EASY WAY OUT ¹ ➢ spencer reid

XXII

Reid hadn't texted me. I tossed my phone aside, letting out a heavy breath. He probably just needed space or some time to think. I ran my fingers through my hair, cursing at my lack of patience as I sat up and inched out from under the covers. I grabbed my phone and sat on the edge of the bed. I reread a couple of the messages I'd already received and took the time to reply. While doing so, Issac started calling. I cringed, realizing I'd forgotten to call him back again. "Hey, sorry, I just got home last night."

"It's fine. We know you don't love us."

"Ha-ha, funny." I rolled my eyes.

"What are you doing right now?"

I glanced around my room. I really hadn't thought much about what to do. At this point, since moving here, my entire life had revolved around work so having actual free time felt strange. "Nothing." I sighed.

"You wanna come home for a couple of days?" He asked.

I smiled. I also hadn't thought about going home, which now that I was, definitely made sense. "Sure."

"She said yes!" Issac yelled. I heard mom and dad cheer, causing me to let out a chuckle. "I'll come get you?" He offered.

"Yeah, I can start getting ready whenever." I shrugged.

"Uh," he took a couple of seconds to think, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth, "yeah, I'll just come now. Traffic's probably died down."

"I might need help coming down so I'll buzz you in when you get here."

"Sounds good."

It took Issac a little over an hour to arrive. While I waited, I tried my best to get ready. I thought about showering, but by the time I'd managed to get to bathroom I sighed. It was hard enough trying to get from one room to the other, so the idea of standing in a slippery death trap quickly lost its appeal. Instead, I brushed my teeth and hair and packed up some toiletries. I wandered back into the bedroom and got dressed. I threw on a pair of sweats, carefully pulling them over my legs as I sat on the edge of the bed. "Ow, ow, ow..." I mumbled, shutting my eyes tightly. Once they were on I felt like I could breathe again. I put on an oversized tee and a sweater overtop, as well as some socks. I packed a couple of extra clothes in a duffle bag, along with the stuff from my bathroom and my phone charger. When I zipped it up I heard the buzzer go off. I swore under my breath and quickly moved to the keypad. "Hey, come on up." I let him in. Despite the short distance I was already out of breath. I moved to the kitchen table and took a seat, extending my leg slightly.

My front door opened. I looked up from my leg and almost passed out when I saw Reid standing there. "Uh, hi."

"Hey." He closed the door behind him.

"You're here."

He nodded. "Did you not get my message?"

"N-no." I looked at him, slightly confused. "I was packing."

He looked equally confused, his brows knitting together. "For?"

"I'm going home for a couple of days. It's, uh, my dad's birthday this weekend."

"Oh."

"Yeah, my brother's on his way to get me. I thought it was him at the door." I let out an awkward chuckle.

He looked at the doorway and then back at me. "Do you, uh," he swallowed hard, shaking his head, "I can -we can talk about this when you get back?"

"Maybe, yeah," I gave him an apologetic look, "I want to talk, really, it's just-"

"You don't want to keep him waiting." He finished.