After The Letter UNDER EDITING!

Chapter 5: Books Are Weapons

I had woken up with a sweat that same night. I couldn't remember my dream, but I was scared out of my mind. I panted as I looked about the room, trying to get a feel for what was going on. I wiped my brow, sweat collecting onto my hand. My legs were tangled in the pale blue sheets, and my white comforter was on the ground. I groaned and rubbed my eyes. They were...wet? I looked down at my pillow and saw tear-stains on them.

What ever my nightmare was about last night must have scared me enough to have me cry in my sleep.

I groaned again and looked at the time. My digital clock that sat across the room read 4:23am. I laughed lightly and stretched. Might as well stay up. I stood and went to the bathroom and prepared for the day. As I brushed my teeth, I could feel my heartbeat in my fingers. My hand shook as I put my toothbrush away and walked out of the bathroom.

Walking down the stairs, I saw the living room light was on and felt my heart pound. I began to pant, attempting to keep my breath up. There was someone sitting on the couch, hunched over a book. I furrowed my eyebrows and looked at him. "Doctor Reid?"

The man jumped up and spun around, looking at me. I laughed and covered my mouth. "Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you." He replied, "I-It's no problem. I just hate the dark, so I needed a light on. When I saw your bookshelf, I couldn't help myself."

I smiled and nodded. "No harm done." I walked over and sat next to him. I looked at the book he had in his hands. I smiled and said, "That book portrays the character as the abused, and ends up becoming to abuser. It seems pretty common in todays time." He replied quickly, "Actually, only 1 in 8 people who are abused become the abuser. It's not really as common as people say it is. We only say that because the abuser was most likely abused his or herself!" I smiled and he looked away.

"Pinocchio was always my mom's favorite. I never understood why though." He piped up even more. "Did you know that the author, Carlo Lorenzini, was actually obsessed with the human nose?" I laughed and said, "The things you memorize, Doctor Reid, are truly amazing." He smiled sheepishly and stared at me.

I looked away from his gaze, feeling exposed. I needed to break the silence. I asked, "Would you like some coffee?" Spencer smiled and nodded. "Three scoops of sugar okay?" I asked as I made my way to the kitchen. "Yes."

I turned the coffee pot on and got both decaf and caffeinated coffee ground. I put a scoop of each in the maker and dumped the water in. I watched as the hot coffee dribbled out of the hole and into the pot. I turned and walked to the pantry, putting the coffee ground back and grabbed the creamer. I looked at the date on the Chocolate creamer to make sure it wasn't bad. I did the same to the French Vanilla and walked back to the counter with it.

I grabbed the sugar, and the maker made a beep, signaling that it was finished.

I grabbed two coffee mugs and called out, "Chocolate, French Vanilla, or Black; Doctor Reid?" He didn't answer so I walked into the living room.

"Doctor Reid?" I said softly. I looked on the couch to see he had fallen asleep. I smiled and reached for a blanket that sat in a basket off to the side. That was when I noticed the six books on the coffee table. I smiled, remembering that he can read 20,000 words a minute.

But still...that's a lot of books.

I draped it on his tall stature and saw he had hair in his face. Gently brushing it away, I got a good look at him. A really good look. He had black bags under his eyes that were darker than usual.

I furrowed my brow and whispered, "Did you even sleep last night?"

I rubbed the back of my neck and walked back to the kitchen. I turned Spencer's cup upside down so it didn't get anything stuck in it and poured myself a cup. I walked back to the living room and sat down on the end away from Spencer and picked up Just Listen by Sarah Dessen.

I began to read it as I drank my coffee, completely consumed by Annabel's character. After a while, I felt something fall onto my lap and I let out a squeak of surprise. I looked down to see that Spencer had fallen over and his head was laying across my lap. I smiled lightly as I continued to drink from my mug.

I tossed the book onto the table and reached for the remote to the TV. I slipped it on to BBC and saw that an older episode of Doctor Who was on.

It was the episode with David Tennant and they went back into the 17th century or whatever with the werewolf.

After watching it to nearly the end, I felt myself begin to fall asleep. I put my mug on the table as David Tennant said the very words that put me to sleep:

"Rose Tyler: Being rude again!

The Doctor: Good, I meant that one. You want weapons? We're in a library! Books! The best weapons in the world! This room's the greatest arsenal we could have - arm yourselves!"