I got off the couch and walked over to the closet where we kept extra paper towels, toilet paper, and tissues. Mona, Hanna, and I had just finished a really sad movie. I liked it the best when Mona and Hanna described a movie to me because they were good at giving all the details that I couldn't see myself. And while Hanna claimed she was crying because of the ending of the movie, Mona and I knew it was really because she missed Caleb.
"Here you go, Han." I said passing the new box of tissues I had just grabbed.
"Thanks, Spence." Hanna said before loudly blowing her nose. "Do you have more ice cream?"
"Sorry, I think we finished it all." I told her cautiously, not knowing how she would react.
"But we can go get more." Mona added quickly.
Hanna could have a mood swing over anything, and Mona and I knew that the chances increased when she was really emotional.
"No way, I can't go out like this!" Hanna yelled.
Hanna had only been wearing sweat pants and loose tops since Caleb left. She claimed that she was too depressed to work zippers. This was something I had never experienced before; no matter what Hanna always tried to look her best. She even asked Mona to do her makeup when she was in the hospital once.
"You and Spencer could stay here while I go grab some." Mona suggested to her.
"No, you guys have to stay with me. I don't want anyone else to leave me." Hanna immediately protested.
"No one's leaving you, Hanna, I promise. And Caleb will come back to you soon." I assured her.
The day after our girl's day in Philly, Hanna asked all of us to come over. When we got there she told us that Caleb had left for California to meet is biological mother. His departure was rushed and neither of them had time to let it sink in. But once Hanna realized he was really gone she had a major breakdown.
"I want him to know his mom, but what if he doesn't want to come back. California is sunny and wild but Rosewood is a small town filled with mysteries and danger." Hanna voiced her conflicted feelings.
"Hanna, Caleb loves you. I'm sure that he's enjoying his time in California but I'm sure he's missing you too. He'll come back to Rosewood no matter how great California is because he wants to be with you." Mona stated gently.
"But what if he wants his stepfamily more than he wants me? He's been searching for his mom for years and I'm just some girl he met a few months ago. He wouldn't be the first one to choose a new family over me." She said and it sounded like she was close to tears.
"What's going on, Han? Something tells me that this is about more than just Caleb leaving." I asked as I rubbed her shoulder.
"Before I came over here I checked the mail. I wanted to see if Caleb sent me a postcard or something. He didn't. But my dad did." Hanna started to explain before she was crying too hard.
"Hanna, it's okay. Maybe this means that your dad wants to fix things." Mona suggested in a comforting tone.
"No, he doesn't. He doesn't want anything to do with me. The postcard was a save-the-date. He's getting remarried and he's replacing me with Kate!" Hanna yelled and I heard her throw a pillow at the wall.
"Hanna, he is not replacing you. Nobody could ever do that, not your dad, not Caleb, not us, not anybody." I told her, firm enough that she would understand, but soft enough that I didn't sound mean.
"But he is. Kate is the perfect daughter and she's everything I'm not. She's smart, she's never been overweight, she's never been a suspect in a murder, and she rides horses instead of joyriding her ex-boyfriend's car into a tree." She ranted.
"Nobody's perfect, Hanna. And you've got it backwards; you're everything she's not. I met her remember. She's boring and definitely not fun to hang out with. She has no sense of humor and she probably can't tell Gucci from Coach. And she might not be overweight, but I saw her trying on what looked like a bridesmaid dress and it totally gave her back fat." Mona told her.
"Mona's right, Hanna, a perfect person just doesn't exist. And it's not your fault that you were a suspect, you did nothing wrong." I assured her. "As for crashing Sean's car, I say he got what he deserved after what he said to you."
"Yeah, if you didn't do that to his car, I would have done it for you. And if he said that same thing to me, I would have done worse than crash his car." Mona agreed.
"But my dad doesn't care about any of that stuff. He just sees me as a popular, dumb, airheaded girl that just wants to spend all her money clothes and shoes." Hanna argued and sounded like she was about to cry again.
"Well then, you're dad cares about the wrong things. And you know the saying, takes one to know one. Well, I'm smart and I know that you're smart too. Other people might not see it because all they see is a popular blonde that likes to shop. But the Hanna I know is a lot smarter than she gets credit for. And she's an amazing person and best friend that any man should feel lucky to have as a daughter." I said in all honesty and sincerity.
"I can account for that. You are smart, Hanna, and you're the first best friend I ever had." Mona told her.
"You really think that?" Hanna asked both of us.
"Yeah, we do." I confirmed. "And if other people can't see that, it's their loss not yours."
I don't know who initiated it, but we ended up in a group hug. And even though Hanna was still crying I could tell she was feeling a little better.
A few hours later, Mona and Hanna had left because Hanna was exhausted. I was studying in my room when my mom came in and told me there was someone downstairs for me. I figured it might be Jason or Toby but it never crossed my mind that it would be Jenna Marshall.
"Hello, Spencer," Jenna greeted me.
