Roses (Spencer Reid/Criminal Minds Fan Fiction)

Prologue

Angela's POV

For the past three hours, I was glued to my usual chair in my mom and dad's coffee shop in downtown Quantico, Virginia. I was propped up, with my elbows bent, and my chin in my left hand. I held my pen in my right hand and studied my papers. I sat at the end of the long table where my mother took orders and conversed with her customers.

She always had a sweet, friendly smile and would cheerfully laugh with her customers . Then, there was my dad who was trying to get all of the customers coffee as soon as possible, as he knew business mornings could be hectic. Next to me, there was a line of chairs that wrapped around one side of the table. It was a similar layout to a bar.

My mom and dad bought this coffee shop after they retired a few years ago. They wanted to get out of the cold state of Massachusetts and move to a place that was slightly warmer. My dad used to be a chemist, and my mom, a teacher. They were known to be friendly people back at home. Everyone in Virginia loved visiting the shop to catch up with my mom and dad. It was very home-like in that sense.

I hadn't been in the shop for a while because of college. My parents and I moved down here when I was seventeen years old, and they opened the shop when I turned eighteen. I helped out at the shop, but I only stayed a few months after that. I got a scholarship into college back home in Massachusetts. After that, I left Virginia to go to Harvard Law School, where I planned to study to become a lawyer.

That was almost four years ago. Now, a senior in college, I was off on spring break. Unlike my friends, I wasn't determined to party, relax or go to the beach. I was more determined to prepare for the Bar Exam, which would impact my future career. I came back down to Virginia to visit since I hadn't seen my parents in a while.

I liked the coffee shop. It was quiet and a great place to study. Still in thought, I read my sample Bar Exam. It was a question on two girls, about breaking into a store and trashing the place, as well as stealing some items. The girls got a ride home from a friend who knew what they had done. However, they were caught by the police before they could make it home. The question was, "What would the girls and the boy be charged for?"

I studied the question. I wrote as much as I could down. I wanted to make sure that I had everything, yet I felt like I was missing something. My eyebrow furrowed, and I bit my lip. My thoughts were slightly skewed when a man sat down next to me.

"What can I get you, darling?" My mom asked the gentleman.

"May I have a black coffee with five sugars, please?" He said with a crooked smile.

"Sure thing, hon."

     Five sugars? I glanced up at him from my papers and checked to see who had sat down next to me. He looked young, just about a year or two older than me at most. He had long, straight, light brown hair that went to the base of his neck. He had a striped shirt and khaki pants. Across his body was a tan satchel. By his looks and his coffee order, he seemed to be some sort of office worker who had been pulling in rough nights.

While my dad made the man his coffee, I went back to concentrating on my sample exam.

As I worked on my papers, I could sense the man looking in my direction. I ignored it though, he was probably just wandering his eyes around. Just when I thought he looked away, he spoke up.

"E-excuse me. Um.. Do you, by any chance happen to be a lawyer?"

"I'm studying to be one, and I have my Bar Exam in a few months," I gave a light smile. "How'd you know?" I asked with interest.

"You, uh, seemed really concentrated while you read those papers." He pointed to the papers in my hand and smiled back.
"I couldn't help but notice." He nervously chuckled. "Um, may I?" He held his hand open and eyed the papers.

I handed him the papers and he read each page within a few seconds. Although I was amazed, I kept to myself. My mother handed him his drink as he read.

"On this last one, you got all of them down except for one. The girls would also be charged with larceny as well because they took money from the register by trespass, with the intent to permanently deprive the rightful owner of that property." He quickly said.

He handed back the papers as he looked back up.

"Thanks- Sorry, I didn't catch your name." I paused, waiting for his response.

"Oh, I'm sorry for not introducing myself, I'm-" He was cut off by the ring of his phone.

"Excuse me." He said as he went to his phone.
"I'm sorry but I have to leave right now, it's an emergency." He said as he tucked his phone into his pocket.

And with that, he quickly gathered his items and slid out the door. "Good luck with your papers and your exam." He called out.

"What an odd ball, that one." My mom said with a light laugh.

As my lips formed into a smile, I nodded my head. "He sure is."

I turned back to my sample test and wrote down, 'larceny.' At that moment, I didn't know what it was. But oddly enough, as I looked at the word, I felt more complete. It wasn't because I found the missing word. Something else just filled me up.

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Hope you guys liked the prologue! It's not the best, but I'll make sure to revise it as much as possible. Your feedback is appreciated. I'll try to update every Saturday. Thanks for reading!