What Becomes Of The Broken-Hearted? (A Spoby AU)

Of Late I Think Of Rosewood

The doll hospital on the corner of Brogen's Street had been there as long as anyone could remember. The storefront windows were cracked, making the display of toys behind appear distorted, and above the door, the old sign was faded and askew, with letters missing so that by now it read only 'Bge Strt Dol osil'
Spencer Hastings sniffed in disdain as she crossed the street towards it, broken doll in one hand and a lukewarm coffee in the other. She was well aware of her car behind her, and the promise of safety within it, so tantalisingly close. The fact of how easy it would be to climb inside and drive far away from this mess of a place was almost over-bearing. But the lady at the bar had been insistent, and Spencer had decided to take her word for it, regardless of how drunk the woman had been. Besides, she intended to keep her promise to Aria.

The door of the shop swung open with a creak, and Spencer stepped elegantly onto the bristly doormat, her hair dripping from the rain. Inside, it was dank and dark. At the far corner of the room, she could faintly discern a rotting countertop, and on the shelves that enveloped the shop, dolls peered curiously down at Spencer, their dead eyes seeing everything; nothing. Instinctively, Spencer gulped and took another step into the musty room.
"Hello?" She called out to the shadows. For a moment, she was answered with nothing but the hoarse echo of her own voice. Then there was a clatter, and out of a door at the far end of the store, a young girl, no older than six, stuck her head out. Spencer watched in disbelief as the girl rushed to the till, hopped onto a stool and smiled at her in the most business-like way an infant could manage.
"Can I help you?" The child asked.
"Uh," Like a peace offering, Spencer held out the broken doll she had in her hand, "can you - or your parents - fix this?" She walked slowly towards the till, and with calculated care, the girl took the toy from her and turned it in her small hands. In the dim half-light, its porcelain skin gleamed. She gave Spencer a sharp nod.
"I think I can."
"You can repaint it?"
"Come back on Monday I'll have it done. You can pay then."
The girl smiled once more, before turning her attention to the woman who had just walked in.

The four girls in the corner of the cafe watched the barista intently. Like half the town, the teenagers were taking refuge from the rain inside the Rear Window Brew, satisfying the passing time by gossiping. They watched gleefully as their friend, Emily Fields, flirted with her new colleague.
"What's she saying? I can't hear," Hanna Marin complained. Aria Montgomery sniffed and dug her in the ribs.
"Shut up," she hissed, "I'm trying to listen."
The girl Emily was talking to was short and blonde, with a stripy Hollister top and a bob cut grazing her neck. She seemed dwarfed in size by the tall figure besides her, but took it all stride, giggling almost coyly and making jokes. The group of girls in the corner watched joyfully, in parts happy for their friend and in parts happy simply for a way to occupy themselves on this long, wet day. They had been at the cafe for an hour by now, and already they had each found the time to order at least two cups of tea or coffee apiece.
"Well she'd better hurry up and ask her out soon," Hanna raked a hand through her hair, "because this tedium is killing me."
"Well that's a fancy word, Hanna," Spencer sniped.
Notably less involved than the others in watching Emily flirt, Alison Dilaurentis fumbled with her scarf, "do you think she'll ask her out?" She asked shyly.
Spencer shrugged, "whether she does or she doesn't doesn't matter, this is entertaining."
"I guess," Ali mumbled, "It's just I-"
"Guys," Hanna squealed, "they're exchanging digits!"
Her attention drawn away from Alison, Spencer's head whipped around to where Emily was writing something on the other girl's arm.
"Did she hold onto that girl's arm for too long?" Hanna asked excitedly. Aria laughed and nudged her.
"You read into things too much."

When the time came for her break, Emily slid into the spare seat with a smile on her face.
"I'd tell you what just happened, but you were probably watching with popcorn," she said to no one in particular as soon as she'd sat down. Spencer handed her a coffee, and leaned forwards, elbows on her knees.
"So what was her name?" She asked eagerly, her long dark hair slipping over her shoulder.
"Savannah." Emily took a long drain from her cup and set it down with a contented sigh, "we've arranged to meet on Thursday night."
"Is it a date?!" Hanna exclaimed excitedly. Watching Hanna, Spencer frowned slightly.
"At night?" She asked "what about the curfew?"
"Chill out Spencer," Emily smiled over her cup, "we'll be back before the Alarm. Don't worry."
Spencer wound a piece of hair around her fingers and smiled wanly.
"Just don't give me a reason to."
Across from her, Aria let out a deep sigh and checked her watch.
"We should probably get going," she said, "The Alarm's in an hour."
Grudgingly, the five girls agreed, and, with the exception of Emily, who had to finish a shift, threw on their coats and stepped out into the crying streets.

