The Transition Of Jim Moriarty To Richard Brook

Chapter 19: John's Deception

Richard shoved his way past Mrs Hudson, who was coming in with shopping, and raced up the stairs, throwing the door open.

"John, I need to talk to you!"

John was standing at the window, and he turned to see Richard, not looking at all taken aback at the hard determination in Richard's voice.

"Ok, we'll talk."

"I'm not taking no for an answer. If you care for me even the slightest bit, you'll tell me who I was, who you were, what there was between us, before the accident."

"I've told you what I-"

"No, you're not listening to me, John. I need to know. This is my life we're talking about, not yours, it belongs to me. It isn't your responsibility to decide what I need to know because you think I can't handle it. I'm finding out the truth one way or another. I will dedicate every second of my time to stripping away all the lies you've been feeding to me, until I know who I am and how I came to be here. I'm going to hear the truth, John. But I'd like to hear it from you."

"I..." John faltered, and turned away. He didn't say anything for a while. When he finally spoke, it was with his back to Richard, speaking quietly to the closed curtain in front of him. "I guess I have no choice. We were together, Richard. We were in love. But then I met Sherlock. He and you had this kind of rivalry going on. Both fighting for me, I suppose. And I- I liked it. So much, that I started neglecting you, to spend more time with Sherlock. You had enough and you left, but that just made me want you more. I couldn't have you anymore, so you were all I could think about. I left Sherlock, and went after you. Toyed with you, messed with your heart and head for ages. Threatened you. I was possessive, I was sick."

"And what about Moriarty?"

"He doesn't exist. It was a lie to make you want to stay with me. You'd feel sorry for me, being tormented by this evil villain. I mean, seriously, an evil madman pursuing me and Sherlock? God, you're dense, we're not living in a James Bond book. The only monster you'll see is me. I said all sorts of things to get you to stay with me. The pool? I faked a kidnapping, I made a friend call you and say Moriarty was holding me hostage, so you'd come and rescue me. And when you got there, I grabbed you and told you I'd sooner we both die than not be together." John's voice was low and determined, but he didn't move from his position by the curtains, and the way he wiped his face made Richard wonder if he was crying.

"Thank you for telling me, John."

"You need to leave. Get out of London, go far away, some place where people have never heard of Sherlock Holmes or John Watson. I'm not good for you, Rich, you know that."

The fact that John was rejecting him, bluntly telling him to leave shocked Richard, made the breath freeze in his throat. He swallowed, determined to claw back some control, and said "Ok, I will. You won't hear from me again, John."

John sighed heavily and turned to face Richard. As Richard suspected, his eyes were wet. "I'm going to go out, give you time to pack." he said, slipping quietly out.

Richard watched him go. He felt drained. He'd thought he'd feel relieved when he discovered the truth, but now, he was wishing he could forget all over again.

He was startled by the ringtone of his mobile phone, the one Sebastian had appointed to him. It was a blocked number. He answered.

"You stuck-up little whore..."

"Who is this?"

"You think you're so fucking hot? You're nothing, not anymore; everything that was in you that made you special...it's gone. You think I wanna fuck you? You're a shell. There's nothing left to touch."