Wild Nights, Wild Nights || Spencer Reid x Reader

36. Death Is A Dialogue

She swatted your hand away. "Ew, stop being weird."

"I... what... where..." you fumbled.

Lizzy let out an annoyed huff and grabbed your arm again. "Come on. You're not supposed to be here." She tried to tug you away from the kitchen again.

But you pulled back. "Lizzy, stop."

She paused and looked back at you, raising both her brows. "What?"

"It... Mom and Dad are that way," you answered, gesturing behind you.

Your mother's delicate laugh filtered in from the kitchen again, and you couldn't help but look over your shoulder and smile.

"Let's go over there." You tried to take a step backwards, but Lizzy held fast to your arm.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what?" she asked. "You can't be... that's not real, Y/N?"

You poked your head back around the corner to look back into the kitchen. Your dad was refilling your mom's glass, and he bent down to give her a kiss on the cheek. You smiled again.

" Hey! " Lizzy clapped her hands in your face, and you jerked back.

" What?"

She looked at you with her mouth half open, eyes flickering between you and the kitchen. "You..." Lizzy huffed an incredulous laugh. "Are you honestly trying to tell me that you remember us like... that?"

"What do you mean remem—"

"Y/N, Mom and Dad didn't love us like that. They barely loved each other. That's—" She pointed to the kitchen. "—not real."

You blinked a few times at her. Somewhere in the back of your mind, her words registered with something deep repressed.

You shook your head. "No... no, they didn't. You're wrong," you murmured. "They were good. We were good. We were happy."

Suddenly, the sunlight dissipated. The house became cold. The sounds in the kitchen ceased completely.

Lizzy scoffed, "They paraded you around like a show horse. We've talked about this before."

You swallowed thickly. "I don't know what you're talking about. They loved us."

"They loved how you made them look."

" No, they didn't."

"What are you..." Lizzy trailed off. She tilted her head to the side slightly as she furrowed her brows. "Why are you so insistent on this?"

"Because that's the truth," you answered plainly. "I want... I want to be here with you. And them." Tears started welling in your eyes, and you had to continue speaking through the lump in your throat. "I've missed you so much."

And Lizzy just stared at you. Studied you. Then she let out a sigh and said, "Can I show you something?"

You didn't answer, even as she held out a hand for you to take.

After several moments, you placed your hand in hers. You took a deep breath. "What are you showing me?" you asked softly.

She hummed as she gently tugged you along, down into the living room, across the entry hall, and to the stairs. "Reality," she said. She stood a few steps above you, and she craned her head around to look down at you. "Do you trust me?"

You hesitated, daring a glance down the hall and to what you could see of the kitchen. It had grown lifeless.

So you looked back up at her and slowly nodded. Lizzy smiled. She tugged on your hand again, and you followed her up the stairs, into the dark hallway of the second floor, crossing into a different world.