School finally ended the next day and I practically ran to where I knew Jason's car was parked. And I actually beat him there, which was a first.
"In a hurry to get somewhere, Spence?" Jason asked sarcastically as I heard him approach the car.
"Shut up and drive, Jason." I told him as I got into the passenger seat.
"Is there anywhere in particular that you want to go?" He asked just to get on my nerves even more.
"You know exactly where I want to go, Jason. In fact you were the one that promised to take me there yesterday."
"Oh right, I'm supposed to take you to Toby. How could I have possibly forgotten?" He said with exaggerated sarcasm.
"Sarcasm suits your personality so well, Jason." I shot back with just as much sarcasm.
"I pretty sure you meant that as an insult, but guess what, I'm going to take it as a compliment." He said to spite me.
"Hey, you're supposed to be taking me to Toby's!"
"I am." He stated defensively.
"No, you're not! You just made a right turn. If you were going to Toby's house you would have made a left turn." I argued.
"I said I was taking you to Toby. I never said anything about going to his house." He clarified although I still didn't get it.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means; I'm not going to Toby's house because he isn't there. He's at my place."
"Why is Toby at your place?"
"Why do you have to ask so many questions?" Jason challenged me.
"Just one more question, Jason. Are you going to leave me and Toby alone or will all three of us hang out together this afternoon?"
"I'll give you two some alone time, don't worry. I know how much you've been worrying about him. And how much he's been worried about you because he knows how you get when something bad happens."
"Thank you, Jason." I said as he grabbed my bag so I could get out of the car easier.
"Thank you for carrying your bag, or thank you for agreeing to give you and Toby alone time?" He asked as we walked into his building.
"What do you think I meant, Jason?"
"That you secretly meant thanks for being the best older brother." He teased and I smacked his arm while trying to keep a smile off my face.
"Wow, that actually hurt a bit." He commented as I heard him unlock his door.
"Good, it was supposed to." I told him shaking my head.
"What on Earth are you two arguing about now?" I heard somebody ask.
Even though I knew he was here I was still surprised. I followed the sound of his voice and ran into his open arms.
"Toby!" I said as I wrapped my arms around him and tried to avoid his cast.
"Hey, Spence," Toby replied and placed a kiss on my temple.
"Not to interrupt, but you have an hour and a half to yourselves while I work in my room. After that I'll pizza or something for all of us and we can hang out." Jason told us and then I heard him walk into his bedroom and shut the door.
"An hour and a half, he's in a generous mood." Toby commented as we sat down on the couch.
"I think he has a little sympathy for us after what happened yesterday. How are you feeling?"
"I'm doing good and I'm definitely glad to be out of the hospital."
"Yeah, I'm glad you're out too." I nodded. "But how come you're here and not at your place?"
"Do you really want me to answer that?" I heard him sigh. "I thought you'd want to take advantage of the hour and a half Jason gave us."
"I do want to take advantage of the alone time with you, that's why I want to get this out of the way. You know me; I'm going to go crazy until I have an answer." I tried to convince him, and I succeeded.
"Okay, I'll tell you. Jenna got off from school yesterday and today because of what happened. And about an hour after I got home, Garrett came over. I was in my room and they were in hers but I could still hear them arguing. I didn't want to listen to that so I called Jason and he gave me a ride over here on his lunch break." He quickly explained.
"I get that. I hate it when my parents argue loud enough that you can hear it throughout the entire house. I just had to listen to them and wait for it to end. At least that's what I did before I had you."
"I remember. You would come over and we'd go for a walk around town if it was late enough. Or we'd just sit in my backyard and relax."
I walked to the Cavanaugh's house and texted Toby when I was outside.
"Hey, I thought you couldn't do tonight." Toby commented as he met me on the sidewalk.
"There was…a change in plans." I told him, staring at the ground.
"Well, Jenna's home or else I would invite you in. Want to go for a walk?" He offered and I nodded.
"What happened to change your plans? Were your parents too busy with a case to have dinner with you and Melissa at the club?" Toby asked me after a few minutes of comfortable silence.
"No, we made it to the club alright. But my parents started to get in an argument so we left early. I left with my mom and Melissa left with my dad. I thought they'd go their separate ways when they got home. And by tomorrow morning they'd be acting like nothing happened. But things just got worse when we got home."
"I'm sorry, Spence, I know what that's like. And it sucks." He said as he gave me a sympathetic smile.
"Do your dad and stepmom not get along sometimes?" I asked.
"No, they get along fine for the most part. I was talking about me and Jenna."
"Oh," I nodded.
I knew what he meant without explanation. And I felt bad for worrying about myself and my parents' argument when Toby had Jenna to deal with.
"So, is that why you came over? To get away from that?"
"Yeah, I needed to get away." I sighed. "Usually it isn't this bad, but when it is, I just wait it out. But tonight, I don't know, I just needed an escape. And you're a really good escape from the problems of life."
I said the last part barely loud enough to hear.
"I'm an escape from life's problem?" Toby almost laughed. "You do realize that I have a million of mine own right?"
"I know, and I think that's a part of why we get along. You understand that life's not all sunshine. But you still help me and bring a little sunlight in."
"How do I help you, Spencer?" He asked with a little disbelief in his voice.
