Battlecry | Criminal Minds (gxg)

Chapter 4

~Present Day, May, 2010~

It got easier a few weeks after it all happened. I had friends, family, so many people who cared about me. I got through it. I was okay.

At least, I pretended to be.

That day with the pills was a one-time occurrence. I never thought about it again. I wouldn't allow myself to be broken. I forced the pieces back together, not caring if they didn't fit. No one noticed. The only person in my life who would notice was taken away from me. The only other person that would notice, I wouldn't meet until twelve years later, at a police station in Seattle.

Emmy and I dated for a few months. It was casual—I wouldn't allow it to become anything serious. I knew if it did, I would end up hurting her. And I couldn't let that happen.

We parted as friends. Lost touch after high school, I'm not sure where she is now. Last I heard she was living in Massachusetts, but that was years ago.

Not to sound insensitive, but I honestly don't care. I don't want to think about her, or Sam, or any of it.

Not when I'm lying on top of Elle, my head tucked against her shoulder. It's a beautiful day—75 degrees outside, with an easy breeze sneaking through the open windows and rustling the blanket wrapped around us. Her arms are warm around me, her hand rubbing my back beneath the blanket.

I love Saturdays. Sleeping in as late as we want (but not too late, because we have other ways to spend the morning in bed), going out for the afternoon, or cuddling on the couch together.

Her hand leaves my back to turn the page of her book before her fingertips return to my spine. I tilt my head until my lips press to her neck, delicate and sensual. My hand grazes her collarbone as I pepper kisses along her jaw.

Elle shifts again to flip the next page. I sigh, rolling over to glance at the book. "Whatcha reading?" I ask her.

"A book," she says casually, knowing it'll make me smile.

"Any good?" I return my lips to her neck.

"Mhmm..." she hums. She's quiet for a few minutes before she whispers in my ear. "'The aim of love is to love: no more, and no less.'"

"Oscar Wilde?"

She nods against me, brushing her lips over my temple. I prop myself up on my elbow.

"'The curves of your lips rewrite history,'" I breathe. I lean in, kissing her softly. "'The world is changed because you are made of ivory and gold.'"

Her response is a kiss. It says everything words cannot.

────

The punch sends stars across my vision. I stumble but regain my footing, my hands guarding my face. I block the following strike and counter with an elbow. Before I can blink, I'm being attacked once more, punches finding their marks at my ribs.

As she steps inside the pocket I wrap an arm around her waist, the other at her throat. I slam her to the mat and land between her legs. I expect Elle to close her guard, locking her ankles around my back. Instead, her feet lay flat on the floor, her legs bent at the knees and open to give me space.

I pull a leg through so my face hovers over hers. I smirk. "You're supposed to push me off you now."

Her chest rises with heavy breaths, her skin glistening with sweat. But she smiles. "No, you're supposed to hold me down."

I lean closer to her, my lips hovering over hers. "Better watch your tongue, Greenaway. Don't want the FBI knowing you're a bottom."

She rolls her eyes. "We switch. Sometimes."