February Night

Chapter 55

Spencer and the team were gone for one day now and Spencer had told Lucy that they might already be back within the next day. They were close to catch the unsub. Lucy was glad; she missed him although he wasn't away for long yet. He had been out on a case for much longer. But autumn had started some time ago and as much as she loved the sunny, colorful days, as much she hated the rainy, cloudy and foggy ones. Today was one of those days and she'd rather buried her head back into the pillows than getting up and walk to her bookstore. Well, she was a bit late anyway and was sure that Phoebe was already there and had opened it for her.

Lucy had almost reached the bookstore when she suddenly heard someone scream. She spun around and concentrated to the noises to find out where it came from. Then she started to run. It was a woman, Lucy was sure now. And it sounded as if she was in danger and needed help. Without even thinking about what she was actually doing, Lucy stepped into one of the side streets and there she could see the scenery: a young woman tried to escape the grip of a greasy looking guy. He was holding one of her wrists and one arm was wrapped around her body. She looked desperate. As desperate as Lucy had felt months ago back in NYC. She clenched her fists for a moment and tried to ignore her racing heart, then she walked towards the guy, shouting at him to leave the woman alone.

He looked up, directly in Lucy's eyes and just grinned. "Oh, you think I'm afraid of you? Fuck off", he scoffed. Lucy couldn't help but smile a little. She wasn't as helpless as she'd been back then. She knew self-defense and how to use it. She wasn't afraid anymore in that moment. Instead, she stepped forward, grabbed the guy's shoulder and pushed him back. His eyes widened slightly; he hadn't expected that Lucy would do something to help that woman she didn't even know.

But Lucy didn't want any other woman to have to experience what she had to. This guy, though, didn't seem to give up so quickly. Lucy felt his hand slamming against her face, faster than she had been able to make another move, and then she fell. The woman screamed again, but then she took her chance and ran away. Great. Now, Lucy was alone with this man and she could feel blood running down her temple. With a slightly shaking hand she touched her head. She must have fallen on the edge of a stone or something. Her head felt like it would explode any minute and a feeling of dizziness slowly started. But she tried to ignore it and got up again. "You better go or I'll call the police", she murmured and looked at the dark-haired man which must have been around forty years old, Lucy now realized. She had her phone in her hands and was ready to dial 911. The man's eyes wandered from her face to the phone and then back again. Without another word, he turned around and hurried away. Too afraid, that Lucy could press the button and the police would be here within a few minutes.

Panting, Lucy leaned against the house wall behind her. She had to take some deep breaths to calm herself down. She had helped that woman. She had been brave enough to stand up against a potential rapist. Although she was hurt right now, she was proud of herself. She had fought her own fear to help someone else. The dull pain in her head reminded Lucy, that she had a quite large wound and needed some treatment. She managed to make her way to the hospital all by herself and when she was waiting at the reception to have a doctor looking at her, Lucy called Phoebe to tell her that she wouldn't show up at the bookstore today. The headaches were getting stronger and stronger every minute and she couldn't imagine to be somewhere else than in her bed right now. Phoebe sounded worried when she asked if everything was alright. Lucy assured her that nothing bad happened and then hung up because it was finally her turn.

The doctor sewed her wound and told her to take some rest for at least two days. Lucy got some painkillers and was released forty-five minutes after she'd gotten her treatment. "If you start to feel dizzy again or even have to throw up, return immediately. It could be a concussion", the doctor warned her as they shook hands.

Lucy nodded. "I will."

~

A knock on her door made Lucy wince. She'd been asleep in her bed to get rid of her headaches. When she slowly sat up, she groaned. Alright, those headaches were still there. But at least she didn't feel dizzy anymore.

Lucy went to open the door and was surprised to see Spencer and Luke standing there. "Oh god, what happened?!", Luke exclaimed as soon as he'd spotted the plaster on her head. She slightly touched it; she'd almost forgotten, that her headaches were kind of visible.

"Oh, uhm...", she murmured and frowned because a new wave of pain rushed through her head. Spencer and Luke both came in and while Luke closed the door, Spencer grabbed Lucy's arm and brought her to the couch.

"What happened?", Luke repeated his question. Both men looked worried and confused.

"I...helped a woman", Lucy eventually murmured as she laid down again.

"You helped a woman? And you got injured like this?", Luke continued throwing his questions at Lucy. His sister rolled her eyes – and regretted it almost immediately. A sharp pain ran through her head.

"Yeah, I did", she sighed. "There was a guy about to rape or hurt her otherwise."

"And you did...you...what the hell did you do?", Spencer asked. He was clearly torn between being proud of her and being angry.

"I pushed him away. He then hustled me down and I fell on a stone or something. That's what the wound is from. I then threatened with calling the police and he escaped. The woman too. And I...I went to the hospital", Lucy explained and pointed at her head.

"Why the hell did you just run into danger? After you know what could happen?" Luke exclaimed. He obviously was angry.

"You could have gotten seriously injured!", Spencer took his side. Now, Lucy couldn't help but getting angry as well. She sat up again and tried to ignore her headache.

"Why you're coming at me for that right now?", she asked furiously. "I helped because I know what can happen if there's no one there to help!" She took some deep breaths and Spencer and Luke were both about to say something. But Lucy already continued. "And by the way, how do you have the right to tell me I did the wrong thing in bringing me into danger when you two", Lucy first pointed at Spencer and then at Luke, "are put yourselves into danger the moment you leave the house to go on a case? That's literally every goddamn day! Do you even know that whenever you leave I wonder if I'll see you again? Do you know I hope every day that you both come back healthy from every case? That it's hard for me to wrap my thoughts around something else than the fact that you might get injured or even killed during a case? No, of course not!" Now Lucy almost laughed while saying those last words.

She took deep breaths while Spencer and Luke both looked sheepishly at her. They knew she had a point. Luke nodded and gently hugged Lucy while Spencer just got up and went to get something to drink. Frowning, Lucy watched him go. "What's...the matter with him?", she asked. But her brother just shrugged.

"I guess that's something you'll have to ask him." He kissed her cheek and then got up. "Get some more sleep, dear. And if you're feeling worse, let me or Spencer know!" Lucy promised and after saying goodbye to Spencer too, Luke was gone.

"Spence? What's the matter?" Lucy went to the kitchen, where Spencer was leaning against the fridge, drinking a glass of coke. He put it down when Lucy came in.

"Everything's alright", he murmured and gave her a smile. But it was a forced one, Lucy could see it. She opened her mouth to say something, but then she changed her mind. Spencer would talk to her if he wanted to. She kissed him. "Get some more rest, okay?", he said gently stroking her cheek. Lucy nodded.

"Alright. Will you join me? You look tired."

"Yeah, I'll be right there", he said and then finished her coke. Lucy went back to the bedroom and snuggled into her bed again. Her head was about to explode and after taking another painkiller, she hoped it would finally go away soon. The thought about what exactly was bothering Spencer came up again, but she could push it into the back of her head for now. She'd ask him again after waking up.