The library is close to quiet today and I'm bored right now so I figured, "Hm, might as well write, I suppose".
Chapter 8
"Cut back. Why?" Reid whispered to himself as he stared blankly at the mp on the board. "Do they want me to be fat? I do make them look better in comparison. Is that it? This doesn't make sense." He clenched his fists in frustration. "It doesn't make sense. Damn it, none of this makes any sense!"
"What doesn't make sense?"
Reid jerked around to see David Rossi entering the room. "Oh, uh, n-nothing, it's just…" he motioned at the map. "The geographic profile. I'm having trouble figuring it out." He fiddled with a red thumb tack pinned at the most recent crime scene, hoping Rossi would believe him and go away.
"Yeah…this case is a tricky one." Reid felt a hand on his shoulder. "But we'll get there. We always do. So long as we've all got our heads in the game. Got it, kid?"
Reid narrowed his eyes at him. "Yeah, I got it."
"Good," Rossi patted the shoulder once before releasing it. "Because we need that profile," he said, pointing at the map. "Which means you have to be here 100%"
"Yes, I know that, Rossi," Reid said with growing annoyance. "I've been putting all of my effort into this profile, like the rest of you have been. It's not my fault that nothing is adding up."
"Whoa, take it easy. I was just making sure you're in the right mind-set and you're focusing on the job. There's no need to get defensive, kid."
"Well, I assure you, Rossi, that I am in the correct mind-set. Why do you think I wouldn't be? Do you think I would not take this seriously? Twelve women are dead. I'm not going to play around as if that doesn't matter."
"All right, calm down, kid—"
"QUIT CALLING ME THAT! I am not a child! I am an adult male who is fully capable of taking care of himself!"
"Oh, I wouldn't be sure about that."
Reid's eyes narrowed again. "What do you mean by that?"
"I think you know." Rossi fixed his gaze on Reid, neither willing to blink first.
"No, I do not know. If you could enlighten me…?"
A moment passed between the two, during which neither looked away nor blinked. Finally, Rossi broke the silence, though still not blinking.
"I know you're using."
At Rossi's simple bluntness, Reid couldn't resist blinking. "W-what?"
"You heard me."
'Rossi…thinks I'm using? Why would he…?'
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh, don't play dumb, Reid. It's obvious." Reid blinked again. "The way you've been acting, it's weird even for you. Not to mention you're thin enough to fit through a crack. Changes like that don't just happen. Not unless there's another factor involved. And I know you have a history of drug abuse."
Reid stood there for a moment in a mix of shock and fury. Suddenly, a wave of rage surged through him before he had the chance to control it.
"You don't know what the hell you're talking about!"
"Excuse m—"
"You need to address the facts before you begin to make assumptions about other people!"
"Oh, I've looked at the facts! The fact is that you need help."
"No, the fact is that you're not as great a profiler as you may think you are! I am not using! I do not need drugs to lose weight! I can do that perfectly well on my own!"
"What are you talking about? This isn't just about your weight."
"Oh, yeah, I know there are a billion things wrong with me, especially in comparison with the rest of you. But that doesn't mean I have to use drugs just to make myself better!"
"Look, Reid, you can deny it all you want. But I'm going by the evidence." Rossi put his hand up to stop any further protests. "But more important than all of that right now is this case. Now, you can keep doing what you're doing now and risk your job and possibly lives, or you can get your head in the game and keep focused! Come on, Reid, you're a good kid. Do the smart thing." Reid swallowed, unsure of what to say. "Hey, I'm not the bad guy here. I'm just trying to help a friend. But you've gotta help yourself first."
A few seconds of silence passed between them before J.J. entered the room. She looked at them in slight confusion. The tension was strong and quite obvious, and it was making her uncomfortable.
"What's going on? Is everything all right?" She looked at Rossi who just raise his eyebrows, and then to Reid.
"Yeah, fine." Reid muttered. He then turned back to the map and pretended to study it.
"Okay, well, Hotch says we're going meet in here in five minutes to review everything, so be ready."
"Thank you, J.J." Rossi smiled at her. They then took their seats in wait of the others as Reid continued to stare at the map in confusion and slight fear.
Everything was falling apart…
A/N: ReidGurl, I know I said I'd try to insert the coffee idea into this chapter, but I was thinking and I couldn't find a good way to do it. I've gone back to my original plan, which was to turn that idea into an individual story. I think that'd work much better, so be on the look-out for it. Sorry, again, if you were expecting it.
REVIEW RESPONSES
Couragexoxo: Of course not. I've just been having complications and such. And, well, to be completely honest, there were times when I just forgot to write… But I didn't forget YOU!
Castiel Novak the eighth: Hello, there, and thanks for reading and waiting and reviewing and whatever else you may have done. Tap water isn't always safe, especially if a filter isn't being used. There are several reasons for this, including dirty or rusty pipes, microscopic organisms in the water, etc. (You could easily find numerous articles about these if you just search something along the lines of "is tap water safe") I figure that Reid would be cautious about such things. If he could help it, he would not drink water from a tap unless he was sure it had been purified in some way.
Love Of Blood: :D
Yes, thank you for mentioning that idea. I was actually going to write about that in the last chapter but I completely forgot. It was going to be this big, dramatic scene at the beginning of the chapter. Hmm, I'll have to find a place to put that now. Thanks for reminding me.
It's not in any way cheating. I put the responses here, so that anyone and everyone can read them. Otherwise, I'd send PMs. I don't know if Reid is going to get better. It will have to depend on what I'm thinking when I finally do write the conclusion. And, yes, there are going to be LOTS of chapters. I'll try to stay on top of this story, but there will be some long waiting involved. But I assure you that I have never uploaded a story that I did not have the intention of finishing.
miyuki. asaba: I'm not going to pretend like I knew a word of your review. I used Google Translate. Thank you. I will do more with the self-harm, but that will come later. And, believe me, I had no intention of actually killing Reid. There's no way I could do that. I love him too much (says the writer who keeps torturing him). So, no, he's not going to die…but that doesn't mean he's going to get better… (*evil grin*)
KellieKat: Thank you. I'm not entirely pleased with the last chapter, but I'm happier with this one. And, hopefully, you didn't have to try too hard to be patient over the past two days.
MW3addict: (evil grin) All right, then. Get ready for some major drama in the next few chapters.