Chapter 26: What Happens Next?

The people of Rosewood will be pleased. It's been a long time since this town has had a scandal. The Hastings manner being front page news of the scandal is just the cherry on top. Neighbors stood out in the dark night trying to get a glimpse of the police cars lights flashing outside the Hastings home. No one knows what is happening, but that hasn't stopped rumors from already flying.

"I wonder if Veronica knows about her husband's affair!" A lady whispered to her friend.

The friend whispered back, "maybe Veronica finally snapped and poisoned Peter, and that is why the police are there."

Another voice said, "maybe they were robbed."

"Did their daughter throw another out-of-control party?"

Aria, Hanna, Emily, and Alison pulled up outside Spencer's driveway. They took in the flood of people across the street. They saw the police cars in front of the house. Hanna shook her head at the noisy neighbors and Aria gave them the finger before walking up to Spencer's front door.

Inside the gates of the Hastings's house, officer Berry was getting a statement from Mrs. Hastings. Wren was sitting on the front porch steps in hand cuffs being watched by two officers. Spencer was standing in the yard squeezing her arms around her torso. Toby wasn't too far away from her. Mr. Hastings was just coming home from work with his briefcase in his hand. His eyes went wide with wonder as he took in his surroundings.

"What the hells is going on here!?"

Mr. Hastings spotted his wife talking to a police officer. He glanced at Wren on the porch steps before going to join his wife. Veronica moved away from the officer to fill Peter in on what he's missed. Mr. Hastings was flabbergasted.

"Get that man out of my house!" Mr. Hastings yelled to the two policemen next to Wren.

The two policemen each grabbed one of Wren's elbows to lift him to his feet. Spencer watched from afar as Wren was escorted out of the property to one of the squad cars parked outside the gate. Mr. Hastings glanced over at his daughter and gave her a look that could pass as sympathetic. One officer walked over to Spencer with a notebook.

"I'm ready when you are to give your statement," Officer Berry said. "This was your fiancé?"

"He was using me the whole time," Spencer was shaking as she spoke. "I never saw it coming."

"It's too soon to say exactly what will happen to Wren," said Berry. "But I can assure you he will be doing time for this. Do you know if Wren is working alone?"

Spencer shook her head, "there's a girl helping him. Her name is Jenna Marshall. I don't know if anyone else is involved."

"How do you know Ms. Marshall?" Berry asked.

"I don't," a tear slid down her cheek.

"Okay," Berry touched Spencer's shoulder to show comfort. "That's all we need for now. Call if you can think of anything else to tell us."

Spencer sniffled and shivered as the evening air sent a shiver down her spine. Spencer glanced across the yard at her parents talking. Her father seemed genuinely concerned, and sorry, but he also looked disappointed that his daughter would no longer be marrying a rich man liked he hoped. It all comes down to the money. All Spencer wanted was someone who loved her. She would hope… she would think that would be what her parents would want for her too.

"Spencer," Mr. Hastings walked over to her. "What happened?"

"I'm sorry your bromance with Wren won't continue," she said.

"Is what your mother just told me true? Wren is a con artist."

"Look on the bright side, dad, you no longer have to worry about losing money on that house or wedding."

Mr. Hastings couldn't think of anything to say, so he just walked up the front porch steps and went into the house. Mrs. Hastings gave a final word to the police and sent them on their way. The girls joined Spencer and Toby outside the barn.

"So, everything was true?" Emily asked.

Spencer nodded and forced a laugh, "it's all true."

"We're so sorry, Spence," Aria said. "How do you feel?"

"Pretty stupid," said Spencer.

"Did you know your mom was upstairs the whole time?" Hanna asked.

Spencer smirked and said, "I told her when I got home. At first, my mom didn't believe me, so I asked her to wait upstairs while I got wren to confess."

"See, Toby," Alison poked fun at him. "She wasn't alone. You didn't have to follow her."

"Right," Toby looked sheepish. He looked at Spencer. "I know you said not to follow you. I'm sorry. I just got worried he would try to hurt you. I know I should have respected your wishes, but I care about you too much to…"

He was cut off by Spencer's arms wrapping around him. Toby wrapped his arms securely around her as Spencer snuggled close against his chest.

"Thank you," she whispered for only him to her. "For always being there."

"You're welcome." His heart warmed with her back wrapped in his arms. He stroked the back of her hair with his fingers. He ached from all the pain she had had to go through in the last several hours. Spencer really did not deserve this.