This town was a cesspit. Not that Spencer'd ever say that out loud, but it was. An utter cesspit. Rotting and decrepit to its very core, there was filth everywhere, from the grime between the paving stones, to the blackened hearts of the people that lived here.
And amidst the grimy, tainted streets, Spencer and Ali walked side by side, the sky weeping down around them. As they skipped over puddles and huddled close under an umbrella, Spencer couldn't help but notice how unusually quiet Ali was, as though all ability to speak had been sucked out of her. Her gaze was pinned adamantly on the ground, and she stared at the gritty, loose paving stones as though they held the secrets of the universe.
Eventually, the silence became too loud, and Spencer had to speak.
"Are you okay?" She asked, grabbing her friend impetuously by the arm.
Once upon a time, Alison would have pulled away at her touch. She would have swatted her away and told Spencer not to worry. But times were different now, and instead, the girl glanced up at her through large, doe eyes, and there was something broken within them.
"It's Emily, isn't it?" Those were heavy words with a heavy meaning, but Ali knew what they meant. For a second, Spencer thought she was going to get an answer from her friend. It looked like Alison wanted to spill. Her expression was forlorn and somber. But then she yanked her arm out of Spencer's grip and, wordlessly, turned away into the rain, leaving Spencer alone in the street with a tatty pink umbrella, wondering if times really had changed as much as she'd thought they had.

It rained for hours. Rained and rained, it was a steady drumbeat as it fell upon the town, the incessant beating of a great god's heart. It drowned out the city, the noise, the silence. Sometimes it even drowned out the Alarms. And so Spencer liked the rain. In a place with such little freedom, the rain- droplets of water that came down from the heavens themselves- was a taste of what lay beyond.
She lay on her bed, a small smile pressed onto her face, her hands curled tightly around a discarded pillow. Some time ago, her father had come in to ask what she would like for dinner, but other than that, Spencer was undisturbed. Dimly, she was aware that if she lifted her head, she could peer out of the window, and right into Ali's bedroom. But that thought scratching at the back of her mind was as quiet as mouse, and Spencer did not let it in.
Rather, Spencer closed her eyes and with a smile thought of Emily and coffee and the food her father was cooking.
And conscious too, of the fact that the fingers of the clock were reaching for nine, she put in her earphones, and together with the beat of her music and the rhythm of the rain, she managed to drown out the wails of the Alarm altogether.

"Did you hear about the new boy who just moved in across the street?" Peter Hastings smoothed down his tie, and executed a perfect clean cut down his portion of chicken.
"No?" Veronica's brow creased, and she glanced up at her husband, "Who is he?"
Peter just shrugged and shook his head. "Don't know, really. Some Toby Cavanaugh, I think." Then he lowered his voice conspiratorially, in that infuriating way adults do when they're exchanging dirty gossip politely. "Heard his mother was a patient at Radley. Died there too."
Veronica just pursed her lips and stared down at her chicken. There were stories about that place; the sort that ordinary folk would whisper and gossip about in hushed voices, then force a laugh and say "thank goodness they're just stories. Then they'd touch wood and try to forget what they'd just heard.
"How old is he?" She asked instead.
"Around Spencer's age, I think. Perhaps a little older. I'm not sure about him though," Peter looked at his daughters, a warning in his eyes, "he seems a little... off."
Melissa smirked and stifled a laugh. "Hmm, well. He would be."
__________________________

Toby Cavanaugh had been in Rosewood less than twenty four hours, yet he'd already made a name for himself. He hadn't meant to, and it wasn't a good thing. This wasn't a movie, and he wasn't the typical good-looking boy-next-door kid. It seemed to him, that as soon as he'd - gently - shut the door of his father's car, and first stepped out onto the sidewalk, people had been throwing him looks so dirty, they must have rifled through the trash can to get them. Already children had been ushered across the road at his approach, and most people didn't have their shutters drawn before nightfall.
So he'd been to juvie. So his mother had been a patient at the Sanitarium. So his mother had died at that same Sanitarium. He wasn't his mother, he wasn't an animal in a zoo, and he most certainly wasn't the neighbourhood freak show.
___________________________
So that was the first chapter :) Yes, it wasn't the best, but the first chapters never are xD Anyway, this was short, but expect longer chapters to come - we're on holiday without any wifi or service at the moment, so the only time we can publish is when we get service on the motorway once a day, which is why we had to wrap it up kind of quickly. Hope you enjoyed :)
Valen and Annie Xx