Spencer Finally Catches a Break

Chapter 3

          ***This chapter is dedicated to my friend Mo, as is the story. 

 Adelaide recovered consciousness  inside the ambulance, her head throbbing from the tears that seeped through her eyes. There was a woman wrapping her arm, which she had apparently scraped while passing out.  She blinked the blurs out of her eyes and saw a tall man walking towards  her.

       He had shaggy hair and dark circles under his eyes, and walked with an odd gait, which Ada blamed on the probability of him carrying a weapon. He walked up and blocked the moon which was her only source of light, since the street lights on her block stopped working when she was eight.

       The man sat himself across from her and sat down on her level. He looked at her, looking confused, but started to speak.

      "Hello there. My name is Dr. Reid, You can call me Spencer.  I'm an FBI agent. Did you see what happened?" He questioned. Ada shivered, and answered quietly.

       "No. My Gramma was driving me home. Why are you upset? Your pupils are shrinking even though it's dark, and your hand keeps resting on your bag shakily." Reid was surprised. He had The Narrative of John Smith in his bag and was thinking of Maeve in the back of his mind. 

      "I, erm, I lost someone important to me recently," Reid answered awkwardly, almost feeling like he was the one being questioned.

      "She was taken too soon?" Ada asked, knowing it to be true. Reid nodded.

      "What type of books do you read?" Reid asked, deviating from the questioning.

     "Psychology books, and those on profiling. My favorite ones were by this older FBI agent, he retired a while ago, his name is David Rossi. He wrote about the cases he solved and the psychology behind them," Ada answered, feeling educated. The Doctor looked impressed, so she felt proud.

      "I work with him!" Reid exclaimed.  Ada gasped in surprise. 

       "What's your name?" Reid asked.

      "Adelaide Christie Mowan," Ada answered, "I also answer to Ada." Spencer recalled the names of the victims, and felt the piece click together.

      "You're the victims daughter," Reid said in disbelief. Ada stiffened at the word 'victims'

      "So-" Ada's words got caught in her throat, "So they're- they're dead." Ada said, her voice hitching the entire time. Reid nodded again

      "It's not surprising I wasn't in the fire. Fire only kills 500 kids under the age fifteen a year. I fit in that range. Even if I were to go to the hospital with a burn, it would be more likely a scalding water burn than fire," Ada explained. Reid nodded.

       "Most fire related deaths are from the inhalation of toxic gasses, rather than burns which account for less than 30% of deaths by fire. Smoke inhalation is less painful, and an easier way out than burns. They didn't suffer long," Reid said, trying to comfort the young girl who was silently sobbing. He was horrible at consoling people, and he knew adolescents were particularly sensitive to trauma. He winced and braced himself for the onslaught of tears.

      Instead of tears, he got a look of gratitude.

    "Thank you. I wouldn't want them to be in pain. Have you found my-" She hiccuped from tears, "Have you found my Gramma? She ran in when got on my street. She never-" Ada cleared her throat. "She never came out." 

       Reid felt a jolt of sadness for Adelaide. Reid inferred that her Gramma was her last living relative by the way she was acting.  That meant she'd be put in the system. He shook his head.

      "What's going to happen to me?" Adelaide asked quietly, scared of the answer.

      "Well, if you're lucky you'll stay at a home for a few months until the adoption papers are completed, and then you'll be placed with a nice home. They may not be parents, but it'll be a house with living necessities," Reid stated eloquently.

       "Oh please, don't bullshit me. I know my age, I know the statistics. Only 10% of adoptions are adolescents over the age of thirteen. I'm fourteen years old, you think I'll be placed with a family that easily? I'm not a helpless baby, I'm not an adorable five-year-old, I'm not even a pre-pubescent ten-year-old, I'm fourteen, so stop it. 'Will you take that phony dream and burn it before something happens?' as said by Arthur Miller," Ada snapped. She hated false hope more than a cloudy sky that bluffed rain.

       Reid was shocked, but not surprised. Not at her profanity, but at her snapping. She was repressing her feelings because she didn't like showing emotions in front of others, because it makes her feel vulnerable, Reid thought. He understood. He also respected her 'Death of a Salesman' quote.

       Adelaide had a look of guilt plastered on her face. She hadn't meant to scream at Spencer. Reid saw her guilt and awkwardly patted her shoulder. Ada didn't know this was such a big deal, since Reid wasn't big on physical contact.

      "This is going to sound really weird, but, can I hug you?" Ada asked quietly, and slightly sheepishly. 

       Reid nodded, and stood up as Ada ran over to hug him. She sobbed into his maroon sweater vest, and Reid hugged her back tightly. They sat like that for a moment, until Ada pulled away.

      "I'm-  I'm sorry. I got masc- mascara on your shirt," Ada spit out, breathing heavily, her breath catching and hiccuping. 

       "It's alright, apology accepted," Reid said softly, nodding and patting her back. Ada hiccuped, and coughed.

      "Do you think you could tell me what happened?" Reid questioned. Ada nodded.

       "I was at my Gramma's house for three weeks for my summer camps. Both my chess and theatre camps were in Bradenton, so my Mom let me stay with her. Today was my last day, so my Gramma drove me home after dinner. We saw the smoke from outside the neighborhood, but assumed it was a bonfire. When we drove up to my house, it was-" Ada took a giant breath, her hands started shaking, but she continued. "My house was on fire. My parents were staying home tonight, they had called me this morning. My Gramma- she-" Ada's hands continued shaking, and her chest started convulsing. Her breathing became sporadic, and she started sobbing harder than ever.

       Reid knew what was happening; she was having a panic attack.

       "Hey, hey, shhhhhhh. It's okay, you're okay. Breathe with me," Reid breathed in, and then out deeply, and motioned for Ada to follow suit. Ada shakily breathed with him, taking giant gulps of air and choking on them. 

      "You don't have to finish, we understand the rest. Just cry, it'll make you feel better. When you cry, your body releases oxytocin, which is an endorphin. It'll make you feel calm."

      She nodded. Ada shakily gulped, and sobbed into Spencer's shirt for a long time.

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Hi! It's a little late, but I made it! It'll get more interesting, I promise! Thank you so much for reading my story, and remember that reviews are valued! Have a positively lovely Day/Night/Whatever! xoxo