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Trina came through the door of the house she now lived in with her mom with a big yawn. It had been a busy day at school and work, and now she just wanted to go to bed. She glanced at her phone and again felt a sad twinge when she saw that there was no text from Spencer. It's been a week since they had last spoken. It had been a month when they decided to limit the time they spent together to reduce the stress on her mother and it was hard on them both. They tried to spend some time together. Trina would stop at his grandmother's apartment every now and then and end up feeling like she was intruding, so she didn't make regular visits. Spencer stopped coming to the hospital where she had spent a lot of her time before Curtis was sent to the rehab hospital and since she was living with her mother now, he never came by her house. They'd meet up at the metro court pool every now and then, but they were never alone.
Really, Esme saw more of Spencer than she did nowadays and she knew that it was both of their fault and her moving back in with her mother did not help things at all.
Then there was that photo shoot that Esme had posted on social media and the fight about that had been bad. They hadn’t really spoken since that happened...
But the fact that he had not texted her once since their argument... stung. Couldn't he have at least tried to get in touch with her? Ok, she could have tried too, but she was so tired of trying. She was tired of being the one to go to his grandmother's just to have Esme lurking around. But there really was nowhere else to go that they could have the needed privacy to really talk…
Spencer certainly couldn’t come to her house. Not with how her mother felt about him and that would go against their wanting to keep her stress free, right?
Sighing, she wondered why couldn’t the people in her life just be happy and let her be happy? Why must she have to make all these sacrifices? All of these accommodations. Her mother, Curtis...even Spencer! She was always giving up something to make them happy! It wasn’t fair!
The buzz of her phone took her out of her thoughts and she answered it when she saw it was Joss.
“Hey, what’s up?” Trina answered, heading up to her room.
“Trina, oh my god, it’s Spencer!” Joss nearly yelled into the phone.
Trina frowned as she felt her stomach drop. “What about Spencer?”
"That bitch did it! She actually did it!" Joss continued clear panic in her voice.
“She did what? What happened?!” Trina dropped her bags on the bed and she sunk down onto the mattress, having a sinking feeling that she’ll want to be off of her feet for this.
“She killed him!”
“WHAT!”
Joss dissolved into sobs and suddenly Dex was on the phone.
“Trina?” Dex asked, his voice tense.
“Dex what’s going on! What did she mean?!” Trina nearly yelled into the phone.
“Hey, hey, calm down. It’s not what she said. She’s just upset and panicking...what I know is that Spencer’s in the hospital...his father brought him in…”
“Wait...his father?”
“Yeah, obviously he’s back...just get here to GH…”
Trina hung up the phone and grabbed her car keys. She opened the door, ready to run out when she ran right into Taggert, who looked at her with amused eyes.
“What’s the hurry baby girl? You look like you’re running to put out a fire or something?” Taggert smiled, then frowned when he saw the state Trina was in. “Hey, what’s going on?”
“I have to go...Spencer’s in the hospital and they won’t tell me what happened, Joss said that Esme killed him but….I have to go!” Trina rambled, as she moved to rush past Taggert, but the former detective grabbed her and held her still.
“Hey, calm down. You’re in a panic and you can’t be of any help to Spencer like this and you definitely can’t drive in this condition. I’ll take you. My car’s right over there.”
“Ok, fine! But we have to hurry!”
“Alright, alright,” Taggert lead the way to his car and peeled out of the driveway once Trina’s seatbelt was secured.
…..
When Trina reached the hospital, tailed by a worried Taggert, she came upon a pacing Nikolas who had Ace clutched in his arms. Joss was there too, sobbing hysterically in Dex’s arms. Trina ran up to Joss, who pulled herself out of Dex’s arms to embrace Trina.
“What happened? Where’s Spencer? He’s not...he can’t be...is he…?”
"Esme did it. She stabbed him...I don't know how many times...Dex and I...we had run into Spencer's dad and we were going to see Spencer...I was going to try to talk him into contacting you again because I knew that things had been so tense between you and I wanted to help. Mr. Cassadine was at the door when we heard a struggle then a thump...Mr. Cassadine kicked the door in to see Spencer on the floor bleeding and Esme standing over him with a bloody knife. You should have seen her, Trina! She looked insane!"
“Oh my god…,” Trina gasped horrified.
“Dex and Mr. Cassadine subdued her and got her tied up and...we called the ambulance and the police and...it’s bad, Trina. It’s really bad. They said that he might not make it…”
“No...no...this can’t be happening…,” Trina’s legs went out from under her and Taggert was there to catch her just in time.
“Trina!” Joss cried.
“Trina!” Portia was suddenly there. “What are you doing here! What happened!”
