𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐈𝐗𝐓𝐇 𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐑, 𝙿𝚁𝙴𝚃𝚃𝚈 𝙻𝙸𝚃𝚃𝙻𝙴 𝙻𝙸𝙰𝚁𝚂

𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 1 𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞 17

On the next day Bella checked her SMS

Spencer
Are you free right now? If so, come to Emily's house

She must've fallen asleep when Spencer texted her. The girl immediately stood up from her bed and replied

Bella
So sorry. I probably fell asleep. Was it important?

After a while, Spencer replied

Spencer
Well, firstly, my sister is pregnant. And secondly, Toby gave me a 'hint' but I just can't tell what it is. Maybe you could help me in school today

Bella got ready for school and said goodbye to her aunt. In school she was looking for Spencer but couldn't find her

Last night she was thinking. About her and Trevor, and how she didn't want to make things between her and Spencer complicated. Sure, Spencer already said she wouldn't have a problem with them being a couple but still. Wouldn't it be weird?

She made her way to the cafeteria and saw the girls so she joined them. Spencer smiled

"There you are"

Bella chuckled and sat between Emily and Hanna. "What did i miss?" She asked

"Hanna has Calebs hat. Who is living with her now, by the way" Aria replied

"Wait, what? He's living with you?" Bella asked and Hanna nodded

"Why shouldn't I have his hat?" Hanna wondered. "Hanna, maybe you're looking for something a little edgier after Sean. But this guy is dark"  Spencer replied

"Spencer, he's not that dark" Hanna defended

"He's dark enough" Spencer repeated

"Well, he's no Arthur Dodger, whoever this is" Hanna told. "Yeah, he's just had it tough" Aria joined in

Bella smiled. "So you two are finally talking again?"

Aria smiled at Hanna and nodded. "You need to be careful about that guty" Emily told

"It seemed to me we had that conversation about Toby" Hanna said

Suddenly you could hear Mr. Fitz talking to a father

"My daughter is Paige McCullers"

"I have your daughter in English Comp. I'm Ezra Fitz" Mr. Fitz told, offering his hand to shake. But the dad didn't accept

"The coach"

"Why don't we walk down to the principal's office to see if we can find Coach Fulton?" Mr. Fitz suggested

"I've seen the principal. And all I got was politically correct double-talk. About the agenda in this place that's penalising my daughter. Taking opportunities and giving them to someone who doesn't deserve them!"

"Everybody gets a fair chance here, Mr. McCullers. We go out of our way to make sure it works" Mr. Fitz told

"My girl is the best swimmer on that team. You can't give it to somebody just because-"

Mr. Fitz quickly interrupted. "You're in a cafeteria, Mr. McCullers with kids trying to have lunch. I don't think that's the audience you want, is it?"

And with that Mr. McCullers left the school

-

After school, where Bella didn't see Trevor today, she sat on her bed. Where was he? Was he avoiding her?

She was about to take a nap but received a SMS

Spencer
Hey, Bel. Are you free? If so, can I come to your house?

Bella
Of course!

Spencer
Great! See you in 5

After a few moments, she heard a knock and went downstairs to open the door. She was home alone right now anyways

The girls hugged each other, smiling. "Hey, Spence. Do you have anything important to discuss?"

The brunette nodded and they went to Bellas room, sitting on her bed. "I have to be at Toby's in a few minutes so I don't have much time" Spencer explained

"You're meeting with Toby?" Bella asked confused. Spencer nodded. "Yeah. I'll drive him somewhere. But I really can't be at my house right now"

The blonde furrowed her eyebrows. "Why? Is everything alright?" Spencer sighed, shaking her head. "Not at all. My dad is giving my brother a really hard time"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he's the only guy. Which can be really hard. He's also the middle child" Spencer said, "But today my dad locked him into his room, which he never did from what I know.  I don't know the reason yet, but I swear I'll figure it out. My brother doesn't deserve this at all"

Maybe that was the reason he wasn't in school today. "Spencer, that's illegal. Isn't your mom a lawyer?"

"I know. The thing is, she isn't home. I will tell her tomorrow when she comes back" Spencer explained

"Is he still locked in? Because if so, that's a reason to call the police" Bella noticed. "I don't think he is. I have to go now. We will talk tomorrow" Spencer left the house, leaving Bella alone again

She was still shocked. How could someone lock their own son away?

Bella gets beaten by her dad sometimes. So maybe she knew that calling the police on your own dad was harder than it looked like