Chapter 4: Not What I Would Have Expected
My mother sat in silence, her face completely blank as I told her the story. Seeing her so quiet worried me more than if she had been livid; angry mum I could handle, this quiet and composed mum that I could not read, that worried me. After I had finished my tale, we sat there in agonizing quiet for what felt like an eternity before she spoke.
"How did you figure out who your father was?" She asked quietly. I reminded her of the phone call from when she received my tuition money. She closed her eyes and sighed. Without opening her eyes she asked "How many people have you told?"
I bit my lip. "Well… technically I only told Sammy. But then Jake found out… and now... I guess the whole school probably knows?" Then I thought for a minute. "Wait. Why does it matter? Why does it have to be a secret?" I questioned.
My mother sat quietly for a moment before she opened her eyes. For a brief moment I thought I saw sadness and possibly even fear pass through them before she composed herself once again.
"Alexandria, before you were born, I did some things, and… I had ownership of some things which many people wanted. Keeping these things is what kept me safe. When I met your father, I gave him these things to keep hold of, but I was in the wrong to have them and eventually your father gave them over to his brother, and my safety was compromised. It was shortly thereafter that I found out I was pregnant with you. I called your father and he helped me to fake my death in order to be safe and to keep you safe. My real name is Irene Adler. And Sherlock Holmes is your father." She paused for a moment, taking another deep breath before continuing on. "After you were born, the time came that your father had to fake his death for a spell as well. We lived with him for around a year and a half, running all over the globe on different cases. We realized however that this was no life for you, and so Sherlock helped us get this apartment in New York City, and we've been here ever since. I took a false identity and then he went to the Middle East on another case until London needed him again. Of course no one could know about our connection with your father for fear of my being discovered, and so it was decided that we would tell no one. Not even you."
We sat in silence for a few moments as all of this sank in. Dolly wandered over to me and laid at my feet. I absent-mindedly stroked her until something hit me. I stood up quickly, my eyes huge. "Wait! Mum! Now people know. Does that mean… I mean are we…" My voice trailed off and I bit my lip again, watching her closely for any sign of fear but her mask of composure stood strong.
She stood up and walked back to her bedroom smoothly. "If you would please excuse me a moment Lexie, I need to make a call." She said as she shut her door behind her. I picked up Dolly and walked over to the window and looked down at all of the people walking past our street, looking for anything out of the ordinary. I of course, saw nothing. After what felt like forever my mother came back out with my pink suit case, Dolly's matching carrier and my backpack. "Pack everything that is important to you." She said simply and walked back into her room to do the same.