Title: You Broke My Bones
Rating: T
Summary: The BAU becomes too much for Reid to handle. But his old and current jobs are bound to collide.
Previously: Reid left the BAU, a victim brings the BAU to the hospital, Reid meets his new teacher, Hotch is shot and Reid discovers he was dating his replacement
This Chapter: FLASHBACK- Reid discovers something about his college teacher- FLASHBACK
Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds but I own the plot for this story and any OCs
Status: In-Progress
Chapter: 9. Bones and Abuse
Note: Thanks for the reviews. This chapter contains references to psychical and sexual abuse. The original version of this chapter was 491 words included all the crap up the top, the revised is 1340 with all the crap up the top included.
It had been 180 days.
180 days since he'd met her. 6 months. 25.85 weeks. 180 days. 260,100 minutes. 16,362,000 seconds. All the calculations ran through his head.
She smiled at him and sat on the edge of the stage when she saw him enter the large room. She pulled off a rubber band from around her wrist and gathered her hair into a ponytail, tying it back. He felt the colour drain from his face as he saw the large red blotch covering her eye. He knew from his medical training that soon, by the end of the day even, that red blotch would develop into a purple bruise.
Her smile softened at the expression of shock on his face. She glanced down at her feet as he walked up to her. He lightly placed a hand on her cheek, gently pushing her head up so he could look her in the eye. She averted his gaze, her eyes still focused on the ground.
"What happened?" He breathed. She refused to look him in the eye. It was a few minutes before she spoke.
"He was drunk," her voice wavered slightly and she took a deep breath. "He got mad I was home late, last night." Her voice was barely audible. He felt his throat catch.
"Has this happened before?" He asked, letting his hand drop to his side. She nodded again, and he was sure he saw the beginning of tears. "How bad is it?" There was silence for a few minutes. He thought for a second she wasn't going to answer, that he'd over stepped his boundaries. But finally, she spoke.
"Sometimes he's drunk, sometimes he isn't. He always has an excuse though. A hard day at work, a headache, lack of sleep," she took a deep breath, her eyes still fixated on the ground next to his feet. "It used to be a light slap. He used to apologise afterwards, beg for forgiveness. I told myself I was stupid for staying," she shrugged. "He doesn't even hide it now. He used to hit me where the bruises could be hidden. Now." Subconsciously her hand went to her eye.
"What does he do?" He whispered. He was almost hoping she'd tell him to leave, tell him to mind his own business. He wasn't sure he wanted to hear details of what was happening to her, but he couldn't stop himself from asking.
"He comes home from work, usually angry. He hits me, kicks me," she replied, her voice barely above a whisper. "Sometimes he-" She stopped, pain distorting her features.
"Does he ever-" He gulped. "Does he ever rape you?" A mantra of "please say no," was going around and around in his head. He desperately hoped it was limited to psychical abuse. That was horrible enough on its own, but he hoped it wasn't coupled with sexual abuse as well. But he could tell from the painful expression on her face that he was right to have his fears.
"Yes." She whispered. His breath caught. He could tell she didn't want to elaborate. He sat next to her on the stage, being careful to sit the right distance away so she wouldn't feel self-conscious or uncomfortable.
"I can do something," he said softly, consciously so no one passing would hear their conversation. "My friends at the FBI can arrest him, we can protect you." She shook her head fiercely, before turning her attention to her hands in her lap.
"He's so clichéd," she laughed bitterly. "He told me if I ever went to any form of law enforcement, he'd kill me and my family," she looked up at him, their eyes meeting. "I can't let my family get hurt because of my stupid decisions."
"It's not your fault," he said firmly. "It's no one's fault but the abuser. You can't think that it was your fault, or you deserve it." She shook her head and laughed again.
"But it is my fault," her attention was turned back to her heads. "I always thought I'd be smart enough that I could avoid something like this. I'm a professor for God's sake. I should be smart enough to avoid an abusive relationship."
"It can happen to anyone. Everyone believes they're smart enough to avoid it, everyone believes it'll never happen to them. But the truth is it can happen to anyone. No one's completely immune to disastrous relationships."
"Anyone you used to work with ever get into an abusive relationship?" She asked, her voice nearly returning to its normal volume. He shook his head.
"There was never any time to get into any sort of relationship with my old job." it was his turn to laugh bitterly.
"You know that's not going to change with becoming a doctor, right?" She laughed, this time with without bitterness. He glanced at her, smiling.
"Yeah, I know," He replied. A comfortable silence fell over them. "You know you have to leave him, don't you?" She nodded, biting her bottom lip.
"I will," she said, her attention once again straying to her hands in her lap. "I will."
"You have to promise me," he turned to her. "You have to promise to leave him by the end of next week," She remained silent. "Does he know where you work?" She shook her head.
"Frankly, he doesn't give a stuff." She said, the bitterness seeping into her voice again.
"That's good," she glanced up at him. "He can't come looking for you here if he doesn't know you work here," he explained. "Don't say anything out of the ordinary. Just give your usual explanation for leaving. Stay with a friend for a while, preferably one he doesn't know about. If there's no one, you can come stay with me." She smiled at him.
"Thank you but-" He shook his head.
"No buts," he said. "And you might want to get a new phone number. And some mace. And take some self-defence classes," she laughed. "Or if you don't like that, I have a friend who could teach you judo." This just made her laughter grow.
"Sorry," she said at his puzzled face. "I just can't see myself learning judo," Her laughter ceased. "But thank you for your help."
"You promise?" He asked. She smiled and nodded. "Pinky promise?" She laughed, holding out her little finger. They hooked their little fingers, grinning at each other. After a few seconds their hands dropped and she leant back, laying on the stage with her legs from the knee down hanging off the stage, her black leather boot clad legs swinging.
"So did you memorise all the bones in the arm and leg?" She asked, a smile still on her face. Reid nodded.
"In the arm there's the clavicle, scapula, humerus, radius, ilna, carpus, metacarpal, proximal phalanx, middle phalanx, and distal phalanx. For the leg there's the femur, tibia, fibula, tarsus, metatarsal, proximal phalanx, middle phalanx and distal phalanx."
She smiled, reaching up with her arms and placing her hands under her head as a mock pillow. Reid lay beside her, replicating her position exactly.
A/N Sorry this is so short. I wanted to include it but I didn't want you to have to wait long to find out what happened to Reid.