A/N: Sorry for the wait
Emily shifted nervously behind the steering wheel as they drove towards Carla's roommate. ''The roommate's name is Rasha Nahir, she's 21. They've been roommates for a year. She's currently living with her parents so that she can grieve and so that the police can work the crime scene'' said JJ as she read Rasha's statement. '' Were Rasha and Carla close?'' Emily asked, trying to keep her voice as regular as she possibly could.
'' According to a few teachers and Rasha, they were'' nodded JJ as she held a picture up of two girls. Rasha was wearing round gold glasses and a pastel pink headscarf, Carla was holding a Starbucks cup in the air as her blonde hair was pushed back in a high pony tail.
'' Poor Rasha'' sighed Emily as they waited at a red light, '' It's hard losing a friend'' whispered JJ as she brushed her fingers through her long blonde hair. '' I hope I didn't lose one last night'' she added absentmindedly.
Emily felt goose bumps crawl over her arms at that statement, her heart ached a yearned for JJ yet she knew it would be worse if JJ would be out of her live forever. ''You didn't.. lose one'' she eventually softly whispered, it was a good thing that the radio was off otherwise JJ could've missed that statement. JJ's mouth curled into a soft smile as she stared out of the window.
The pulled up at the house fairly quickly and both women exited the car. The rang the doorbell and were let in by a distraught looking Rasha. Ms. Nahir gave both women a cup of tea and took a seat at the kitchen table near the living room.
'' How are you doing Rasha?'' JJ asked as she stirred her tea gently. '' I'm okay'' nodded Rasha as she sniffed her nose in the tissue in her hands. '' We would like to ask you some more questions about Carla, is that okay?'' JJ continued. '' That's fine'' Rasha agreed after a moment of silence.
'' Where were you the night Carla got murdered?'' Emily asked, JJ could sense Emily had compartmentalized everything that had happened yesterday and today because she was her kind and gentle self. JJ wanted to curse herself for ever thinking Emily wouldn't.
'' I was at the library, I had an exam I had to re do so I needed the extra hours to study. Carla always-..'' Rasha brushed a few tears away and glanced up at a worried looking Emily '' Carla always talked, she had so many stories to tell. But I really needed to study. If I hadn't failed that exam'' whispered Rasha, '' Carla could've still been alive''.
'' Rasha, honey. There is no way to predict what would've happened if you were in your dorm when it happened. The unsub could've killed you both for al we know. What we do know, Rasha, is that this is in no way your fault'' stated Emily as she squeezed Rasha's cold shaking hands.
JJ watched Emily In awe, she was always mesmerized by the way Emily worked, the care and kindness, but also the determination and power that Emily put into her work amazed her. JJ didn't know why she was looking at Emily differently, why her heart skipped when she watched Emily talk.
'' Do you know if Carla had a boyfriend?'' Emily asked, Rasha's cheeks flushed bright red before glancing towards her parents whom were seated near them, as she shook her head ''No''. JJ and Emily both picked up the sign and JJ stood up and walked towards the parents, a quick comment from JJ about wanting some more tea led the three of them towards the kitchen. Leaving Emily and Rasha alone.
'' Were you and Carla in a relationship?'' Emily asked, her eyes taking Rasha's facial expressions in. It took a while before Rasha nodded in agreement. '' My parents can't know, they'd hate me'' whispered Rasha. Emily gently placed her hand on Rasha's shaking shoulder. '' It's okay, I understand''.
'' Has Carla ever mentioned something about being harassed on campus? Or followed maybe?'' Emily asked once Rasha had steadied her breathing a little. '' She's openly gay, we're in America. She's bound to be harassed at some point. But it has quieted down a little, the last time was about 6 months ago. She filed a report, but the headmistress didn't pursue anything with the complaint because the harasser wasn't a student'' muttered Rasha.
'' Do you by any chance know his name?'' asked Emily, her curiosity peaked. '' No. I'm sorry. The headmistress might''. Emily wanted to ask something else but Rasha's parents returning put a stop to that.
'' I think we've talked enough for now. Is that okay for you Rasha?'' Emily asked. Rasha nodded eagerly. '' Here's my card'' muttered Emily as she fumbled with the pocket of her blazer that was filled with food wrappers and scrunched up cards. She fished out an unharmed card and handed it to Rasha before gently squeezing her shoulder.
Emily and JJ returned back to the car and Emily took a seat behind the steering wheel. ''They were dating, weren't they?'' JJ said after Emily had started the engine. ''Yes. The poor girl is so scared. She didn't have much useful information however she did mention something about Carla being harassed. She filed with the headmistress, so we should check with her about that'' Emily mentioned.
'' Do you think it might be related?'' asked JJ as she watched Emily intently. '' Yes and no. The last incident was 6 months ago but he could've just as easily stayed dormant for a while'' she suggested. '' Do we know if the other two victims were part of the lgbtq + community?'' JJ asked, hoping to find a link between the victims.
'' Well we're on our way to Annie's roommate, now right? Let's ask her. You can text Morgan and Reid, so that they can ask Jimmy's roommate about this'' suggested Emily as she took a sharp turn to the right.
JJ typed quickly before reaching for the file from her bag. '' Ok Annie's roommate is called Giselle Jackson. She's 23. They've only been roommates for a few months. She found the body which has impacted her greatly. The PD has left a note in the file that's she's extremely fragile''.
Emily nodded as she parked the car on the porch of a cozy looking family home. Both women got out before making their way towards the front door. They rung the bell, identified themselves and were let in by a kind woman.
Giselle was in the living room, her skin pale and her eyes red. A thick white blanket was pushed around her, and she was holding a steaming cup of tea. '' Hey Giselle'' smiled JJ, '' Can we sit down?''. The young girl nodded and moved her feet a bit to the side.
'' That's Emily, and I'm JJ. We're with the FBI. We would like to ask you some more questions about Annie if that's okay''. JJ and Emily patiently waited until they finally hurt a soft yes coming from under the blanket.
JJ went over a few basic questions with Giselle as Emily watched the grieving young girl with intent. '' Do you know if Annie was in a relationship or if she was dating someone?'' JJ eventually asked. '' Not really'' shrugged Giselle, '' She usually picked up some cute boy at a party, but it would never last much longer than a day. She tried tinder for a while but all the guys on there were just creepy''.
'' Has Annie ever mentioned something about dating a girl?'' asked Emily, as she watched Giselle fidget with the blanket. '' Hmm. No. She well… always said how much she loved u know-.. well uhm..'' Giselle flushed a bright red which caused Emily to smile. '' So she was straight?'' Emily eventually helped. Giselle agreed '' very much''.
Emily and JJ arrived back at the university half an hour later. The rest of the team had done so aswell. '' Garcia can you look up any complaints that were filed in the last 6 months here?'' asked Emily once they had told the team about the information they had acquired. '' I am on it'' Garcia responded.
JJ was about the say something when the head mistress came running in. '' Agents, there's another body''.