Past and Present

Chapter 15

I woke up feeling dizzy, lightheaded, and confused. My head was pounding so hard that it felt like there was a hammer stuck inside my brain. Where the fuck was I? I looked around. I was in a large basement strapped to a chair that was bolted to the ground. No blindfold. No gag. He wanted me to see him. Previously, he had taken his victims to some sort of warehouse looking place, leaving the dead bodies there for us to find. I knew why I was somewhere else. I was his endgame. Okay Jo. Think. You know how this unsub behaves. He thrives off of power. Use that. Make him powerless. Don't let him get to you. Control the situation. The only thing I didn't know was who the fuck took me, even though my gut knew exactly who it was.

"Show yourself Noah," I yelled, realizing how badly I needed water.

Nothing.

"Show yourself!" I laughed to get under his skin. "Coward!"

As I continued screaming, footsteps from above me aggressively walked down the stairs, a tall lanky man appearing in front of me with that all-too similar smirk.

Noah.

"Miss me, gorgeous?"

I laughed.

"Screw you."

"You'd like to, wouldn't you?" Noah said, grabbing my throat, suppressing my air to my lungs.

I struggled to breathe, but knew I had to continue antagonizing him, so I laughed.

"What's so funny?" he said aggressively, releasing his grip from my throat.

I looked straight into his eyes.

"If you're gonna kill me, just do it Noah. Are you afraid? Afraid you will never have power over me?

He slammed his fist on a table next to him as I stared at him fiercely. Then, he began to laugh. I gave him a confused look. Dammit.

"Giving up so soon, Josephine? Or are you waiting for dear old Spencer Reid to come save you?"

He slammed his fist on the table again, putting his face right against my ear afterwards, whispering.

"He won't come to save you, Josephine. I've watched you for months. That poor boy is so nervous all the time, I think if he tried to save you he'd snap," he laughed, "besides, I am the man for you, not Spencer. Or should I bring him here and let him know personally?"

"No!" I blurted out, fidgeting in my chair.

Dammit, Jo. No emotion. C'mon.

"And so the profiler breaks! Ah, to see the look on your face right now," he stroked my face with his greasy hands, "priceless, yet beautiful as ever."

"Fuck you," I spat on him.

He grabbed my hair tightly and put his face extremely close to mine.

"Don't you dare disrespect me again like that."

Before I had the chance to attempt to back my head away, he pushed his face to mine, kissing me. His breath smelt and tasted vile, like he hadn't brushed his teeth in weeks. I finally got him to back away from me and as he did he licked his lips and smiled.

"I love you Josephine Mills."

I stared at him, not saying a word. I felt like I was going to pass out.

***

It seemed like I had been there forever. Where was the team? Had they not figured out where I was yet? I had no concept of time. I hadn't eaten anything. He gave me water once every so often if I was lucky. I felt sick. I blacked out multiple times. I would wake up one moment and I'd see Noah screaming at me and then I'd find myself waking up again to him beating me with his bare hand. Punching. Kicking. Slapping. I didn't know how much more of this I could take. I felt like I was losing time.

That's when Spence came to my head. Spence. I started crying. I was alone in a basement, no concept of where I was, when it was, or where the fuck Noah was. But I cried. No, in fact, I sobbed, uncontrollably. I couldn't imagine how Spence must've been feeling at this moment. I wanted him to know that I was still here. That there was still a chance that they could save me. That I love him. Oh god, how I loved him. I loved everything about him. I loved his ironic remarks. I loved the way he made me feel like the only girl in the room. I loved his passion when he talked about things he loved. I loved the way he treated me. I loved the way he waved his hands around as he spoke. I loved how he got along with my family and Cindy. I loved the way he kissed me. I loved the way his big hands cupped my entire face when he kissed me.

"Spencer!" I cried out, "Please!"

As I continued to sob uncontrollably, Noah appeared in front of me.

"Ah you know it is too bad Jospehine. I was going to give you some food."

He looked me dead in the eyes, whispering once again.

"If I hear Spencer's name one more time, I'll starve you to death."

"Is that your plan?" I said, weakly, "A slow, painful death? Do you really think that is going to give you power over me Noah? Really?" I felt out of breath.

"It's funny," I managed a small laugh, "I thought you were smart."

He looked confused.

"Even if you kill me Noah, I still win. I still have power over you. Being with Spencer made me realize how much I didn't love you," I said, smirking.

He was angry.

"When you love someone, you treat them as your equal. You're a psychopath, Noah. Incapable of love. How you masked it to me for two years, I'll never know. But know this," I leaned my head forward with the little strength I had left, "I will never love you. So I win."

"No!" He flipped the table next to him over and slapped me in the face.

Just then, something came over me. The will to live. To fight. I head butted him in the head, causing him to stumble backwards. When he came back for more, I bit him, spat on him, put up a fight.

"You bitch!" he said, his lip beginning to bleed from one of my several bite marks.

After that, he ran upstairs, moving around aggressively, clearly searching for something. This was it. I had to make my move. I felt like my life was about to end and I wasn't ready.

That's when I saw it, there was a small cellphone right next to me that I hadn't noticed before. I could do it. I Just had to figure out a way to meanuver myself through the ties.

Thankfully my years of training paid off in this moment. As I managed to move the rope slightly higher on my torso, I was able to reach the phone on the small table next to me.

Without thinking, I quickly typed in Reid's phone number. The only one I had memorized. It rang for only a millisecond when I heard Reid pick up.