She really should have seen this coming, the being gone for days, only sticking around for small portions at a time, the sudden affection; it was all part of the cycle.
Clint Watson worked as a manager of a power company, the same power company the Watsons' got their power from.
Mrs. Watson knew all about the cycle of an abuser; as soon as she began to suspect Clint of one she quickly looked up as much as she could. So when she saw the signs of a new cycle starting it really shouldn't have surprised her.
But none the less, it did every time.
It hadn't been that long ago since their oil tank was refilled, and with Clint being gone every few days they should have had more oil left.
But it all began to make sense.
On the days Clint was home; the house was warm with heat, they had plenty of hot water, and all the lights worked fine.
But on the days when Clint would disappear the heating system would suddenly stop working, IF they had water it was cold, and for some reason their fuse box would suddenly go out.
Penelope understood the message Clint was sending loud and clear. He was afraid that she would leave, or perhaps go to the police. But he was making it clear that they would not survive without him
So when she went to the store to buy food it shouldn't have surprised her to find their bank account was frozen.
But nevertheless, it did.
All the children at the school were out of their seats and standing by the windows watching. Despite the teachers protest, they had their small faces pressed up against the windows which made their breath fog up the glass.
It was the first snow of the year.
But even with all the excitement there was still a little worry among the children. Because of the sudden snow there was talk of outside recess being moved inside.
This was not acceptable in the very least.
Both Cathy and John were among the children looking at the windows. John had asked Sherlock to join them, but he declined saying that there were too many idiots over there and that they might lower his IQ. After saying that, John grew confused and asked him what an IQ was. Once Sherlock explained when an IQ was John playfully smacked him and told him to stop being a poshy pants.
"Whoa...Oo Oo! Look at that one, John! It's huge!" Cathy said as she pointed to a snowflake.
"Yeah! And that one! It's a bunch of snowflakes clumped together!"
"I wish they'd let us outside..." Cathy said in her hushed voice.
"Yeah, but a lot of the parents didn't know it was going to snow, so some of the kids aren't dressed for it. Mr. Matthews said it wasn't fair to let only some of the kids outside while the others had to stay inside."
"Alright everyone, back to your seats!" Mr. Matthews called out as he began grabbing some papers from his desk. "Clay, Peterson, that means you two as well! I hope everyone made sure to bring their homework! As you can see everyone, it's snowing out, so unfortunately we won't be having our usual playtime outside. Instead, we've been asked by the 4th grade class to help them out with their class pet! Today the class went out to a museum and need someone to help take care of Freddy their pet hamster!"
Little voices of excitement soon filled the room. Ever since Ethan Green's older brother told him about their class pet Ethan and few other students had been begging for a class pet of their own.
"Annnnnnnd," Mr. Matthews stretched out to get their attention back, "IF, and this is a very big if, you all are able to handle taking care of Freddy, Principal Morse agreed to let us get our own!"
"You can't be serious!" Mycroft said with his eyes wide, it seemed his mother had missed the whole the point of them having this conversation.
"Mycroft, please do try and understand. With my business blooming, I'm going to have to move my office from working at home to an actual office building. And since Esteban has a stable job that makes a good amount of money, I don't need to be working a second job anymore. I'm selling my newspaper company to a friend of mine."
"You don't get it! The whole reason you wanted to start working from home is so you could spend more time with us! Between Mr. Ricardo and your work, both now in an office and your trips around the world, how much time do you think you're going to have to spend on your own?"
Mrs. Holmes sighed, "I know Mycroft, I really do, and that's why I'm hiring a nanny. With you going off to University someone is going to need to be here for Sherlock. Esteban said he'd try and be here as much as he can, but both his family and work are out of the country. If this is going to work, we all need to make some compromises."
Mycroft groaned, "Yes, I get that, but it seems like everyone is making them except for you! Every decision you've made so far has been selfish and only for your gain! Mrs. Watson had to call me up because Sherlock went to them to be comforted! That should have been us he went to! And now you're hiring someone to take care of Sherlock because you won't even try to?! You're no better than father!"
"Don't you dare compare me to him, Mycroft! I'm actually trying to make this work! I don't expect you to understand. Whether you like it or not, you're still a child Mycroft. I didn't want to hire her so soon, but since you decided to take that tour of the University-"
"Don't try and change the subject, Mother! This is not about me, this is about you! Sherlock knows, and has taken it very well, that I have to leave for University. But what you cannot expect him to understand is why his mother keeps running away from him because she doesn't know what to do with him!"
"Mycroft Holmes, you watch your tongue! You are forgetting that I lived with your Pépé; he too had your talents of deducing. I knew how to get along with him, I know how to get along with you, and I can certainly get along with Sherlock!"
"But that's just it isn't it? Sherlock is different, it's why you've always either coddled him or been completely indifferent towards him!"
"You have no idea what you're talking about, Mycroft!" Mrs. Holmes said as she stood abruptly.
"No! I know exactly what I'm talking about! Both Pépé and I understand things better than Sherlock; we process them in our heads and think about what we say and how it will affect others! We understand emotions and how they make people work! Sherlock doesn't, he's been alone so long that he doesn't understand emotions! And now that you've noticed that you don't know what to do-"
"Stop this now Mycroft!"
"-But you see, that's where you're wrong! You think Sherlock has grown indifferent towards emotions, but you're wrong! Sherlock might not understand emotions, but he understands that he needs them! And if you don't help, Mother, he'll find someone else who will, and when he does he won't return to you! You're pushing him away, and soon he'll be so far away that you won't be able to reach him!"
"I SAID STOP THIS!" Mrs. Holmes yelled as she smacked her son's face, "This matter is no longer your concern, do you understand?"
"...Yes Ma'am..." Mycroft said, but dared not look at his mother.
"Good, now go leave me. The new nanny will be here by next month; I need to finish up making arrangements."
As Mycroft left he did not look back at his mother, nor did Mrs. Holmes look towards her son as he left.
