𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 ; 𝐬 . 𝐫

[ 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 ] (𝟏𝟎)

TW: depiction of a dead body later in the chapter (slightly gory)

spencer felt you fall asleep the second your body came completely limp against his. he immediately, and slowly, stood up. keeping his arms wrapped around you, he cautiously lifted you and himself out of the tub. he kept one arm around you as he reached for a towel. your body instinctively huddled closer to him. spencer swallowed, wrapping you in the towel. he tenderly pulled your damp hair out of the tight space in between the towel and your skin, still somehow keeping you secure in his arms. he was still bare, which made him cringe slightly. he lifted you off the ground of the bathroom once more. he laid you down in the bed, standing back for a moment to look at you. the towel rode up the back of your leg as you readjusted and he cleared his throat, quickly covering your body with the sheets up to your chin. with not another glance, he sped off to the bathroom to retrieve his clothes. spencer slid back into his clothes within 2 minutes. he snatched his phone and tiptoed out in an attempt not to make any sounds.

you slept until 7am, which was considered late to you. unfortunately, the way you'd gotten woken up was by another knock on your door. you figured spencer left pretty soon after you fell asleep, a small part of you upset he did leave, the other grateful. you rolled out of bed in your now dry towel, holding it above your chest. you walked to your door and looked through the peephole to see spencer, holding a case file in one hand and coffee in the other. he was dressed casually for some odd reason, in grey sweatpants with a purple hoodie. you opened the door and peeked your head out through the crevice. he looked at you and blinked,

"just came to go over victimology before we visit the scene way later today." he stated. you nodded slowly as he eventually let himself in. you closed your hotel door behind you, the lock clicking quietly. you felt his eyes scan you up and down and suddenly you felt like a rabbit cornered by a fox. he turned his back to you as he set the file down on the small oak table in the room,

"you should get dressed." he said as he flipped open the tan folder, his fingers running over the paper delicately. you watched his hand work across the paper for a moment then nodded,

"oh, yea, right. my bad." you sighed softly. you felt spencer's eyes on you once more as you walked past him to your room, you paused in your doorway to look at him dead in the eye,

"dr. reid, did you come to undress me with your eyes, or look at the case?" you teased. his eyes broadened in surprise as his face flushed bright pink. without hesitation, he looked back down at the papers. you hummed in response and entered the bedroom. you closed the door behind you and dropped your towel around your ankles to get dressed. you put on a deep purple underwear and bra set, putting on a pair of black pajama shorts and a white t-shirt over the undergarments. you walked back out to the 'living room' and found spencer now sitting down at the table. with a quiet huff, you sat down across from him and he finally lifted his eyes, closing the folder,

"thought we were going over victimology...?" you questioned. spencer cleared his throat in response,

"i actually wanted to talk first." his hands knotted together in a nervous fit. clearing your throat, you pulled out the other chair and sat down across from him. you crossed your legs over one another, waiting for him to start. he looked at you,

"maybe we should forget all the stuff that happened." he blurted out, his tone icy. your muscles tightened for a moment in surprise and you stuttered,

"oh-i-uh-" finally gathering your words, you spoke again,

"why?" you questioned, a waver in your voice. you hated this. you hated it all. 

spencer's tongue flicked across his bottom lip as his eyes looked down at the table, darting side to side in thought before meeting yours again,

"i don't know. maybe it was just a mistake. we're just co-workers, you know?" he said, his eyebrows furrowing. you chewed on the inside of your cheek. 

you so badly wanted to evade this question, only because part of you didn't want to forget. part of you didn't want to forget the time on the jet nor the moment in the bath. instead of speaking your mind, you said,

"yea. i get it. forgive and forget, am i right?" you said with a weak smile. you met spencer's sweet eyes again, detecting an expression on his face that lasted no more than a second. he nodded,

"yea. forgive and forget." he repeated, his voice a whisper. you waited in silence as he opened the folder to the case. he first laid out the few pictures of the crime scene included in the file and you paused. this was abnormal for you.

you never stared like this. never. 

interrupting spencer, you asked,

"have they identified the body?" your voice came out urgent and nervous as a pit grew in your stomach. spencer raised his eyebrows,

"why are you asking?" he muttered. you felt your eyes dampen,

"i-um-i think i know her." you finally spoke. spencer stopped moving as he waited for you to speak. your eyes stayed glued on the picture. the girl was lying in a pile of leaves and twigs, bloodied and battered. her feet were bare, as well as any area from her waist down. her blue shirt was torn across her stomach, her gut seemingly to be cut open, the contents of her body visible. her hands were cut off and her face was burned, mutilated. the unsub had pulled out the teeth in order to make it harder for identification of the body. the only reason you couldn't stop looking was because of the necklace that hung around her neck. you'd gotten your little sister a necklace just like that, a sterling silver necklace with a diamond encrusted C hanging at the end of the chain. blood seeped into the metal and gems, the jewelry no longer dainty and kind. you blinked away tears and swallowed down your sobs,

"y/n?" spencer muttered worriedly,

"give me a moment-" your voice trembled and you stood up. you walked into your bedroom, slamming the door behind yourself.

^

hellooo! sorry for the late chapter, i had no wifi yesterday because of construction and it just came back on lol i wanted to get this out as soon as possible so i'm sorry for any typos