This chapter picks up where the last chapter left off.

Chapter 19: Exposed

"Do you want to stay to hangout for a while?" Toby asked.

Spencer did not have anything else planned for the day. She had already attended her lecture for the day, so the rest of her afternoon was all freed up. Wren will be working at the hospital until midnight. Spencer wasn't sure how much time she had left with Toby before she would have to say goodbye. She did worry that if she did stay Toby would catch on to whatever it was that's troubling her. Today, she did not want to be sad. She wanted to be happy. She made her decision.

"Sure," Spencer said. "I'll be your second hand for today," she joked.

Toby chuckled, "good, because I could really use some help with showering."

Spencer knew it was meant to be a joke, but she turned a deep shade of red. The idea of being in the shower with Toby made her feel excited on the inside. She knew that no more romantic stuff would be able to happen between them. If she wants to be sure Toby's career as a carpenter will be safe in the future, she'll have no choice but to stay with Wren.

"Maybe another time," she teased. "Anything else I can be helpful with?"

"Let me think," Toby tapped his pointer finger to his chin. "I just made a full pot of coffee. I just bought some microwave popcorn, and there is a huge stack of DVDS on my bookcase. I think I could use some help watching those."

A movie! Perfect! Spencer thought. Watching movies could be a friendly activity. Of course, there is the saying Netflix and chill…, but they won't do any of that stuff. No matter how good Toby looks in his tank top and sweatpants. Spencer tried to think of something that would tame her thoughts quickly before she does something stupid, like kiss him, or beg for another 'massage.' His arm is in a cast, she told herself. There! That will be their block. Toby wouldn't be able to do much with one hand anyway. Right? Stop it, Spencer!

"Coffee, popcorn, and movies," Spencer said with a smile. "Three of my favorite things."

Toby beamed brightly at her and said, "Good, I was hoping you'd want to stay."

I want to stay forever, Spencer thought, as she smiled through the pain, but I can't.

They made it through two movies that afternoon. Now, it's close to 9 o'clock at night and they're watching 'The Notebook.' This just so happens to be one of Spencer's top three favorite movies. The idea of two lovers going their separate ways and then finding each other again never fails to get her in the feels. Being able to grow old with the person you love and dying with them is something Spencer had always dreamed about. Toby grabbed the blanket off the back of his couch and wrapped it around their bodies. Spencer allowed herself to lose control a little and snuggled up close to Toby. So close, that half of her body was on top of him.

They were now at the part of the movie where Noah and Allie are arguing about what Allie genuinely wants. The life her parents want for her or the life she really wants. Spencer thought about how much this scene reflects her reality. She too is at a crossroads. What did she want? Does she really want to be married to Wren and move all the way to London? Does she really want to leave the life she has here to start over somewhere else? Starting over somewhere else wasn't the problem. It is the person she'd be with that's the problem. What about her friends? Does she want to leave them? She won't see them every day. She'll most likely lose touch with them after a couple of years. She'd miss her mom too. What about Toby? She would never see him again. Her eyes began to well up.

Her eyes looked up at Toby. His eyes were focused on the television. He looked so handsome. His arm was wrapped securely around her body as if it were acting like a shield to protect her from anyone and anything. She thought about how safe she felt here. How warm she felt. A tear slid down her cheek as she realized what she wanted. This is what I want, she thought. More tears soon followed when she realized that what she really wanted was what she couldn't have. Spencer turned her eyes back to the movie and sniffled. Toby must've heard it because his arm wrapped tighter around her. He nudged the top of her head with his chin.

"Hey, are you alright?" He wiped her tears away using his good hand.

"Yeah," Spencer forced a small smile and sniffled. "I just… I always cry while watching this movie."

Toby wasn't buying it but didn't want to push her. He knew her well enough to know that when the timing was right, she'd tell him what was going on. Sensing it was something bad, Toby pulled move of her body onto him and wrapped more of the blanket around her body. Toby planted a short, but tender kiss on the top of her head then rested his head against hers. Spencer hugged his side wanting to savor every second she'll have with him.