Portia tried to put her arms around Trina, but she was pushed away. “No! Get away from me, this is your fault! I...I gave him up for you and look what happened! I left him alone with that psycho and now...now…”
Trina couldn’t say it. Her words turned to sobs as she turned to Taggert who held her tight in his arms. He looked grimly at Portia. “Please tell me the kid is still alive.”
“I...I’m not his doctor...I don’t know anything,” Portia stammered, hurt by her daughter’s words.
"Well, I suggest you go find out something," Taggert nearly growled.
Portia just nodded and went off to find the attending doctor.
“I see that you’re finally back. Care to tell us where you’ve been all of this time?” Taggert glared at Nikolas.
"It's a long story. I went to my mother's, wanting to tell them I was home, and found Esme Prince standing over my oldest son with a bloody butcher knife and him…," Nikolas blinked, his eyes filling with tears as the day's emotions were finally hitting him hard.
Taggert shook his head, unable to be of any comfort to the man. All of his compassion was for the sobbing young woman in his arms.
“He’ll be okay. You Cassadines are hard to get rid of,” was all Taggert could manage.
Dante came off the elevator with some news. He held a tablet up to get everyone’s attention. “Mayor Collins had installed a security camera after the kidnapping of baby Ace last April. We have all that happened here on camera if you want to see.”
Everyone gathered around the officer and watched. Spencer was sitting on the couch on his phone, it looked like he was texting someone. Then Esme approached. Spencer stood up and looked to be calmly talking to Esme. Things seemed normal...until Esme moved in and tried to kiss Spencer, who pushed her away and looked to be berating her pointing towards what was Ace's nursery and then the front door. Esme ran out of the room, leaving Spencer alone for two minutes. Spencer turn away, about to head for the door when Esme came running back in with the butcher knife and began stabbing Spencer in the back repeatedly.
Trina covered her mouth with shaking hands and began to sob, turning to bury herself in Taggert’s arms once again.
"That fucking bitch!" Joss cursed and also began sobbing, allowing Dex to take her into his arms.
"This is my fault...all of this is my fault. I should have been there," Nikolas bowed his head, the tears now in his eyes as the attending doctor came out with Portia by his side. His hands were covered in blood...Spencer's blood and his face were grim.
“I’m sorry...there was nothing we could do. The damage was too extensive…,” The doctor calmly reported.
"No!" Trina screamed, this time falling to the floor, inconsolable. The memories of the last year accosted her. Spencer's face, his smile, his voice, his laugh, all of it was gone and the last words she had said to him were words of anger. She'll never have a chance to take any of it back. It was all over and she never had a chance to even say goodbye.
“Trina!” Portia again tried to go to her daughter, her heart breaking to see her like this, but again Trina pushed her away.
“Get away from me! This is your fault! You and your stupid hatred of Spencer! You couldn’t stand to see me happy with him! You couldn’t stand to see him here supporting me when Curtis got shot and making us both feel so guilty that we took a break so you wouldn’t be stressed and now look! I’ve lost him! Trying to appease you I lost the man I...the man I loved and he never knew because of you!”
“Trina, no...I…”
"Go away! You've got what you wanted! He's gone out of my life forever now so you should be happy! Get out!"
“Trina…”
“Portia for once be selfless and go! The girl doesn’t want you!” Taggert growled.
Portia couldn’t say or do anything else. She just turned around and left.
“Sweetie,” Taggert spoke in a soft, hesitant voice. “Let me take you home. There’s nothing that you can do here.”
“No...I have to see him...please...just let me see him…?” Trina sobbed, clinging to her father.
Taggert looked at the sobbing Nikolas who tightly held Ace in his arms. “Can she…?”
The grieving father just nodded, not in the condition to go see his now-deceased son himself.
"I'm coming with you, baby girl," was all Taggert said as the doctor lead the way to where Spencer's body lay.
….
He looked like he was peacefully sleeping and would wake up at any minute. His shirt was gone and he was on his back, hiding all the stab wounds that Esme had inflicted in her rage. It was a classic case of fatal attraction, or that’s what Dante had called it after the video had finished.
Trina slowly approached Spencer’s body on trembling legs. She felt like running far far away. She wanted to go somewhere that she could deny that this had happened. That she could tell herself that Spencer was still alive somewhere, out in the world. But she wouldn’t. She was done running away from him. The last time she ran away...this was the result. She had left him to face Esme alone and now he wasn’t only her first victim. He was her last.
Trina placed a trembling hand over his cold pale one and wanted to sob again. Grief and guilt were a horrible cocktail.
