? And what was Toby doing in Rosewood? I told him to get out so that he wouldn't get arrested. This wasn't supposed to happen." I said not wanting to believe it.
"He didn't get very far when his motorcycle crashed. He was probably meeting someone to give him a ride out of town. And I don't know who would turn him into the police, but someone did and that's probably who framed him. Maybe the police will realize that and let him go." Jason explained trying to reassure me.
"Jason, we both know that the police in this town suck. They'll say that Toby's guilty so they can wrap this case up nice and easy without any real work. It'll be front page news and the police department will look like heroes while Toby's sitting in jail for who knows how long." I rambled as my eyes were brimmed with tears.
"That won't happen, Spencer. I won't let it." Jason stated and I really wanted to believe him.
School had just ended a few days ago and Toby and I were sitting outside in my backyard. Alison had found out about the two of us hanging out a few weeks ago. She really gave us a hard time about, mostly me and I preferred it that way. But now that school was out things were as bad. Or so I thought.
"Hey, what do you two think you're doing?" Alison demanded as she made her way across our yards.
"Sitting and enjoying the summer weather, Alison. You should try it sometime." I snapped.
"I don't appreciate the sarcasm, Spencer. I'm just trying to help you see that you're making a mistake." Alison stated.
"And I don't appreciate you telling me what to do all the time. And you may call it helping but I don't need your help because hanging out with Toby is not a mistake." I argued back.
"Yes, it is, Spencer! You don't know him like I do."
"Do you even know him at all, Ali?" Jason yelled as he came up behind her. "Leave these two alone and go inside."
"Stay out of this, Jason!" She yelled at him.
"You don't tell me what to do, Ali. And you can't tell them what to do either." He yelled back with a threatening tone. "Now go inside the house."
"I can't tell you what to do, but you can tell me? That doesn't quite seem far." Alison challenged.
"Life isn't far, get used to it. And I'm not the one that wants you inside. Mom does. She said something about going to lunch. Now, leave these two alone and don't bother them again. There's nothing wrong with them hanging out."
"Oh, I'm so scared of you, Jason." Alison mocked and then turned back to me and Toby. "Fine, I'll leave you two alone, for now. But next time, you will listen to me."
"Thank you, Jason." I sighed in relief after Alison had walked away.
"No problem. Ali needs to learn that she can't control people." He shrugged. "I don't know why she's chosen to give you guys a hard time. I can't guarantee that she'll stop but if I'm around I'll make sure it doesn't happen. And a word of advice, next time don't hang out in your backyard."
"Thanks, and duly noted." Toby said shaking Jason's hand.
"Good, see you two around." Jason nodded and then walked back over to his house.
"So, do you want to talk about it?" Hanna asked me a few hours later.
Jason had brought me upstairs and Hanna let my cry on her shoulder. When there were no more tears to cry I was still upset. Hanna suggested listening to some music with ice cream to make me feel better. Usually I would never do anything like that but under the circumstances I complied with Hanna's suggestion.
"No, not really, Hanna." I shook my head.
"That's okay, Spence, you don't have to." She assured me. "But can I ask you just one question? And don't say that that is one question."
"Sure, Hanna, you can ask me something." And I couldn't help but laugh a little at the last part.
"How come Jason said he should be the one to tell you about Toby? I know you're going to say that you don't have feelings for Jason and that you're just friends. But there is definitely something going on and I want to know what it is." She asked persistently and I knew that I had to tell her the truth.
"I'll tell you what's really going on. But you have to promise not to overreact. And you can't tell anybody." I stressed.
"What about Emily and Aria?" She asked.
"You can tell them, and when you start talking to Mona again you can tell her too." I told her figuring that if Hanna knew the truth the ones might as well know too.
"Thanks, Spence, I'm great at keeping secrets but suck at lying." She said and she sounded relieved.
"Here goes nothing." I mumbled before telling her. "My dad and Jessica DiLaurentis had an affair over twenty-something years ago. She got pregnant, it was a boy, and my dad was the father. When the police were investigating Alison's disappearance I found out that Jason is my half-brother."
"What!?" Hanna yelled.
"Hanna! I told you not to overreact!" I shouted at her.
"I am not overreacting. My best friend just told me that she has a long-lost brother. And for two months I've been saying that you two should get together. Why didn't you tell me or stop me?" She ranted.
"I tried to stop you, Hanna, but you never listened." I stated defensively.
"Look, I'm sorry for not telling you." I said more calmly after a pause. "But my dad doesn't want anyone knowing. You know how he is. That's also why you can only tell the girls. I really am sorry, Han, I never wanted to keep it from any of you."
"I forgive you, Spence. I do know how your dad can be so I guess I understand. But I'm glad I finally know the truth, and I'm sorry for giving you such a hard time about dating Jason."
"That's okay, Hanna, Jason actually got a kick out of it. And I'm glad you understand." I told her and we shared a hug.
"So, who's up for more ice cream and boy bands?" Hanna asked and I could hear the smile in her voice.
So Toby did get arrested, but at least you know he's okay. Next chapter probably ties with chapter 5 as my favorite. Toby comes back which equals Spoby! The chapter is packed with Spoby moments from Season 1. Some things I tweaked so it would fit the story and the pace of things would speed up but it will still be awesome. Trust me. So how about 7 reviews if you guys want to read chapter 14 on Friday? I'm so excited for the next update and I'm sure you are too so leave some reviews. (BTW I can't believe this already has 70!) Enjoy tonight's episode. And be cautiously optimistic that it's what us Spoby fans have been hoping for!