Blinded by Hate | a.hotchner

Chapter 17

Trigger Warning: Canon type violence and gore

You woke up to the sound of your phone ringing. Emily's caller ID was written across your, you answered the phone, glancing at the time. 9:34pm. You had only been home for a few hours, falling asleep with tears on your face.

"Emily?" You asked, holding the phone to your face.

"Is Hotch with you?" Emily whispered into the phone, not wanting the team to hear her question.

"No? I left him at HQ, he's probably still there or he went home." You shrugged, not thinking much of his sudden disappearance.

"Are you sure? It doesn't seem like him to just go home, especially in the middle of an active case." She challenged you. Emily was skeptical that he wasn't with you.

"Yeah but, we had a fight, and I left the base right after. I'm sure he's just upset, we'll see him tomorrow morning." You said lazily into the phone, lifting yourself off the couch and walking into your room. "Em, I want to apologize for what I said in Aaron's office. I didn't mean to snap at you like that."

"I know, y/n. I'm sorry for trying to pressure you into telling him before you were ready." Emily apologized to you too.

"And if it's any consolation, I did tell Aaron that I was Carter's girlfriend. He agreed to not tell the team that he abused me." You let her know, hoping that it further patched your friendship.

"I'm glad, I really want things to work out between you guys." Her voice genuine.

"I do too, but our fight was pretty bad today. He was really mad, and don't get me wrong there was no justification for what he said to me, but I don't want things to be over." You started telling her about the fight you and Aaron had.

"What did he say?" She asked you, wanting to give you room to talk about what happened

"He asked me what was wrong with me. He said that I won't let him love me, but it's only been two weeks. I like him, but it's too soon to love him." You said in a meek voice, hearing his words play in your head again.

"Is there something wrong with me, Em?"

Your voice wavered, the words feeling so effortless. Like you knew the answer before you asked the question.

Of course there is, y/n.

It hurt Emily to hear your words, your voice barely coming above a whisper as you said the words. "Absolutely not. Y/n, you are perfect. Don't ever think for a second that you aren't worth the world."

A small tear slipped out of your eye, rolling down your face and dripping off your chin, "Thank you, Em. Thank you."

-

You woke for work, a small pit in your stomach. You didn't want to see Aaron right after your fight, you were still angry at him for what he said. Options on what to say ran through your head as you showered and dressed for work. There was something nagging at you, a bad feeling filled your chest. It felt like something bad was going to happen.

The drive to the base was quiet, the roads oddly bare. You didn't see anyone, until you made it up to the sixth floor. It was seven am, but the bullpen was filled with people. The room busy and chaotic. Walking in, you went up to Emily, who was wearing a worried expression.

"What's going on, Em?" You asked her, gesturing to the full office.

"Um, there's been an advancement in the case." She trailed off, not being able to meet your eye line.