1𝙉𝙊𝙏 𝘼 𝙎𝙐𝙋𝙀𝙍𝙃𝙀𝙍𝙊ʳᵉⁱᵈ

2 | 39% to 99%

39% to 99%

t w o

"He was tall, he was wearing a mask, a black ski mask, and his eyes," She grimaced at the memory of his cold, dark, hungry blue eyes. "They were so blue, and cold, like a frozen lake"

"What did he say to you?"

"I," She frowned, trying hard to think back to what happened. She had a habit of blocking out bad memories, and she did not want to remember that, but she had to, if she wanted to help herself, to protect other women from becoming victims. "I can't remember"

"I understand that this is hard, but please Ms. Novak, try your hardest to remember what he said to you"

She gulped, swallowing the pain of remembering. Her lips were dry and cracked, her cheeks were bruised. "He said," She began, wetting her lips before continuing, staring at the blank wall so nothing could distract her from the details. "He said that he knew I wanted it, that I was asking for it. He said that," Her words came out rushed, like she was trying to get it out quickly so she would never have to deal with them again. "He said that he had wanted to do it to me for a long time, and he called me beautiful," Tears were starting to form in her eyes, but she continued. "He told me that he was going to come back for me in a week, to do it again" The tears were falling freely, but she had cried enough, and she wouldn't let herself break down.

"We'll have officers with you at all times, until we catch this guy. I'm sorry"

She glanced around the hospital room, she was so terrified. She didn't know who he was, what he did, why did he target her? Why did he want to harm her? She knows the answer, and she may have to suffer with the scars and the memory of that night, but at least it didn't happen to someone else, right? Someone more important.

"Hey," It was him, the man from earlier, the one who called. She looked up at him, the alley was dark and she couldn't see his features, but now that she got a better lighting, she knew who he was. She had listened to multiple lectures of his, hanging onto almost every word. "53% of all patients who take pain medication get addicted"

She nodded. "Yeah, and only 5% of them actually get help, willingly" She added, he nodded.

She took note of his hands, the bruises they had, the violet circles under his tired eyes, and his chapped lips. She knew he had bad habits, it was big news when someone leaked it. He wasn't as weak as he let on, in fact, some would even say he were a superhero. He could fight, and his above genius IQ gave him an even higher advantage over his opponents, and she knew that.

Everyone knew to bet on him if he were in the ring, only newcomers would make the mistake of betting against him. His looks would throw them off, giving him the element of surprise. Although his geeky features hid a monster within, girls didn't necessarily want him. They'd hang out with him, but they seen him as more of a...protector, not a boyfriend. They were safe, but not at home.

"How," His tongue darted out and wet his chapped lips as he took a seat near the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"39%" She mumbled and he squinted his eyes at her.

"You measure your mood with percentage," It was more of a statement than a question, his tongue wetting his lips once again. "100% must be perfect, and 0% is terrible"

She nodded, finally realizing she hadn't introduced herself to him.

"Uh," She cleared her throat and made eye contact. "I'm Karyn Novak"

"Dr. Spencer Reid," He said and then tilted his head to the side, noticing that she didn't reach out to shake hands. He was glad that she didn't, but he was used to it. "Do you know how many pathogens are spread when shaking hands? It's actually safer to kiss"

She smiled, the first real smile in 24 hours. And in that moment, she almost forgot about what had happened.

"The greatest healing therapy is friendship and love"
-Hubert H. Humphrey