Long Overdue

2 - A Room of One's Own

"Woman's sensibility had been educated for centuries by the influences of the common sitting room. People's feelings were impressed on her; personal relations were always before her eyes."

- Virginia Woolf.

The day dragged on dreadfully. Y/N was soon left in an empty library as the classes for the day ended and Calvin's work period was over. She wandered the shelves, picking up books left in the wrong section, and moving them back to their designated place. Y/N sat back at her desk and turned to the stack of unappealing paperwork. She got to work and was soon lost in thought.

Time sped fast and soon it was 7 pm, and the dinner bell was ringing throughout the prison. Y/N gathered her things and forced them back into her leather satchel. She pushed the small button next to the door, alerting the officer sitting in the security room that she was ready to leave. Officer Peters met Y/N in the hallway and led her down to the exit leading to the parking lot. She waved goodbye as she walked quickly to her car, trying to avoid the frigid November air, and failing. Even after Y/N started up the heater in her old truck, it took a few minutes of driving for her to warm up. The dark green car barreled down the highway, going surprisingly fast for a truck of its age. Y/N bought it from an older man the day she moved to New Jersey for college, and it had lasted her a solid ten years.

As she neared her apartment, a slight drizzle started from the sky. A shiver shot involuntarily down her spine as she parked in the back lot of her apartment. The building was an old brick townhouse that had been separated into two smaller apartments stacked on top of each other. She lived in the upstairs apartment, which was only accessible by the rickety staircase at the back of the apartment. Her downstairs neighbor, Mrs. Hales, was an old widowed woman who liked to cook Y/N food and gossip about the other old ladies in the neighborhood.

Y/N stepped out of her car and hustled to the stairs, dodging puddles and trying her hardest not to slip on the slick walkway. The metal stairs creaked as she started her way up to her apartment, gripping the railing for support. As she passed, Mrs. Hales's door swung open.

"Y/N? Is that you?"

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Hales, how was your day today?"

The old woman stood at the base of the stairs, looking up at Y/N. "Quite boring, if I must say. Judith and Eddie came over for lunch, I have leftovers if you're hungry," she turned back towards her apartment.

"Er, no thank you, I'm not too hungry tonight, but thank you for thinking of me, how is Judith?" You asked kindly, remembering Mrs. Hales' 'best friend', they always seemed to be arguing.

"She's good, her grandson is your age you know, you'd like him."

Y/N cringed and skipped the subject. "I'll see you later? I've got to get out of this rain."

Mrs. Hales nodded. "Come on down sometime this week, I get lonely."

"Will do, bye Mrs. Hales."

Mrs. Hales waved as Y/N continued up the stairs. As she climbed, the drizzle strengthened, transforming into full-on rain as Y/N scrambled for her keys. By the time she found them, tucked in her bag, she was soaked. She forced the door open and rushed inside her darkened apartment, dropping her bag and stripping her clothes off immediately, carrying the sopping pile to the laundry machines tucked in the corner of the kitchen. Standing only in her undergarments, she opened the snack cabinet and grabbed a granola bar before walking back towards the living room. She scooped her bag off of the floor and slumped on the couch. Her cat, Frank, hopped into her lap and purred quietly while Y/N stroked his orange tabby fur. She drifted off for a moment, or so she thought before the sound of her phone buzzing against the wooden coffee table pulled her out of her slumber. As she grabbed the phone, she checked the time. 9 pm.

"Hello?" She groaned as she answered

"Y/N? You were supposed to call me, how is he?"

Y/N rolled off of the couch, Frank hopping from her lap. "Hello to you too, Penelope."

"Sorry, I'm sorry. Hello, my dearest most favorite cousin in the whole world. How's Spencer?"

"I'll be honest, I haven't heard anything yet, but that's a good thing. He's laying low. I'll pull some strings to try and get him working in the library soon."

"Did'ja hear that? Spencer's doing fine!" Penelope said to an unknown person on her end of the phone.

"Are you with the team? Put me on speaker!"

"Hey, Y/N!" Prentiss, Tara, and JJ called in unison.

"Hey ladies! How are you?" Y/N missed her cousin's friends. Not having too many of her own, she likes spending time with the members of the BAU.

"Doing good, saving lives, you know the deal," Tara said.

"We miss you!" JJ added.

"I miss you all so much! I'll come up to visit soon. Where's everyone else? Or is it ladies' night tonight?"

"You bet it is," Prentiss laughed. "We're going out for dinner."

"Ugh, I wish I could be there. Have fun!"

"We miss you!" They echoed as Penelope took the phone off the speaker. "Miss you, love. I'll see you this weekend."

"Can't wait, love you."

"I love you more."

Penelope hung up the phone, leaving Y/N to recover from her evening nap. She rubbed her eyes groggily and walked to the kitchen. Frank wove around Y/N's feet as she grabbed a box of pasta from the cabinet and started a pot of water. She pulled her favorite pesto sauce from the fridge and dumped the noodles into the now boiling water. While the pasta was cooking, Y/N wandered over to her bookshelf and turned on her speaker, connecting her phone, and starting up her playlist. The sound of The Strokes filled her apartment as she danced back over to the stove. She drained the pasta and added the pesto before tossing it all into a bowl and settling back down on the couch. Frank sat patiently at her feet, waiting for her to drop a piece of pasta. She didn't, and Frank was quite frustrated as Y/N took her empty bowl back to the kitchen. She dropped the bowl into the sink with the rest of the dishes, not bothering to wash them tonight. Y/N made her way towards her bedroom, and she grabbed the pair of pj's off of the floor and pulled them back on. The black cotton shorts hid under the huge flannel Y/N insisted on wearing almost every night. She grabbed her laptop and climbed into bed, Frank joined her under the covers as she booted up her computer to pick a movie. She settled on the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice, but she didn't last long, she drifted off to sleep as soon as Elizabeth Bennet met Mr. Darcy for the first time.