Chapter 9
Ash silently re-read the letter twice and then for a third time. A single tear slid down her check. It was imposable. This letter was impossible. It was a letter from her brother. Her dead brother. It was his suicide note. It detailed why he had to die. It detailed horrible things- monsters lurking in the shadows waiting to strike. How sorry he was that it had to turn out like this. And worst of all, it was addressed to Spencer- not her.
For years she suffered from depression after the loss of her last relative, her beloved brother and then her love almost simultaneously. She was all alone in this big, scary old world- her grandmother passed away a month before, she had disintegrated from her Alzheimer's disease until there was nothing left of the once kind and loving woman that took had the habit of taking in the helpless (human or otherwise) - Part of her always wondered if their grandmothers death was the trigger- or as Spencer would say the stressor- but she knew why know and it scarred her allot.
It took her years and several councillors and (useless) self-help books to except that she will never truly be healed and that the loneliness that consumed her heart at every moment of the day was never going away. She was just a Girl after all. A broken Girl.
All the emotions that she felt in her heart she decided to put down paper for people who shared her pain and for people who didn't understand real pain and wanted to read and view such emotions. Soon enough she was a bestselling writer and artist.
Sometimes it was hard for Ash to identify her emotions especially at times like this when she has been surprised with shocking information with very little time or strength to process thus information. She knew that she felt sad, upset and angry. But there was one emotion that overwhelmed all the others. And that emotion was… betrayal. The sensation of this emotion overwhelmed her to the point where she felt physically and physiology weak.
She just found out she was betrayed by the two people she trusted most in the world. One was dead and the other was sitting right in front of her- with a very worried expression on his face while he studied her reaction. The look on his face only increased her anger- he lost the right to worry about her the minute he hid this letter from her.
"Ash, please say something" Reid whispered- his voice pleading with her
"How dare you" She whispered
Her hands where clenched together tightly, the letter was still in her hand it was being crumbled at the sides in which she held it with such anger, her knuckles were turning whiter and whiter as her emotions for the situation grew.
Spencer was at a loss for words- there was nothing he could say and nothing he could do that could possibly fix things so he decided it best to take what he deserved- an earful from his best friend and she wasn't shy about giving them. But what scarred him was the look in her eye. Her eyes where full of disappointment. Disappointment in him.
Over the many years that he knew her, she had shown him a long range of emotions but never in his life had she ever looked at him with such a look in her eye.
"You betrayed me!" She continued- her voice raising "You had no right!"
She stood and started to pace- Spencer watched quietly knowing that she only did this when confused or felt high levels of anxiety. He felt ashamed, ashamed at himself for causing her so much pain. He hated himself for it.
"My brother's dead and I lived eight years without an explanation! Eight years!" She exclaimed "And you had the answer all along!"
"I couldn't tell you- but I wanted too, I really, really wanted too and I'm so, so sorry" Spencer tried to explain
"Stop it!" Ash exclaimed
She moved till she was standing over him. For once he was looking up to her which she enjoyed but at that moment she wasn't going to let it show. Up closer Spencer could see the tears in her eyes ready to tip over but she holding them back stubbornly- she never liked crying, it made her feel weak.
"You're not allowed to apologise- Right now you're not allowed to… be my friend" she whispered the last part as if it caused her as much pain as it did him
Minutes passed and all they could do was stare at each other silently daring the other to blink and they were both in shock from her words. No matter how made fights they got into (which was allot), no matter how many heated words they exchanged (also allot), no matter how many stupid things either of them did (more then allot), no matter how long they went without specking(7 years, 345 days and 2 hours)- they have never not been friends.
Ash stared at him for one more moment, her tears still threating to tip over before she took a deep breath and turned away she walked to the closed door but turned around again with her hand on the handle.
"By the way" Ash said softly "I don't hate you… I'm just disappointed in you"
With that she quickly left the room in search of comfort aka Susie, all Reid could do was sit and be thankful that it wasn't worse.
He stood and walked over to the board to re-examine it. The message's left on the walls could referee to the fact that the evidence points to Jade but at the same time there is no motive to the murders and her phobia excludes her from being able too.
The only witness where the victims that survived- the last two. That couldn't have been a coincidence. The murders up on till that point where organised and merciless. It was designed to look like a spree killing which is why there was only hours between murders.
Spencer rubbed his eyes, he was exhausted. A situation like this would make anyone want to crawl under a rock and wither away. He sighed, no matter how bad it felt on him it would be ten times worse for Jade. He could imagine how scared she must feel right now and he didn't think having her friends around helped- It would make her feel vulnerable.
He had to focus on the case not his personal connection. He had to treat it like any other case. Which was near to impossible now that he was called out by the UNSUB with that note.
What the hell did that note mean anyway? How could he have protected Alexander? He didn't know what was happening back then.
The UNSUB was clearly trying to get under his skin but why? And why frame Jade for these murders? Was it just an elaborate scheme to get his friends and himself together again? But why?
"Reid" Hotch's stern voice came from the door "You have another letter"
Reid took a deep breath and followed Hotch to the room where the team where gathered. In the centre of the table lay a letter with only his name on it. He put plastic gloves on and carefully picked up the envelope while ignoring the concerned looks of his team.
He removed the letter from the envelope and read the neat words consuming the middle of the page.
Answer me this Doctor
The saying goes:
Two can share a secret
If one of them is
Dead
If seven people unknowingly
Share a secret
How many should
Die?
Ok not my best chapter but I promise the plot is deepening
Thoughts? Good? Bad? Brilliant? Most horrible disgusting read ever?
Not sure where it's going? All will be revelled in due time. I don't want to rush it.
The letter is an important part of the story and you all will be able to read it in later chapters.