Like Romeo & Juliet

Chapter 3

*Hastings*

Spencer woke up the next morning wishing she could get last night out of her head. She stripped out of her dress and fell asleep after she got home from the party. Her dreams were all about him. She saw his blue eyes shining through the mask he wore. She almost wished Toby had kept his masks on a few minutes longer just so she could spend a few more minutes in bliss. It was wrong to think about him. She's supposed to hate him. She doesn't really understand why. This battle was between her dad and his, but she knew her parents would lose their minds if they found out about what happened last night. Spencer did not tell her friends about Toby because she feared somehow her parents would find out from them. She wasn't sure if anyone at the party had seen her with Toby, but surely that would have been front page news by now if someone had.

Downstairs in the kitchen, Melissa was using a knife to spread butter on toast. Spencer got dressed then joined her family for breakfast. Her mother and father were already outside sitting at the patio table.

"Good morning," Melissa said in a sing-song voice.

"Morning," Spencer mumbled while walking over to the kitchen.

Melissa smiled and said, "last night was so much fun. I think that may have been the DiLaurentis's best party yet."

"Oh, yeah," Spencer leaned against the counter pressing her palms against her head. "It was a blast."

Melissa laughed and asked, "are you hungover?"

"I only had one drink last night," said Spencer, showing her face.

"Sure," Melissa laughed, and rolled her eyes. "Don't let mom and dad find out."

She took her plate of toast and her glass of orange juice then headed outside. After getting her own breakfast, Spencer joined her family out on the patio. Mr. Hastings was reading the newspaper and Mrs. Hastings was enjoying a cup of coffee along with her English muffins. Spencer sat next to her mother and across from Melissa.

"How was the party, girls?" Mrs. Hastings asked. "I hate that we missed it."

"It was wonderful," said Melissa, grinning. "And guess who showed up at the party last night."

Everyone waited in a moment of silence. Spencer waited in anticipation for who's name she would say. Did Melissa see Toby there last night? She wouldn't smile about that, Spencer was sure. Not unless her smile goes along with saying something snooty.

"My boyfriend!" Melissa squealed. "We danced for a full song before I figured out it was him."

"That's great, honey," Mrs. Hastings said with a smile. "I thought he wasn't due back for another week."

"So did I," Melissa said. "He managed to get home early and decided to surprise me."

"Well, that is sweet," said Mrs. Hastings.

"You know what I heard this morning," Mr. Hastings interrupted.

He folded up the newspaper and slammed it down on the table. Everyone gave him their full attention.

"Mr. Cavanaugh is trying to get his son hired with Home Builders," Mr. Hastings said, grumbling as he spoke. He shook his head, "Unbelievable."

Home Builders was a well-known construction company in the town and Mr. Hastings is the lawyer representing them. Spencer's heart dropped when her father mentioned Toby. She tried not to show any facial reactions to him being mentioned, but inside her mind was screaming. If Spencer's father knew that Toby Cavanaugh was back in town after he'd only been back for two days, what else did he know about?