Inside the Hastings house in the kitchen, Mr. Hastings started pacing and ranting to his wife. He could not believe that some punk was using his daughter. That's not manly what he's mad about. He was mad at the idea of someone trying to steal from him. Mr. Hastings thought he was setting his daughter up with a nice, rich, young man who would take care of her and make the Hastings name look good. But Wren had made him and his family look like fools.

"A con artist!" Mr. Hastings exclaimed. "He's a con artist. What are the odds?"

"Well, we are a wealthy family, Peter," said Mrs. Hastings. "I suppose we were silly to think someone wouldn't try to pull something like this on us. I just wish it weren't our daughter who ended up hurt."

"We'll have to find another man for her," said Mr. Hastings.

"I think we should just let Spencer find someone for herself," she said. "Our daughter is a smart, strong, and confident woman. We can trust her to find someone on her own. We should've let her decide from the beginning who she wants."

"You spent months planning her wedding!" Mr. Hastings yelled. "All that time and money we spent is out the window. Our daughter's and my reputation are ruined."

"I thought all we wanted was for our daughter to be cared for, loved, and happy. I know that's what I want for her."

"Wren may not have been the best at loving or making her happy, but he would have taken care of her. What are the odds of Spencer finding a man who can do all three: care, love, and make her happy?"

"I don't know." Mrs. Hastings glanced out the kitchen window. Her eyes found Spencer being embraced by the carpenter. While Veronica was upstairs, she did overhear Spencer admit to having an affair with Toby, but that's all Veronica thought it was. Until she saw the way the carpenter was holding her daughter. That's when she realized. It's not just an affair. Veronica felt a soft smile tug on her lips as she watched them.

She said to her husband, "I think she already has."

Toby ran his fingers over the surface of the gold watch Spencer gifted him. His thumb clipped the latch at the bottom lifting the watch cover to reveal the words engraved inside. You are my once upon a time. Those words told Toby a tale the first time he saw that. Spencer wanted Toby, but for reasons that he did not at the time understand, she just had to stay with Wren. Toby has more of an understanding now as to why Spencer made the choices she made. After learning the truth about Wren, Toby no longer knew where they stood. Is the door open to him now? It seemed wrong to consider swooping in now when Spencer just learned something so dark about a man, she thought she knew. Spencer needed space.

Why is Toby just sitting in his truck outside Spencer's house? The police, the crowd, and everyone left. The lights in the main house finally went out, which meant Spencer's parents must have gone to bed. Toby couldn't tell if Spencer had gone to bed or not. Thanks to the giant wall circulating the property, he could not see her barn from where he was parked. Toby felt like a creep just sitting here, but he also wanted to feel useful. Like he was protecting Spencer somehow by staying guard in case some nut tried to break through. Wren had Jenna as his partner. Toby wasn't sure if the police caught her yet or if Wren had another accomplice to his crimes still roaming around. Toby thought about offering to stay with Spencer but wasn't sure how appropriate that would be with Spencer's parents watching. Mrs. Hastings heard everything Spencer told Wren. Including Spencer admitting that she and Toby were having an affair.

Toby sighed. He leaned his head back against the head rest. I'll only stay ten more minutes; he thought as he started to close his eyes. It was after 1 a.m. Toby's phone buzzed, jolting him upright. He took a breath and Spencer's name lit up his home screen. Toby took a moment and rubbed the sleepiness out of his eyes before answering the call.

"Hello?"

"Hey," Spencer's voice came out soft and raspy. "Sorry, were you asleep?"

"No," he said. "I uh…I'm up. Are you okay?"

"I'm trying to be. Do you…um…would you mind coming over? I understand you probably don't want to get out of bed in the middle of the night."

"Actually, I never left," Toby admitted.

He heard a breathy laugh come from the other side. There was silence on the phone, but he knew she was still there. After a moment…

"Go to the back gate," she said. "I'll let you in through there."

Toby hung up the phone then got out of the truck. He cut over to the DiLaurentis's backyard to get to the Hastings yard to the back gate. When he got there, he found Spencer outside in the yard waiting for him. She unlatched the gate to let him through. They shared warm smiles as they walked through the backyard together and through the door to the barn. Spencer shut the door behind them.

I wanted to show the reaction of Spencer's parents to finding out about all of this. Now that Wren has been exposed, what does this mean for Spoby going forward? I hope you liked this little chapter and will leave a review. I really appreciate those of you who write them.

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