The Only Exception

Thirty

~Lainey~

"Lanes!" Chelsea practically swallows me into a hug the second we walk into the reception area. "What have you done to your hair!" She pulls at the random strands I'd pulled down, brows furrowing. "And it's up!" She scowls and I force a bright smile onto my face. 

"Oh. I fancied a change. Dyed it once and loved it so stuck with it." Her eyes flicked up to Dean beside me and she straightened herself, Jason wrapping an arm around her waist as he joined the group. "Oh. Jason, Chelsea, this is Dean." 

"Lainey's fiancé." I almost gagged when Dean said it out loud, extending his hand to Jason who looked at me and raised an eyebrow. I gave him a single nod and his face twitched, shaking Dean's hand with a smile. 

"Dean. Would you like to grab a drink, I'm sure the girls have got a lot to catch up about and knowing them both, you don't want to be around when they start talking about what pairs of shoes they both bought recently. You'll fall asleep tonight with nightmares of them chasing you down streets." Dean looked at me and I gave him a calming wink. 

"I'm fine with Chels. I should find Noah anyway." 

"Okay. I'll be at the bar if you need me." He leaned into me, kissing the top of my head, before walking off with Jason. 

"Okay. Let's go." 

"I can't." Chelsea grabbed my wrist, pulling me out of the room despite my protests. I'd have to find a reason for disappearing that he'd believe. A toilet break or helping Chelsea with her dress or something. Anything. "Chels-" She looked both ways before pulling me into an empty room, pushing the door closed behind us. 

"What the hell is going on?" 

"What are you talking about? Noth-" 

"Quit the bullshit Lainey. You just disappear for 18 months, change your number, change your hair. Move in with your mother across the country?" I move away from the door into the wide open space, hoping she'd quieten down and I could give her an excuse she'd believe. "So what the hell happened because none of this is you." 

"You need to quieten down Chels." 

"And you're engaged? When the fuck did that happen? Who is that guy?"

"He's Dean. I told you that." She rolled her eyes, opened her mouth to speak but the door cracked open and my heart stopped in my chest. This is going to be Dean and he's going to tell my mom and everyone's going to die because of me. Because I can't follow instructions. Because I can't- I can't - I can't- I can't breathe. 

This is too much. I shouldn't have come home. I should have said I had the flu or something. Made up an excuse to miss the wedding and caught up with Noah some other time. I could have face timed him and met his new wife that way. That would have been fine. Not being somewhere with everyone watching me or Dean reporting back. 

"She here?" I bite down on my thumb as whoever says something to Chels. She nods and I try to gather myself together. Breath normally Lainey. Don't you dare let up. Don't you- "Sunshine?" I stare at the suit clad man stood in the middle of the room. Great. I'm hallucinating. This has to be some kind of trauma response. Or a cruel joke from my mom. Get someone made up to look like Spencer just to remind me what's at risk here. What I could loose if I don't go back out there to Dean right now. "Chels, can you-" 

"Grab Noah? Sure thing. I'll make sure Jace keeps the guy busy and wasted." The door opens, light from the hall and music flooding the room for just a few seconds before it vanishes again and I'm left alone in the room going stir crazy. 

"Everything's fine. Everything's fine. Everything's fine." I feel my legs start to pace as I bring my hands to my face, rubbing at my eyes before looking back at him still stood there. "You're not real. You're dead. He's dead Lainey. You're going mad. Everything's fine, this isn't real. Ma-maybe you hit your head or this is just- a - just a really really bad-" 

"Sunshine." I hold my hands up as the ghost steps forward and I can visibly see how much I'm shaking.  Don't cry. Can't cry. No crying. "Lanes-" 

"Nuhuh." I shake my head but it keeps moving. It moves and it moves quicker, throwing my arms out of the way and wrapping it's arms around my waist, lifting my feet off the floor. 

"I've got you Sunshine. I've got you. I'm here." 

"No- You're n-not. You're-" He collapses to the floor and I can feel the pain in my knees as we do just as much as I can feel his arms around me and his face being pressed into my neck. "This isn't real." I whisper, frozen with my hands refusing to touch him. Spencer's ghost pulls back. God it's so realistic. Every speck of colour in his perfect blue eyes. Every extra wrinkle, the bags under his eyes so fucking deep. Spencer's aftershave drifts into my nose and it physically hurts. My chest hurts. Tears threaten to spill from my eyes as the ghost takes my face in his hands. 

"I'm here Sunshine. I'm here. I'm real. I promise I'm here. I'm alive. I'm okay. I'm right here. Feel me Beautiful." He takes one hand off me just to grab my hand and push it into his chest. "Feel that? Feel my heart, Lanes. Feel that I'm breathing." A sob breaks from my mouth and I bring my free hand up to cover my mouth. "That's it Sunshine. I'm right here. You're safe. I've got you. Everything's okay. I'm here." Spencer pulls me into his chest, squeezing me between his strong arm and my hand still feeling his pounding chest beneath my palm. 

He moved us both, sitting down and pulling me into the small of his lap, cradling me in his arms and I swear, he was crying just as hard as I was. I'm still not convinced this isn't a dream until Noah sits down beside us a good while later when the tears have turned to silently checking each other over. 

"She said you were dead." I whispered at him, shakily swiping my thumb across his tear stained cheeks. "I heard the gunshot and she said you were dead."

"I know." He nodded quickly, pressing his forehead to mine and adding so much pressure it's all I could focus on. "I knew she would have said something like that. But you're here and we're going to get you out of here so you don't need to go back. You're not going back okay? I promise you right now Lainey you are not going back there." I lift my head up quickly. 

"I have to. I can't-" I swallow. "If she finds out- I- She- she'll hurt-" 

"She's not going to hurt anyone Lanes." 

"We're not going to let her." 

"No, she already-" I turned back to Spencer. "I already lost you once Spence. I'm not risk-" 

"Lainey. Listen to me," Spence grabbed my face "Are you listening because I'm saying this once and once alone?" I nod. "Good. I am not letting you walk out of her with anyone but me. You're not leaving here and going back to a life you're being forced into. You belong here. With me. So that's where you're staying. I am not leaving you for her to put you through this. I've told you once, I'll tell you again. You're stuck with me Sunshine. No gunshots keeping me from loving you for the next 70 years. Until we're both old in rocking chairs with false teeth. Got it?" 

"Got it." I sniff, laying my head down into his neck. Fake or not. I wasn't fucking moving from right here ever. I'll die in this spot if needed. As long as it's with Spence.