𝓼𝓪𝓯𝓮 ➣ 𝓼. 𝓻𝓮𝓲𝓭

𝓮𝓵𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓷

Finally, Hotch sent everyone to bed, bunking in the guest lodge room. Mara couldn't help but feel creeped out. But right now, she was so tired she didn't care if the ghost was murderous.

She collapsed face first onto the bunk and let out loud sigh. She heard someone settle on the bunk above her, leaning over to look at her. "Tired?"

Of course it was Reid. She let out a chuckle and turned around to meet his eyes. "Very."

"You know, you need at least eight hours of sleep-"

"Yes, I know."

Reid wasn't used to being cut off by her. Before, she could sit there and listen to him for hours but now, it was like she couldn't stand to hear him talking for more than two sentences. Reid frowned and retreated to the top bunk. Mara noticed.

"I'm sorry, Reid, I'm just really tired."

"It's okay, I understand my rambling can be annoying."

"No, no, sometimes you tell me stuff I already know and I can't help but make the point I already know it."

"Oh.." he replied. "Sorry."

Mara didn't even change her clothes when she settled into bed. She heard weird movement all throughout the small warehouse, her mind going crazy as to what it could be.

"Reid.."

She waited for a response. Reid hummed, letting her know he was still awake.

"I'm scared."

He shifted, laying on his stomach and moving a hand through the rails and to the bottom bunk. Luckily, the bunks were small enough that Mara didn't have to reach up all the way to take his hand.

She took his hand and instantly she felt safe. She was tired, it was her perfect excuse in letting her guard down. She let out a sigh and closed her eyes, focusing on the feeling of his thumb brushing over her hand.

With that, the two fell asleep.

The next morning, the two were in the same position, soft snores falling from both their lips. Garcia grinned, snapping a picture with her phone.

She woke the two up, letting them change into their work clothes and waiting for them in the library. Reid groaned at how sore his shoulder was from pressing against the hard railing all night.

He pressed his fingers into the tense muscles but ultimately, he couldn't do it himself. They both turned around when they changed and Mara could hear his groaning, she'd noticed how his face scrunched up when he got down from the top bunk.

Once she was finished getting ready, she spun around, catching Reid without a shirt on. Her breath caught in her throat before she quickly cleared it. She'd seen Morgan shirtless before, there was nothing weird about seeing her colleagues without their shirts, right?

"Want me?" Mara asked, gesturing to his pained shoulder.

"Oh, no, I'm okay." He said, quickly pulling on a shirt and moving out of the room.

Mara furrowed her eyebrows to his response but followed him out anyways. They recapped on the info that they did know: Bailey's suicide was the trigger for all these classmates to commit suicide, Bailey was bullied by the older boys, Josh took Bailey under his wing and when he found out he committed suicide, he started in his mission to get revenge on everyone who hurt him. At least that's what they thought.

When JJ requested to speak to Josh's father, that's when things took a turn. They found his body in the woods, bedsheets like the ones that were used to hang the boys were in his bag. Josh lured him into the forest and killed him. But why?

"He killed those boys." Mara said, looking at the body.

"How can you be sure?"

"He blamed them for bullying his son and Josh escaped," Mara said. "Josh wasn't supposed to be out here in the first place."

She stepped to the side, trying to get a better angle of the body, to find any other injuries but her foot slipped and she started descending into another trap that Josh had made to protect himself.

Morgan quickly moved forward and grabbed Mara's flailing arms, preventing her from being impaled by the wooden stakes in the ground below her. He pulled her back up as she let out a loud sigh. "Lord have mercy."

Mara left the scene, Morgan convincing her that it was better for her to be helping Garcia and Reid than falling into more booby traps. Mara couldn't help but wonder when her bring the field became a liability.

When she got back to the school, Garcia and Reid were running through possibilities of what happened. When Mara passed Massey's office, he was on a phone. A cell phone.

"I just saw Massey on the phone," she said, the pair raising their eyebrows. "A cell phone."

"One of the boys had a cell phone with him on the trip."

Mara shook her head. "That's against the rules."

"So is the school having one, but they do." Garcia said.

"You know, a man like Massey sets rules, but is the first to break them," Reid said, reaching behind him and pressing fingers into his shoulder. "He's been left alone to run these kids' lives and nobody questions him."

"Man, that sounds so sad and scary when you put it like that." Garcia cringed.

Mara nodded. "His policies are a combination of many other philosophies. I'm not sure where his actual leadership lies."

"Only that it does lie, that is." Garcia joked as Mara let out a laugh, Reid confused.

"It's a joke." Garcia rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Oh..." he said, once again trying to massage his shoulder. "Good joke."

Mara stood and moved over behind him, swatting at his hand and pressing her thumb right into his shoulder blade. He immediately let out a loud groan, catching Garcia's attention.

"Please don't ever make that sound again," Garcia cringed. "I'm going to go stab my eardrums."

Mara laughed as her fingers worked at his shoulder, Reid letting out small moans and whimpers. Mara directed her thoughts to somewhere other than the gutter, stopping once his muscles weren't as tense.

Reid suddenly sat up straight and cleared his throat, mumbling a thanks. Mara watched him grab a file and cover his crotch with it, a laugh tickling her throat as Garcia's face scrunched up in disgust.