𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 ➳ [ SPENCER REID ] [PARTS 1 & 2]

━━━━ v

'tis a flashback chapter - the entire thing takes place in the past 🥵

specifically, leah's sophomore year - things get pretty crazy but it'll kind of explain some things later on.

"BYE MOM, BYE dad!" leah yelled, opening the front door and exiting her house with her backpack and a pop tart in hand.

she walked to school everyday, even though the walk was pretty long, she loved to do it- the nice breeze that hit her face while she walked in the fall, and even the bitter coldness in the winter, and than walking through the park during the spring to watch how the trees changed every day.

she had work after school today, a shift longer than any of her usual ones. she had been working at the merge cafe for a few months now, and her and shayne have been hanging out there everyday after school- even though leah was on duty.

the day at school was as normal as any other day- another test that she aced with a 100, sitting alone in the library during lunch to read another book (since she was determined to complete the library by the time she graduated), and talked to shayne whenever she had the chance.

her parents didn't mind that she had to work late that night- she remembered her father saying that his pal from work was coming over for dinner, and they personally didn't mind if leah showed or not- this man was of no importance at all to her.

when her and shayne arrived at the cafe, shayne took a seat at the marble counter and leah put on her uniform and got behind the cash register.

her and shayne talked about anything and everything, how school was overrated and they should just drop out (even if that would change leah's plans to be a crime fighter), or how the head cheerleader found out her boyfriend cheated on her- silly high school drama like that amused them, considering it made them feel like they were living in some high school coming-of-age movie.

it was 8pm when the cafe closed. she had said goodbye to shayne, whose mom picked him up, and even though they offered her a ride, she refused because she loved the walk home even more than the walk to school.

she took her time coming home- she took a detour through the park, which added almost 30 minutes to her walk.

she left at 8:10, locking up the cafe - and it was around 9:45 when she reached her backyard. she was confused- she had the impression that her dad's old friend would have still been there, but it looked as if all of the lights in the house were turned off. this was especially odd, considering her parents always left at least one light on downstairs so leah could find her way around the house without tripping over anything.

she walked over to the front door, and expecting it to be unlocked, she turned the knob. locked, she thought.

her parents always left the door open for her.

she was glad she had her golden key on her, and she pulled it out and put it in the keyhole, unlocking the door.

"mom?" she yelled. "dad?"

she looked in the kitchen to find nothing, and turned the lights on one by one until the entirety of the bottom floor was lit up. she looked in the living room.

let's just say, the last thing she expected to see was her parents bodies covered in blood.

she gasped loudly, dropping everything she had on her in surprise. her parents were bound at the hands, blood covering their bodies, and she saw the exact places where they were cut- stabbed.

she didn't know what to do- sob, call 911- she was clueless.

she looked around the house for anything that could help her- a phone, a weapon, anything.

she was terrified, she had never been more scared in her entire life.

she ran to where her back door was located, and she saw two men standing there.

she looked at them, terrified, not knowing what to do next. it was dark, and she knew she would be unable to identify them if she saw them again. all she saw was that one of them had cold, gray eyes, and the other wore a golden chain around his neck.

they ran when she saw them. she tried to run after them, to catch them before they left, but she didn't. it was then when she picked up the phone and called the police.

she moved into shayne's house the next day. he felt awful for everything that happened- no one deserved what she went through. his parents had already loved her more than life, and since his sister had went off to college and her room was open, it was perfect.

leah was so grateful for his parents for welcoming her with open arms. she didn't go to school or work for weeks, and all she could think about were them.

although she knew it would be impossible, she just wanted to forGet the events, and the two men.