Chapter 8
(Emily Pov Present tense)
Blood. Blood all over the room. Vibrant red stains. Crimson dripping down the walls. Blood on the walls. And beneath it all lay the crumpled body of one of her best friends clutching a bottle of pills.
She ran to his unconscious body. Trying to shake him awake. Freaking out. She was freaking out. There were so many signs and she had ignored them all. Cuts covered his body. Cuts that were years old. How had they never noticed?
"Reid. Reid wake up!" She moved her hand fingers, finding the pulse on his neck. Faint but there.
He's a survivor. He died once at the hands of Tobias Hankle. He got anthrax and survived. He's healthy. He'll be ok. He has to.
Why does he have to? It's yours and the others' fault it got this far. It's your fault for not noticing. You let him get this far.
She stood up on shaky legs. A trembling hand punching three numbers into her phone.
"911, what is your emergency?"
"My friend, took a, he took a bottle of pills and cut his wrists. I um, I don't know how long ago but it looks really bad."
"Ok ma'am, may I have your phone number and name and location?"
"Emily Prentiss and his name is Spencer Reid and 703-***-****, I'm at 14 Northern Street, Jackson Arms Apartment 2C"
"Ok, what kind of pills did he take?"
"Umm, let me check," Emily knelt down picking up the bottle "Advil."
"Does he still have a pulse?"
"He did a few minutes ago but it was faint, I'll check again," she once again applied her fingers to his neck, "It's still there."
"Ok Ma'am, can you try to get him to throw up? And put pressure on his cuts? The ambulance is 10 minutes out. Woud you like me to remain on the phone?"
"No, thank you." The call ended and Emily quickly tugged two towels down and searched his drunk drawer for ductape taping the towels tightly onto his cut arms.
She grabbed a toothbrush pushing it down his throat. Nothing. She repeated the action again, bringing up a small amount of throwup.
7 minutes out. She pushed the toothbrush down his throat again, not much more but something. She repeated the action again and again.
2 minutes out. She carried his body to the door to give the EMTs quicker access.
A sharp knock at the door, she opened the door letting three EMTs into the apartment, two men and a woman they walked in with a southhampton stretcher. They lifted his broken body onto the stretcher.
"Can I ride with him?"
The taller one nodded. She walked behind them as they carried the stretcher through the hallways and down the stairs. (Southhampton stretchers are used to carry patients down uneven surfaces and stairs.)
They walked outside and she walked to the front of the ambulance while the EMTs boarded him into the back of the ambulance.
The ambulance drove to George Washington University Hospital (real place) they unloaded Reid from the ambulance wheeling him inside of the hospital to a trauma bay.
She gatherered the addmitment forms at the hospital's reception desk. She walked over to one of the plastic waiting room chairs. She uncapped the pen and began reading the questions.
Surname (family name)- Reid
She checked the box next to Dr. and wrote in his first name.
Date of Birth- 10/9/81
Gender- Male
National Health Insurance- *******************
Phone number- 703-***-*****
Washington DC resident- yes
The questions continued for another page before she set down the pen.
She knew the doctor had said he was fine, she had gotten there in time. But what if she hadn't. What if something happened?
She shook her head trying to relax back into the chair. Spencer was in safe hands. He was safe.
But the tiny voice in her head just wouldn't leave her alone.
It's your fault. Your fault…
You knew what it looked like. They didn't. If he doesn't make it. It's on you. Just like…
No. Don't think about that. Don't think like that.
He's going to be fine.
Well at least his physical state. Mental, not so much.
Great. You've only been here for an hour and you're already freaking your mind out.
Think happy thoughts.
Kittens. Dogs. Girls. (Yes I made Emily a lesbian, she might get a gf.) Mochi. Boba tea. Necklaces. Gold. Silver. Copper.
Dried bloods copper. Silver blades. You like seeing blood don't you, Emily.
Shut up.
No.
Yes.
You can't get rid of me that easily, you know what it took me last time.
Get out of my head!
I'm always here for you. I'm your friend.
No you're not.
I'm never truly gone you know.
I'm ignoring you.
You can try.
She shook her head. Leaning back against the cold plastic of the chair. Her dark hair falling in front of her eyes.
She pulled her hair back into a ponytail. Her hands filled with his blood under her fingernails.
Her friends blood. Was literally on her hands. Would she never be rid of the blood.
Her phone vibrated in her pants pocket. She pulled it out.
ChocolateThunder- How's the start of your weekend off?
Horrible
Crumbling
Bloody
EPrentiss- Delightful
ChocolateThunder- sure u don't want to join me at the bar?
EPrentiss- Positive.
ChocolateThunder- u ok. Your words r quite formal and long.
EPrentiss- I'm preparing for when my mother gets here.
ChocolateThunder- ;) u Sur u should b using texting then, maybe email would b better.
EPrentiss- Mayhaps. I have to go. See you soon.
ChocolateThunder- C'mon at least use gtg
Bye. ^-^
She turned off her phone sliding it back into her pocket. They were so damn oblivious. It was freaking annoying.
It was tiring. Sitting and waiting to hear if your friend is going to be ok.
To hear if your friend passed. To hear if your friend is alive. To hear if you were to late to save him.
How could he be ok, you and the rest of the team abandoned him.
No, we didn't.
Are you sure, none of you noticed his pain.
GO. AWAY.
You know how to get rid of me.
NO.
Come on. One tiny one.
NO.
Emily's nails bit into the skin on her arm. Squeezing tightly.
Good enough.
The voice faded away as she looked at the pulled up skin on her arm. Blood welling up in tiny cuts. And it felt good. It grounded her. It helped her focus. Helped her with her emotions. It was good No. This wasn't supposed to happen. It had been years. She was done with this.
She ruined years of hard work.
Years.
Hard work.
And she gave it all up in a minute.
She stood up, her heels clacking on the floor as she paced.
Your fault.
Your fucking fault.
Deserve all the shit thrown at you.
F*ggot
D*ke
Fat- no no no no no no. She had ruined one thing she couldn't ruin this. She was a healthy person.
C'mon Reid be ok.
If he isn't ok I'll kill him.
She needed help. She wasn't in the right place to be the only one to help Reid. She had experience getting over this but her own mental health had been breaking down over the past few weeks.
She needed help.
Who could she get help from?
Hotch- no, he'd have to report and he wouldn't give rhe comfort needed
Morgan- loose lips. Thinks of himself as Reid's brother yet teasing which could be taken to Reid's heart.
JJ- Caring. Doesn't work at BAU anymore. Can keep secrets. Hard to get in contact with.
Rossi- No.
Garcia- No. Just no.
She'd try JJ she was the best option. She didn't know when JJ would be able to help because of her job at the Pentagon.
She slid back onto her seat. Her phone in her hand once again. Typing in the famialer 10 digit number.
"Hey, JJ."
"Emily, how are you?"
"Actually that's what I called to talk to you about. Will you be in town the next few weeks?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Can you keep a secret? You can't tell anyone."
"Yes, what's wrong?"
"Reid's in the hospital."
"Why are you keeping it a secret?"
"I'll tell you in person. Can you get to George Washington University Hospital?"
"Be there in 20."
The call was hung up and Emily resigned herself to weight 20 minutes.
(A/N. so to start out I researched hospital procedures and stuff but I gave up. Oh and in the first chapter I mentioned JJ was in her office and at lunch, ignore her in the office and everything JJ had said at lunch was said, Ashley.)