Chapter 9 - 'Christmas trees'
(a month+ later--December 1st)
Spencer's POV: It's a brisk Saturday evening and Toby and I have ventured out to find the perfect Christmas tree. "This one looks nice." I say as I walk towards a 6 foot forest green pine. I turn around to find Toby but he's nowhere in sight . I become nervous until I see him round the corner with what looks like a bush. "Oh my gosh, is that what I think it is?!" I laugh loudly. "Charlie Brown Christmas tree!" Toby exclaims and I smile in response. "Is this supposed to be our tree?" I giggle. "Nah, you can pick out whatever tree you want. This can be the baby's tree." Toby smiles and I hug his warm body. "This time next year, we'll be celebrating Christmas as a family of three." I say as I hug Toby tighter. "Can't wait." he says as I release him. "Tree for us?" he asks and I nod in response. After finding the perfect tree, Toby leaves me with the Peanuts tree and goes to pay. I load the tree into the bed of Toby's truck and sit in the cab and wait for his return. Suddenly, I hear a loud crash and see people sprinting past the truck and beyond. I quickly get out of the truck and run to see what's going on. "Ambulance! Someone call 911!" I hear someone yell. My stomach turns at the sound of that. I then hear my cell phone ring and I hold my breath as I pull it out. Restricted number. Text message. 'Happy Holidays, bitch. -A'. With hands shaking, I drop my phone and quickly muscle my way through the crowd of people. I see a fallen tree before the park rangers being my sprint to a halt. "Ma'am, we've had an accident. You can't go any further." I manage to see past them and the sight causes me to drop to my knees. The fallen tree has claimed a victim and -A's promise shines through. I can see a lifeless human hand from not too far away. It's Toby's.
