Read my Lips

Chapter 1

"A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous."

-Ingrid Bergman

From the next room, Spencer could hear the sound of paper being aggressively ripped into shreds. The tearing sounds were followed by a loud thump. Spencer raked his hair back from his face and braced himself, taking a moment to prepare himself mentally before he stepped into the bedroom doorway. As he'd been unable to convince his mother to shower or change her clothes for the last two days, she was still wearing a long pink oversized nightgown. Her hair was sticking out in wild clumps. And she was muttering to herself as she pulled the carefully arranged books from his bookshelf and hurled them one by one across the room.

"Mom," Spencer pleaded, trying to keep his tone as gentle and calm as he could. The last time he shared the same space as his mother he was a teenager. And it was bad then. This was much worse. He swallowed down the urge to scream. That's what he really wanted to do. But having two people losing their shit in his apartment instead of one wasn't going to improve his current situation. Or his mother's. "Mom." He repeated the word again, this time slightly louder. "Please don't throw my books." His mother turned, staring him dead in the eye before she grabbed another book and hurled it across the room.

Spencer thought he had everything covered when he hired his mother a private nurse. He did all his research. The staffing agency was the best in the area. The rate they charged was exorbitant, but the cost was worth it since they only employed the best of the best. The nurse herself came highly recommended with glowing references and years of experience. Spencer was sure he had everything under control. Unfortunately, two days of dealing with his mother's antics was apparently enough to send even the most qualified nurse packing. The woman stormed out in a huff yesterday afternoon. And now Spencer was completely and totally screwed. He had to get to work. People's literal lives depended on it. But he couldn't leave his mother alone. Especially not in her current state of mania. And if he placed her back in a formal care facility, he would no longer be able to administer the unapproved medication he was hoping with the last bit of hope left in him would stop the progression of her dementia. He was stuck in an impossible situation. And just when he thought it couldn't get any worse, someone started knocking on his door.

"Can I help you?," Spencer asked, eying the woman in the hallway with an equal mixture of confusion and annoyance. He could hear the sound of more paper being ripped. And he could only hope his mother was still taking out her frustrations on his books and not his journals.

"You can if you're Dr. Reid," the woman replied, lifting the starbucks cup in her hand and taking a casual sip. "I'm Eliana Kaminski." When her name didn't seem to ring a bell for him, she elaborated further. "...from the staffing agency."

Spencer's brows knitted together as he took a better look at the woman in front of him. The last nurse was middle aged and slightly overweight. She arrived at his door in scrubs and white orthopedic tennis shoes. This woman was years younger. Even younger than him. She was wearing ripped denim jeans and green sneakers. Her shirt was snug and short enough that a sliver of her toned stomach was showing between the hem of it and the waistband of her jeans. Her dark hair was being held back from her face by the mirrored sunglasses she'd carelessly flipped up onto her head. There was no denying she was an attractive woman, but certainly not the type of person Spencer was looking for when it came to a caretaker for his mother. And he was even less impressed with the look of curious amusement on her face than he was with her inappropriate work attire.

"I think there's been a mistake," Spencer said. "I told the staffing agent that I needed a nurse."

"You also told them it was an emergency," the woman countered. "I'm a licensed CNA. I can pass meds and do all the same things a licensed nurse can do."

"Shouldn't you be wearing scrubs or something?," Spencer asked. As he continued to stare at the woman, Spencer noticed that her full lips were pressing together in a tight line. She didn't like his comments about her attire. Or the way he was questioning her credibility.

"I promise I can do my job just fine in jeans," she replied.

Eliana unclenched her jaw, forcing herself to relax. This guy was acting like the worst kind of judgmental asshole. But she reminded herself that he was also dealing with a family crisis. That was probably stressing him to the max. She wasn't going to do what she wanted to do and cuss him out. But she was also done playing games. This man needed her, not the other way around. She only took this job as a favor to her old college roommate, the one that now ran the area's most reputable medical staffing agency.

Eliana took another sip of her coffee before she looked Dr. Reid directly in the eyes and added, "I'm here. And I'm willing to work for you after your mother flooded your bathroom and attacked the last nurse. If you want me to leave, I will. Just know you're getting charged for today either way."

Spencer hesitated for another moment. It was the sound of another loud crash in the bedroom that finally sent him back a few steps as he ushered the dark haired woman into his apartment. She walked past him, glancing around at the inside of his apartment. And though he tried his best not to, once her back was turned to him, he found his eyes lingering on the strip of exposed skin above her waistline and the rounded curves of her ass and hips. Spencer swiped at his hair, looking around at the mess his mother made. His apartment was a total wreck. He cleaned up the bathroom flood. But he didn't have time to deal with the rest of the destruction she caused. And for the first time, he suddenly found himself embarrassed about the state of his home.

Eliana didn't comment on the mess as she walked across the room. She set her coffee down on the one clear section of the dining table. And before he could attempt to explain or apologize for the mess, Spencer's phone started to ring. He flipped it open, telling JJ that his apartment flooded and he was going to have to work from home today. He hung the phone up as quickly as he could, not allowing her an opportunity to ask him any questions. Eliana cast an irritated glance over her shoulder, scowling at him before she slipped off the strap of her messenger bag and hung it on the back of his chair. Then she headed towards the sounds of chaos that were coming from the bedroom.

