Sherlock watches a she sleeps deeply on the sofa, he draped a blanket over her and sat adjacent to her, watching her breath in and out. Who was this girl? And why was he so excited by her presence? He couldn't help but wonder, she was seventeen, young. Too young to be out clubbing, he wanted to understand. He needed to understand this girl, there was something about her that he couldn't place his finger on. Not yet but he would figure it out.
The Cheshire smile lurked in the darkness, it was getting closer and closer to me. Out of the darkness came a face, the face that belonged to the smile. He was as pale as she remembered, with light blue eyes. His dark cropped hair messy and his suit loosened in a relaxed way.
"Jules, I know you won't disappoint me" I shook my head frantically "I saved you, gave you something to live for. How are you ever going to repay me for that?" He raised his eyebrows at me and I breathed heavily.
"I...I'll do whatever you want Mr" he raises his hand and I stop quickly not wanting to disappoint him.
"Jimmy, call me jimmy. There's no need to be so formal." The smile on his face widened as he moved towards her "I know you'll do whatever I want, but I want you to want it to."
She nodded "and what do you want?" He asked her.
"You." I reply quickly and watch as he moved towards me, he rests his hand on my shoulders and pushes me down onto the floor.
Juliet wakes screaming, her body damp from sweat. She opens her eyes to unfamiliar surroundings, a darkly decorated room which is dimly lit. The stacks of books on the floor catch her attention as well as a skull on the mantel piece.
Where am I? What happened?
A man clears his throat from the corner of the room, Sherlocks sitting in the chair adjacent to her a book leaning on his knee.
"Miss Adler, how are you feeling now? Better I hope?" He asked sounding sincere.
"Where am I? How did I get here? What happened?" She blurted out.
"This is my home, Miss Adler. I carried you back after your lost consciousness again."
"You carried me?" She asked in disbelief.
"There were no cabs in the area at the time and I thought it was crucial that you received medical attention. We were only 20 minutes away from here and you weigh very little."
She managed a smile "why didn't you just take me to a hospital?"
"You could say that I felt partly responsible for your condition, I needed to make sure that you were ok."
"Needed?" She questioned him, raising her eyebrows.
"I wanted to make sure" he started.
She cut him off, interrupting him "you said needed."
"No I said wanted."
"You defiantly said needed" she said smugly.
"Did I? How peculiar." He said, picking a small notepad up from the table and his g the pen in his pocket scribbled something on the blank page.
"You must defiantly did, care to explain?"
He sighed as it bored "your a puzzle Miss Adler"
"How so?" She asked innocently.
"We'll for a start, your a thief obviously struggling for money but your not homeless, your nails are freshly painted and not chipped so they were done recently. The smell of acetone lingers, so you've had them painted within the last few hours. Your dress is hardly worth a small fortune and is simple but is still too much for a homeless women to afford. Your red shoes are not only daring but are clean which tells me they are brand new and a gift, you hardly ever wear heals, you even hate them. You have a blister patch on your right back heel and winced when you trod down on it."
"Everything your wearing was a gift to you except for your bag which is tatty and well used, the strap has snapped and been sewn together using red thread instead of brown. The bag was given to you by your mother a long time ago, her name is written on the inside label which suggest it was a school bag, a cheap bag like that wouldn't have lasted more than 20 years. Your mother was young when she had you, still in school at the time and she abandoned you, there is a lot of resentment."
"The gold chain around your neck is expensive and the M symbolises a lover, he showers you with gift and want you to remember you are his property. You have plaster on the back of your neck covering a tattoo, more accurately a brand. You belong to someone, but who?" He finished, bring his hand together in a prayer like position and placing them on his lips.
Juliet sat with her mouth open, she was shocked by how accurate his was.
"Wow, that was amazing." She said excitingly, smiling at him.
"You think so?" He asked her surprised by her reactions "that's not what people usually say."
"What do they usually say?" She asked quickly.
"Piss off" she laughed loudly and he chuckled in amusement.
"You were right except for a few things." She said after a moment.
"Enlighten me" Sherlock murmured, moving his hands onto his lap and smiling at her in a friendly way.
"My mother didn't abandon me, she died giving birth to me." She articulated, he looked down.
"I'm sorry" he said sympathetically.
"And my necklace" she brought her hand up to it "it was a gift but not from a lover, he's my...employer, you could say."
"An employer who buys gifts" Sherlock voiced, more thinking allowed then questioning her.
"You could say he has a certain fondness of me."
"You sleep with him." Sherlock said bluntly.
"I do whatever I can to repay him for the kindness he has shown me in life." She said robotically, shielding the emotion from her face.
Sherlock laughed "is that what you tell yourself? Does that make it seem any less like rape?"
"You have no idea." She screamed jumping up from the sofa and standing in front of him. "He found me when I was 14 and for three years he has trained me to steal and break hearts. He climbs in my bed so I can repay him for his kindness towards me. Yesterday he branded me with a new name, a name he chose for me like he does for everyone he employs." She reached up and ripped the plaster from the back of her neck, she didn't grimace at the pain. She turned and dropped to her knees giving Sherlock the best view possible of the tattoo. He studied the swirly black lines which had begun to scab over.
"The woman" he read out, bringing his hand to the ink and gently tracing the words. She shivered at the contact, goosebumps rising over her skin.
"The woman" she repeated "he's not like anyone you've met, he's not like any drug lord or petty criminal. He's a consulting criminal. I can never be free, I can never leave him, he's training me for other things, for bigger things."
Sherlocks hand was still resting softly against her neck, she wanted to protest but his touch a warm and reassuring.
"What things?" He asked softly.
"He'll kill me" she said quickly, "he has killed for less."
"I won't let him. I won't let him touch you ever again."
She bowed her head, a tear running down her cheek "Sherlock, don't make promises you can't keep."
"What makes you think I can't keep my promise?" He said softly, his breath lingering at the back of her neck.
"He'll find me." She managed.
"Not when your with me." He breathed.
