ALEX | a. hotchner (sequel to BLAKE)

18

"Pen," I whispered and shook her gently, "hey, Penelope."

She groaned and moved over to sleep on the other side of the bed. I sighed and crawled over the bed to grab her shoulder and move her on her back.

"Hey, wake up!" I shook her again and she slowly opened her eyes.

"Alex, we've talked about this," she groaned, "you promised to stop waking me up in the middle of the night."

"Sorry," I mumbled and sat quietly on her bed for a second. "Hey," I whispered, "you wanna go on an adventure?"

"Mhm," she shook her head and closed her eyes again, "not really."

"Come on," I bounced gently on her bed, "please?"

"We have work tomorrow."

I leaned down and whispered in her ear, "but the stars are so pretty tonight."

Pen just swatted my face away with her hand.

I groaned, "fine, I'm calling Spencer."

I rolled out of her bed and closed the door behind me, throwing myself on the couch. It was a little after three, so Spencer was probably still reading. And I was right; he answered after the first tone.

"Hey, Spence!"

"I can't talk right now," he said quickly, "I'm waiting for Maeve to call."

"Wha- are you serious?" I pouted, even though he couldn't see me.

"Yes, it's very important."

"Alright, alright," I sighed, "I'll see tomorrow."

I couldn't help but feel slightly abandoned, even though I knew Spencer deserved to have someone like Maeve in his life. Everyone seemed to be moving so fast, and I had a hard time keeping up.

I decided I'd just watch the stars by myself, I hadn't been on the roof in a long time. I left the apartment and went up the stairs, a glass of wine in my hand. I wasn't much of a casual drinker, with what happened with my dad I was afraid of making my brain into something it wasn't, something I wasn't. Drinking with the team was different, though, all those worries seemed to go away then. I knew they'd be my anchors should I start to float away.

In every direction there is a star, should I fly into the universe, any way would be the right way. I tilted my head, gazing upward, eyes more open than they could ever be in the fullness of day, not looking at one star, yet somehow seeing them all at once.

I stayed on the roof until the wine tasted warm and addicting, like a summer's day, like the way he used to look at me. Now everything was different. Cold eyes, cold lips, cold words and cold care. You know you are at risk right down to your soul, when all that surrounds you is cold. And I was reminded why I didn't go up on the roof anymore.

***

"Any other attacks?" I asked as I took my seat on the plane.

We were on our way to Kentucky. A man named Darrin Call had a breakdown in a pharmacy, killing three people.

"No, not yet," JJ answered.

Aaron was sitting by the window in one of the four seats, his fingers were brushing against each other as he looked out on the landing strip. I frowned and looked at Emily, who just shrugged.

"Anything?" I asked, trying to get Aaron's attention, hinting that we should probably start the briefing.

He remained unchanged.