"Don't you dare try to come up with an excuse for what you put us through. Do you know how much we suffered?" John screamed at Sherlock.
"I know and I'm really really sorry. I'm not trying to come up with an excuse either because I know what I did was wrong. I should've told you at the start." Sherlock knew that he had given John more nightmares and he knew that he wouldn't be able to make John forgive him yet. John felt tears roll down his cheeks as the reality of what actually happened set in.
"Get out. I don't want you in my home." John turned away from him. Sherlock nodded his head and exited the bedroom. Louise looked up from the telly and watched Sherlock grab his coat.
"Where are you going?" Louise asked him worriedly. Sherlock smiled reassuringly.
"Just to the flat upstairs. Your dad doesn't want me here right now," Sherlock paused as a tear rolled down his cheek. "And I assume you don't want me here either." With that Sherlock left the flat. Louise was stunned. Her normally emotionless father was crying.
Louise couldn't get the image of her father crying out of her head the entire night. She had been debating whether to go check on him when there was a loud thud from upstairs.
"Dad, I'm going to go upstairs. I'll be back soon!" Louise didn't wait for a reply before running out of the flat. She bolted up the stairs and rushed into the normally empty flat. The sight that lay before her took her breath away. Sherlock was shaking violently on the ground, sobbing. Louise quickly moved to his side and grabbed his arm to pull him into a sitting position. Sherlock continued to shake as he looked into his lap instead of into Louise's eyes. "Daddy," Louise spoke softly. "Where does it hurt?" Sherlock looked at Louise in shock. "I know what you did. You're not the only person who can use the art of deduction." Sherlock tried to smile but winced in pain. Louise frowned and asked him again. Sherlock pointed to his back in silence. Louise nodded and slowly lifted his shirt. Deep cuts covered Sherlock's back and some were open and bleeding. "Dad you have to go to the hospital," Louise gasped. Sherlock shook his head vigorously. Louise frowned but knew there was no convincing him. "Then come downstairs with me and I'll get dad to help." Sherlock nodded slowly and accepted Louise's help to stand. Sherlock used Louise as a crutch as they walked downstairs. "Dad! We need your medical expertise." Louise shouted into the flat as the two entered. John quickly came out of his room to see an extremely pale Sherlock and Louise struggling to support him.
"Jesus Sherlock, what the hell happened?" John asked as he helped Sherlock sit down.
"Not...yet." Sherlock struggled to get out. John frowned but didn't pry anymore.
"It's his back." Louise told John before he asked. John nodded and took Sherlock's shirt off. The wounds obviously stunned the doctor.
"Sherlock, these are whip wounds." John struggled to get the words out. He couldn't imagine his true love getting whipped. Tears streamed from Sherlock's cheeks as John realized that Sherlock went through a lot of pain during those two years as well. John did his best to clean and bandage the wounds and kissed Sherlock on the cheek. "I understand if you don't want to talk about this, love." John whispered in his ear. Sherlock looked into John's eyes and slowly nodded.
"Dad can sleep here right?" Louise asked John. John looked at Louise and nodded his head.
"He can if he-" John was interrupted by Sherlock.
"No...I can't...not now." Sherlock refused. Louise and John were both stunned. They didn't understand why Sherlock didn't want to stay in 221B yet.
"But, why not?" Louise asked her father. Sherlock's eyes flashed with anger.
"Isn't it obvious? You have to see, not look!" Sherlock shouted. John immediately shouted back.
"Don't you dare yell at her. You don't have that right," John paused. "And if you're going to act this way towards us I don't even want you here. Go be with your brother and Greg." Sherlock didn't know why he had snapped like that. He looked at Louise to see her staring at him as if she were reading him. She made no objection to her father leaving so he shakily stood and got up to leave.
Once Sherlock was outside he looked at the nearest security camera and smirked. He pulled out his phone and texted Mycroft.
Pick me up. I'm staying with you.
SH