Keep Me Safe

Chapter 111

By April, the couple was fully moved in and the house was decorated to perfection. In fact, Spencer loved the house even more than her husband, at least on this particular night.

"You don't understand! When I call you because you're at work late, I need you to respond and let me know that you are, in fact, at work, not wrapped around a tree!" Spencer shrieked at her husband.

Toby ran his hands through his hand, searching for a rebuttal. He had been working late, his phone was on silent, and he missed thirteen calls from his worried wife.

"I'm sorry, okay? How many times do I have to apologize? Why can't you just stop being such a fucking pessimist?"

As soon as the words left his mouth he regretted them. One look at her face and Toby knew he would be sleeping on the couch that night.

Tears burned at the corners of his eyes as he tried to fish an apology out from the recesses of his mind.

"I'm sorry, Spence. I know I shouldn't have brought up your PTSD-"

"Fuck you," Spencer hissed, pushing past him and up the stairs.
-
Spencer woke up alone the next morning, and she immediately remembered why. She regretted being so abrasive, but also knew that she was right. She trudged down the stairs, not knowing what to expect from Toby. She knew from experience that he took off when things got bad, and was almost positive that he had booked a room in Rockford.

Instead, she walked into a kitchen decorated in blue and white streamers, a box of donuts on the table, a bunch of balloons tied to the back of a chair, and a gift bag placed in the center of the island.

She just now remembered that it was April 11, her twenty-sixth birthday.

All of her anger forgotten, she flashed a brilliant smile at her husband, who was standing at the opposite end of the island.

She crossed the space to stand in front of him, cupping his scruffy face in her hands.

"I'm sorry about last night. Thank you for this," she beamed before kissing him deeply.

"Happy birthday," Toby stated once she had pulled away. "Open your gift."

Spencer pulled out the three layers of wrapping paper to reveal a new iPhone 6S.

"You really know how to buy my love," Spencer joked.

"I knew you only loved me for my money," Toby combatted, kissing her again. "Your other gifts are coming tonight."

"I can't wait," she whispered against his lips, one last kiss before she got ready for work.

{AN: I'm not abandoning this book I swear! I had some crazy inspiration tonight and decided to publish another chapter. If I get all my studying done soon I'll write another chapter tonight, no promises though.}