New but maybe not so New

Chapter 17 |✔

After Morgan and Hotch arrived at the car rental where Cheryl was going to drop off the money, I went up to the bathroom and washed my face with cold water.
I was tired and I had a terrible headache.

I looked at myself in the mirror, brushing some pieces of hair behind my ear as I jumped, caused by the knock on the door. "Genna? Are you alright?"

I smiled at Spencer's cautious tone and opened the door, tilting my head to look up at him.

"Sure. Let's get back down, shall we?"
I was about to start heading toward the stairs when Spencer's hand grabbed my arm and pulled me backwards.
"Actually, I wanted to ask you something."

He seemed slightly embarrassed as he brushed his hair behind his ears and looked at his iconic converse, scratching the back of his head.

"Go ahead."

"Yeah, well ehm-."
He cleared his throat, blinking a few times. "I-Is there something g-going on between you and D-Derek?"

I could see that his cheeks started to turn red and I furrowed my eyebrows, smiling, before tilting my body so I was in his view. "Hey, Spicy."
I grabbed his chin softly, pulling it up so we were both standing straight, our eyes locked together.
"Derek and me? Bloody hell! No way!"

I laughed and he pressed his lips to a thin line, shrugging.
"I just assumed because of the nicknames."

"We all give each other nicknames, Spicy." I pronounced my nickname for him particularly and added;
"Besides, D means Dumbass and I'm sure if you like someone, you aren't calling him Dumbass."

We both chuckled as I bit my lip, feeling my heartbeat raising its speed. It was so easy being around him. I could be myself and I didn't feel any pressure on me.
I felt like we knew each other since forever and that I could talk to him about anything. I trusted him so much, which was unlikely for me since normally, it was hard earning my trust.
"We should repeat it."

He furrowed his brows as he blinked a few times. "What do you mean?"

I smiled, shaking my head. "Our double date with Simba and Nala. I should bring them here, by the way."
My heart sank as I thought about my pets, missing them a lot.

"You can't just bring them with you. They are real human beings, Genna. Maybe we could ask them but I'm pretty certain that those actors won't come."

I snorted, remembering that I haven't even told him about my two loves.
"Spencer, I'm not talking about the actors. I'm talking about my dog Nala and my cat Simba. I left them back in Las Vegas."

His eyes widened and a huge smile formed on his lips. "You have a dog and a cat? How do they look like? What breed are they?"

"Nala is a grey and white huskey and Simba is a reddish striped mixture of something. My sister got him out of the animal shelter and then I decided to get a pet myself. She insisted on me naming my dog with a name that suited her cat's so since it was her favorite movie, she named him Simba and her Nala."

"That's really sweet."

I smiled, appreciating his interest as I heard the front door opening, Derek's dark voice cutting through my ears.
"Cheryl's all right."

Spencer and I looked at each other before hurrying down the steps where another call from the UnSub came in. Spencer put on the headphones again and we all got ready as Derek pushed the button.

"That was fun, wasn't it? A little running around, getting our pulses racing?
        Are you there Cheryl?"

Derek held up a hand in front of the blonde and shook his head, signalling her, not to answer him.
"Are you there? Tell me you didn't feel a slight tingle, a thrill run up your spine? Huh? But those clever and cunning FBI agents deduced my little plan just in time. They figured it out. If they hadn't, I would have had you both. The whole set. The matching pair."

I furrowed my eybrows and looked at what Spencer had noted, noticing that we had thought the same thing. He was a collector, he wanted a matching pair.
He wanted them both.

"Why are you doing this?" Cheryl asked, despite of Morgan's order not to.

"Because you asked me to, Cheryl. You asked me with your glances. The way you talk, those little gestures."

My eyes widened as I shook my head while Derek pressed the Mute button as fast as he could.

"What are you doing?"

"Do not answer this man."

The UnSub continued. "You asked for this. You asked for it, Cheryl."

Cheryl slapped away Morgan's hand and unmuted the call, making me almost shout her name, but I held it in.
"What do you want?"

"What do I want? You! It may not be today, it may not be tomorrow, but I promise you, we will be together."
He hung up and Cheryl just kept staring at the phone, unsure of how to react.
Despite everything, I could understand her. I would have done the same thing.

Quickly, I walked up to her and grabbed her arm, leading her to the kitchen and away from all the other people she was surrounded for the last 24 hours.
"W-What are you doing? I-I have to I have to talk to him I have to be there. I have to-."

I sat her down on one of the kitchen chairs, lying my hands on her shoulders and looking her deep in the eyes.
"You have to calm down and get your head off the things he just said. He is sick and there's no way you can make yourself responsible for this."

Her eyes started to get watery as her lips wavered. "But-But he said I wanted this. I asked his with my gestures and glances but I did nothing. I-."

I shh-ed her, stroking her arms in a calming manner, getting her to breath slowly with me. "Cheryl, this man is ill. And not just sick as in a bloody bastard but sick as in the De Clerambault syndrome or erotomania. This guy truly believes that you and Trish are in love with him.
The Erotomanics believe that the objects of their affection, in this case you and your sister, are subtly professing their love for them through gestures, looks and glances. It's an illness and there's nothing you could have done different to prevent this. None of this is your fault.
    Do you understand?"

She nodded slightly, not looking me in the eyes. I grabbed her chin, as I'd done before with Spencer, and our eyes met. I gave her a reassuring and calm smile.
"Do you understand?"

"Yes. I understand."

I nodded, grabbing a glass of water and handing it to her. "Good, because for the next step, you have to trust us." 

~●~

I swear, I love Genna so much! She isn't even a real profiler but she's already so good at what she's doing! She's just a natural pro!

You like the friendship of her and Penelope or of her and Hotch more?

Love u and please leave a comment and vote, maybe even share this story with your fellow cm lovers!❤❤❤❤