Spencer Reid stood in the dimly lit bookstore, his fingers brushing the spines of books as though trying to anchor himself to something solid. The familiar smell of ink and paper comforted him, but his mind was somewhere else. Somewhere he didn’t want it to be.

It had been years since he'd seen her—since they were nothing more than fleeting moments and unspoken promises. Back then, they were everything to each other, even if neither of them could say it out loud. They had created their own world, a place where they could pretend to be something more than just two people passing through each other's lives. In their heads, they were married. It was a quiet, unacknowledged thing, but it was real enough for Spencer. At least it felt real back then.

And now, standing across the room, there she was. Her presence pulled at him like a magnetic force, making his heart stumble. She hadn't changed much, still carrying that same easy smile that had once made him feel like he could conquer anything, even the weight of his own thoughts.

Her eyes met his. She paused, then took a hesitant step toward him. The years melted away in an instant, but the pain of unspoken words lingered in the air between them.

"Spencer," she said softly, as if testing the sound of his name on her lips, unsure if it still had a place in her life.

He opened his mouth, but the words caught in his throat. He wanted to ask why she'd left, why they’d let the silence grow so heavy, but he couldn’t. The answer was already there, buried in the past, in the places they'd never let themselves go.

He stepped closer. "You never said goodbye," he whispered.

She blinked, the weight of the past too much to ignore, and for a moment, they both stood in the space where their old love used to be.