~BEXLEY POV~

It was a slow day today at The Blast. Hardly anyone was here aside from me and Roxy, who was currently sitting on the counter and was looking through a box of CDs that had been delivered earlier.

"These are complete shit." She said and I smirked at her. She threw them in the box and hopped off of the counter. "You know what we need to do?"

I raised an eyebrow at her but she didn't seem to notice. She was nowhere near paying attention to my facial expressions.

"We should find a couple of good looking guys and go out." I stayed quiet not wanting to encourage the idea. I dropped my eyes back to the list of CDs in my hand and continued to check them off as I saw them on the shelf.

"Well?" she asked and I turned around to look at her again. Her black hair was in its usual side pony tail and she rolled her blue eyes.

"Roxy, I don't date. I'm not easy to get along with and I'm really just not a people person. Why the hell would I want to go find some guy to hang out with?"

I moved one of the CDs back to its place on the shelf and hoped she'd drop the subject. As usual, Roxy was relentless.

"It would give you something to do other than read. Besides, didn't Eleanor say you needed to make friends?"

"I have more friends now than I have in twenty-two years." However, I wasn't sure "friends" was an appropriate word for Roxy, Drew, or Nathan.

I grabbed the step ladder from behind the counter and placed it by the shelf. I cast a glance at Roxy, who appeared to be deep in thought. I walked up the small ladder and placed the Metallica CD where it was supposed to be.

"Okay, forget a date. Dinner and sex are a great combination." The shock didn't mix well and I missed the fifth step. I fell backward and was bracing myself for the fall but found myself not in the least bit of pain but in a pair of strong arms.

The discomfort overshadowed any feeling of thankfulness I felt and I quickly stumbled out of the arms that I knew had almost certainly saved me from a broken bone. I turned and faced the person quickly and was met by a kind but flirtatious smile.

"I think that's the first time I've ever had a pretty lady rush to get away from me." Derek Morgan to the rescue. I didn't know what it was about the FBI that kept these people in the "right place at the right time" but this time, I was grateful.

"Easy on the ego. You're not that irresistible." I said with a teasing smile and picked the clipboard up from where I'd dropped it.

"Are you ok?" Roxy came over and stopped in her tracks when she saw Derek. "Well hello."

I rolled my eyes but smiled regardless. Roxy was always on the lookout for any good looking guy with a pretty smile. "I'm fine." she turned her head back to me and with her eyes gestured to Derek.

"Roxy, Derek. Derek, Roxy." I said and he turned to give her what I could only guess was what Penelope called one of his "heart stopping" smiles.

"Nice to meet you." He said and extended his hand. I walked off leaving the two of them to talk and flirt as much as they wanted.

I lifted my wrist to brush the hair out of my face and saw the nearly faded line on my forearm. I lifted my other hand and gently brushed my fingers across the wound, feeling the slightest twinge of pain as I did so.

My father's hunting knife had been his most prized possession next to his alcohol and he'd more than once ran it across my arm. Always the same area: never close enough to any main arteries. He'd hidden every other knife in the house out of fear that I'd kill myself before he got the chance to do it himself or before I was no longer of use to him.

I'd thought about it only once but realized that doing so would mean he won despite the fact that he no longer had someone to take his anger out on, pay for his disappointments, or keep the small shack he called a home clean.

I looked up from my scar and refused to be pulled back into one of my memories but felt my heart stop as I looked up. A pair of golden eyes met my own and a cruel smile played across the dark headed man's lips. He held a small black case and from it, pulled a large knife just enough for the sun to light to reflect off of the blade.

"Bexley! Are you freaking listening?" Roxy's voice called, loud and clear, beside me and I blinked once. The man with the cold smile disappeared and after a quick scan of the area I turned back to Roxy.

"I'm sorry. What did you say?" I asked, hoping sincerity was in my voice instead of fear. She had her hands on her hips and her blue eyes looked over my shoulder and an expression of concern spread across her normally teasing features.

"You ok?" I nodded once before looking back to the space where I thought I'd seen him. "Go home. I'll call Nathan. It's not like he has a life."

"I'll walk you home. I'm heading that way anyway." Derek said and looked back to Roxy. "It was nice meeting you."

She said something similar to that but I stopped listening and walked out of the store. I took one last look to be sure he wasn't there again, took a deep breath, and began the walk home.

I wish I knew his goal was to kill me. I wish I knew that I could make him angry enough to do so. That wasn't reality though. The reality was that he'd never be able to use a cent of the money my grandmother had left me. The only way that could happen would be if I lived with him again and paid for what he wanted. His goal was to drag me back to hell with him until the money ran out. After that… I'd no longer be a problem for him.

~SPENCER POV~

I was deep into my seventh book of the day when a knock sounded at my door. I put down the book and was surprised to open the door and see Morgan. "Please don't tell me we have a case."

Derek didn't even try to hide his amusement as he laughed. "No, we're all going out tonight and I came by to tell you that Garcia said you have no choice."

I raised an eyebrow but smiled regardless. "What time?"

"Right now, so get your little ass ready and come on." Something caught his attention and he gave a grin. "You're invited too, beautiful. According to Roxy, you could use a little fun."

"I'll pass." Bexley's voice called. Morgan backed up and I walked out of my apartment, not caring that I was in my pajamas.

Her golden eyes looked haunted and she looked terrified. I hadn't seen this look in three weeks, since the night I woke her from her nightmare. I don't know what came over me, but before I could even think about what I was about ask, it came out. "I wish you would. I'm terrible at social gatherings and would love to have someone to talk to. If you don't have plans with Eleanor."

She smiled but it wasn't a real one and I felt the knot coil in my stomach at the rejection I knew was coming. She looked back into her apartment and stood there for a moment.

"Give me about five minutes." I told Morgan and walked inside my apartment to change. I grabbed a white button down, a pair of black slacks, and a black sweater vest with a matching tie. I slipped on a blue and black striped sock along with an orange with green dots all over it.

I slipped on my shoes and was unsurprised to see Morgan with a teasing look on his face. However, the surprise was that it wasn't directed at me. I walked out and saw what he was staring at.

Anything that I might have thought about saying escaped me as I watched Bexley lock her door and turn to look at us. Her dark red hair hung in loose curls all the way down to the middle of her back and I saw the lightest touches of makeup on her face. She wore a white dress that reached her knees and tied at the back of her neck. She dropped the key in her combat boots that reached the middle of her calf. The boots seemed to balance out her outer beauty with a touch of who she was.

"Eleanor gave me the dress a few weeks ago and the boots… well." She gave a small humorless laugh and untucked her hair from behind her ear, a sign that she was embarrassed along with the way she was looking at her feet.

"You look beautiful." She looked up from her feet and a surprised expression crossed her face. I resisted the urge to bite my lip.

"Well alright. Let's go before Garcia starts calling, or worse, comes after us." I had never been so grateful for one of Morgan's jokes.

Bexley walked ahead of us down the stairs and Morgan flashed me a grin. I arched an eyebrow and wondered what caused him to have that expression across his face.

"Beautiful huh?" he said and I grabbed the key from my door before walking down the stairs after Bexley, Morgan following with a teasing laugh.

***Well that's it for this chapter. Sorry again about the long wait between chapters but I'm definitely still writing. Anyway, R&R and have a great day.