The Call
"It's a life-changing thing to be in a position of needing help and being so lucky as to get it."
~Maura Tierney
Breeanna leans her back against the cool wood of the shaded alley, Spencer's phone pressed to her ear. From her search through Spencer's contacts, she's concluded that he has no contacts other than his coworkers and his mother. So, after the so-called Hotch doesn't pick up, she decides to call the contact labeled Derek.
He, on the other hand, picks up in the middle of the second ring. "Pretty boy, where the hell are you? Lunch ended almost a half hour ago! Did you go see that girl at the bookstore again and lose track of time?" He softly chuckles.
Breeanna's cheeks go cherry red. "This ain't Pretty Boy. It's the girl from the bookstore."
There's a long silence from the other line. "I am so sorry. So what's up with Spencer?"
Breeanna has regained her composure by this point. "I don't really know... He was helpin' me decorate the store and was goin' through quotes to hang up. I was checkin' books in that he brought, and then when I turned back around he was 'bout ready to cry. Shakin', hands over his eyes. And when I tried to ask him if he was alright it was like he wasn't hearin' me until I repeated myself a bunch 'a times. It was like he wasn't even here."
Derek's voice is tense when he speaks. "Maeve."
"Huh? Maze?"
"Not 'maze', Maeve. Maeve's a person."
"And what about her?"
Derek sighs. "Spencer would kill me."
"I can't help the poor boy if I don't know what's goin' on in that mind of his, and he sure as hell ain't bein' of any help!"
Derek chuckles. "You have a good point, ma'am."
Breeanna scoffs. "Only my mama gets called ma'am. I'm Breeanna. Breeanna Rose Clemmins."
"Well, I'm Derek Morgan. Nice to meet you, Breeanna."
"Pleasure's all mine. Now who's this Maeve lady?"
"Spencer was in love with her. They only met in person once-I'll get to that in a second- but they talked so much. It started with her looking at x-rays of his brain because he was having these headaches and thought something was seriously wrong because no doctors were able to find anything, but it got more intimate over time. I think Spencer said it was something like 100 days worth of contact through letters and phone calls... But they were close, and they were in love. That's all that really matters.
"But Maeve, she was being stalked the whole time they were talking, but they thought it was her ex. They were scheduled to meet for dinner one night, but Spencer spotted the ex and told her not to come for her own safety. But then Maeve was abducted, and Spencer realized that he was wrong about the ex."
Goosepimples stand up on Breeanna's arms despite the heat of the day. She knows where this story is going to end now. "Who was it?" Her voice comes out as a small whisper, barely audible.
Derek takes a breath before he goes on. "It was her ex's girlfriend, Diane. She wanted to have Spencer's attention, to be treated by him like an equal. She gave him a clue that led him to Maeve's location. He tried to save her, he really tried. He tried to convince Diane to take him instead, and tried to convince her that he loved her and not Maeve, man, he tried.
"But she killed her. Diane put her head up against Maeve's and killed them both with a .45 calliber shot through their heads."
Tears run down Breeanna's face. She can't even begin to imagine how much that must have hurt him. "That poor boy."
"It really killed him... He didn't leave home for two weeks. He wouldn't even open the door. We had gift baskets piling up outside his apartment door. He wouldn't pick up his phone for a while. He dreamed of her to the point that he wouldn't sleep at night, and I don't know if that's still the case. He lost it when he lost her."
"Th-Thank ya, Derek. For telling me."
"You can't help him if you don't know. And at this point, I think you may be the only one who can get through to him."
"Why's that?"
"You're the only girl he's talked to since. And Maeve died months ago."
"O-Oh."
"Breeanna?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you. For joining the effort to help us get our Spencer back."
Breeanna smiles weakly, a few tears still making their courses down her cheeks. "No. The boy deserves help, and he's gon' get it if it's the last thing that I do."
"I'll be right here to help you. Before you give Spencer's phone back, take my number and put it in your phone. Call me if you ever need anything."
"Alright, will do. Thank ya."
"No, thank you. Bye now."
"Buh-bye."
Before she goes back inside, Breeanna wipes her eyes and copies Derek's number into her phone for safe keeping.