"It always helps to know that there's someone on your side. And even though bad stuff happens to you, you don't let it get to you like I do. You still have a little bit of optimism in your life and you care about other people, but me…"
"You have 'hope breeds eternal misery' as your life motto." He said slightly teasing.
"Exactly," I laughed.
"Well, I'm glad I can help. And I think the same about you."
"You help me and I help you?"
"Exactly," Toby nodded and smiled.
The time flew by and before we knew it my dad was calling to say he wanted me home since it was a school night. Jason offered to give both Toby and me a ride home and we accepted. We got to my place first and Toby walked me to the door.
"I know I said it earlier, but I'm glad you're okay and you're out of the hospital." I said as we went up the steps.
I knew that my parents were probably asleep so it was safe to talk outside for a few minutes. Or at least until Jason became impatient.
"I'm glad to be out. But I'm a little worried about going home. Jenna usually isn't in a good mood when someone fights her on her way." Toby admitted.
"What were Jenna and Garrett even arguing about?"
"I don't know for sure. But it sounded like Garrett did something that Jenna didn't like. She said something about it not being part of her plan. And that he was supposed to keep something safe."
"No," I whispered and shook my head not wanting to believe it. How had I not figured this out earlier?
"What? What is it, Spence?" Toby asked in immediate concern.
"I know what they were arguing about; I know what Garrett did to make Jenna so mad." I told him. "Jenna came over the day before my eye doctor appointment. She said she knew what we were doing. And we had stop because it was none of our business and we would get hurt if we didn't. She claimed that she didn't want you to get hurt or caught up in things. And that she wasn't the one we should be worried about."
"Why didn't you tell me all of this before, Spence? That was almost two week ago."
"I don't know, I guess I thought it was a bluff. But that's not the point." I shook my head trying to get my thoughts together.
"Then what is the point, Spencer?" He demanded.
"Garrett is the point. He was here yesterday morning and he went to the barn. He said he wanted to check on Melissa. He was out there for a long time even though she wasn't there at all. He's the one that messed with the scaffolding. Jenna's mad at him because we ignored her warning and he hurt you."
"We?" Toby asked and I could hear both astonishment and a little anger. "Spencer, I didn't even know about her warning. You should have told me, you should have told all of us."
I thought he was going to stop there. But he didn't. He continued. And I knew he was right no matter how much it hurt to hear it. I hated messing up, and this time I had messed up big time.
"And how do you know Melissa wasn't there? Jenna and Garrett could have been arguing about a thousand different things and I doubt it was about my arm. And accidents happen all the time, and that's what happened with the scaffolding." He challenged and I could hear his voice rising louder.
"Accidents do happen all the time. But this is Rosewood, accidents and coincidences just don't exist. There is always somebody behind every bad thing that happens in this town." I argued and raised my voice to match his. "And I know Melissa wasn't home because I heard her car pull up three minutes after Garrett left."
"Jenna may hate me, she has done terrible things in the past, and we might have ignored her warnings, but she isn't capable this. And neither is Garrett, he's nothing but a wimp in a cop uniform."
"Just like I thought Ali had done a lot of bad things but wasn't capable of setting your garage on fire." I stated sarcastically.
"That's a completely different thing, Spencer. Don't change the subject!" He argued.
"No, it isn't. Ali wanted to teach us a lesson and so did Garrett." I pointed out as I yelled at him.
I felt bad for yelling at him and took a minute to calm down before continuing.
"Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I know it's a lame excuse, but I thought it was for the best. Because I honestly thought it was just a bluff and nothing to worry about. Especially since I told her off and gave her a warning of my own."
"Spencer, Jenna doesn't bluff and her warnings aren't to be taken lightly. I could have told you that if you had told me." He scolded harshly. "And I know you thought it was for the best, and not that's it often, but sometimes you're wrong. This actually is like what Alison did. You thought it was for the best then too. Look how that how that backfired, figuratively and literally."
"Don't bring that into this!" I shouted to cover up the hurt and sting of his words.
"You're the one that brought it up!" He shouted back defensively.
"I never thought that what Alison did was for the best! You of all people should know how much I regret that. I already hate myself for letting it happen and Jenna does too. So please, don't add yourself to the list."
I had been yelling at him this whole time. But when I got to the last part, I barely managed to say it, let only yell.
"That's not what I meant, Spencer, I swear." Toby backpedalled and his voice immediately dropped back to normal.
"Then what the hell did you mean, Toby?" I asked as I tried to keep my voice steady and blink back the tears that were starting to well up.
"I…I'm sorry, Spence. You're right; I shouldn't have brought that up. I shouldn't have said that." He sighed.
"But you did, Toby. You knew what you were saying and you knew exactly how much it would hurt. But you said it anyway!" I cried and the tears ran down my cheeks.
"Spencer, I'm..." He started to apologize once again when I heard a car horn.
"Save it, Toby. Jason's waiting." I stated coldly.
I went into the house and slammed the door behind me as loud as I could.
I know I know, I really am sorry for the ending. :( But at least there was Spason and Spoby fluff beforehand. Next chapter picks up where this left off and Hanna gives Toby a piece of her mind. I'm sure you're all looking forward to that. I hope you're not too mad to review because you guys were awesome last chapter. I seriously thought it would take a little while to get to 150 but you all did it in 2 days. Thank you so much and for that I'll be nice and let you know that Spoby will resolve things soon-ish. I promise!