A Spencer Reid Story: Love and Loss

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Catherine twirled her pasta in her bowl, her appetite decreasing with every passing minute. It wasn’t the most appetizing meal in the first place and she had so much on her mind that her friend had to come remind her to come eat with them that night. Now she sat, all dejected, her thoughts in the clouds. Chatter happened all around her in the dining area. Friends meeting up with friends, joking, laughing and eating. Catherine sighed taking a small bite.

“Cat come on! You barely touched your food. You have to eat. Come on now, no more sulking. Cassandra wouldn’t have wanted you to act this way.” Aislinn lightly tapped her friends shoulder, trying to get her to come out of her bubble. Catherine huffed.

“I know I know. I just have so much on my plate right now, and this isn’t that great to begin with.” She pushed the bowl of cold pasta away from her, grabbing instead the unhealthy fries and shoving them into her mouth. The greasy salty food made her feel a little bit better and she hadn’t eaten all day. She took another handful. “So Aislinn, what are your plans for tonight? Now that the week is over and all homework has been caught up on?” She took a sip of her soda, washing down the greasy fries. Aislinn thought for a moment, brushing her fire red hair behind her ear.

“Well, a bunch of us are going to karaoke tonight. You wanna join us? It’ll be super fun, a night on the town to relax!” Aislinn grabbed some of Cat’s fries, dipping them in her honey mustard before taking a bite. Cat thought for a minute. Aislinn had stuck by her side ever since Cassandra had died. She had comforted her, and had even spent a few nights up at the apartment so Catherine would be too lonely. They had always been close friends before, but now that Cassandra was no longer there, Aislinn tried her very best to comfort Cat, and Catherine was ever grateful to have someone. Her mom had wanted her to stay home for a week or two but Catherine refused to fall behind on her studies, even with getting the 4.0 she still wanted to prove she had what it took to not let any of this affect her. Although she turned down her mom’s offer she didn’t realize just how extremely hard it would be without Cassandra by her side.

“You know what, I will join you. That sounds great!” Cat took a bite of her sandwich and chewed happily. It would be nice to get out with friends, drink a little, sing a little, be goofy and get her mind off things, like school, Cassandra…Spencer.

Spencer                                                    

He had called her two days ago, with the weirdest question ever. She hadn’t heard from him for about a week and had assumed that he didn’t want anything more to do with her. Technically he still might not. It wasn’t like he called to chit chat. He only needed information and then he hung up. Still, her mind was on him, her thoughts constantly reliving her time with him at the dance club. She had sworn she had felt chemistry when they danced, but maybe it was only the atmosphere. In any case she tried not to think about it too much. If things were meant to be they would happen, he knew where to find her and if he wanted to he could reach out to her; if he didn’t than he wouldn’t, and she wouldn’t worry about it. She had bigger fish to fry. She finished off her meal and took it up to the dishwashing area Aislinn following behind her with her tray.

“Okay great, we’ll come by at around, say 8ish to come get you from the apartment. Dress in something super cute. We’re gonna have a good night!” She winked as she walked away from Cat, leaving her with small excitement bubbling in her stomach. She left the dining area and out into the cool night. She walked along the path that lead back to the apartment complex on campus. The wind licked at her bare head and she wished she had brought a hat. She zipped up her coat a little bit tighter and hurried as fast as she could to the apartment.

With a swipe of her key card and a turn of her key she was back in the warmth of the dark apartment. She turned on many lights, flooding the dark living room with a soft glow. She kicked off her sneakers and coat and stumbled over to the couch. It was 6 so she had, give or take, two hours to get herself ready to go. She closed her eyes, just breathing in and out, letting herself just be there in the moment.

She let herself sit like that for at least 15 minutes, and then she decided that before she became too relaxed and fell asleep she had better get her butt up and moving. She headed over to the shower and turned it on, hot steam filling the room. She stripped down out of her faded jeans and shirt and hopped in, letting the warm water soak into her skin. She washed up, relaxed again, and then dried off, walking over to her closet in her towel trying to decide what outfit to wear. She eventually decided on a turquoise sequin top that hugged her curvy figure perfectly with a dark pair of skinny jeans and gold sandals. It was a bit cold for sandals but it would be warm inside the karaoke bar where they were going, so it wouldn’t be that troublesome. By the time her hair and make-up were done it was 7:45, giving her enough time to just sit on the couch and mentally prepare herself for the night ahead. Suddenly a pang of guilt overcame her.

If only Cassandra was there to join them. She would probably be running late, just getting out of the shower now, yelling at Cat for making her run late. Cat would help her pick out an outfit that would fit her perfect figure, and help her do her hair. Cassandra never really liked to do her hair because it was very long but Cat didn’t mind. Now Catherine was going to go out and “party” while Cassandra would never take another breath in her life.

Catherine shook her head. No…Cassandra wouldn’t want her to feel guilty. She would encourage her to get up and stop feeling sorry for herself, to keep moving on and continue to smile, because she had a second chance.

“That’s right Cassandra….I have a second chance and I’m going to make it worth -while.” She whispered into the empty room, almost certain if ghosts were real then Cassandra could hear her. She smiled to herself, and then her phone went off.

Ping

Hey we r outside. Come on out now! The text message read from Aislinn. She smiled, tucking her phone into a small black wristlet along with her id and money. She turned off all of the lights and closed the door, locking it behind her. She could see Aislinn and another two friends, Natalie and Sarah, in Sarah’s red beetle bug car. Aislinn’s red hair fell down in luscious blown out bombshell curls behind her back, looking like a trail of fire that simply made her stunning. Natalie was a petite blonde haired girl with soft green eyes and a girlish voice. Sarah was the exact opposite, she had a little more to love around the waist but she was proud of it. She had a “I don’t care about anyone” attitude and Catherine loved her for it. She waved at them with glee and headed over to the car, sliding in the back. Tonight was girl’s night, and she would enjoy it thoroughly, for her sake, and for her peace of mind with Cassandra.