spencer reid's daughter

one

september twentieth ; present day

Colette Reid couldn't remember her mother, no matter how hard she tried. She knew that this was the day, seven years ago, that her mother left the family in the middle of the night. Her father never said much more than that, only spoke detailed memories of her mother so Colette could have something to hold on to.

"Are you doing alright?" Colette cleared her throat, glancing up towards her father sitting in the drivers seat beside her. His bloodshot eyes were set only on the road, his hands clenching the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles were turning white. His cheeks were flushed of pink, his lips pursed together as he thought of what to tell his daughter. "I can read your face, I'll know if you're lying."

"It's just a rough day, bug, I'll be alright, don't worry about me." Spencer lied, forcing a reassuring smile towards Colette.

"Why won't you tell me anything about her? Why would she leave us like that?" Colette crossed her arms over her chest, her heart beginning to pound even faster. "I'm thirteen now, I just want to know what happened to my mother. I deserve to know."

Spencer remained silent, refusing to turn his head to Colette's direction. He inhaled a shaky breath, pressing his foot harder against the gas pedal as the black SUV sped down the road.

"You're just trying to get rid of me, that's the whole reason why you're sending me to this class today anyways." Colette clenched her jaw, shaking her head at the ground.

"Cole, I really cannot argue with you today, I'll talk to you about this later," Spencer gripped the steering wheel tighter, the school beginning to come into view.

"It's always later with you," Colette muttered underneath her breath, grabbing her backpack at her feet. "I have every fucking right to know."

Colette climbed out of the car and slammed the door behind her, walking into the school without turning back. Her yellow sweater hung loosely from her skin, her black jeans buckled around her waist. Once inside the building, she turns to look out the window at the SUV remaining to sit in the parking lot.

Spencer's head was rested against the wheel, his hands clenched around his curly brown hair. Colette only watched, refusing to go out of her way to comfort him before turning and walking away. From behind her, she heard the familiar rumble of his car driving off, leaving her completely alone.

The middle school was completely dark, besides the light shining through the windows on the warm autumn morning. At the end of the hallway, a teenage boy stumbled towards Colette in the lobby, his hand tightly pressed against his stomach. Blood seeped between his fingers, leaving a trail of crimson drops behind him.

"P—Please help me," The boy croaked, his knees crumbling only feet away from Colette. She sprinted towards the boy in shock, kneeling down beside him to find the laceration. Cut deeply into his stomach were three stab wounds, almost going completely throughout his body.

"Oh—Oh god," Colette gasped, her hands trembling in fear. She pulled her sweater over her head, leaving her in a regular black t-shirt worn underneath. Colette pressed the sweater against the wounds, applying as much pressure as she could muster.

"He's come for you," the boy gasped for air, wrapping his bloody hand around Colette's shirt collar. "Colette Reid."

Colette blinked back the tears from her eyes, fumbling in the boys pockets for any sign of a phone. Spencer didn't believe in Colette having that kind of technology to distract her and keep her from doing what was best for her. He gave her a flip phone to only use for emergencies, one that she left at home on her nightstand. Once finding nothing in his pockets, Colette rose to her feet, sprinting away from the boy.

There had to be a phone somewhere in the school, she just had to locate it first. She ran through every hallway, trying to open every locked classroom door with no luck. Colette found her way back to the other end of the lobby, where the boy still laid on the marble floors. Trying to stay focused, she kept trying to unlock every door before opening a janitors closet successfully.

The small room had a single lightbulb dangling from the ceiling, over the eleven bodies piled up on the ground. The teacher, and apparently Colette's ten other classmates were piled up dead on each other. Colette felt her stomach drop, her legs forgetting how to work as she could only stand and watch.

Her fight or flight instincts finally kicked in as she began to run down the hallway, straight towards the front doors. As she wrapped her hands around the doorknob, a pair of strong arms wrapped around Colette's torso, lifting her off her feet.

She was thrown against the wall, her head slamming against the brick as her vision began to blur. A tall, muscular man kneeled down in front of Colette, his blue eyes glistening in the sunlight.

"It's so good to see you again, Colette Reid. I'm Tate Hankle."