Chapter 4
She pulled her jacket sleeve down to cover her bruised wrist. Holding shopping bags she walked up the stairs to her brother's flat. As she reached the door she could smell the heavy scent of gunpowder. Sherlock opened the door as she reached for it. "You went shopping." He observed.
"Well I needed some clothes."
"Where else did you go?" He questioned her as she put the bags away.
"What do you mean? I just went shopping." she said coyly . "What happened to your wrist?" He said grabbing it . "Nothing... I tripped and twisted it." Sherlock didn't acknowledge her statement as he rolled up her sleeve and examined it closer. "Then why were you hiding under a jacket?"
"It was cold outside Sherlock." She winced as he poked at the swollen area.
"Were you with him?"
"I was shopping Sherlock!"
"The bruising says otherwise." She pulled her wrist away from him.
"You're wrong Sherlock, I fell and that was all." She stormed over to the sofa and sat down under her elder brother's death glare. "Sherlock we're needed at Scotland Yard." John declared as he walked into the room and froze as soon as he looked up. "Did something happen?"
"No, I'll be back later, I need you to babysit Elona." Sherlock said as he grabbed his coat and a riding crop.
"I'm not a child!" she snapped.
"Well you act like one!" Sherlock shouted back before slamming the door.
"A riding crop?" she wondered out loud.
"Trust me you don't want to know." John told her as he went to sit next to her "May I take a look?" he motioned to her wrist. Hesitantly she let him take her wrist, his touch was different than James's and her brothers' it was light and soft. She relaxed a little bit. "You don't have to worry I'm a doctor."
"Do you love him?"
"What?"
"James, do you love him?"
"Well I never really thought about it. Maybe?"
"Okay, let me ask you this, do you think he loves you?" Elona bit her lip. Sure he got cross with her a few times and ended up hurting her, but he said he loved her.
"Of course he loves me." She responded. She sounded slightly unsure, even to herself.
"Then why would he hurt you?"
"I don't understand the question."
"Would you ever want to hurt someone you love?"
"Well... no."
"Then by that logic if he loved you he wouldn't hurt you like this."
"No… no... I deserved it. I was egging him on."
"Were you worried about your safety?"
"I guess a little, but -"
"No one deserves abuse. Love doesn't hurt like that." She looked away from John's friendly eyes and choked back tears. "Looks like it only a sprain. Why don't we go get something to eat? There's a great restaurant just down stairs. Elona was lost in her train of thought and didn't hear him. "Elona, are you okay?"
"Huh? Oh! I was just thinking."
"About what?"
"About James."
"What about him?"
"He's so closed off. He never spends time with me and he's always busy doing who knows what. In some ways James is just like Sherlock."
"You don't know what Moriarty does?"
"No."
John swallowed as though nervous."Elona are you hungry?"
"A bit"
"Well, there's this nice Chinese restaurant down the street, and they're really fond of your brother Sherlock."
"John Watson, are you asking me out on a date?" Elona joked. "What would my dear brother say?"
John turned bright red. "Well it's not a date per se."
"I would love to John, but in my current situation I don't think it's wise."
"You're probably right." John sounded a little disappointed "But John we can still have a good time." John took out his phone and sent Sherlock a text.
To: Sherlock
Pick up Chinese on your way home.
John
In those thirty minutes after texting Sherlock, John had opened a bottle of red wine to share with Elona. Elona had laughed more than she had in the past ten years. John's phone started buzzing he had received a text from Sherlock.
To: John
Urgent: John hide Elona .
Lestrade is coming to the flat.
John put down his phone, "Elona come with me."
"Making a move John? I must say that's a bit forward and quick." she giggled. John helped her to her feet, she fell against John in a drunken stupor.
He carried to his room and put her in bed. He was thinking about how to get rid of Lestrade quickly when he heard a knock at the door. He let Lestrade come in . "Good evening Lestrade" John said.
"Hope I'm not interrupting anything ."
"Well actually..."
"Good. I would hate to drop in at a bad time."
"What do you need?"
"We have reason to believe that Sherlock's sister is hiding here."
"That's silly, you think I'd let Sherlock keep a criminal here?" "Then you don't mind me searching the place, now do you?" Lestrade went through the whole flat until he got to John's room. "Don't go in there I have company" Lestrade looked at John.
"What's her name?"
"Alexis"
"I thought you broke up with her last week?"
"OK, so I don't know her name, I just met her."
Lestrade looked at the door and then at John, "John you have a problem." Lestrade opened the door revealing nothing there was no one in his room. Lestrade turned to John. "There's no shame in being lonely." Lestrade turned to leave. "Goodbye you sad little man."
When Lestrade left John began searching for Elona. When Sherlock arrived he simply looked at John and shook his head.
"Sherlock, I can't find your sister." With that Sherlock walked past John and opened the bathroom door and there was Elona sick to her stomach.
"Oh look, I found her." Sherlock said snidely.
About an hour later Elona was feeling better. John was working on his blog and Elona walked over to him.
"Why does your blog mention James, John?" she prodded.
"He... uh... well you see... um" John stammered he seemed to be trying to phrase the sentence just right, so as not to upset Elona or something.
"He was in one of our recent cases." Sherlock stated while looking for where John hid Clue yet again.
"That can't be right." Elona snapped.
"Your boyfriend happens to be one of the worst criminals ever. He enjoys trying to find new ways of torturing my life, and that would be the only reason he is taking interest in you." Those words felt like a slap to the face for Elona.
"You always say such horrid things, you're a...a...a twat!" she screamed as she stormed to Sherlock's room and slammed the door. She could overhear Sherlock speaking.
"John... go talk to her."
"What? Why? You upset her." A confused John asked.
"Because I don't speak to hysterical women." Sherlock spoke like this was plainly obvious. She heard John set his laptop down and stand up. His footsteps came toward Sherlock's bedroom. He stopped and knocked on the door.
"Go away." She called brokenly. John opened the door to see Elona as she buried her face in a pillow.
"I told you to go away, Sherlock." She didn't know why she said that she knew who it really was.
"It's not Sherlock." Elona sat up in the bed and looked at him.
"I don't feel like socializing right now John."
"I came to apologize."
"For what? "
"Because I didn't tell you about him."
"It's not true... what Sherlock said, is it?"
John took a deep breath and looked Elona in the eyes. " I'm not going to lie to you. He is your brother's most terrifying enemy, He knows how to get Sherlock. He is like a spider in a web pulling strings to get what he wants."
Elona looked away from John. She didn't want to admit defeat, but she had to acknowledge when her reasoning was flawed. "I need to think. Please leave John." With that he got up and left.
Elona's phone started buzzing . It was a text:
To: Elona
Your carriage awaits.
J
Elona Got up and grabbed her jacket, walked out the door and down the stair before Sherlock or worse John stopped her.
