The Biggest Mistake Of My Life

Chapter 2

Toby's pov:
Spencer takes me to a cliff where you can see the whole town below you. It's so beautiful. It makes you feel like you're on top of the world. I'm looking down at all of the tiny houses and shops, when Spencer begins to talk.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" She asks as I sit down on a log.

"Yeah. It kind of reminds me of Rosewood. Small town, big secrets"

By "big secrets", of course I'm talking about Spencer being alive. Of course I'm happy that she's not dead, but it makes me angry that she didn't tell me. We were supposed to be able to tell each other everything.

At first she nods in agreement, but then she gives me a look of un-amusement.

"You're already bashing me and you haven't even given me a chance to explain." She says.

"Then explain." I say.

"This isn't easy you know" she begins with a sigh.

"I know. But I just really need you tell me why you left. You were my whole world, and then you just disappeared. It's like one minute you were in my arms, and the next you were gone."

"I didn't want to hurt you, I just need you to know that. You were all I had. And at first, that was great. But then A had to screw everything up." She says getting angry at the last sentence.

"I know what A put you through. I know it was awful. I know that you felt like you had no other options, but you did. I would've helped you. Heck I would've come with you. I would've done anything for you, but apparently you didn't get the memo." I say as I begin to toss small pebbles off of the cliff.

"Toby... please just try to understand. I felt trapped. I felt like if I told you, you would talk me out of it... and that was something I just didn't want to happen. I wanted you to come with me but at the same time, I didn't want to hold you back. I wanted you to live your life the way you wanted to. Not the way you felt like you had to because of me. I wanted you to be free. That was something I never got to be..."

I look over at her and find that she's now in tears.

"Sorry..." she says once she notices that her tears have caught my eye. "I usually don't let myself cry in front of anyone..." she finishes as she begins to wipe them away. I notice that she's having a bit of trouble. The more she wipes them away, the more they appear.

"Let me help" I say as stand up and walk over to her. I gently brush the pad of my thumb over her cheek, attempting to make them go away, and stop coming. Surprisingly, it worked.

I give her a small smile and she repeats my action.

"I love you" I say.

I notice that as I say those words, her smile automatically grows wider until it's stretching all the way to her ears.

"I love you too"

I then brush my thumb over her bottom lip and begin to lean in slightly. Our lips touch and to be completely honest, it's the best feeling in the world.

She instantly responds by wrapping her arms around my neck, as I put my hands on her waist.

The kiss starts out slow and gentle, but it quickly heats up. I gently push her back against a tree as I let my hands run up and down her sides. With one of her hands she's playing with my hair, and the other she's slipping under my shirt.

She decides to move the hand that was playing with my hair to my cheek. That's weird... I feel something on her hand that doesn't feel like skin. It's cold and feels metallic. 'It's no big deal, it's just a ring' I think to myself. But then, I realize what finger it's on...

I immediately pull away and look at her wide eyed.

"What's wrong? Why'd you stop?" She asks with a pout. Instead of answering her, I take her hand off of my cheek and look at it. I've never been so upset to be right before in my entire life...

"You're engaged?!" I practically shout. She immediately pulls her hand away from me and slips her other hand out from under my shirt.

"Toby I-" she starts. No way am I gonna let her think she can just sweet talk her way out of this.

"No!" I interrupt. "You let me think you were available!"

"I did no such thing! I never said I was single!" She snaps.

"Well you told me you loved me. That's all I needed to hear!"

"You don't know that I meant it in a romantic way. I could've meant I loved you like a brother" she says.

"Really? You expect me to believe that you love me like a brother after you kissed me like that?"

"You kissed me!" She shouts.

"Well you still kissed me back!" I say. She's silent for a minute, but then she works up the courage to speak.

Spencer's pov:
"Look, Toby" I say trying to calm down. "Yes it's true that I'm engaged, but it's also true that I still love you" I say while looking him in the eyes.

"That's not how it works, Spencer.
I know everyone loves a good love triangle when it's a tv show, but in the real world it's easier if you choose one person to love." He says.

"I know. But the thing is, I don't love him. I'm only with him because I never thought I'd see you again."

"Is that the only reason you're with him?" He asks

"No." I reply. "I thought being married would be a good cover story, incase anyone came looking for me. I thought that starting a new life would automatically shove my old life behind me".

"Is that supposed to make me feel better? That you're using this poor guy that's in love with you?" He says. If you think about it, he's right. My fiancé Keith loves me. He treats me so well. Any girl would be lucky to have him. But for some random reason, no matter how good he is to me, I just don't love him back. No, I take that back. It's not just some random reason. It's because he's not Toby.

"You're right... I feel awful that I don't love him the way that he loves me, but I just don't. And I can't change that. You're the only one I'll ever love, Toby. You're the only one that I want to be with." I say looking at him hopefully.

"I'm sorry, but we just can't." He says. And with that, he walks away.

Toby's pov:
I feel crushed. The woman I love pretty much just offered to be mine again, and I turned her down. But even though I'm upset, I know that I did the right thing. I mean, how would I feel if I was head over heels in love with someone, and I thought they felt the same, but then they dump me for an ex? And even though Spencer says that she doesn't love that guy, she has to love him at least a little bit, right?

As I'm walking away, I totally forgot that Spencer was my ride, and that I didn't know the way home. I groan as I try to remember which way to go. But then Spencer comes up next to me in her car and says:

"Hey. Do you need a ride?"