The Dependable Liar

Chapter Seventy-Two: A Dangerous Game

Ethan's Pov

Spencer finally got discharged from Radley and she was back home.

Mom prepared lots of treats and drinks for her and us since we're obviously happy she's free from that place.

And while that may be true, our mind is still on Toby being...gone...

The girls and I sat together, my eyes were on the treats in front of us.

"Bubs, she knows we're down here, right?" Hanna asked.

"She does. Maybe she's just as nervous about seeing us as we are about seeing her" I shrugged.

"Guys, she's the exact same Spencer that we saw last week" Aria said.

"No, the Spencer we saw in Radley was not the Spencer I know" Hanna shook her head.

"That was before..." Emily trailed off.

My eyes watered but I did my best to hold them in, not wanting to break down in front of the girls.

It was bad enough when I fainted at Aria's place after Emily told us the news.

"Em, we're not just here for her, we're for you and Ethan, too" Hanna softly said.

She placed her hand on my shoulder, rubbing it gently, trying to give me some comfort.

"Do we talk about him? Do we bring it up?" Aria asked.

"I don't want to say anything that could put her back there" Emily sighed.

"I know they said they found Toby, but they sent that second body to the state coroner for a reason. I mean, maybe there's hope" Hanna explained.

At this point, hope doesn't help us, at all.

"You know how I feel about hope" a voice spoke from behind us.

We turned around and saw Spencer all dressed up, looking a bit better, but the look in her eyes said otherwise.

Well, it's better to see her in a real dress rather than clothes from Radley.

"Breeds eternal misery. We lost Toby a long time ago. We just didn't know it" Spencer said.

I mean, she is right about that...

"Oh, you've got to love the Hastings. I just get released from a mental hospital, and they welcome my friends, especially my brother, with tea and crumpets" Spencer sarcastically smiled.

I snorted in amusement and shook my head.

"What's the difference between a crumpet and an English muffin?" Hanna suddenly asked.

"Hanna, does it matter?" Aria asked in annoyance.

"I'm just making conversation" Hanna defended.

"An English muffin is a baked bread. It's made of dough. And a crumpet is a griddle cake. It's made of batter" Spencer explained.

"How are you, Spence?" I softly asked.

"I'm alright" Spencer softly replied.

"You know, you don't have to pretend to be ok for us" Aria said.

"Yeah, if this was the act you had to pull off to get out of there, then..." Hanna trailed off.

If Spencer isn't alright, she can talk to us.

We don't want her to hide her real feelings from us.

"Do you remember when you were in the light house, Emily? And you had to make that choice? It was either him or you? I wasn't as strong as you were. When I saw Toby in the woods, like that, I just gave up" Spencer explained.