AN:

Here's the next chapter!

It's a different side of the intense relationship that is Reid and Avery, and I hope it stays within their characters because it has been awhile since I've written anything between the two and I definitely don't want to take away from who they are as individuals and as a couple.

The next chapter should be up relatively soon, and it will set a couple of things into motion.

Enjoy!

Special Shout Outs:

Randichele: Yes! I'm glad you liked it! haha. :D

Imperfect Apprentice: Not funny! But appreciated. :) It means I'm kind of sort of doing my job right if you feel frustrated by the... suspense? I'm so glad you liked this chapter, and you should really like the next chapter, it doesn't center around Nat and Caleb, per say, but it moves the mystery along with a dash of your favorite couple. ;) The mystery thriller is a slow work in progress - I don't really have all that much experience writing so if it seems like its going too slow, that's just me trying to figure out where the heck I'm supposed to take it. Sorry! But here's your next update with a dash of the mystery...kind of. : *

WitchGirl101: Gah! Thanks, I'm so glad you think so! Honestly, I'm not all that comfortable writing action, because in all the stories I've ever written, there really isn't a whole of action. That being said, there will be action, eventually. haha. But again, I'm so glad you like this story! I hope to keep it at a good different level for it's entire duration! :D

FallenDeniseMorris: Thank you! I'm so glad you liked it; I know it's kind of Sarah bashing but I honestly have no issues with them being together, it was just the way the story was going. So, again, I'm glad you liked the change, and thank you for reviewing. :D

To all my reviewers: you guys rock, thank you for the continued encouragement, and taking the time to review, it means a lot!

To all you non reviewers: you rock too, and I'm glad you're still reading!

x

A soft brush of a thumb underneath the circles beneath her eyes, "You haven't been sleeping." A soft murmur, his expression twisted into one of concern, his mouth pulled down slightly at the corners.

Since the Friday before last, Reid and Avery had been more than fine, things between them were easy and instilled within him was a continual sense of peace that used to only be a periodic occurrence; something that occurred only when he was in Avery's presence and there weren't any guards between them. Now, there were virtually no guards between them but he still had this unending suspicion that she was keeping something, something that was affecting her health, from him.

Her lips pursed, but she offered no answer.

"You're eating less," His thumb left her cheek to brush across her mouth.

"I'm still eating," She countered lowly.

"Only when I'm putting food in front of you." Whether it be at lunch or group dinners; he wasn't with her for every meal, he wasn't always around to make sure that she was feeding herself – and he knew from past experience that it was something she often needed to be reminded of; she could get so lost in her abilities that she couldn't even tell that she was hungry, let alone remember to feed herself.

"Reid…" She implored, as if asking him to let it go, but he wouldn't, he had been silent for a little over a week; since he had first noticed the change that Monday past. He had let her ignore it when they were together simply because she could ignore it when he was around; but he had given her enough time, he wouldn't wait any longer.

"No Avery, now are you going to tell me what's going on, or am I going to have to force it out of you?" And he could; he could tease her into an oblivion that would have her, eventually, telling him anything and everything he wanted to hear; and he would do it with little to no shame at all.

Her jaw clenched, she didn't want to tell him, but she knew she had to…she needed to. He deserved to know, the boys deserved to know, and she needed Reid's help to try and figure everything out. She needed his help to figure out how to tell the others and how to keep her sisters from completely losing themselves in the face of the oncoming danger and their increasing fears.

Part of the reason her powers had begun to overwhelm her so much, was because she had been siphoning the fear of Chase from Lace, Elizabeth, and even Natalie – who was scared, not to the extent of Liz and Lace, but still scared nonetheless – so that they wouldn't crumble beneath the building awareness and subsequent paranoia.

Another reason she had been struggling to control her powers, was because of Chase's closing proximity. He was coming, and he was coming fast; and Avery feared that he was, in fact, aware of she and her sister's abilities. Aware of them, and to some extent, had acquired a little knowledge on how they worked because the influx of terror that had been plaguing Spencer had increased ten-fold just in the past week alone; turning ordinary fears into something so twisted, as to rival anything Avery had ever experienced in her eighteen years.

It was the consequent, unspeakable, indescribable pain of those twisted terrors that had her jolting awake on silent screams and had her spending hours of dry heaving near every night – it was a practice in and of itself to keep Natalie from becoming aware of what was happening to Avery.

After a long, contemplative silence, Avery met Reid's worried blue gaze and spoke, "Chase is back."

