It took a week.
Only a week for Mitchell Diaz's life to go down the drain.
It started out with the murders of two strangers in a city miles away. But once the BAU show up after the third murder occurs in her city, everything gets put together.
She...
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CHAPTER 37: REJECTION
AFTER A LONG DAY, HOTCH SENT EVERYONE BACK TO THE HOTEL FOR SOME REST.
Mitchell trailed behind everyone as they carried their go-bags on their shoulders. She couldn't stop thinking about what today meant.
And what tomorrow means.
"I know you told my not to profile you," Mitchell looked up at the doctor, the resident genius of the group, "But I know you're upset about something and I think if you talk about it-" He began to speak quickly and Mitchell knew she had to shut him up,
"It's my birthday." Mitchell stated, looking down at her shoes,
He stared down at her with wide eyes, "And we didn't-"
"No, I don't care that you guys didn't mention it, Spencer." Mitchell sighed, "It's what my birthday means."
Spencer's eyebrows furrowed, "What do you mean?"
"I mean, that I have to share it with this person who looks just like me who went and murdered everyone I cared about. She's ruined this day forever and the day after because tomorrow..." Tears filled her eyes, "Because tomorrow is the anniversary of Rachel's death."
Spencer pressed his lips together tightly, "I'm not the best at giving advice, but I think you need closure."
Mitchell shrugged her shoulders, "We caught her killer. Isn't that closure enough?"
"Is it?" He asked before walking towards the elevator.
Mitchell thought about his words as she headed towards her hotel room.
She laid awake her the hotel bed for most of the night. Tossing and turning. So when her alarm clock blared at 5 am, she was ready to get up and get the day started with.
Mitchell had just put her hair into a high ponytail when her phone dinged. She read the text from Hotch to meet in the lobby. The brunette girl sighed, staring out the window and looking across Dallas before looking back at her phone and typing in a number she memorised.
Spencer was right. She needed closure.
"Hello?" Mitchell's breath hitched as she heard the voice on the other line, "Hello?"
"Mrs. Wilson?" Mitchell whispered, her eyes gazing out the window once more,
The older woman sighed on the other end, "I told you not to call us anymore, Mitchell."
"I know... I just wanna say... I-"
"Mitchell, there's nothing more you can say that you haven't said before. And the response will always be the same." Mrs. Wilson replied,
She wrapped one arm around her waist, "I know, Mrs. Wilson... but... you think I'm not upset, too? You don't think I'm not gonna blame myself for this for the rest of my life? This day upsets me too, and I will never forget it. I loved her, too. She was my best friend. I know you lost a daughter but there's nothing I can say to bring her back. If I could do it, I would. I would sacrifice my life for hers. But I can't."
The line went quiet for a moment, "I never got to see my daughter graduate. She never got to go to her senior prom. She will never get to walk down the aisle, or have children of her own. Her killer may be behind bars now, but you were the reason why she died. I'm sorry, but my response is the same." Mrs. Wilson cried, "I can never forgive you. Don't call again."
The line went dead and Mitchell wiped the tears from her eyes. There was a knock on the door and let out a calming breath before opening it.
More tears filled her eyes as she stared up at Spencer Reid. She let out a small laugh and wiped them away, "She still blames me."
He set his bag on the ground before wrapping his arms around Mitchell. She wrapped her arms around his waist before muttering, "I thought you don't like touching people."
"You look like you needed it."
Mitchell's phone dinged again and they pulled away, "Hotch is waiting." She sniffed, grabbing her bag.
They walked down the hallway towards the elevator, "I need some coffee."
Once they got to the lobby, they separated. Hotch send Mitchell, Rossi, Reid, and Alex to Rebecca's house to look for any sign that she was a community angel while the others went back to the station.
Reid went to go talk to the neighbours while the other three went to search the house.
As they searched the house, Mitchell went upstairs. She walked into an empty bedroom, searching to see if there was any sign of someone being there. She opened up the closet door and her eyebrows raised.
There was a bed in the walk-in closet.
"Alex, Dave, you might want to come up here!" Mitchell called out.
The three of them looked around the room, "Rebecca was a single woman living in a 3-bedroom house, yet she converted this walk-in closet into another bedroom."
"Well, JJ was right. She's most likely a community angel. A woman on the run would want to stay as hidden as possible." Blake commented, searching the drawers,
Mitchell went into the bathroom as Rossi continued to speak, "An interior room like this would make someone feel safe, so they stayed here until what?"
She opened the mirror above the sink and smirked at the boxes of hair dye, "Probably until they had a new identity. Look." The two of them turned to see the boxes, "They changed their appearance here."
"So, where was the next stop?" Rossi asked,
The three left the house and met up with Reid in the driveway,
"So the neighbor described Rebecca Schroeder as standoffish. The neighbor said that she stopped by a couple times to be friendly and Rebecca never even invited her inside." Reid explained,
"Well, how could she, what with her practically hiding fugitives?" Alex retorted,
"The neighbor also said she never had any visitors except for a speedy send courier. She thought the two of them were sleeping together because the courier would back the truck up to the garage and stay for half an hour." Spencer continued,
"I think the neighbor may have just identified the next step in the escape route."
