Spencer's Point of View:
I stand in his room, folding up the shirts I brought over to put away into the drawers he gave me. I whip the tear that threatened to fall as I take out the last pieces of clothing from the bag. I look up when I hear a noise by the door, seeing Toby leaning against the frame and watching me. He walks closer, sitting on the edge of the bed to face me, He grabs his hands in mine, pulling me away from the sweater and closer to him.
"You okay?" Toby asks me, he looks down to our intertwined hands.
"I just-I don't know anymore" I tell him honestly. He moves his hand up gently rubbing the corner of my eye.
"Does it hurt still?" He asks, I shake my head gently in his hand as he stares at the bruise forming around my eye. "What happened Spencer?"
"He was angry, about my mom freaking out yesterday," I tell him, his eyes search mine furrowing up as he listens to me tell the story. "He saw you leave and he just smacked me, I should've just listened to what he was saying-"
"This isn't your fault Spencer," He tells me, demanding to listen to him. I look away but he doesn't let me, his hand grabbing my chin and making me stare at him. "Spencer, you did nothing wrong."
"Maybe I did," I whisper my voice cracking as I look down. "Maybe this is all my fault," I continue, the tears fall between us landing in his lap. He shakes his head tugging me into his lap. "All the bad things happened because of me, it's my fault people keep getting hurt," I tell him. I lean my head into his neck in order to avoid his prying eyes.
"This isn't your fault, Jesus Spence, it couldn't be any less your fault," He tells me. I shake my head, letting the tears drift from my eyes as it falls onto Tobys collarbone. "It's not, Spence. You didn't do this, this is some sick twisted sicko who is stalking you and your friends. You don't deserve this," He tells me.
"It's just getting really hard to believe that," I tell him honestly. I watch him move to look at me, trying to angle his head to see me.
"Spence, this has nothing to do with you, you're not a failure or a disappointment, you're perfect and I can't believe that you don't see that. " He continues. I shake my head in disbelief and feel Toby sigh as he squeezes me tighter to his chest. "Why didn't you tell me about this, how long has he been hurting you."
"You were gone, I didn't know where you went and I just- he was angry about Melissa, and I said some stupid snarky remark and he just hit me. I covered it up, no one saw the bruise and eventually it just went away." I respond to him. I feel him gently tug me tighter, for a moment it seemed like he needed the comfort more than me.
"Thats not an excuse Spencer, you have a phone! You could've called me," His tone is getting harsher as he goes on, his grip on my arm tightening a bit as he talks.
"I get it okay, I'm sorry, I just, I was ashamed," I reason with him. Offering the best explanation for why I didn't tell him, I wasn't sure why I didn't, maybe the embarrassment or the regret of the situation. But I couldn't, for some reason I couldn't just call any of them even though I knew they wouldn't have judged me.
"Don't apologize, I'm sorry Spence, I'm sorry I wasn't there for you," He responds, I can practically hear the guilt dripping out of his voice as he talks, the regret for the situation, for not being there when I needed him was evident in his manner. I feel him gently kiss the top of my head. We sit for a while, enjoy the comfort the other one brings. I know that I should've called him, it was stupid to think I had it all under control, but then I'd have to admit to myself that my dad wasn't the person I thought he was, and any despite effort he would never be again. My stomach grumbling breaks us apart, Toby moving me back enough to see my face. "What did you eat today?" He asks me.
