It had been a half hour since Brooke had her meltdown. Spencer still sat with his back against the wall, with his arm draped over her shoulder. She sat silently staring at her sneakers. Neither of them knowing what to say to the other.
The door to the room opened and Spencer felt Brooke immediately tense up. She pressed herself further against him as J.J. entered the room. Spencer lightly rubbed Brooke's arm and whispered words of comfort to her.
J.J. cautiously approached the two before sitting down cross-legged in front of them. She gave Spencer an empathetic smile before turning her attention to Brooke, who was still staring at her feet. Her eyes bloodshot and swollen.
"Brooke, I know this is very difficult for you," she said softly. "We want to help you, but in order to do so, we're going to have to ask you questions about your past."
Brooke didn't say anything, but slowly nodded her head. Spencer gently kissed her temple to reassure her.
"We want this to be as easy for you as possible. Would you be ok with me asking you the questions?" she said.
Brooke seemed to think for a moment before nodding. J.J. looked at Spencer before her next question. As if warning him he may not like what it is or what the answer may be.
"Would you feel more comfortable if it was just the two of us?" she asked.
For the first time, Brooke looked up from her shoes. She looked at J.J. and then slowly turned her attention to Spencer. He gave her a small smile.
"It's ok if you want me to leave. I won't be upset with you," he said.
Brooke stared at him before looking back down at her sneakers. It was so quiet in the room while they waited for her answer, Spencer swore you could hear the Earth moving.
"No," she said in a gruff voice that was barely audible. "He can stay. I would like him to stay."
Brooke grabbed his hand and held it tightly in her own. He made her feel safe, even though she didn't want him to know how horrible she was.
"Do you feel more comfortable sitting like this? Or would you prefer we sit at the table?" J.J. said as she gestured to the big table behind her.
"Here, please," Brooke replied.
"Ok, I'm going to write a few things down while we talk. If you need a break at any time, please let me know and we can stop, ok?" J.J. said gently.
Brooke nodded. J.J. took a deep breath and looked at the pad of white paper on her lap.
"We didn't see any records of schooling. Did you go ever go to school?"
"No, we weren't allowed," Brooke said.
"We? Your brother, John?" J.J. asked.
"Yes. Mother said school was where the devil went to capture sinners. She said I had so much sin in me that she had to fight him out of the house daily."
Spencer had to bite his tongue. What utter nonsense! J.J. shot him a glance and he swallowed down his anger.
"Did she teach you at home?" J.J. wondered.
"Not me. She tried occasionally with John, but she said I was not the type of person who could be taught anything. I believe her exact words were 'if it weren't for the fact I was somewhat pleasing to the eye, she would've put me down like a horse.'
Mother said I was what society called a retard. That if I went to school all the kids would laugh at me and the teacher would beat me because I was too stupid to understand the basics," she said monotone.
Spencer was clearly seething, but right now his job was to comfort her. Not run to her rescue, but boy did he hope he could have a second alone with Mrs. Evanson. She'd never see it coming.
"Brooke, you realize that isn't true, right? That you aren't stupid and you definitely don't qualify as mentally handicapped," J.J. said with her own hint of anger.
Brooke shrugged. Sometimes she believed that she wasn't anything like her mother claimed she was and other days it consumed her. Every thought was of how she was a waste of the air she was breathing.
"Brooke, I'm a certified genius, am I not?" Spencer interrupted. She nodded her agreement to this statement. "So, I would obviously be able to tell whether a person was smart or stupid, would I not?" Again, she nodded her agreement.
"Then I can assure you, you are very smart. What your mother said about you is the furthest from the truth and is a reflection on her self-doubt and confidence, not on yours. Weak people pray on the innocent, Brooke. Your mother prayed on your innocence."
J.J. held up a hand to signal for Spencer to stop. He was getting upset and right now as much as he wanted to make her feel better they needed to focus on the issue at hand. Was she a murderer or not?
"Sorry," Spencer mumbled.
"It's ok. It's not that I don't agree with what you are saying, because Brooke, he is 100% accurate," J.J. said. "But right now, our job is to help clear your name. To save you from being wrongfully accused of a crime."
Brooke nodded her understanding and Spencer sat back, resigned to keep himself in check. J.J. looked at her list again before looking at Brooke. "Tell me a little about your father."
"My Papa used to read to me at night. He told me some day I would be just like the women in these fairytales. That I would be freed from the life I was living and find my place in the world," she said as a tear slipped from her eye.
"Your Papa, he was nice to you?" J.J. asked.