Spencer spent the morning with her mother trying on wedding gowns. Despite the circumstances, Spencer had to admit it was nice sharing this time with her mother. There have been a lot of things that Spencer and her mom fought over when it came to wedding plans. Her mother made it surprisingly easy to find the perfect dress. She tried on all sorts of dresses: long, short, mermaid tails, puffy dresses, some dresses with lace, and some without lace. Her mother sent photos of Spencer in dresses to her sister, Melissa, so she could give feedback. After trying on a few different dresses, Spencer found the perfect dress. She just wished she could have the perfect wedding mate to go along with it. They got her shoes and her evening gown picked out for her day. Everything was falling into place. Except for one thing.

After getting through with shopping, Spencer and her mom went back to the house. The events from today wore her mother out, so she went upstairs to take a nap. That gave Spencer the perfect opportunity to go next door to talk to Jason. She saw his car in his driveway when they got home so she knew Jason would be home. As soon as Spencer heard her mother's bedroom door shut, she put her coat back on and went over to Jason's house.

It had been a few years since the last time Spencer had been over here. She used to visit this house a lot when Alison still lived next door. Alison moved in with Emily two years ago, so Spencer never really had a reason to come over. Just by the look of the rotted porch and the out-of-control ivy growing up the sides of the house, she could see why this house needs work. There's a busted window on the second floor covered by a piece of plywood. Spencer remembered the story of how that happened. Alison told her that Jason used to go hard on drugs and alcohol. One night after drinking too much, Jason and a friend got out into an argument. Jason threw his half empty bottle of beer at his friend. The bottle missed his friend's head and ended up smashing right through the second story window. Spencer could tell from the outside that that was the window to the upstairs hallway.

Spencer walked up the crumbling steps to the porch and knocked twice on the front door. It took Jason a solid minute to open the door. He'd gotten a tan since the last time Spencer saw him. His hair was a mess of shaggy dirty blonde. Other than him being tanned and having longer hair, he still looked about the same.

"Spencer, what brings you here?" Jason wasted no time getting into it.

Spencer knew there was no use wasting time by sharing greetings and catching up. She came here for a reason.

"I want to talk to you about Toby Cavanaugh. You should hire him."

"Not going to happen," Jason huffed.

He started to close the door on her. Spencer stopped the door with her foot. Then she used her strength and shoved through the door, passed Jason, and invited herself into his living room. The place was a pit. Trash everywhere. Stains all over the carpet and walls. The kitchen was about the only thing that looked to be in okay condition. There was another broken window towards the back of the house.

Spencer made a face and said, "this is what you've been living like since Ali moved out?"

"It only looks like this because I've been working on throwing some stuff out," said Jason. "And I don't remember saying come in."

Spencer turned to face him. "Why did you fire Toby? You know from my own mother that he's a good worker. If there's one person's word you can count on, it's hers."

"That dude broke his arm. I need to start work on the house by next week. I'm sorry if you think I'm being unfair by not hiring your boyfriend, but fair is fair, and business is business." Jason walked back to the door and opened it wide for her. "Now, if you'll excuse me…"

"First of all, you know that is a load of crap," said Spencer. "Second, you got those words from Wren. I don't know what Wren said to you that convinced you not to keep Toby for this job, but it's horse shit. Third, Toby is just my friend. And finally, shut that door because I am not leaving until you hire Toby back."

Jason shut the door, crossed his arms, and said, "oh, really? If Toby's just a friend, why are you pushing so hard for me to hire him?"

"Have you ever not known me to stand up for my friends?"

"Actually, I don't really know you much at all, remember?" said Jason. "Our dad made sure we had no contact until like five years ago."

"What did Wren say to you?" she asked.

"It wasn't just Wren," Jason said with a sigh. "Dad called too. He also thought there was something fishy with Toby's accident."

"My dad called you?" Now, this was a shook to Spencer. Spencer's dad had always seemed neutral about Toby. They didn't speak much to each other, besides Toby's first interview, but her father never outright said anything negative about Toby to Spencer's face. Unless there was something Toby knew that Spencer didn't. Even then, Spencer doesn't believe that Toby would cause his own accident.

