Killer Affair | Spencer Reid Short Story

The Notebook

Spencer

I flip through the pages, each one making me feel more and more sick as I read through it.

Cathleen Rudge
Charles Rudge
Mark Grey

It was a  few more pages in that made me realize
what I had found.

Jack Sparton
Patrick Schmitz
Finn Hargrove
Casey Thachet

All cases in town that have taken place since I've known Gwen. How does she know there names? No names were even mentioned to the public. I don't want to think it. I don't want to say it.

I slam the book shut and look around the room.

Gwen's in the doorway.

20 Hours Ago..

"So, I'm thinking we have dinner at your apartment tonight, and I'll bring over a deck of cards and you can teach me how to play?" Gwen smiles up at me as we walk down the path in the park, the golden afternoon light casting a warm glow over everything.

I mimic her tone with a teasing grin, "So, I'm thinking, I bring over dinner to your apartment, and then I'll teach you how to play cards."

She rolls her eyes, nudging me with her shoulder. "Fine, fine. Just don't go easy on me. I want the full challenge, Dr. Reid."

"Oh, trust me, I wouldn't dream of holding back." I try to keep the mood light, but something in her gaze shifts. She looks down, absently twirling a strand of hair around her finger, almost...nervously.

"Gwen?" I ask, noticing the subtle change. "You okay?"

She hesitates, her usual confidence flickering for just a second. "Yeah, of course. I'm just...a little distracted." She brushes it off with a quick smile, but it doesn't reach her eyes.

I want to press her, to ask what's on her mind, but I stop myself. She's opened up before, but only on her terms, in her own time. I know she's been dealing with something—something she hasn't fully let me in on. Maybe tonight, over dinner, she'll feel comfortable enough to share a bit more. I want to believe that.

As we walk, she takes my hand, intertwining her fingers with mine. "It's nice to have someone who doesn't judge me, Spencer," she says quietly, almost to herself.

The comment catches me off guard. "I'd never judge you, Gwen," I reply, squeezing her hand. "We all have things we don't want the world to know. Things that might be...hard to understand."

She nods, her eyes distant, as if lost in her own world. "That's why I like you Spence, you understand."

We reach her apartment, and as we walk inside, she quickly disappears into her bedroom, saying she has to "clean up a few things" before I come in. It's not the first time she's done this—ducking away to tidy up, hiding whatever she doesn't want me to see. I've always brushed it off as a quirk, respecting her boundaries.

While she's gone, I set the takeout containers on the table, pulling out the deck of cards I'd brought along. As I shuffle through them, my mind keeps drifting to Gwen, the shadows she carries, the secrets she holds so close. It's a side of her I've only glimpsed, and every time I get close, it's as if she pulls further away.

After a few minutes, she returns, looking lighter, a faint smile on her lips. "Alright, let's see if you can teach me how to bluff."

I laugh, trying to push aside my lingering doubts. "Oh, I'm pretty sure you'll be a natural."