Strangers [COMPLETE]

Chapter 10: Bad News

"Toby!" Isaac exclaimed when he came exited his room, shortly after waking up. Upon seeing his mother's friend, he ran down the hall, still clad in his pajamas, and ran into Toby's arms. Isaac was cherishing his new friendship with Toby. After just a day, Isaac thought of Toby as his best friend. It was rather quick, but it was something every child did.

"Hey, buddy." Toby said, holding the tiny boy in his arms. Toby noticed how Isaac looked mostly like Spencer, but he had some of Mark's features. He had Spencer's eyes, but Mark's jawline. He had Spencer's bone structure, but the Mark's almost-pitch-black hair.

To put it bluntly, Isaac was a pretty adorable child.

Toby, still holding onto Isaac, waited in the living room as Spencer got ready for work.

"Do you like my mommy?" Isaac asked, slightly squirming in Toby's arms.

Toby furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean?" He asked. He was incredibly shocked my Isaac's question. How could a little four year old know what was going on between his mother and her boyfriend?

"My mommy really likes you. Do you like her?" He asked. Toby smiled at Isaac's innocence.

"I do. I love your mommy." Toby said, holding onto Isaac a little bit tighter. Isaac giggled.

"I start school next week," Isaac stated. Toby laughed a bit. Children could switch subjects almost instantly. Toby listened to Isaac as he rambled on about how excited he was to start school. According to Isaac, he was nervous about starting school and being away from his mom, but extremely excited to make friends and learn new things.

"Isaac, where did you put my bag?" Spencer asked, running into the living room as fast as her wedges would let her. Toby almost dropped his jaw. She looked absolutely breathtaking. Granted, she was only going to work, but Toby admired her natural beauty. She was wearing very little makeup, but she was beautiful regardless. Her hair was in it's natural curls, and she was wearing jeans and a low-cut top. Toby tried not to stare at her chest.

Isaac simply shrugged in response. Spencer quickly found her bag on the counter in the kitchen. "Go get ready, sweetie. I'm taking you to Hanna's house." She said. Isaac ran back to his room to get dressed.

"You look gorgeous," Toby said, bringing her to his lap. Spencer rested her head on his shoulder, taking in his smell. Her arms slung around his neck, and she kissed him once, then rubbed their noses together.

Toby knew that he had to tell her about his deployment now. He hated having to practically ruin her day like this, but he had to. He knew in his heart that it was the right thing to do.

"Spence," he said, fiddling with a strand of her soft, brown hair, "I'm going on deployment in less than two weeks. To Syria." He said. It felt nice to finally have that off his chest. His expression changed when he was the worrisome look on Spencer's blemish-less face.

Spencer sat up, in shock. "Oh," she said. It was all she could say. She didn't want to think of Toby leaving her for an undetermined amount of time, but she had to. "For how long?"

"Eight months," he said. He felt his heart break into a trillion pieces at the sight of a single tear falling down Spencer's cheek. Spencer wiped it away quickly, in hopes that Toby wouldn't notice. But he did.

Eight months. Both of them knew very well that eight months is a long time. By that time, they'll have been together for almost a year. Isaac would be almost done with school. All of their birthdays would pass by then. They couldn't just not see each other for eight months. It would be too difficult. They would be lonely and crave each other's company.

Isaac ran back out to the living room and sat on Spencer's lap. Spencer was still sitting on Toby's lap. "What's wrong, mommy?" Isaac asked, noticing the sadness in his mother's eyes. He had never seen his mother cry before, and he wasn't sure if he liked the sight.

"Nothing. Let's go. I'm going to be late for work." Spencer said, getting off of the couch and about to head out the door with her son.

"You don't want to talk about this?" Toby asked, his voice low. The last thing he wanted was for Spencer's emotions to build up throughout the day, then lash out at him later.

"We'll talk about it later. I need to go." Spencer said, exiting the tiny apartment with Isaac at her side.

Toby sat back on the couch, completely alone in Spencer's apartment. He knew that she was in a mix of emotions right now. Mostly anger. Or fear.

He pulled out his phone, and send her the only six words he could think of right now. The only six words he knew she wanted to hear.

"I love you. Don't forget that."

As he hit send, he couldn't help but wonder why this had to happen now. Why did this have to happen when he's in an amazing relationship with an amazing woman? Right when he was falling in love for the first time in what felt like forever. It was like the universe was trying to send him a message.

When Spencer received the text, a few more tears fell from her eyes.

"Why are you crying, mommy?" Isaac asked from the backseat.

If Spencer was lucky, Isaac wouldn't remember this moment when he's older. "No reason, honey." She said, then starting the car.

As she drove, Spencer thought of what the next eight months would be like. Lonely, quiet, and unfulfilling. She couldn't live like that. Not when Toby was now an important part of her life.

Then it dawned on her: At least she still had him now. She still had two weeks with him.

It occurred to Spencer that she would have to make the most of these next two weeks with Toby, before he's gone for a really long time.