The Only Exception

Thirty One

~Spencer~

18 months. 18 months I had eaten, slept and breathed finding a way to get Lainey back here safely. 18 months of planning and hoping and praying came down to this. Carrying her up to our room because it's ours. Mine and hers. There isn't a me that exists without Lainey. From the moment I stepped into that damn apartment almost 2 years ago up to now and in 50 years time. If I don't have her, I won't survive. Saving her is the only thing that got me through the past 18 months. 

Noah opened the door for us, following behind me and Lanes with her dad, Chelsea and everyone else important to making sure this plan went off without a hitch, everyone invested in getting Lainey back and keeping her where she belonged. I sat down on the bed, refusing to let her even sit beside me. She wasn't moving from my arms between now and eternity. Not a chance in hell. 

"Okay." Everyone found a spot to sit in, filling the room as best as we could. "Lanes. When are you due to fly home?" 

"Tomorrow morning." She shuffled in her spot, moving her arm around my back under the suit jacket and clinging to my shirt. "Wait. Dean. He doesn't-" I pull at her. We've known about Dean for months. It's not like it was difficult getting someone into her mother's house once we knew where she was. 

"Okay. Uhm. James. Can you get on with Kenny and make sure Dean's parents are moved to the safe house tonight. Take their phones. We don't need anyone fucking this up." Alistair starting to hand out directions for the plan we'd worked on, sending the girls up here to pass on their instructions to their specified areas. 

"Spence." I couldn't get over how quiet her voice is at the moment. Weak and fragile like it's on the edge of breaking down. "He doesn't have anything to do with it." 

"I know he doesn't Sunshine. We're gonna make sure him and all his family are okay. Don't worry." She blinks and I sigh, lifting us just enough to grab the duvet and pull it over us for a little bit of privacy. "I'm gonna be honest Lanes. There's no way to get your mom out of this alive. Not this time. Getting the police involved is a no go because- I'm gonna be honest here, we've had to pull some not so legal stuff to get information and it's a can of worms that would land us all in prison for a while." 

"Okay." She nods with a straight face.

"Okay?" 

"Hell yeah. If it means she stops trying to kill me. Let's do it." I press my forehead into her. "She told me you were dead Spencer. She told me you-" She shuffled, holding up her left hand, scowling and tugging at the ring on her hand. "She pushed me into- doing so much I don't-" 

"You okay there?" 

"It's stuck." Her face scrunches into something unrecognizable before huffing. I reach up, twist and pull the ring off her hand, holding onto it tight. 

"Better?" 

"Mhm." 

"Good." I give her a quick pull. "Now kiss me before I start to think this is another hyper realistic dream." 

"Or a nightmare." She brushes her lips against mine for a second before the duvet is yanked off our head by Noah, his eyes instantly rolling in their sockets. 

"You two can make out when we leave. Right now there's stuff to sort." 

"Like what?" Lainey smiles at Noah who seems to relax every second he's looking at her. He's been one of the only sources of contact with Lainey this whole time and as much as it sucked not being able to tell her I was right beside him, listening to all of those calls just so she wouldn't panic, it was a lifeline we both needed.  I pushed Dean's ring into my pocket, reminding myself to slip it into a box and have someone drop it off at his hotel room. 

"Like what is the code to Dean's phone so Andi can delete everything she needs to when she's with him tonight."

"Wait. What do you-" 

"Jason is getting your 'fiancé' drunk beyond control and then Andi and Jace are taking him back to your room, grabbing your stuff and making him think you left because he had an affair. He won't want to contact you because you're going to leave an anonymous note saying you never want to hear from him again or you'll ruin him. So he won't try to find your mom or anyone and he'll never know what actually happened. If it was the other way round, you run the risk of him forgiving you and coming looking." Amara looked up from her laptop on a table in the corner. Of course her college friends were perfect at scheming things when it came to covering stuff up. It's what they all are experts in. I fear for their children. They won't be able to get away with anything. "Standard stuff Lanes. Keep up."  I toss the ring at one of the guys. 

"That needs to get to Andi and Jace." 

"On it." He leaves. One by one everyone takes their tasks until it's just Noah left with us. He scratches the back of his neck before pressing a kiss to Lainey's temple. 

"Everything's gonna be okay Lainey. I'll see you in a few days okay? It'll all be over." She nods and Noah looks up at me. "You better be fucking right about all of this." 

"You think I'd risk it?" 

"No. I'm just making sure you now what's on the line." 

"I know." I nod, watching Noah leave, the door clicking shut and automatically locking behind him. The  very same second I was spinning Lainey around in my lap. "Now. You." 

"Me?" 

"Mhm. How'd it feel to have that engagement ring on your finger?" 

"Fucking horrible." I pressed my lips together, nodding at her slowly. 

"Want to know what it should feel like?"