Peace Of Mind (Spencer Reid)

Chapter 2 - Claire Brooks

Spencer's POV 

     "Now I remember why you don't drive often." Prentiss says from the backseat as I accidentally slam the brakes again.

     "Sorry. Sorry!" I exclaim. "We're almost there."

     "Where exactly are we going?" Morgan asks from the passenger seat.

     "227 waywitch road." (A/N- made up the street)

     "Reid. That's not what I meant." I knew what he meant. I didn't want to tell him and risk the teasing. "Who are we going to see? How do you even know anyone in this town?" 

     "It's just someone I know okay? Why does it matter so much?"     

      Prentiss and Morgan both look up at me, surprised by my slight outburst. I pull up and park outside the address Garcia had given me so long ago. "We're here." Morgan and Prentiss get out of the car, but I don't move, looking up at the house for a moment. She was right inside this house.

     "Reid. You coming?" I nod and get out as Hotch, Rossi, and JJ's car pulls up behind us.

     "Reid, who lives here?" Hotch asks. Morgan snorts.

     "I tried asking already. Seems Pretty Boy is pretty protective of whoever it is." 

     "Would you stop profiling me?" I ask. "I'm fine." Hotch's eyebrows shoot up and Prentiss starts walking up the path up to the house, and the rest of us follow. As I step up on the front porch, Rossi looks at me before ringing the bell. I shift my feet nervously. I wasn't sure how she would react to seeing me after six years. Probably badly seeing how we left off.

The door swings open, and there she stands, looking a lot like she used to. Hardly any change.

     "Hello? How may I help......" Her eyes land on me. "you." She hisses the last word in surprise. 

     "Cl-"

     "Oh hell no." She slams the door shut so hard that the frame rattles.

     "-aire." I finish. The entire team turns to look at me.

     "Well," Rossi says. "We still got a door slammed in our faces. Little more eventful though."

Claire's POV



     I look up from my book when I hear the doorbell ring, which is weird because if it were one of the kids I tutor, they would know to walk right in even though it was my day off. I place my bookmark and set the book down as I get off the couch, grabbing a sweatshirt so my visitors didn't see me in a tank top. 

     I swing the door open to a group of official-looking people, and I put up a smile. "Hello, how may I help...." I trail off when I see him at the back of the group. Spencer Reid. Tall and awkward, standing nervously. He looks just like he used to, but with better hair. "you." I hiss the last word out of anger and surprise. His brown eyes look up at me.

     "Cl-"

     "Oh hell no." I say angrily, slamming the door as hard as I could.

     "-aire." I faintly hear him finish through the door. I lean my back against it. It's been six years since I last saw Spencer Reid. I didn't want to see him again, not after what he did. I can hear the group's voices talking through the door before it goes quiet except for footsteps. There is a knocking on the door. "Claire? It's- It's me. Spencer."

   "Go. Away." I say harshly, punctuating each word.

   "Well. At least you remember me." He did not just say that. I yank open the door again and stalk towards him furiously, making his eyes go wide and making him take a few steps back.

   "Remember you? REMEMBER YOU?!" I half yell. The group of people he came with look startled. "You give me one good reason Spencer Reid. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't go into my house, get my gun, and shoot you through the head right now!" He takes another step back, and I can see a few of his friends resting their hands on the guns strapped to their waists. I see the flash of a badge, and I realize that Spencer made his dream of being on the BAU team. "And no, your big bad FBI friends don't scare me!"

   I pause for a moment before turning to his team. "No offence to you guys. I'm sure serial killers think you are terrifying." I turn back to Reid. "But you. YOU. You have no right to come on my property. You have no right to be here. You know what I think of you. So, I'll ask again. Why. Are You. Here."

   "I-I-It's-"

   "I? It's? Oh my goodness. is the great genius Spencer Reid stumbling over his words?" I mock. There is a heartbeat of silence.

    "I'm still waiting for a reason, Spencer."

   "We need- I need your help on a case." I raise an eyebrow. Was he freaking serious? "Please." I straighten up at that.

   "Well." I say. "If I had known it was that serious, I would have let you in." I turn around to walk past Spencer's team and back into my house, but I stop. "I want you five feet away from me at all times Spencer Reid. Do you understand me?" I glare at him over my shoulder, and he nods. "Really? Cause I don't think you do." I say, gesturing to the foot of space between us. He takes two steps back with his long legs. "Good boy." 

    I stride back into my house, leaving the door open for Reid and his little team behind me. When they don't immediately follow, I shrug and sit on my couch, picking my book back up again. I hear hushed voices as they walk into the room, and a few of them sit on the available chairs, a few stand. Spencer stands the farthest away, taking my warning seriously as he should.

   I set my book down and hold out my hand towards the man I assumed was in charge. "Claire Brooks." He looks at me with a hard glare.

   "You threatened to shoot one of my agents." He says harshly. I draw my hand back.

   "Yes sir, I did." I confirm. "You were there." Everyone in the room is either glaring at me or just plain staring at me. I sigh and roll my eyes. "It's not like I was going to go through with it."

    "How would we know that?" The African-American guy standing next to Spencer asks.

    "Hm. Well, considering my gun is with my friend in Carolina, I would say it's a safe assumption." I say with just a hint of sarcasm.

    "Why were you threatening to kill Reid?" The woman with blond hair asks. At that question, my eyebrows shoot up with disbelief. I look at Spencer and see him look anywhere but at his team and me.

    "Oh my gosh." I say with a laugh. "You haven't told them. You never told them what you did to me, did you?" He stays silent, giving me my answer. "You didn't tell them how you ruined my life? How you tore it to pieces for your own personal gain?" His team is glancing between us with confusion. "You know, for being a genius, you are an absolute idiot Spencer Reid."

    "We need your help with a case, Claire." He says quietly, still avoiding looking at me. I lean back, crossing my arms over my chest.

    "Reid, what's going on? What did she mean when she said you destroyed her life?" A woman with black hair asks him.

    "Yeah. Why don't you tell them?" Spencer shuffles nervously.

    "If the decreasing state of the killer remains consistent, we only have a few days before we'll have another victim show up. We're wasting time." He says, changing the subject. I roll my eyes as his team focuses on that. Not that I could blame them. They were dealing with murders.

     "The reason we're here is because Reid said you could help us with this case." The head honcho says, turning back to me. "We need someone to help us talk to other people in town."

    "The one about the dead kids?" I ask, and he nods. 

    "They aren't just dead kids." The older gentleman with greying hair says. "It's a little more complicated then that." He hands me a file, and I open it, eyes widening at the pictures inside. Well, this was going to be interesting.