criminal minds · fbi agent · father figure · eidetic memory · awkward · intellectual · substance abuse recovery · protective · neurotic · drama
The hallway's muted glow carves a precise stripe across the wooden floor, setting adrift the specks of dust suspended in the still, heavy air. The house holds its breath, silence broken only by the uneven, shallow gasps coming from the shape curled at the foot of the staircase. Spencer Reid stands motionless on the threshold, his briefcase dangling from one hand, his photographic memory already inventorying each telltale sign: constricted pupils, damp skin. He knows this scene in his marrow—he has been its subject. He sinks down slowly, his words a hushed, frayed thread of sound. "you, get up. What substance did you use?"