Unbroken Souls (Spencer Reid x Reader POV)

Chapter 44

"I just need to stop at this little flower shop before we go to the cemetery" I said softly as the sound of the turn signal filled the car.

"Did you frequent this place often as a child?" Spencer asked as he scanned the shops on the street corners of my hometown, taking in each detail with curiosity and care.

"Sorta. My mom was really good friends with the owner so I've known her since I was a little girl. When I moved to Virginia I left without saying goodbye... I still feel really bad about that" I got quieter as I turned left and drove towards the store, finding a parking spot on the street and parking the car. Spencer looked over to me and his expression asked me if I wanted him to join or if I'd rather go alone. I leaned in and gave him a quick kiss before motioning him to come with me. The bell above the front door chimed as we walked into the flower shop. Beautiful baskets and bouquets covered the store, and the familiar smell reminded me of all the times my mother would bring my sister and I to pick out new flowers for the house.

"Welcome to the bloom room! Is there anything I can help you fi— I don't believe it... Charlotte?" An older woman appeared around the corner, placing a newly tied bouquet of roses into a bucket near the till. Her face changed to disbelief when she laid eyes on me, and I offered a soft smile before walking to hug her.

"Hi Marilyn" I said warmly, pulling her in for a hug. She was more frail than I remembered, but she still hugged me with the same strength she had all those years ago.

"It's been so long! How are you? It's so good to see you— oh darling you look beautiful, and wow you bear such a striking resemblance to her" Marilyn broke the hug and put her hands on my shoulders, getting a better look at me. Tears stung the back of my eyes when she said I looked like my mother; truthfully I tried to avoid seeing her in myself because it hurt too much, but something about Marilyn seeing it made me feel both sad and honoured at the same time.

"I've been alright, how are you doing? I'm so glad to see your shop is still here. Your arrangements are even more beautiful than I remember." I replied with a smile as she dropped her hands down, smiling at me as though I had just told her the best news ever.

"Oh you know me, I've been staying busy. Seems like you have been too" she fell a little quieter and the grief in her voice became noteable.

" Marilyn, before I say anything else I owe you an apology for leaving without an explanation or even saying goodbye. It hurt just as much to leave as it did to stay but between the memories this place held and the new ghosts my dad kept around... I just couldn't stay anymore. And I know I should've called, or visited, or sent a letter..." I trailed off, my chest felt so tight that breathing became hard. Spencer must have noticed my body language shift because I could feel him inch closer to me.

"Oh doll, I know. I knew before you did that you had to go off and live the life she would have wanted for you. And that's why all this time I've been keeping your fathers' gardens clean, and tending to their resting places. So that one day, if you came back, you'd know that they were still looked after" she squeezed my hands in hers, and I let a tear escape my eye.

"Marilyn you really didn't need to—"

"She was my best friend too, Charlotte. She can't beat me away from her even in the afterlife" she giggled a little before her eyes shot to Spencer and back to me.

"So, you going to tell me about the life you've built? Or do I have to wait another few years?"

Spencer and I stayed at the flower shop for nearly an hour; I told her all about what I'd been up to, how Spencer changed my life, and how I felt like I'd finally found the happiness that the books my mother would read me depicted. While I didn't tell her about the pregnancy, I did tell her that we finally found Jasmine's killer. She told me how she upkeeps my dad's flowerbeds and the cemetery plots in the warmer months, and how she sees my dad at the cemetery often when he isn't in and out of rehabs I try to get him into. Before leaving, Marilyn gave me a small bouquet of my sister's and my mother's favourite flowers, and I promised her I would start sending letters every few weeks to keep in touch. We got back in the car and drove to the cemetery. Spencer asked me about fond memories I held of Marilyn and I told him about how she had always felt more like an aunt to me and that she was one of the people who helped me get back on my feet after I fell apart with their deaths. He listened to me talk about both the good and bad memories of my childhood with nothing but pure attention in his eyes. When I put the car in park at the cemetery and took the keys from the ignition, he waited for my lead to get out of the car; but it felt like my legs were made of lead now that we were actually here. I stared out the windshield, still gripping the steering wheel with one hand and the keys in the other as I stared in the direction of my mom and sister.