The Only Exception

Twenty Four

~Spencer~

"You're sure it was your mom's voice Lanes?" I scratched at my chin because fuck me. I knew Claire was a little fucked up after Lainey told me about the assault but this? Organizing the kidnapping and physical abuse of your daughter? Breaking into her apartment? This was pure insanity. 

"Mhm." Lainey laid her head back against the head rest. "I'm 100% sure. How did I not recognise it?" 

"You were under high stress Lanes. You didn't even recognize me when I turned up. You're not going to remember the voice of someone you hadn't seen in 5 years. Not like that." We rounded the corner to the house and she let out a slow sigh. 

"Can I have a few minutes when we get home? I just-" She exhales, dropping her hands in her lap. "I need some time. Alone. To process it." 

"You think it'll help?"

"I don't know but my head is just all over right now and I need to clear it before I can express any of it." I nodded slowly. 

"How long do you want before I check in?" 

"Like an hour?" 

"Okay. If you need me though Lanes-" 

"I'll text you or call or come down." The second the door stopped she pulled the house keys out of my open hand, climbing out of the car. There's been an awful lot of changes recently in how Lainey deals with bad days. This is one of them. She often feels like she's being a nuisance when she's struggling. She likes to process things her own way, in her own space and that's fine as long as she isn't locking me out afterwards. Her therapist suggested this last month and we've been using it since. She can have her space and we set a time for me to go and check in. If she needs more time, we do it again but set a cap at 3 hours. After that, processed or not, she has to talk about it. With me or the therapist or Chels or whoever. No keeping shit in anymore. It's hard for her but she's doing so well and I'm so fucking proud of her for it. Especially on days like today. This is heavy. 

I closed the car door behind me, stopping and staring at the front step where Noah was currently standing up. Lainey just pushed right past him. 

"What the hell are you doi-" 

"Not today." She went straight to the door, unlocking it and slamming it hard behind her. Making her feelings perfectly clear. Noah stared at the door before turning to face me, dark red face. 

"I came here to find out what the fuck happened and -" I roll my eyes, stepping up the path. 

"Inside." 

"No. You're gonna tell me exactly why my sister is-" 

"I will. When you're inside and you bring your voice down. Lainey doesn't need you shouting and making today even worse so..." I nodded at the door. I wasn't doing this out here. I needed to be around if she needed me. I couldn't hear her shouting from out here. Noah huffed, turning and stomping up the stairs like a child. He stopped in the living room, crossing his arms over his chest. 

"Why were you with Lainey? My dad told you to-" I sat down on the sofa, leaving him to stand there with the attitude or whatever he wanted to hold. 

"Yeah, I wasn't going to leave her in the hospital was I? After having the worst 2 weeks-" 

"They weren't that bad." 

"Want to see the pictures of the knife wounds literally all over her? The metal plates in her arm because they broke it in 4 places and left it to start healing? The fact she was locked in a box in a warehouse for 2 weeks?" Noah glared at me, probably trying to see if he tried hard enough would it kill me. "If you thought I could just walk away from her after any of that, after spending 2 weeks terrified I'd be finding a body and not her, you have me completely wrong Noah." 

"So you thought just bring her home and what? Not tell us?" 

"Well it's not like you guys have bothered to ask her where she was living is it? She's been living with me for 2 months. Not once have you guys asked her how she's doing after it all. Not once have you asked her if she's safe, not asked about school, about what happened. Nothing. That girl was alone for 6 fucking years Noah-" 

"She wasn't alone." 

"Where the fuck were you? Where was your dad? It took me finding out about her birthday for you both to send the same fucking flowers from the same shop with the same bullshit note. That's your sister. The sister you claim to love more than life itself. 'Touch her Spencer and I'll kill you myself.' But you didn't remember her birthdays. You didn't check in with her when she was fucking kidnapped. You didn't put a rush on anyone finding her. You weren't holding her hand when they were stitching up 3 inch long slices all over her. You weren't even at her graduation today. I was there. For all of it. I wasn't there for 6 years because of you and you just left her to fend for herself. At 16. 16 years old Noah and she was living alone. You don't even know the girl that's sat up there." 

"Oh and you fucking do? You know my sister so fucking well?" 

"A hell of a lot better than you do." His face twitched and I took a deep breath. "Since you're already mad, I'm just gonna put this out there now. Lainey's not just here so I can keep her safe. We're in a relationship." Noah looked like he was about to explode but there was no point in stopping there, might as well let him know it all. "It started the day before she was abducted. She can't sleep if she's not in my bed because she's terrified of something happening. We were supposed to be going to Italy tonight for 3 weeks. But it's been side tracked I think."  His taught face twitched before spinning on his heels and storming up the stairs. 

"LAINEY. GRAB YOUR SHIT." 

"Noah." I followed after him, not wanting to disturb her before the 1 hour clock we'd agreed on in the car. "She's not going any-" 

"You're a fucking pervert. She's 7 YEARS younger than you." He turned around. "My little fucking sister. She's practically a child and you're a full grown adult. You grew up with her. You- you saw her in fucking diapers. You were at her 1st birthday party." 

"And now she's 22 and shockingly, a hell of a lot mature than she was at 16. She isn't a child Noah. You need to stop thinking and treating her like she is." He marched down the hallway, gripping my shirt as he pinned me up against the wall but I stayed calm. "This isn't a fling Noah. I didn't have an interest in Lainey like that when she was a kid. We've both done a lot of growing up over the past few years and if you knew her like I know her, you'd know that." He raised his fist as if he wanted to punch me. 

"Noah! What the fuck are you doing? Put him down." Noah froze. "An hour. I needed an hour to fucking process shit and all I can hear is you going off like some primative man child." Lainey pulled his hand off my shirt. "Are you okay?" 

"I'm fine." I nod at her and she turns her attention back to Noah who was passing looks between the two of us. 

"Is it true?" 

"Are you going to act like a caveman if I tell you?" He opens his mouth but Lainey has had enough. "My dating life is as much your business, Noah, as it's ever been. Which is none of it. But if you must have confirmation from me then yes. Spencer and I have been together for a month or two." 

"3." She turns her head up at me. Not helping. Got it. 

"We're both consenting adults and he is the best thing to happen to me and that is all I'm saying on the matter. Moving on topics. Mom's the one who kidnapped me. Not that you care." 

"Not that I-" 

"Yep. I said what I said. I've got a hell of a lot of shit I'm mad at right now but you and dad are so far down the list and I have other things that are taking priority. I'll get around to it once I've cleared everything else off my schedule. You can either stay and not make a fuss about me and Spencer or you can give me another reason to cut you off because fuck me you're so close to it already."