They can't spend their lives running from what happened in this room. Not when it used to be the one place Spencer felt safe, not when it's the place he loves, the one part of this home he claimed for his own after his family died. It makes Joel want to go back to that night and snap Mark Fuller's neck just so they can all be sure he's never going to come back, but he can't, and he knows he can't and it's not just that he can't turn back time, it's that he'd be a different man if he had killed Mark. He might not be the man Spencer loves and he can't let go of that.
But they can't just keep running.
"Being out there isn't going to make anything better either," he says, his voice soft. He has no idea what to do, but he doesn't think just leaving the room is going to help. Raleigh's hand is bleeding and he's concerned about her leg and he wants to get something for her to stop the blood, but he can't leave. He can't walk out of this room without Spencer and he can't force him to leave either. He doesn't think he should force him to leave. He'd cleaned up last time, he'd shown up and swept up the glass and the drops of blood on the floor, then he'd run away, but there's no way in hell he's doing that this time. "It's okay," he tells Raleigh. "It's not your fault." It's an accident, they happen, and if it wasn't her breaking the glass today, it would be him knocking it over next week.
"Spencer," he says gently as he gets to his feet and reaches for him, laying surprisingly steady hands on his shoulders. He knows what's happened now, he knows it's the broken glass, the library, it's Mark come back to haunt them, and he remembers walking into that lighthouse and seeing Spencer beaten and broken. "Hey, I found you, remember?" he murmurs, smoothing his hands gently over his shoulders, touching him with great care. "No one is here but us. No one can come in this house but us."
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But they can't just keep running.
"Being out there isn't going to make anything better either," he says, his voice soft. He has no idea what to do, but he doesn't think just leaving the room is going to help. Raleigh's hand is bleeding and he's concerned about her leg and he wants to get something for her to stop the blood, but he can't leave. He can't walk out of this room without Spencer and he can't force him to leave either. He doesn't think he should force him to leave. He'd cleaned up last time, he'd shown up and swept up the glass and the drops of blood on the floor, then he'd run away, but there's no way in hell he's doing that this time. "It's okay," he tells Raleigh. "It's not your fault." It's an accident, they happen, and if it wasn't her breaking the glass today, it would be him knocking it over next week.
"Spencer," he says gently as he gets to his feet and reaches for him, laying surprisingly steady hands on his shoulders. He knows what's happened now, he knows it's the broken glass, the library, it's Mark come back to haunt them, and he remembers walking into that lighthouse and seeing Spencer beaten and broken. "Hey, I found you, remember?" he murmurs, smoothing his hands gently over his shoulders, touching him with great care. "No one is here but us. No one can come in this house but us."