Sophy knew from the soft snores that were coming from the direction of the floor that Xena and Lucy were asleep. She couldn't sleep and her throat felt very dry. Sophy stood up softly and made her way to the kitchen. She fumbled in the dark for the teacup she'd seen earlier. She took the cup and filled it with water from the sink. Sophy lifted the teacup to take a drink when she felt gentle hands fall on her shoulders.
She almost dropped the cup. "Thirsty?" Sherlock asked in a deep but gentle whisper.
"Yeah." Sophy stammered. "I couldn't sleep."
"You want to talk about her, don't you?" He murmered.
Sophy nodded, even though she guessed he probably couldn't see her nodding.
"Follow me; we can talk in my room." Sherlock grabbed her wrist and pulled her to a darker section of the flat.
His room. Sophy realized. Any sane teenage girl would have objected, of course. But Sophy's mind didn't jump immediately to sex. She knew she had to tell someone about the threats Meghan could carry out.
Sherlock let go of her wrist and Sophy heard the door close softly. The lights flickered on, temporarily blinding her. She blinked.
Sherlock had her notebook in his hands. "You can sit down on the bed, if you like."
Sophy sat down and placed the teacup beside her. She took the pen and notebook from Sherlock's hands. I met Meghan Moriarty last year. She's a popular girl at school but it's because girls are afraid of her. Amber is the girl who is closest to being a friend to her as Meghan has. Meghan's an actress. She says her older brother Jim inspired her. I've always been a little afraid of Meghan, but today she gave me a reason to be afraid. I woke up later than usual this morning, so I was late to breakfast. When I entered the dining room there was glass everywhere and every single one of the girls was lying dead on the floor. All the teachers were dead, too.
"But not Meghan and Amber." Sherlock had sat down across from her on the bed.
No. Meghan approached me and said, "Look Amber, we forgot someone." Amber came up behind me and said, "We don't have any more bullets."
Meghan stared up at me. Then she said, "You know exactly what happened here but you won't tell anyone. I will make your life miserable if you say anything to anyone about what happened here." Then they left.
"Did Meghan say anything else?"
Sophy shrugged. "She said, 'Ta ta for now.' I called 999 after that."
"She doesn't want to kill you." Sherlock mused. Meghan was exactly like her brother.
"No." Sophy said. "I told you everything I know and now I'm going to pay."
"You just tested Meghan's rules. She said you couldn't tell anyone anything and you didn't tell me. You wrote things down."
"I guess." Sophy wiped the sweat from her forehead. The room was stuffy and hot, even at night.
"Take your shirt off, if you're hot." Sherlock advised.
Sophy saw it as a dare. She stripped off her tank top. The air in the still room cooled her almost-bare back.
"Sherlock?" She whispered.
"Hmm."
"I'm scared."
Then Sherlock did something he didn't expect he would do. He wrapped his arms around her. Sophy leaned back.
"I won't let anyone hurt you, Sophy." Sherlock tossed her notebook and pen on the floor. He walked over to the door and switched off the light. Sophy heard a soft thump as something hit the floor. She felt the bed dip as Sherlock lowered himself onto it. "You can sleep here tonight."
Sophy kicked back the cool sheets and lay down. Sherlock draped his arms around her. She felt safe with her head against his hard, bare chest.