Like Romeo & Juliet

Chapter 15

*Cavanaugh*

On Monday morning Toby got the call that he had officially been hired for the job in Harrisburg. They would like to have him there in two weeks to start, which would be plenty of time for him. It wasn't like Toby had a whole lot of affairs to get in order. He told his dad at breakfast about the news, and he was over the moon about it.

"Way to go, son!" Mr. Cavanaugh said. "I knew you'd make me proud. How about we drive there together this weekend to look at apartments?"

"That sounds great, dad. Thanks."

Later that morning, Toby went outside to figure out a plan on what to do with his motorcycle. He had just gotten it to work and would hate to sell it. There's plenty of room in the bed of his truck, so he could tie it up good in the back and load it that way.

"Hey," Aria called out to him as she was walking by his house.

"Hi," he waved back.

Jenna was just stepping out the front door onto the porch. Aria walked up their driveway and stopped in front of Toby.

"So, tonight, huh?" said Aria.

Toby nodded, "yeah."

"What's tonight?" Jenna asked, once she was in earshot.

"Oh, um, I told Aria tonight is my last night working for Tom," said Toby.

"Oh," said Jenna. "So, then she knows that you got the job in Harrisburg."

"You did!" Aria's face lit up. "That's awesome! Congratulations."

"Thank you." Toby smiled.

"Right." Jenna looked between them suspiciously.

"Okay," said Aria, sensing the awkward tension. "I'm just going to continue my way onto Emily's. Bye."

Jenna stared Aria down as she walked down the sidewalk. Toby shook his head in Jenna's direction.

"What is the matter with you?"

"Why are you hiding your relationship with Aria from dad?" Jenna asked.

"What?" Toby laughed. "I'm not with her. Are you crazy?"

"You were clearly not alone when you went to Harrisburg," said Jenna.

"Are you still on that? Jenna, please get your own life."

"I don't understand why you've been acting so strange lately."

"How do you know I've been acting strange?" Toby asked. "You don't even know me. You moved into this house, like, a year ago? I wasn't even home until five months ago. Stop pretending like we're family that know each other."

"You're getting defensive," said Jenna. "That's what people do when they're hiding something. I know you're on to something."

"And you're acting like a stalker," said Toby.

"Are you not telling dad you're dating Aria because she's friends with that Spencer girl?"

Toby turned around and yelled, "hey! I told you three times now to stay out of my business!"

"Because you know he really won't like that," said Jenna. "Anyone who associates with the Hastings is an evil bitch."

"It wasn't her who spread rumors around the whole school," said Toby.

"What's your point?" Jenna asked.

"My point is, if anyone here is really the evil bitch, I think it's you," he said.