Chapter 9: Stuck

JJ stood towards the back of the room. She was thrilled that Spencer had woken up and that he was doing fantastic. But after her last encounter with the team, she was feeling more than awkward. She was feeling out of place and honestly despised. So she tried to wait her turn to see Spencer, to apologize, because if he hadn't connected it yet, he would know soon that it was her fault.

The team asked him questions and updated him on the case. He seemed to be his usual self; it was almost surreal.

JJ caught a few glances from Morgan directed towards her. They hadn't had a chance to speak since their kiss. And truth be told, JJ wasn't even sure what to say. She didn't know if they had both just gotten caught up in the moment or if there were feelings buried deep within that had been released. She knew that Morgan related to her a lot more than she had realized initially. She was so invested in her personal life and the issues arising, that she didn't even think about how this information would affect her relationship with Morgan.

Her relationship that had been platonic until about an hour ago.

Needless to say, JJ was confused.

As the conversation started to die down and people started trickling out of the room, JJ made a point to stay. She wanted to talk to Spencer. Alone.

Not too much longer, her wish was granted, and she was left standing awkwardly across from Reid as he smiled brightly.

"I missed you." He said.

JJ scoffed. "I'm supposed to be the one saying that."

"What happened to your arm?" He questioned.

JJ looked down at her bent arm resting in her sling. She couldn't wait until she didn't have to wear it anymore.

"Broke it at the gym." JJ forced a laugh.

Immediately Spencer noticed a change in her demeanor, and his face dropped.

"What is it?" He asked, very seriously.

JJ shook her head and moved to sit on the edge of his bed. Once there, she reached out and grabbed his hand while squeezing tightly.

"I'm so sorry this happened to you, Spence." She deflected.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm good now. This wasn't your fault."

JJ squeezed her eyes shut and nodded.

"You don't understand, it was my fault, and I am so sorry." Her voice cracked, and Spencer's brows furrowed at this new behavior he hadn't been keen to.

"How could this be your fault?"

JJ struggled to find the words, but ultimately she told him what had happened over the span of the last few hours—about her relation to the case, getting suspended, almost all of it except the fact the unsub had been threatening her behind the scenes.

"JJ, the only person at fault for this is the unsub. Even if he did target me because of my relation to you, it still wasn't your fault." He paused, watching as JJ's expression eased. He instantly could tell she had been dreading this conversation. She blamed herself a whole lot more than he had realized. "Has Hotch put a protective detail on you yet? If what you told me is true, you could be in danger."

JJ adamantly shook her head.

"No, he hasn't. But I'm safe. I- uh, you don't have to worry about me. Just worry about getting better, okay?" She said as she stood up to leave.

"Wait, Jayje… what's going on?"

JJ moved towards the door before looking back at Spencer's worried, glistening eyes.

"I'm fine. I really should go though. I'll see you tomorrow Spence." She didn't leave any room for argument as she hurried out the door and down the hospital hallway. She didn't realize how much weight she had been holding on to until she was gliding down that hallway so effortlessly, like a bag of rocks had been lifted off of her shoulders.

Morgan had tried calling her. A few times, actually, but JJ hadn't decided what she was going to say yet. So she ignored the calls and told herself she would call him back later.

She walked into a gas station near her house. She had been craving a particular snack and decided to drive down the street to pick it up. At least, that's what she told herself. She didn't want to dwell on the fact that she felt like a sitting duck in her house all alone. Just waiting for him to attack.

No, not tonight. Tonight she would drive around all night if she had to. There was no way she was going to just sit in the dark by herself.

She went up to the register to pay and pulled out her card. As soon as the cashier told her to, she swiped the plastic rectangle. As she started to put it back in her purse, the cashier stopped her.

"I'm sorry it didn't work. Can you try again?"

"Of course." JJ nodded and swiped the card again, this time looking at the cashier for confirmation.

Instead, he shook his head.

"It declined again." He said as he shifted uncomfortably.

JJ couldn't help but furrow her brows in confusion. There was no logical reason as to why that card would decline. She knew there was money in the account. But she didn't want to waste the cashier's time, so she pulled out her credit card.

"Sorry about that, try this one."

Again it wouldn't go through. JJ could see the heat rushing to the young man's face as he struggled to tell her again that her card had been declined.

"That's impossible." She muttered. "Let's try one more."

She swiped the next card and was about ready to crawl under a rock when she saw the expression on his face. He shook his head and was about to speak when JJ cut him off.

"Don't worry about it. I'm good for tonight." She forced a smile and walked away from the register without the one item she had come for. Now it was her turn to have her cheeks flush. She'd never had that happen before, and the embarrassment was starting to catch up to her. She quickly got in her car and made sure the doors were locked, before pulling out her phone to check her mobile bank account.

JJ's heart dropped to her stomach as she saw the balance.

$0.00

And to her utter shock, every single one of her credit cards had been canceled.

She knew this had to be a mistake. There was no possible way her bank account was completely empty unless someone had…

JJ hit her hand against the steering wheel and let out an impatient groan. She was so sick of being this pathetic man's puppet to play with whenever he was bored. Or being under his control whenever he felt like scaring the crap out of her or genuinely ruining her life.

JJ quickly dialed the 24-hour line to talk to a bank representative. As she spoke to the stranger on the other line, things somehow managed to get worse.

Not only had her bank account been completely drained, her credit cards canceled, but her entire identity had been stolen.

JJ packed a few items of clothing as quickly as she could. She grabbed a few other necessities, but she wasn't really thinking about what she would need. She only had one goal.

To disappear.

This unsub had not only wreaked havoc on her life, but also on the lives of the people she loved. They had been put in danger too many times, and JJ was not going to play his sick game any longer.

Best case scenario, she'd be able to lose him in her attempt to run away. Worst case scenario he'd follow her, but at least her team would be safe.

Once her bag was packed and she had all the things she could think of needing, including a stack of cash she had hidden for emergencies, she set her phone down on the floor next to her bed. With a deep breath and as much power as she could muster, she lifted her foot and slammed it down on the mobile device. She heard it crack a little, but she wasn't sure it'd be enough. She kicked it several more times until she was satisfied with its demise.

JJ moved out to her car and started the engine. She wasn't sure where she would go. She just knew she needed to get out of there.

A/N: First of all, thank you to JJfanCM for cleaning up all my chapters and helping me accomplish the things I want to. Also, to my beautiful guest reviewer, Jen. Thank you so much for the kind review. I absolutely do take requests, I can't always promise I'll use them but I'll always listen. I love your idea about JJ being non-verbal. So much so, you've inspired me. After a recent rough patch, I'd forgotten why I enjoy writing and you helped remind me of this. I will either write a new story with a main plotline being JJ's struggle with anxiety/non-verbality, OR I will add it to my current story Painful Reminders. I am so sorry to hear about your struggle with anxiety recently, all I can say is I understand. One of the ways I know my anxiety is really bad is when I physically cannot speak either. I think it's more common than we know. If you ever need to talk, my PM's are open. (this goes for all you lovelies out there supporting a mediocre writer like myself) And when you think of any other requests, I'd love to hear them too. Thank you, thank you.