"He didn't come right out and say that Toby was lying, but he did think it was odd that Toby's accident happened so close to his deadline," said Jason.

"That's what doesn't make sense," Spencer argued. "Why would Toby cause an accident just a week before he was meant to be done?"

Jason shrugged, "maybe he was worried he wouldn't get everything done when he promised. He could've done it to get more time."

"Toby's team finished the job without him there."

"Was Toby still paid for the work?" Jason asked.

"Thanks to Wren, Toby is under investigation," Spencer said. "But I'm telling you, Toby is not a snake. He wouldn't do something like this. Please, give him a chance. If you won't listen to me or my mom, talk to some of his employees and past employers. Toby is a good man. The work Toby can do with his own two hands is incredible."

"Wow," Jason shook his head and looked at her. "You really don't even realize it yourself, do you?"

Spencer looked puzzled. "Realize what?"

"How in love with him you are."

Spencer shook off his comment. "This isn't about me. This is about him. He deserves this chance. He deserves this job. Hire Toby and he will do magnificent work for you. Hire Toby and I promise you; you will not regret it."

Jason looked at her, considering. "Fine," he gave in. "I'll give him a shot."

Spencer smiled and said, "Really? Thank you, Jason! Thank you! Give Toby a few weeks to get better and I know you'll be happy with his work. Just like I was."

Jason laughed and said, "I don't think I'll be anywhere as happy with him as you are."

Friday morning, Toby had a follow-up appointment with his doctor. His accident came with a concussion, so it's mandatory that he gets another scan to be sure he's healing properly. The nurses did all the work. A nurse shined a light in his eyes and gave him the exam. It has been two weeks since his accident and so far, Toby is showing progress.

"Alright, Mr. Cavanaugh we are all done here," the nurse said in her cheery voice. "Everything looks good today. You have another week in the cast, but other than that, you're fine. Do you have any questions or concerns for me today?"

"Nope," Toby said. "Nothing."

"Okay," the nurse said. "Just wait here for a minute and Dr. Kingston will be right in with some follow-up questions for you."

Oh, joy, Toby thought. He thanked the nurse before she left. Toby felt helpless sitting on the chair with his arm in the cast. He stared at the ugly wallpaper surrounding the room. Gray background with circus clowns. Toby hated clowns. The clowns were all laughing. They looked like they were laughing at him. Laughing at him for getting himself into a stupid accident. Why didn't he remember to check the anchors before walking on the scaffolding? The clowns laughed at him for getting himself in a situation where he's falling for an engaged woman. The clowns laughed at him because the doctor that just entered the room is engaged to the woman he secretly wants. Wren's face was stuck in a cold expression, and his eye roll was hard to miss as the man shut the door and got out his pen to write on Toby's chart.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Cavanaugh," Wren said. "How are you feeling today?"

"Fine," Toby said. That one word was covered with a thick layer of agitation. Toby loathed this man. Not just for bad mouthing him and trying to ruin his career. For having the woman Wren really doesn't deserve. For being with the woman that Toby so desperately wanted.

"Let's just get through these questions and then you can go, okay?" Wren said with a raised eyebrow.

Toby shrugged and said, "Fine."

"Have you had any more pain in your arm since last week?"

"Not really."

"Have you been taking any pain meds this week?"

"No."

"Have you noticed anymore swelling or itching to your arm?"

"Yes," Toby said. "I've had a little itching."

Wren sighed, "as the nurse reminded you, please don't use any tools like pens, pencils, or other sharp objects to scratch. Have you had anymore headaches this week?"

Toby shook his head, "No."

"Good. Just one more question to wrap this session up."

"Okay," Toby said.

Wren clicked his pen closed. He crossed his arms and looked Toby directly in the eye.

"How long have you been screwing my fiancé?"

You know how much I love to leave you on a cliffhanger. Who knows when I will post another chapter again. :)

Hope you enjoyed this chapter full of many emotions. Please write a review and enjoy the rest of your day/night/evening/whatever.