The Science of Deduction Does Not Extend to Relationships

Chapter 4: Does That Really Make Us So Bad?

Chapter 4: Does That Really Make Us So Bad?

            John looked at the table with a frown.  “Why don’t we eat on trays on the sofa?” He suggested, carrying two plates to the flat’s main room.  “The table’s full of too much of Sherlock’s rubbish.” I nodded in agreement and took my plate of scrambled eggs, sausage, and home fries from John as I sat down. 

            “Mmm, this is bloody fantastic, John!” I exclaimed after digging in.  I hadn’t had a legitimately decent meal since lunch the previous day.  Maybe Sherlock could go days without eating, but not all of us can be human machines. 

            He smiled a bit sadly at me.  “I’m glad you like it, but…if you don’t mind my asking…what happened between you and Sherlock?  I caught bits and pieces of what you were saying just now from the kitchen and last night he said you’d be better off if you’d never seen him again.”

            “I don’t know his exact reasoning for thinking that way, but I’d imagine he blames himself for what happened when we were eighteen.”

            “And what happened back then?”

            “Oh yes, I suppose he wouldn’t have mentioned it.  I guess it really started when we were fourteen, the summer before we started going to different boarding schools for the first time.  Well, I’m sure you know that Sherlock never likes to be bored, and I was curious, so the two of us started using that summer.  It started out simple enough: alcohol, spliff, and cigarettes.  But by the time we were eighteen, Sherlock and I found ourselves using meth and cocaine as well.  I don’t think anybody else really knew what we got up to, except maybe Mycroft, because we continued to act and look the same and still excelled in academics.

            “Now, even though Sherlock and I went to different schools, we phoned each other quite often and occasionally snuck out to see each other.  It was on one such occasion that I excitedly told Sherlock that a boy from my school’s brother school had asked me to prom.  He didn’t really respond to this one way or another, not that I’d expect him to, so I asked him who he was taking to his prom.  He informed me that he wasn’t planning on going to his prom, and I couldn’t have that, now could I?  Not that I’ve ever forced Sherlock to do anything he didn’t want to, but I’ve always encouraged him to be more social.  Needless to say, he went to prom and I was his date. 

            “The prom was magical, but it’s what happened after that messed everything up.  We snuck out to the woods behind our houses when we got home and I was careless, overdosing.  Sherlock honestly saved me that night by calling an ambulance for me.  It was four days before I woke up in the hospital, and when I did, my parents were the only ones there.  Apparently Sherlock had stayed in the hospital for the last three days with me, but had gone home for some sleep.  On the fifth day I was sent away to rehab, before I had a chance to see Sherlock, and I haven’t seen him since.  He never returned my phone calls, emails, or texts, so I took the hint and went to University and continued my life without Sherlock in it.  I assumed he blamed me for us getting caught after prom, so I respected his wishes, though it hasn’t been easy.”

            “You and Sherlock used to do drugs?” John asked, dumbfounded at my story.

            I smiled and laughed at him, “Yes, John.  Sherlock and I used to do drugs, but those days are behind me, and Sherlock for that matter, from what I’ve observed.  Now, does that really make us so bad?”

            “Not at all,” John chuckled and shook his head.  “To be quite honest, the more I think about it, the less surprised I am that Sherlock did drugs.  Oh, and what you were saying before about where he got the idea that you’d be better off without him, he said something about your dad making it perfectly clear.”