"I'm sorry, baby. I'm so so sorry. I should have listened to your apologies...I should have stayed. I should never have distanced myself from you. My mother be damned. You needed me and I wasn't there...and I...I pushed you away when I needed you to make someone who didn't deserve it comfortable and I'm so sorry for doing that now. But it's too late for all the I'm sorry. They won't bring you back, will they?
"Well...at least you're with your mother now. I supposed you're up in heaven getting to know her. Telling her all about the adventures down here. I know you won't believe this but...I'm going to miss you, Spencer. I...I loved you so much...and I didn't tell you and I'm sorry for that. I wish I had. I wish that you hadn't died thinking that I was angry over those stupid pictures that obviously meant nothing to you...that I had left you at the mercy of that psycho bitch. I wish that I had never had the stupid idea to have her out of prison. You'd be alive now if I hadn't. I'm sorry...I'm sorry…"
Trina fell forward, hugging Spencer’s dead body, resting her head against his chest. Taggert let her cry there for a good five minutes, but finally, he pulled her away.
“That’s enough, sweetie. Come on. Let’s go,” Taggert wrapped her in his arms as he lead her out of the room. Trina looked at Spencer one last time, her eyes drinking him in.
“I’m sorry…”
…..
The funeral was an open casket. Mourners passed by in single file, saying goodbye to the young man that many remembered as a precocious child. Never had anyone thought that Spencer Cassadine would end up like this. A victim of fatal attraction.
Trina sat up front, seated between Nikolas Cassadine and Taggert, her father that had been by her side since the day of Spencer's death. She held baby Ace in her arms as she went up to say her final goodbye.
“I’m sorry that you’ll never know him, Ace. He had loved you so much and now...you won’t even remember him,” Trina sniffed before returning to her seat, where she handed the baby back to his father.
Portia sat in the back of the church, flanked by Curtis, who was in a wheelchair, and Marshall. Both Curtis and Marshall hugged Trina tight when she came to them, expressing their sympathies, but Portia remained ignored. Trina had not spoken a word to Portia since her outburst at the hospital. Portia had the sinking feeling that Trina was lost forever to her now. Everyone had been right when they told her to leave Trina’s relationship with Spencer alone. Why hadn’t she listened?
…..
Six months later…
Trina sat at his gravestone, red roses in hand. She placed a gloved hand against the marble and read the inscription.
Spencer Cassadine
Beloved Son. Beloved Brother
We shall never forget.
She smiled as she traced the words and thought of how indignant her petty prince would have been. He would have wanted a paragraph listing all of his achievements and charm. Of course, a beloved boyfriend should have been added. As well as hero. But those were her words. It probably wouldn't have been appropriate to add them.
She placed the roses against the headstone and sighed. She had a lot to tell Spencer, even though he may never hear it. He probably knew all about her plans already and was happy for her. But she wanted to tell him anyway. Speak it into existence sort of speak.
“Hey, baby. My petty prince. I’m back. It’ll probably be my last time here for a while. You probably already know...but I got that fellowship. The one at the gallery in New Orleans that we had once talked about. Remember how you encouraged me to apply for it and how we talked of moving down there together and living it up in the French Quarter? How you wanted us to experience Mardi Gra together? Yeah, I decided to go ahead and apply...and I got it! Yes, I’m going to New Orleans and...I’m going to live our dream in honor of you, Spencer. I’m so sad that you can’t be with me like we planned. That I...that things had gotten so out of wack with us…that we allowed her to get a foothold enough that she...she took you away from me...but...she’s paying for that now. Life in prison without parole. Your father came back, as you know...he’s raising Ace. He was so angry at your Grandmother for letting that bitch live with you but...it wasn’t her fault. She was just trying to help. They’re on speaking terms again, thankfully. I’m not talking to my mother anymore...never again. She had manipulated me one too many times and...I know you had wanted me to keep my relationship with her, but she’s toxic, Spencer. She’s toxic and a narcissist and it’s best that she’s out of my life.
“Curtis is still in my life though. He’s walking now. He has to use a cane, but that’s better than a wheelchair. Daddy is also still around. He’s been keeping a close eye on me...another reason that I’m glad to be escaping to New Orleans. I wish that you could come with me, Spencer. I really do. But you’ll be with me in spirit, won’t you, my petty prince? You always are. Sometimes I even sense you there, when I feel especially sad. When I miss you so much that I can’t stand it.
"Hopefully, time away from Port Charles will help me with this grief. Heck, maybe someday I'll even learn to love again. But one thing is for sure. I will never forget you, Spencer Cassadine. I'll always remember what it was like to love and be loved by my petty prince. Goodbye, my love…"
With that being said, Trina got to her feet and headed out of the graveyard, looking forward to the future ahead, the absence of her petty prince was the only thing that dimmed the bright future ahead.