Chapter 114

Trigger warning: mentions of rape

“We’ve been up ever since you first called me,” Sabrina explained. “I started thinking of anyone who would want to hurt Emma.”
“Who would want to hurt Emma?” Spencer asked in disbelief.
“The list is longer than you’d think. She had a lot of haters,” Sabrina said. “But none so great as Grace.”
“It makes sense,” Alex added.
“I hadn’t even thought of her as a possibility. I haven’t thought of her at all,” Will answered. Since chasing Grace away from Emma’s apartment, she hadn’t crossed his mind. All of his attention had been for Emma and Lizzie, and most recently, Robert. “I don’t think she’s capable of something like this.”
“She was capable of drugging you, trying to rape you, faking a pregnancy to trap you and planting drugs in your car!” Sabrina screamed.
“Holy shit,” Spencer commented, looking at Will with confusion and pity.
“Yeah, long story,” Will said to him.
“And she hates Emma! Absolutely hates her! She is vicious, conniving, and evil!” Sabrina yelled. Her breathing was ragged and frantic from her outburst. “She is obviously unhinged!”
“Brina, I need you to calm down. Take deep breaths babe.”
“How can I calm down?” Sabrina finally broke and started sobbing. “My best friend is being held captive by some psycho bitch!”
Sabrina’s words cut deep. It proved to him that no matter what, whoever had Emma was using her to get to him. Despair gripped his heart and fought hard not to succumb. If Grace was truly responsible, it added another layer. She was unpredictable at best. As much as he hated to admit it, it could be her.
“If it is her,” Will added, his voice noticeably strained. “She isn’t acting alone. She wouldn’t have the resources to carry this out on her own.”
“Why are you still defending her?” Sabrina screamed. “After all she’s done to you! After what she’s already done to Emma? How is there anything good left in your heart for her?”
“Babe, please!” Alex urged. “This isn’t helping. I’ll see I can get a detail on her too, okay? Let’s all get some rest. Good night.”
“Good night,” Spencer said before Will hung up. Will heaved a large sigh and his whole body seemed to sag beneath the weight of their situation. “That’s… heavy. About your ex. Did she really do all that?”
“Yeah. I don’t really want to talk about that,” Will said into his hands.
“Right,” Spencer looked away, suddenly feeling really bad for Will. “So, what else can we do right now?”
“Nothing. Anyone that is capable of helping us has been contacted. It’s up to them now to get me some info.” Will looked up and Spencer and let out a sad laugh. “You’re right,” he got up off the couch. “Emma is in danger because of me. If she gets hurt… I don’t know what I’ll do.”
Spencer just stared at him. This man had been the one to barrel into Emma’s life like a hurricane and destroy everything in her path. But somehow, he knew that Emma still loved him. As much as she wouldn’t admit it, he knew. It was the reason she didn’t want to be with him. Her torch for William Stewart burned bright in her soul.
But that man stood before him, nearly broken. In that moment, he could see that Will did care for Emma. Probably even loved her. But he’d no good for her, Spencer thought. Other than the baby, he hadn’t enriched her life in any way.
“Try and get some rest,” Will said. “We’ll be busy in a few hours. Will walked into Lizzie’s room and stood over her crib. She was sound asleep. Her blissful baby dreams were unmarred by the insanity happening around her.
He placed his hand on her small chest, feeling her steady heartbeat underneath.
“You don’t know this, but I love you so much, Princess. I’m going to need you to keep me strong through this. I’m going to bring your mommy back. And then, I’ll tell her everything and the three of us are going to be a family. I promise.” He placed a light kiss on her forehead. She stirred for a moment but fell back into deep sleep with a small smile on her face.
It overwhelmed how much power this small human had over him. She could ask him for the moon, and he would do whatever he could to get it for her. Looking at her took his breath away. This perfect little girl was half of him. He had to bring back the other half. Their other half.
Spencer sprawled out on the couch and tried to sleep. As tired as his body was, his mind wouldn’t shut down. Possibilities of what Emma was going through kept him up. Was whoever had her feeding her? Giving her water? Was she alone in a dark room somewhere? Afraid?
“Ugh!” he sprang and tugged at his hair. “This is ridiculous! There’s got to be something I can do!”
“There isn’t,” Will answered, coming out of Lizzie’s room. “You’ve got to try and sleep.”
“I can’t! Not knowing where she is… it’s driving me crazy.”
Will pulled up a chair and sat in front of Spencer. They both looked horrible. Their hair was disheveled from being ruffled so much. Spencer had dark circles under his eyes. Will was sure he had them as well.
“You love her,” Will said. “Don’t you?”
“Yes,” Spencer answered without hesitation. “I do.”
“Does she know?”
“Yes. I told her a while back.”
Will hadn’t expected that. He knew Spencer had feelings for Emma, but he hadn’t thought Spencer would so bold as to confess to her.
“I’ve been in love with her for a while,” Spencer continued. “But she… doesn’t feel the same way. I could have made her happy. If only you had stayed away. I would have taken care of her and the baby. We could have been happy.”
“I…” Will didn’t know what to say. He wanted to argue that he could make her happy. But what happiness had he ever brought her? A few shared idyllic moments were all they had. Everything else was fighting. Always fighting. We’re only good at one thing, he thought. And then it hit him. He was Grace. He left Emma, broken and battered. Spencer came in to pick up the pieces to make her whole again, and he came back to ruin everything. It was exactly what Grace had done to him. If she chose to make a life with Spencer, would he be able to let her go?
“I don’t doubt that,” Will managed to say. “But until she says she doesn’t want me, I won’t leave.”
“All you’ve done is bring chaos into her life. From the moment she met you. But… I can tell you love her took,” Spencer sighed. “I’m willing to put my ill feelings towards you aside. Until we get her back. Then I’ll go back to hating you.”
“That’s fair,” Will chuckled. “You know, had we met under different circumstances, we could have been friends.”
It was Spencer’s turn to laugh.
“Maybe.” Neither of them said anything for a while. “Tell me about your ex. The one that might have Emma.”
“Really?”
“Come on. Neither one of us is going to get any sleep and it might help me to know who we’re dealing with here.”
Will sighed and ran his hands through his hair again. If he had any hair left by the time they got Emma back, it would be a miracle.
“She was… my first love. She was everything to me for years. We met when we were kids, and I was so in love with her. It was bad, I know that now. I centered all of my happiness on her. A few years ago, she dumped me and hooked up with a friend of mine. It crushed me. I was a disaster for years. She came back into my life, and it was all I had wanted for a long time. But… I didn’t love her anymore. She was not trying to hear that. And she did all those things you heard about to try and keep me by her side.”
“That’s a lot…” Spencer said.
“That’s not even all of it. But it’s all I’m willing to get into.”
“I had a crazy ex too. She stalked me for a while.”
They sat in silence. Will hadn’t intended to share that much. Perhaps it was the delirium from the lack of sleep that had him feeling so talkative.
“Do you love Emma?” Spencer asked him. Will nodded.
“But she doesn’t know,” Will answered. And that was all he wanted to say about that. “We have to sleep. Even if it’s for a couple of hours. I’m going to try.” Will went to bed, leaving Spencer in the living room alone.
It didn’t escape him that when asked if loved Emma, Will opted for a visual answer instead of a verbal one. It occurred to him that Will had never voiced his feelings out loud. If Emma ever heard a declaration of love from Will… he was sure his chances were over.
After a couple of hours, Spencer could hear Will getting up. He came out of the room talking on the phone.
“Yes, Captain,” he said, snapping at Spencer to get his attention. He put his hand on the receiver and smiled at Spencer. “We’ve got a lead.”