We spend the next few hours of the night in the flat, throwing back and forth a few deductions.
"Okay, now do me," I state, stoically standing in front of the fireplace for my turn. He walks around me slowly, barely glancing at me.
"Abusive relationship," he says, stopping in front of me.
"What?" I ask, my body going cold.
"This morning, you implied you were abused as a child, possibly with a riding crop. If you would have that childhood, you'd want any evidence pertaining to the subject to disappear," he states, making a hand movement as he almost copies what I said earlier. I harden my gaze as he finishes. "Well, how'd I do?"
"You did a lot of guessing."
"I never guess."
"I've never been abused in my life," I lie easily. "I simply had a bad experience, and a riding crop happened to be involved."
"But-"
"My turn." He slowly takes my place, lifting his head. I circle around him a few times, catching things I hadn't seen before. Bags under the eyes, also bloodshot. Slightly tippy, so he hasn't rested in a while. I watch as he rolls up his sleeves, well past his usual elbow length. Small scar at the crease, wait...
"Are you using drugs?" I ask worriedly, looking up at him. He notices his sleeve and pulls it down, looking up again.
"Not anymore," he states, in a tone that tells me to drop it. "Anything else?"
"Yes. You haven't slept in three days, and the last thing you ate that was close to a proper meal was the biscuits we had with tea two days ago."
"Excellent, my turn?"
"Let's be done for tonight, we need to get some sleep. You need to get some sleep."
"But the case!" He exclaims, plopping into his chair.
"Forget the case, your health is more important! You haven't slept in days, you haven't eaten properly in longer! So go into your room and go. To. Bed!" I tell him, as he looks up at me for a moment.
"Since when have you been so persistent?"
"Since I moved in," I say with a smirk. He stands up again, silently staring at me.
"Goodnight Jane," he states, heading to his room.
"Goodnight Sherlock!" I call as he closes his door. My phone vibrates in my pocket immediately after, so I pull it out to answer, not bothering to check the caller ID. "Hello?"
"Hii!" I hear my brother from the other side.
"Yes, Jim?" I ask in a hushed tone.
"Just calling to congratulate you on your abrasiveness towards our little Sherly. He did not want to go to bed, did he?"
"Are you watching us?"
"He took my case, can't I be curious about him?"
"Not to the point of watching our every move!"
"If it'll make you feel better, I'm only watching Sherlock."
"Stop. Right now."
"Hmmm, don't think I will."
"Yes you will."
"And why is that?"
"Because I know there's a sliver of a heart left in that messed up head of yours." He hesitates for a few moments.
"That doesn't even make sense, but fine."
"Thank you, James-" He hangs up immediately, leaving the dial tone to hang in my silence. I stride over to the couch, sitting down and dialing another number. I take a deep breath as it rings.
"Hello?" The voice from the other side answers.
"Hey Harry, how're you?"
"I'm good! America's great, Clara says hi."
"Tell her I say hi back." We sit in silence for a few moments.
"So, why did you call?"
"I just wanted to catch up a little, is all."
"Yeah, right. He called again didn't he? What did he say this time?"
"Turns out, he's stalking me and my flatmate."
"Oh my God, there's no way he can get away with that. Tell the police!"
"They aren't going to listen, Harry, it's the police remember?"
"What was his name, Greg? He's the problem, and he's only a sergeant."
"You left a while ago, Harry, he's been promoted to Detective Inspector."
"Oh, God no."
"He's a lot better this time round, I have to say."
"Well, you have to get help somewhere, J. What did you say your flatmate was called?"
"Didn't, and Sherlock."
"Ask her to help then."
"Sherlock's not a girl's name, Harry!"
"You're flatmates with a man!?"
"Says the non-binary one!"
"I was joking, J."
"If you couldn't tell, I was too."
"So tell me about this Sherlock then."
"Really shouldn't, it's nearing midnight."
"Gonna turn into a pumpkin if you're not careful?"
"How did you know?" I ask sarcastically. "Love you H."
"You too J. Get some sleep."
"Planning to. Night."
"Night." I hang up, placing my phone on the table and laying down. I feel my eyelids droop as I think about the events that just transpired. I settle into the sofa, and prepare for a sleepless night.
Here's a filler, hope I didn't stray too far for it to be too confusing. (Also, I'm pretty sure that's not how the police works in the UK, I live in America so I wouldn't know.)
I have a couple plans pertaining Harry and Jim, so stay tuned!
