A/N: This is the revision to the prologue. Please review!
Title: When Angels Fall
Summary: She was an angel. She was HIS angel, sent to him from above. But God gives with only one hand, and takes with the other. And God took her away. Thirteen years later, the BAU team is called to New York City to investigate the brutal murders of the perfect American couple, a murder which has left their two daughters - calm, gentle Melissa and fiesty, sharp-tongued Stephanie - in the custody of their mysterious caretaker. What seems like a simple case of murder-for-profit turns into a puzzle whose pieces don't want to be put together. Meanwhile, Dr. Spencer Reid begins to dig into the past of the elusive nanny, which may answer more questions than expected...and at the end of it all may be a secret that Reid isn't ready to face.
Rated: M for violence, graphic descriptions, and sexual content in later chapters.
Prologue: Thirteen Years Ago
"Hope is a waking dream." - Aristotle
Las Vegas, Nevada.
"Attention, class," Ms. Roth, high school science teacher, addressed her students. The classroom was built to hold thirty students, but being a new teacher, Jenny Roth was only subjected to teach a class of fifteen, despite the large size of the public school. She was a small woman, with wire-rimmed glasses and short brown hair, styled in a bob-cut. She always dressed simply in long skirts and plain tops; many students whispered that she was secretly a nun.
"I would like your attention please, if only for a moment," she waited until she had almost everyone's eyes up at the front of the room before continuing, "We have a new student." She beckoned someone to enter through the door.
In his usual seat at the very back of the classroom, where he was guaranteed some peace from the bullies, Spencer Reid craned his neck to glimpse the newcomer. She was very tall, with long legs, almost unnaturally long for her age, with an equally long waist. Her body sported few curves, and unlike most of the girls in the class, she made no attempt to amplify her bust, which was quite underdeveloped, even for someone who couldn't be any older than 13 years old. Her skin was rather pale, a sharp contrast to the thickness and darkness of her eyelashes and lips, which he suspected were completely natural. She had slight shadowing under her eyes, though it flattered her eyes, as opposed to making her look old. Her golden blonde hair was very long, curling around the small of her back, just above her waist.
"Everyone, this is Alicia Carver," Roth said with a motherly smile; she patted Alicia on the shoulder, "Dear, why don't you go pick a seat?" Spencer supposed that the "baby talk" voice was just to make her feel more comfortable, due to her young age. He often received that tone of voice from the other teachers. It was one of the less joyous consequences, if there were any, to being a twelve-year old high school senior.
As the only seat available was in the back, right next to his seat, Spencer was unsurprised to see her make an immediate path toward him. Her eyes stared straight ahead, not looking at the other students, though Spencer could see plenty of the boys "checking her out"; knowing they were examining a thirteen year old like a pack of hungry wolves was a rather nauseating thought. She wore dark jeans that flared at the knees, with a pair of plain black sandals, and a simple white top, long sleeved. She neatly set her backpack behind her seat and sat down, staring down at the battered and graffiti-covered desk.
"Now that we're all acquainted," Ms. Roth said, not bothering to have the class introduce themselves to Alicia, "Let's get started. Now, open up your text book to page 145…"
Alicia bit her lip; she turned and rifled through her backpack hopefully, but by the time she straightened up, it was clear she didn't have the book. This didn't surprise Spencer either; the school lacked in a lot of things, and making sure new students were well prepared was one of them. He looked around, but no one was even looking at her. Gathering up his courage—which, regarding girls, was hardly existent—Spencer scooted his desk over. Alicia, noticing, frowned slightly in confusion. With a weak and awkward attempt at a smile, he spread his book out across their desks. Her frown faded away; though she didn't smile, her eyes told him she was grateful.
"Miss Carver," Roth called, "Would you care to read the paragraph at the top of the page?"
Alicia didn't even nod in response, "Scientists have recently…"
Spencer exited through the back doors of the school, getting ready to take his usual safety route, which ensured him an undisturbed route home, without encountering bullies of any kind. As he proceeded around the back alley, he saw Alicia climb into a crimson car, with a young, attractive looking woman in the driver's seat. The other woman looked too young to be her mother, so he assumed she was a nanny or some sort of caretaker for Alicia. He watched as they backed out of the alley and pulled onto the street, Alicia's pale golden curls shimmering slightly in the sunlight. He would have stood there a little longer, but hearing the sounds of the football team approaching, he bolted off towards home.
A week later, Spencer left school like he always did, cautious and walking quickly. He always tried to leave as early as possible, so as to pass the football players that waited for him. As he walked, his breath steaming in the cool winter air, his mind drifted to the events of this past week. Alicia had gotten her books by the next day, which didn't give him an excuse to help her anymore. He assumed it was the end of that. He was a teen prodigy, a genius' mind in the lanky, "geeky" body of a twelve year old boy. Girls avoided him at all costs, and he knew he didn't have a prayer with a girl like Alicia. While she might not be "cheerleader" material, but she was one of the most beautiful girls he'd ever seen. It was only a matter of time before she would become one of the popular girls, even if she was younger than all of them. And as certain past experiences had well educated him, there was no place for someone like him in the world of a popular girl. He sighed. It had been a nice dream, anyway…
A car horn honked behind, making him jump. As he turned around, he saw Alicia's red corvette pull up beside him. Her caretaker sat patiently in the driver's seat; Alicia removed her sunglasses, so as to see him better. Her blonde curls were pulled back in a high ponytail; she wore dark jeans and a blue sweater, with a pair of simple white shoes.
"Hop in," she said, gesturing to the back seat.
"What?" he said, attempting to register her words. Did she actually ask him to…?
"Come on, get in," she repeated, "You have to be lonely walking home by yourself all the time. I'll give you a ride."
"It's okay," he answered, trying not to blush, "I always walk home."
"One day breaking your routine isn't the end of the world." She said with a laugh, "Come on, get in before I make you get in."
He nibbled at his lip for a moment, then slowly climbed in the seat. He set his bag beside him, folding his hand meekly in his lap. Alicia looked back at him, "Come on…relax. You look like you're about to be spanked or something." She added with a teasing smile.
Once again, he obeyed, though a bit more relaxed this time. The minute he was buckled in, the car roared down the street, startling him into grabbing the door. The cool wind nipped slightly at his cheeks; looking at Alicia, it seemed the winter weather wasn't bothering her a bit.
"Um…" he began, trying to spark conversation, "Why…why are you doing this?"
Great, he muttered to himself, great way to start a conversation with a girl…
"Hey, I told you," she said, "You look lonely every time I watch you leave school. I just thought you could do with a ride home for once. Where do you live?"
"Oh, there's a bus stop near my house," he said quickly, "You can just drop me off there. You don't need to go all the way to my…"
The look on her face told him to stop talking and just show her where his house was. He gave her the directions, then slumped in his seat. He was not looking forward to when they would arrive at his house, and she would meet his mother. He could only hope she was still doing as well this afternoon as she had been early that morning.
"Is this it?" the driver asked, pulling up beside a plain, two story house, painted white at one point in time, though the paint was now peeling and cracked. There were no signs of life, which meant his mom was probably in bed. He breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thanks for the ride…" he said awkwardly.
Alicia smiled. "No problem. Next time, don't make me beg for you to get in the car, alright?" she winked at him.
He smiled, not so awkward this time. "I guess you're going home then?"
Her smile faded slightly. "I don't know. I might just go driving for a bit. I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked.
"Of course," he said, backing away from the car, "I'll…see you then."
She waved with a smile as the car pulled out of the driveway. Spencer watched as her shiny red car pulled away down the street, only turning to go inside his house when she was finally out of sight.
Maybe it wasn't just a dream after all.