Three words, three simple, harmless words that inspired within Reid a rage unlike anything he had ever felt before; undiluted rage, and piercing fear. Fear because if that was Avery's answer, then it had been Chase who was plaguing her, and Reid couldn't lose her, didn't want to even think about what else the douche could do to Avery without Reid's knowledge; but he pushed the fear back, and his rage gave way.

Gently, with measured movements, he disentangled himself from Avery, waiting until he was standing before her bed to unleash his rage.

"How long have you known?" He demanded, voice icily controlled; he didn't yell, he hadn't ever yelled at Avery, he wasn't about to start then, because of him.

She came to the edge of the bed, crossing her legs beneath her and clasping her hands together in her lap; she knew better than to reach out to him. "Months." He flinched before the hard steel of his jaw transformed into unbreakable granite.

"Months? Months you've known of this and this is the first I'm hearing of it?" The anger that bled from his skin had Avery shutting her eyes in relief, the force of his anger a heated caress that pushed away all the fears.

"We weren't sure what it was," She answered, eyes opening slowly to follow his pacing form, his hands trembling in his withheld fury. "We weren't going to tell you until you figured it out on your own, but he's come too close, and we can't handle it on our own."

"You're damn right you can't handle it on your fucking own. Needing to know with confidence what was coming be damned, you should have told us as soon as you knew something with ill intent…as soon as you knew Putnam was back!" His voice rose at the end, his words clipping as he tried to temper himself.

"You mean," Avery mused, not fazed in the face of his anger, she knew he wouldn't ever hurt her, the very thought of him lashing out like that in anger almost made her want to laugh. "I should have told you?"

He whirled around on her then, closing the distance between them before his hands were gripping at her hair near painfully, the stinging of her scalp, however, was easily ignored by the furious slanting of his mouth over hers. He wasn't gentle, he wasn't coaxing or smooth; his kiss was a rough motion against her lips, his teeth biting at her lips in a harsh cut that nearly drew blood, his fingers flexing around her hair to pull her head back even further. He didn't let her breathe, didn't let her move, he gave her just enough leeway to accept the kiss before he was jerking back, chest rising and falling in great heaves, his eyes a furious shade of obsidian, pupil eclipsing the blue in a show that had absolutely nothing to do with his power.

"You're damned right you should have told me." He finally admonished, "The second you knew something was up, you should have come to me."

"You couldn't have done anything Reid…you still can't do anything."

Hell, he knew that, he knew he wouldn't have been able to help his sister, Avery, or his friends; but that didn't mean he wouldn't have liked to not be kept in the dark; he hated feeling clueless.

"I could keep a better eye on you," He countered softly, releasing her silky hair in order to cup her face, his thumbs reaching out to brush against her bruised and battered lips.

He felt a little guilty for the discoloration, purple tint to her ravaged lips, before that guilt gave way to satisfaction; not only had he marked her, but he had shown her his fury in the one way that would she would truly understand, and if it had hurt her just a little, maybe that would teach her to not keep vitally important secrets from him.

His gaze left her lips to linger, once more, on the circles beneath her eyes, "He's doing this to you?"

She didn't verbalize her answer, but she gave him a small nod in confirmation, "He's dead when I get my hands on him." A dark promise that he would have no problem carrying out, he wondered if that scared her, his easily stated intent to kill; he was kind of surprised, but mostly relieved, when she seemed to relax at the words.

"So what do we do, Reid?" She inquired once she was sure his anger had dissipated enough to actually talk about the situation.

He let out a sigh that seemed to deflate his whole body, but before he answered her, he nudged her back to the center of the bed; climbing in after her until he could pull her tight into the safety of his arms, her head resting on the curve of one arm beneath her head, her hands twining with his.

"Right now, we sleep," He knew, for some miraculous reason, that she had no health-affecting nightmares when he was with her. "Then, we call everyone and meet up at the Caretaker's house before Monday. They deserve to know, Avery."

A soft press of lips to the soft underside of his bicep, his nerves settled, his body relaxing even as his mind filled with all of the endless possibilities that could come with Chase's imminent arrival; his brain conjuring up all the ways that his girls, his family, could be taken away from him.

The only solace he could offer himself was the knowledge that he would do absolutely anything to protect his family, even if that meant staining his hands with another man's – a monster's – blood in order to do it. He could only hope that if it ever came to that, that Avery, nor his sister, would look at him as though he was the monster instead of the other way around.

All followers, favoriters, reviewers, non-reviewers, continuous guests, and first-timers: I hope you enjoyed!

Feel free to review or leave suggestions for future scenes!

Until next time,

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