𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫, 𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘀

𝟎𝟗𝟗

"𝙸𝚗 𝚂𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎"
ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ
𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕟𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥
𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘤𝘩'𝘴 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵

27 MISSED CALLS. Ten from Emily, seven from Jess, four from Penelope, two from Liv, two from Liam, one from Parker, and one from Dr. Stephenson.  All these people trying to reach Noah, yet she still feels isolated.

"Do you need anything?" Hotch asks as he stands in the doorway.  The teen lowers her phone to look up at him.

"I'm okay, thanks," Noah says with a tight-lipped smile.

"They think the team will be back tomorrow," Aaron mentions.

"That's good," Noah somberly nods.  She misses her mother more than anything.

"Try not to have another nightmare tonight?" Hotch suggests.

"What?"

"You were shaking in your sleep last night," The man says, "I know what it's like to go through what you did — I do it every day at work.  It's hard, but you do get through it."

"Isn't that what you applied to do?" Noah questions him.

"But I never expect it to be as scary as it is," Aaron replies honestly, "No one's made to see what you saw or what we see on the job.  No one's perfected the skill of how to move on from those kinds of things.  Even serial killers have breakdowns."

"This is different," Noah states as she peers at her feet sticking out of the duvet.

"But you're not alone."

"Yeah, I know," Noah replies and shows him a smile.  The man would be foolish to fall for it, but he lets it go.

"Goodnight," Aaron mutters.

"Goodnight," Noah says and watches him close the door.  When he does, she lifts her phone and stares at the calls.  She huffs as she shuts her phone, wanting to be alone.  She knows Dr. Stephenson would say she is isolating herself, but she does not care.  All she wants is to be left alone.

—
𝕨𝕖𝕕𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕕𝕒𝕪 𝕒𝕗𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕟𝕠𝕠𝕟
𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱 𝘢𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺

"Has anyone heard from Noah?" Parker asks as he sits down on the bleachers.

"I tried calling her like two times yesterday," Liv replies with a frown.

"Do you think it has something to do about that woman that died?" Ronan inquires.

"What do you think, idiot?" Liv asks as she rolls her eyes at him.

"Did Noah know her?" Tate asks.

"Her mom's boss was the woman's husband," Liv mentions.

Jess stares at her lunch, having no appetite.  She knows Noah knew the woman — and her name was Haley.  She knows Noah spent the night at her house and they talked.  She remembers what Noah told her they talked about.

"I wanna check on her, but I don't wanna overwhelm her," Tate says as he takes a bite of his food.

"We have finals next week," Liv notes, "She'll have to come for those."

"Yeah, Levine doesn't play when it comes to exams," Ronan sighs as he shakes his head.

"I'm sure she'll be okay," Parker says, making Jess furrow her brows.  She decides to keep it to herself and carries on eating her lunch, staring at the empty spot beside her.