Tangled Up in You (The Story of Us Book 2)

Chapter 19- Tuck's Bar

That night, Amanda dresses in a pair of jeans, a nice navy blouse, and a pair of converse with her hair tied into a side braid in an effort to look like a normal traveler and walks out of the bathroom and into the conference room. "How do I look?"

"Sexy yet normal," Morgan answers, and Amanda snorts, high-fiving him as Rossi shakes his head in distress.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Amanda?" Reid asks and she shoots him a look.

"I'll be fine. It's not like the killer's going to come after me tonight and if he does, I know how to defend myself," she reassures him before sighing. "I should get going. Wish me luck."

"Good luck getting a serial killer to try and target you," JJ jokes, not noticing the glare Reid shoots her way as Amanda laughs before walking out of the station and walking into Tuck's Bar. The second she enters the door, the memories flood back even worse than before. Suddenly, she's a nineteen-year-old girl walking into the local bar in search of her fiancé. She touches her hand to her neck and feels the engagement ring that hangs there, bringing her back to the present.

That's when he notices her. Tucker had been cleaning the bar when he looked up and saw Amanda, her gaze focused towards the front of the bar where a keyboard and guitar sat untouched in the 7 years she had been away. "Well I'll be damned," he states, catching the attention of the regulars at the bar who follow his gaze to see the blonde standing in the entrance. Amanda finally feels their gaze and looks towards Tucker to see a grin break out on his face, causing hers to mimic the action.

"Hey, Tucker," she says softly and he chuckles, walking out from behind the bar and pulling her into a hug.

"How are you doing, darling?" He questions and he holds her against him.

"Not so great but I have to ask you some questions and I can't make it obvious," she whispers in response and he chuckles.

"I didn't think you were ever coming back here? What's it been, 6 years?"

"7," she corrects before clearing her throat. "I'm just passing through though."

"For Evan's death anniversary?" He asks and that's when Amanda's head shoots up to the calendar above the bar to notice that it was, in fact, December. It's weird. Her favorite holiday had always been Christmas ever since she was a little girl. It was one of the few holidays that her father stayed relatively sober and even if he broke every present they got before the New Year, for that one day, she saw a glimpse of the father she wanted. Then, everything in Massachusetts happened a week before and Christmas was no longer a haven for her.

That didn't stop her adoration of the holiday, however, but Evan's death had. She had spent one Christmas with the Wrights and it had been the last extravagant Christmas she had celebrated because three days later, she had come home from looking at wedding venues to find her fiancé dead on the bathroom floor. She notices that it is the second week of the month meaning that she had about another week and a half before she had to deal with the memories the 28th brought.

"No," she finally answers after what feels like hours but in reality was only seconds. "I'm only here for a couple of days before I make my way to Dallas," she lies and Tucker nods, noticing the lie in her eyes.

"Well be careful around here. You hear about the murders?" Amanda laughs at his unsubtle approach to helping her out.

"I have. Talk of the town. Four bodies found in dumpsters. All young women. It's a tragedy."

"Five bodies. Feds came around here earlier. Said they found another body this morning."

"What did you tell them?"