pretty little liar // brad simpson

twenty four

BRAD

I woke up to the flush of the toilet, the old thing making a loud creaking in the pipes the way it usually did. Spencer and I had long since agreed not to flush if we just had a wee in the middle of the night, and then to go flush when we got up first thing. 

So when I rolled over to see the red numbers on the clock telling me it was just past four, I was a bit confused. That couldn't have been right. Even after pressing my palms into my eyes again the clock read the same, and my wandering hands couldn't find Spencer on the other side of the bed.

I buried my face into my pillow, letting out a groan and feeling my body fade away into sleep - until the toilet flushed again. Every fiber of my being suddenly felt alert, and I jolted upright, knowing instantly something wasn't right. There was the sound of quiet cries in the other room, and I stumbled over my sheets as I tried to get to the door.

"Love?" I called, rapping my fingers against the toilet door and pressing my ear to the wood. Spencer's crying quieted, and it was as if I could feel her holding her breath in the next room. "Spence, I'm coming in."

After no answer, I twisted the knob and pushed the door open gently, poking my head around the door to see Spencer with her arms wrapped around her knees. She was shivering, sitting with her back against the wall opposite the toilet.

Spencer whimpered dejectedly, and I instantly pushed into the room and grabbed the vanity door. After a bit of digging, I shut the mirror and got down onto my knees, crawling towards Spencer and starting to pull her hair back into a ponytail at the back of her head. She shifted slowly, letting me pull a headband over her ears to hold her bits of bangs away carefully, trying not to yank.

"Need some socks? A blanket?" I asked, running the back of my hand over her cheek carefully. Spencer nodded, her chin quivering as she held back tears. In moments I was back, pushing some fuzzy socks onto her feet and wrapping her favorite knitted blanket around her shoulders, followed by my own arms as I sat behind her and held her between my legs.

"I think I've got food poisoning," Spencer breathed finally, her teeth chattering.

"Don't be silly," I breathed, pressing my lips to her temple. "We ate the same thing, darling."

"I ate a lot more." Spencer countered faintly.

I chuckled gently, my mind racing as I soothingly ran my hands up and down her arms. "I don't think that's how it works, Love." 

Spencer stayed quiet as I tried to think of every possible explanation. She hadn't been around anyone that was sick, so it wouldn't have made sense for her to catch anything. She'd not drunk anything, we'd eaten the same foods and I was fine. Her coming down with something may have made sense considering how odd she'd been behaving usually, and how hungry she was. Maybe she'd eaten herself ill... but it'd been going on too long for things to just hit her now.

And then, it hit me.

Spencer started breathing heavily, leaning forward and grabbing onto the toilet in desperation before finally she lurched forward, emptying the rest of her stomach as I gently worked my fingers over her back. Surely she could feel that now I was shaking, too. But she was ill, I had to care for her even as a lump started to form low in my stomach, panic and confusion overtaking me.

She sat back after a moment of waiting, flushing the toilet and leaning back into my arms. "I don't want you to get sick, you should go." Spencer whispered apologetically, running the back of her hand across her mouth.

"I'm not worried about that," I answered quickly, running my hands over her hair and smoothing it back against her head. "Spencer..."

She sat quietly, finally turning slightly to look at me with sunken eyes and pale skin. "I'll be fine," Spencer reassured, her sad eyes meeting mine. 

"Why don't I run to the store, get you some things." I offered nervously, trying to sound reassuring as I reached up and ran my hand over her cheek again gently. The pit in my stomach was so heavy, but I needed to breathe.

Nothing was certain, not yet at least. Spencer might get angry with me, I realized, if I wasn't careful. And as much as I felt there was no way it could've happened, well... anything can happen.

The fact that the thought hadn't even crossed her mind made me worry, made me wonder if maybe I was thinking it over too much. But I couldn't help it, and it couldn't hurt to check.

"I'm fine," Spencer repeated unconvincingly, swallowing with a wince.

"Spencie," I repeated, holding her face gently. "Why don't I run down and get you something to drink, maybe some crackers and medicine," I listed shakily, tilting my head. "And maybe I could get a couple of pregnancy tests too, yeah?"

"Brad, don't be silly." Spencer's tone was that of mild annoyance, but her voice shook from the energy she'd lost being sick.

"I don't think I'm being silly, love." I responded quickly, looking her face over to try and see how her expression might change beyond looking exhausted. "And it could never hurt to check, yeah? Take a test or two, then call me silly after."

Spencer just shook her head slightly, turning away and pulling the blanket tighter around herself. "Yeah, okay." She replied, although her voice was unconvinced. I rubbed my hands over her arms one more time before pushing up to my feet.

"I'll be back in ten minutes, alright?" I promised, kissing the top of her head. "I love you, Spencer."