𝙇𝙊𝙑𝙀 𝙂𝙊𝙀𝙎-ˡᵘᵏᵉ ᵃˡᵛᵉᶻ

eleven

SADIE LAY IN HER BED, WIPING AWAY her tears as she struggled with the persistent headache. Despite having taken a painkiller just ten minutes ago, the throbbing in her head refused to subside. She reached for the bottle again, hoping that another dose would finally provide some relief.

As she contemplated taking another pill, her phone began to ring. Glancing at the screen, Sadie saw that her aunt Becky was calling. With everything that had been going on, Sadie had completely forgotten about the family dinner she had planned to cancel.

"Hey," Sadie said softly into the phone.

"Hey! Your mother was telling me how you called her and said you wouldn't come. Why haven't I heard about that yet?" her aunt asked.

"She really said that? She called me during work and told me that I should just stay home, that I would ruin it," Sadie replied with honesty.

"Don't lie to me. Your mother would never say something like that," her aunt retorted, her tone sceptical.

"Yeah, right, because you know her better than me?" Sadie said, her frustration evident in her voice.

"Don't you dare to talk back to me," her aunt snapped angrily. "And you know what, maybe it is better if you stay home."

Then the line went dead, leaving Sadie feeling even more isolated and hurt.

She couldn't believe her mother had twisted the truth like that. It hurt to hear her own family doubting her honesty. But she was too exhausted to dwell on it any longer.

Lying back on her bed, Sadie closed her eyes and tried to push away the hurtful words.

If Sadie had one wish, she would wish for a better family and a better life.

The next day wasn't any better. Spencer was still mad at her, and she couldn't blame him. She had said hurtful things to him, even though she didn't mean them.

The next day after that wasn't much easier.

When Sadie saw Spencer sitting at his desk alone, she saw this as a chance to go and talk to him.

"Spencer, can we please talk?" Sadie whispers, hoping he would listen.

"There's nothing to talk about," he replies curtly, not even looking up.

"Pl-" Before Sadie could finish her sentence, she heard Emily's voice. "Somethings never change."

Spencer stands up and walks away from where Sadie is standing. "Hey you!" Jj says as she hugs Emily, and then Spencer does the same.

"Donuts! Wait, did you happen to get..." Spencer asks. "Chocolate frosted with sprinkles? Yes. How can I forget your favourite?" Emily smiles as Spencer gets his donut happily.

Sadie walks towards the group and hugs Emily. "Hey," she smiles softly. "Sadie. Hey!" Emily greets her warmly. The two had worked on a few cases together.

"It's so great to see you, even if it's only temporary," Jj says, making Sadie nod.

"Well, when Hotch told me the director tapped him for a special assignment, I wanted to help out. More so, when he said you guys still have escaped serial killers, you have to catch on top of your normal caseload," Emily explains.

"Lewis is going to be sorry that she missed you," Spencer says.

"Oh, yeah, me too." Emily puts her bag on Alvez's desk. "You know, that's actually Luke Alvez's desk," Spencer points out. "Really? It looks so empty," Emily replies. "Uh, well, he travels light," Jj says, making Sadie roll her eyes.