"Good morning!," Eliana chirped, knocking loudly on the open bedroom door to announce her presence. A book sailed past her, hitting the opposite wall with a loud thump. Eliana dodged the flying projectile and stepped inside the room, smiling at the disheveled woman inside as she looked around. She thought the living room was bad, but the bedroom looked like it had been hit by a damn tornado. There were ripped papers and pages of books strewn about everywhere. The sheets and blankets were pulled half off the bed. And before she started on the bookcase, it looked like her new client tore through the closet. Clothes were scattered in rumpled piles everywhere.

"Hi," Eliana repeated, approaching the woman and extending her hand. "I'm Eliana."

She wasn't surprised when the woman didn't reach for her hand right away. Eliana left it hanging there and waited as she flicked her eyes over the woman she'd been hired to care for. Like her son, the woman was unusually tall. If Eliana had to guess she would say her new client was at least half a foot taller than her. The nightgown she was wearing was oversized. But Eliana could tell from how bony the woman's wrists and ankles were that she was extremely skinny. That was not uncommon. Antipsychotic drugs mess with the appetite and the metabolism, often making the people that took them either underweight or overweight. Eliana wondered when the last time was that this woman had a solid meal. If her sugar was low, that could be adding to the confused and agitated state she was currently in.

After what seemed like an eternity, the woman reached for Eliana's hand and shook it. "Diana Reed," she said. "I teach literature."

Eliana smiled. The irony of the woman's former profession and what she was currently doing was not lost on her. "Well it certainly looks like you're teaching these books a lesson," she joked. "It's very nice to meet you Diana."

Eliana was well aware that the woman's Doctor son was hovering nervously in the doorway behind her. She was surprised she even got to introduce herself before he interjected and involved himself.

"She's from the staffing agency," Spencer explained, moving forward and creeping nervously closer to his mother. "Remember?," he asked. "I told you they were going to send another nurse over because you didn't like the last one."

Eliana watched the interaction between the woman and her son. It was obvious that he cared a great deal for his mother. But he also seemed slightly afraid of her. Or at least afraid of what her reaction might be to what he was telling her. And while Eliana guessed he didn't mean it in a condescending way, he was speaking to his mother like she was a child.

"She asked too many questions!," Diana barked. "She was watching me!"

"Mom, that's her job. She's a nurse," he explained. From his tone, Eliana could tell this was not the first time Dr. Reid and his mother had this same discussion. And since she could sense a repetitive argument coming, Eliana interjected.

"Tell you what?," she offered. "I'll try not to ask too many questions. And anytime I do have to ask you a question, I'll let you ask me one. How does that sound?"

Diana Reid cocked her head slightly to the side, considering this proposal. She didn't like having a stranger around. But at least this one didn't look like she was sent by a secret government agency to spy on them. Diana glanced at her son. And then at the woman who's hand she shook. Somewhere deep in her clouded mind, Diana managed to conclude that the woman in front of her seemed to be very kind. And pretty. And her only son was in his early thirties and still unattached to anything or anyone besides his work.

"Okay," Diana said, still hesitant about her agreement to this lunacy.

Eliana beamed a big smile at her. She clapped her hands together before she spoke. "Alright! I'm gonna start with a hard one. You ready?" Diana's eyes widened. But after a moment, she nodded her head, slightly curious to see what personal business this stranger was going to ask her.

"What do you want for breakfast?," Eliana asked.

Diana wasted no time in barking out a question of her own. "What's your last name?," she demanded. Eliana fought back a laugh.
"Oh no you don't! You have to answer first. That's part of the rules," she countered. She was slightly surprised when the woman made her breakfast demands with no further coaxing. Eliana guessed she was probably starving and hadn't realized it because she was so busy throwing a fit.

"Eggs and buttered toast."

"Kaminski," Eliana said, giving her name before moving forward and slowly steering Diana through the mess and into the living room. Eliana got her seated at the table, and started to clear a space in front of her. "Would you like some tea with your eggs and buttered toast?," Eliana asked. She set the stacked papers down on the other side of the table and looked up. And this time she was unable to stop herself from laughing. "...Or I guess you could just go ahead and chug the rest of my starbies." The woman was quick. Eliana would give her that. And she shook her head as she watched Diana guzzle down the rest of her caramel latte and plop the empty cup down on the table.

"Mom!," Spencer chided. "Do you know how many germs you just got in your mouth? If you wanted coffee, I would have made you some."

As she usually did when he scolded her, Spencer's mother ignored him completely. But at least she seemed to have calmed down. For now. He stayed nearby for another moment. But when it was obvious that his mother was content to sit at the table while her new caretaker made her breakfast, Spencer headed into the bedroom. He climbed through the mess of clothes and ripped up books. Once he was in the bathroom he closed the door behind him and flipped his phone open.

"A beautiful good morning to you!," Penelope chirped.

"I need a favor," Spencer said, smiling when she offered up his favorite catchphrase.

"Your wish is my command!"

"I need you to run a background check for me," Spencer explained. "It's on someone that works at the ROI staffing agency. Find out everything you can."

He could hear Penelope's fingers flying across the keyboard with a speed that Spencer knew meant his mother wasn't the only one that just chugged her morning coffee. "I gotcha. All I need is a name and I'll find anything there is to find," she said.

Spencer flicked his eyes towards the closed door, taking a deep breath before he spoke.

"Eliana Kaminski."

** I have quite a few WIPs posted currently. So I'm not sure what the update schedule will look like on this one yet. If you want to read more, drop a comment and let me know. I also wanted to mention that while this story isn't really a crossover since none of the main characters appear, the unsubs in this story are the villains from the James Patterson movie/book Kiss the Girls.**