Brooke nodded as her lip trembled. J.J. suddenly produced a tissue and handed it Brooke, who used it to dab at her nose. They waited as she composed herself a little bit before continuing.
"He was the kindest man. He would sneak me food some nights and he always said goodnight to me. I always dreamed of him coming home one day, demanding that my brother and I go to his car where we would drive away into the sunset," she said before dropping her head. "But he never did."
(xxxxx)
Brooke sat in her cage in the garage. She had been denied dinner because she sneezed while dusting the living room.
"Great! All that cleaning and you just expelled your germs all over the place!"
Her stomach was grumbling and she desperately wanted something to eat. She looked around for any crumbs on the floor, but there was nothing to be found. She had just curled into a ball to try and sleep, when the side door to the garage squeaked open.
She sat up startled. A flashlight was the only thing she could see in the darkness. Her heart began to race as she wondered who had broken in. The flashlight lit up her cage for a moment, making her recoil and throw her arm over her eyes.
The light flicked off her quickly and she blinked as her eyes tried to adjust.
"Bella, I have something for you."
She sighed in relief. It was Papa. He was crouched in front of her cage with something in his hand. She reached through the bars and grabbed the item from his hand. Papa shined the light on the glorious item in her hand.
"It's a strawberry fruit bar. Eat it quickly before Momma finds out," he said softly.
She didn't have to be told twice. In less than 5 seconds the fruit bar had been devoured. It wasn't enough to fill her stomach, but it did help with the pain.
"Thank you, Papa," she whispered.
"I have to go before Momma sees that I'm missing. Be a good girl," he said before walking off.
"Papa?" Brooke called out.
"Yes, Bella?"
"I love you."
"I love you, Princess."
(xxxxx)
Spencer and J.J. sat in stunned silence listening to Brooke's horrifying memory.
"You slept in a cage?" Spencer finally choked out.
"Mm hmm. Mother said I wasn't worthy of living in the house, so I was banished to the garage. At first, I was allowed to sleep wherever I wanted, but after she found me eating out of the trash cans without permission I was no longer allowed to roam free."
"You have got to be kidding me," Spencer said in shock.
"I know, but I was so hungry. I didn't mean to do it. I just wanted to stop the pain," she said as her face turned red.
"Brooke, I'm not talking about what you did. What you did was completely understandable. I'm talking about your mom. What she did is incomprehensible!" he said.
"If I would've just behaved I could've been in the house. It's not her fault Spencer. It's my fault. I should have been a better girl! You don't understand! You think I'm such a good person, but if you would just listen to me, you would know the truth!" Brooke said.
"I am listening to you and none of this is your fault!"
Brooke was beginning to get distressed, while Spencer's anger boiled over the edge.
"Ok, ok!" J.J. interrupted. "Why don't we take a break. I think Brooke could use a moment to herself. Spencer why don't you step outside and get some fresh air."
"I don't need fresh air," he snapped.
The door swung open and Hotch poked his head in.
"Reid, I need to see you a moment."
Spencer rolled his eyes and got up from the floor, storming out of the room. Brooke curled into herself and began to cry silently.
"Can I get you anything?" J.J. asked gently.
"No thank you."
Brooke's voice was broken and it tore J.J. up inside. She took a deep breath, stood up, and walked out of the room to go find Spencer. She didn't have far to go as she could hear him angrily hollering at who she assumed was Hotch.
"She is brainwashed!"
J.J. entered the room and saw Spencer pacing the room, while Hotch and Rossi stood by watching him.
"Reid, you knew that going into this. You knew you were going to hear some very difficult things – "
"But this is beyond cruel, Hotch! This is … this is … I can't even think of a word to describe it!"
"No one disagrees with you, but we are no help to her if we keep personalizing this. Our goal is to figure out what happened to her father and clear her name. We are not psychologists. We are not getting anywhere trying to fix her," Hotch said strictly, though his eyes expressed compassion and understanding. "All that is doing is stressing her out more."
"There is no doubt she is in trouble. Once we clear her name, we can get her the help she needs. Right now, we need you to be focused and strong for her. We need your brain in the game, kid," Rossi said.
Spencer leaned against the table with a sigh. They were right, of course. He was letting the injustice get to him. He wanted to protect her from her past, but nothing could be done to change it. He had to put aside his emotions for the time being and figure out how to save this girl he cared so deeply about.
(xxxxx)
W/N:
Oy, still struggling with this damn story! I tried to work on it, but just felt I wasn't getting anywhere. It's a good challenge, but definitely making it harder for me to get out chapters. Hope you liked this one. Thanks for the support and love the comments! xoxo