Back to Me

Friday the 13th

And lying unconscious on the other side of the room where the flames were just beginning to reach, was Spencer.

4 hours before...

Immediately after school I had Hanna and Caleb drive me to Toby's. They were reinforcements. If Toby wouldn't listen to me he might listen to them. I was going to stop these games of phone tag and hide and seek. I would wait for Toby to come home for the rest of the day if I had to.

It had been a little over three weeks since Jenna and Toby got back. And I hadn't talked to Toby at all since he never answered his phone. I even stopped by twice and both times his truck was missing. I knew from Caleb that Toby wasn't acting like himself. And I continued to hope that he was just going along with what Jenna wanted, but my hope was slowly fading.

"Do you want me to come in with you, Spence?" Hanna asked as she pounded on the door and I shook my head.

"No thanks, Han, this is something Toby and I have to solve ourselves." I declined.

We waited for what seemed like forever on the porch. But it was really only a minute or two later that I heard the door open.

"Spencer, Hanna, what are you doing here?" I heard Toby ask skeptically and a little surprised.

"You've been back in Rosewood for three weeks and I haven't heard a word from you. So this is way overdue if you ask me." I stated irritated.

"I'm sorry, Spencer, but I've been really busy. Honest, I'm not just giving you a lame excuse." He told me.

"Too busy to call or leave her a voicemail saying that your stepsister is crazy and not to listen to her?" Hanna demanded.

"Hanna, can I talk to Spencer alone for a few minutes?" Toby sighed.

"Fine, I'll give you five minutes to explain. And you've got a lot of explaining to do. So skip the awkward, walking on eggshells, small talk crap." Hanna instructed and then I heard the clicking of her heels as she walked away.

"Is she really going to time us?" Toby asked me as he moved so he wasn't blocking the door.

"With Hanna you never know, so I'd say follow her instructions." I shrugged as I walked into the house.

"I really am sorry, Spencer, I didn't mean for it to go on this long."

"For what to go on this long? Avoiding me, not answering my calls or texts, not being around whenever I came over, making me believe that Jenna was telling me the truth for once? You know something's not right if the words 'truth' and 'Jenna' are used in the same sentence."

"I don't know what Jenna told you. But I haven't been around because I got a job in Bucks County. Ezra talked to me and he isn't planning on redoing the coffee shop until summer. I need work in the meantime so I got a construction job in Bucks County that pays well." He explained.

"That's great, Toby, although I bet the commute sucks." I said genuinely happy for him. "I don't mind that you have job, I understand. And that explains why you haven't been around but it doesn't explain the other stuff."

"Jenna has become even more of a control freak now that she can see again. She got me a new phone and claimed that it was to say 'thank you' for helping her out while she was blind. But it was really just so you and I couldn't talk." He told me.

"Why is she doing all this? And why didn't you just call from your new phone?" I questioned him.

"I tried once but I realized Jenna messed with it before she gave it to me. She can track all the calls and texts. As for why she's doing this, I have no idea." He sighed.