Long Way Home

Chapter 11

August 2017

When Spencer woke up alone in the bed the next morning, she only panicked for a few moments before remembering she was at Calum's house. The night before was blurry, but only because she had tried blocking it out so much. Seeing the guys again and hanging out with them was a dream come true, but Devin acting the way we had and treating her like that was an absolute nightmare.

Obviously they were broken up at that point, she didn't have a doubt about that.

Lying there, just staring at the ceiling, Spencer was suddenly shaken from her thoughts when there was a loud crash of what seemed to be pots and pans from the kitchen. It was just enough to coerce her out of bed, and start digging through her duffle bag for something to change into. It didn't take long, throwing on some different clothes, along with the tiniest bit of makeup to try to hide any bruising, she was making her way towards the stairs.

After going to grab her phone, then remembering it was broken on the floor of her bedroom back at her apartment.

Spencer wasn't necessarily trying to be dead silent, but as she walked down the hall, the pictures littering the walls distracted her. Most of him and Mali or Roy, or group shots of the guys. But there were a few of Calum and Joy that had her wondering how everyone's families were doing. They were all so nice to her all the time.

Continuing down the stairs, voices were becoming clearer, along with what each individual person was saying. "She seemed oddly calm about the entire situation." Michael sighed.

"I don't think she'd lie about something like this." Natalia answered confidently, and the blonde felt her chest tighten. She had never told Natalia about her dad, she never particularly lied about it, but she avoided telling her anything about the situation. Ashton was the only one that knew. "I don't think she's capable of lying to me."

"She wouldn't purposefully lie to you, Nat." Ashton spoke up quietly, making it harder for Spencer to listen from her spot on the stairs. "But maybe she's avoiding the whole truth. Like she's scared to see it as it really is."

"Either way, if it's been going on for a day or for months it's okay now, right?" Calum gave his input, messing with the skillet on the stove top to make some breakfast. "Like not okay, but we can protect her now. He won't be able to get to her anymore."

"I mean yeah, but she does this thing when big things happen in her life..." Natalia sighed, looking around at the boys. "She's always locked herself in her room and gone days without eating. When you guys left, when Aunt Taylor died, when she got divorced."

"We can't let her do that, she needs to know we're here for her." Luke spoke up, shaking his head and furrowing his brows. "That we'll always be here."

"Wait." Calum turned around from the stovetop, looking at Natalia. "Her Aunt Taylor died?"

The girl froze halfway down the stairs, taking a sharp breath. She was painfully aware of the way she acted when things got heavy in her life, and she never wanted anyone else to have to deal with it. Dealing with things like that, Spencer felt as if she had to work through it herself.

"Both her aunt Taylor and dad died in 2015." Natalia answered, sighing loudly and shaking her head. "Just do your best to stay positive for now and we'll have to help her through however we can."

"We can do that." Michael answered, the other three agreeing right away.

Ashton was lost in thought, thinking about Spencer's relationship with her Aunt Taylor and how hard that must've been to work through. He wanted to do something to remember the women, knowing just how much she meant to Spencer. "Hey uh, Cal. You want any help with breakfast?"