I could tell immediately that she had an ulterior motive for her visit.
"Well, I leave you two girls to talk." My mom stated and then I listened to her walk away and close her office door.
"Why are you here, Jenna? Something tells me this isn't a social call." I questioned her.
"I know what you and Toby are doing." She told me. "And I want you to stop, now."
"First, you can't tell me what to do, and you certainly can't tell Toby what to do. And second, why do you want us to stop? Are you afraid of what we'll find? Well, you're too late; we already know everything." I challenged her while bluffing a little about knowing everything.
"You don't know anything!" She yelled defensively. "I'm not the one you should be worried about. This is none of your business and someone will get hurt if you keep this up. And I don't want Toby getting hurt."
"Is that a threat, Jenna? Just so you know; I'm not afraid of you or worried about you. And who are you really protecting, Jenna? Because I know you're not protecting Toby."
"It's not a threat; it's a warning, Spencer." She stated. "And I am trying to protect Toby; he doesn't deserve to get caught up in…"
"Caught up in what?" I asked trying to get her to continue.
"It's none of your business!" She insisted defensively and it confirmed that she was hiding something. "Leave well enough alone and stay…"
"Stay out or somebody gets and you don't want Toby getting hurt. You already said that. But if you really care about Toby, and I know you don't, you could save us a lot of trouble and tell us who we should be worried about."
"I don't need to tell you that since you said that you already everything. Unless you're just bluffing and you really don't know anything." She said with a smug tone and I could imagine that she had a grin to match it.
"Is that all you came here to say, Jenna?"
"Yes, it is. And you should listen to me." She said and I heard the tapping of her cane as she headed towards the door.
"Jenna, wait!" I called out. "Do you remember the day Alison found out what you did to Toby?"
"Yes," She answered and I could hear the rage.
"Well, if anything happens to Toby, it will be your fault not ours. And I'll do a lot worse than slap you." I told her with a little rage in my voice too.
"Is that a threat, Spencer?" She demanded.
"It's not a threat; it's a warning, Jenna." I stated, mimicking the way she had said the same thing to me.
Jenna left without another word and I heard the front door slam shut. And now it was my turn to have a smug grin.
"Spencer, did Jenna leave already?" My mom asked as she came out of her office.
"Yes, she just left. Why do you ask?"
"Oh, I was hoping to talk to her." She answered and she sounded disappointed.
"What about?" I asked getting more and more curious and weary.
"Why don't you come and sit in my office? This concerns you too." She replied and I followed her.
"Okay, I'm sitting in your office. What do you want to talk about?" I asked growing impatient when my mom didn't speak.
"I just got off the phone with your eye doctor." She started and she sounded nervous which was rare for her. "She wanted to remind me that you have an appointment tomorrow."
"Mom, stop beating around the bush." I sighed in irritation.
"She wanted to tell me about an operation that's still slightly experimental. She can't be sure until she checks your eyes tomorrow, but there's a good possibility that you could be a candidate for the operation."
I didn't say anything at first, I wanted to let what my mom had just said sink in. I wanted to get excited at the thought of being able to see again. To see my friends, Jason, Melissa and eventually her baby, the flowers on the front lawn, and most of all Toby. But I was not getting my hopes up. Of everything my mom said, one word stuck in my head more than the others.
"Experimental? As in I'm going to be a guinea pig? What are the success rates?" I asked quickly.
"You're not going to be a guinea pig." She assured me. "I don't know all the details but so far it has high rates of success. Of course there is a chance of it not working with any type of operation. But your doctor is fairly sure this could work."
"So this is why you wanted to talk to Jenna?"
"Yes, I want to make sure she knows about this as well. She deserves to see just as much as you do." She answered. "In fact, it's too late to call the Cavanaugh's tonight, but I'll mention it to Toby when he comes over tomorrow."
My mom was impressed by the work Toby did on the backyard. A few times since then she had him do a few other things and my dad didn't require Jason to keep an eye on him. And both my parents had come around and trusted him enough to let him be around me. But they still didn't know how close we were or that we had Jason help us sneak off to the hill.
"Mom, try not to tell him about me. I don't want him to get his hopes up in case we found out at my appointment that it won't work for me. Plus, I want to tell him myself." I said a little nervous about what his reaction would be.
Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew it was pointless to worry about that. That he would love me no matter what. But of course I still worried anyway. Who wouldn't be just a little when something this big and important suddenly popped up?
"I'll try. But you don't need to worry about him getting his hopes up. Something tells me that he still be supportive whether it works out or not. Don't tell your father I said this, but I hope you keep him around."
So Mrs. Hastings is definitely for Spoby. I hope you enjoyed Mona, Spencer, and Hanna part. I know it wasn't the happiest thing, but I figured it had been a while since there was some of that. But Caleb will be back so don't worry! And I know some of you might have been disappointed that Spencer didn't slap Jenna but another one is coming sooner or later ;) See you on Tuesday for some Spason, Spoby, Haleb and a LOT of drama.