Love On The Field - Spencer Reid x Reader

PART XXI

The soft glow of the dashboard lights illuminated the interior of her car as Y/N sat parked outside the Bureau’s building. The early morning darkness enveloping her, fogging up her tainted windows. With her mind turned into a whirlwind of thoughts, she had found herself unable to obtain any solace in sleep the night before. The bad news she had received lingering like a heavy cloud above her, casting dark shadows over her usually composed demeanor.

Lost in contemplation, with both hands holding tightly onto the wheel while her head hung between stretched arms, Y/N was startled by the shrill ring of her phone. Heaving a deep sigh, she opened her eyes in slow motion without much desire to face whatever called out for her. Glancing at the screen over her arm, she saw her father's name flashing back at her. A surge of conflicting emotions washing over her as she hesitated to answer. What could he possibly want from her now? What could she tell him? What could he have to say?

Taking a deep breath, she finally answered the call. Her voice steady despite the turmoil she carried within. “Have you checked what time it is?” She asked checking it herself on the dashboard. “What do you want this early? Why are you calling?”

“Y/N. C’mon, child.” Her father's voice sounded strained, a hint of urgency underlying his words. “Do you think I don’t know what’s happening?”

“What are you talking about?” She asked tiredly throwing her head back against the headrest.

“I think you should stop.” He told her not really answering her question, but giving her a warning instead.

“Stop?” She questioned straightening her posture once more. Turning her torso slightly towards the passenger’s seat where her mobile phone had been tossed some time ago. “So nobody, you included, gets punished?”

“You don’t care about justice or about these people. You only care about winning.” He spat trying to convince her to do as he said.

“I see no contradiction.” She told him, with confidence dressing her doubt like a costume. He had always been particularly good at finding different ways to get inside her head. And slowly, he was beginning to.

“It’s all about the struggle. The game.” He said. “That’s always been your favorite part of the job. The thrill of playing detective. Casting yourself into a role you cannot fulfill because you’re not smart enough. So just like in any other game, you easily break the rules to your advantage.”

“I don’t kill people.” She stated setting a difference between her and what she was starting to believe of him.

“Me neither.” He told her; and Y/N could picture him in her head with his hands in the air to show his innocence. Whether it was legitimate or not, she would have to get to the bottom of the case to find out. “Yet Holly Leonard’s death is on your hands alone.”

“I was trying to help her.”

“Were you really Y/N? Or was it simply another one of those fake scenarios you create in your head just to deal with your conscience?” He inquired. “Whichever one it might be, whatever you do, it’s your choice now. The board has already been set.” He told her. “But remember, the choices we make do not come alone. They carry along the weight of their consequences.”

Silence was the next thing she heard. Locking her phone, Y/N sighed once more. Her gaze fixed on the building doors but barely paying any attention to what occurred beyond the windshield of her car. Filling her lungs with the cold morning air that lingered inside the vehicle, she took her keys out of the ignition and swiftly unfastened her seatbelt with the same hand while opening the door with the other.