The Labyrinth of Fragile things

Chapter X - The truth

I arrived at Baker street at exactly 5:01 pm. As I hurried through the doors, sprinted up the winding stairs, I managed to bump into Mrs Hudson.

"Oh, dear!" She cried as she looked at her fallen tea. She clung onto me, her fingernails digging into my suit. "I was meant to take that to-"

"Mr Bennett, I know." I didn't intend my statement to come out so harshly, but I was in a haste, and Mrs Hudson seems to always over dramatize everything. "I'm sorry," I mumbled. "I just received a new lead, and I'm in a bit of a hurry." My words seemed to fall out of my mouth slower than usual, my tone; soft. Once I brought myself out of my daze, I hurried back to my room, leaving a stunned Mrs Hudson.

I rushed to my board, leaving the front door ajar. I scrawled 'felina' on a blank space and added an image of St Woolos cemetery. My eyes flickered from one image to another, words appearing in and out of my mind at the speed of light.

Bing!

I groaned as I heard the sound of my phone, forcing me out of my Mind Palace. I took my phone out of my pocket, reading a text message from Lestrade. It read:

Can you come down to the police station? Have some things that I need to tell you.

I replied with:

Fine, but I hope this is of some importance

SH.

~

As I walked the halls of the police station I couldn't help but miss John's company. He usually talks of something that to him, I have no interest in, but I am rather intrigued with whatever he has to say (usually). Sometimes when we would pass Sally or Anderson he'd make snide remarks to their insults. Life would have been so much easier with John in high school.

I walked into Lestrade's office without hesitation. He smiled at me with a doughnut in hand, his legs resting on the desk. It seemed as though he was waiting for me, although he was most likely just not doing anything.

"You're really not helping the lazy police stereotype." Lestrade cocked an eyebrow up in confusion, so I gestured to his doughnut.

"Oh, shut up," said he, though it was barely audible through his munching. Once he swallowed the very last of the doughnut he spoke once again. "I haven't seen you in so long. What have you been up to?"

I gave a curt nod. What was I supposed to say? He knew what occupied my time. "I've been busy with John's case."

Lestrade swallowed once more. "About that case.... I think you should take a bit of a break from it." I raised my eyebrows. "Well I have loads of other cases for you to solve," he gestured to a pile of papers on the side of his desk. They were so close to the edge they might have fallen off. "The po-"

"Boring. Each case is boring."

Lestrade looked incredulous. "Boring? You haven't even bothered to read them!"

"Anyone or anything in comparison to John Watson is by default boring." I escaped the conversation, every time my foot touched the floor it made a loud thump sound. Why do people ask stupid questions and not expect a seemingly stupid answer?

I found my way to Molly's lab, closing the door behind me. I wanted privacy. I ran my fingers through my hair while Molly sighed deeply. She seemed to be invested in an experiment, and even jumped a little when she saw me. "Hi Sherlock," she said, still slightly shocked from seeing me. She glanced from her experiment, and then back at me, as if choosing what to focus on. She choose me, finally composing herself. "I wasn't expecting to see you. I thought you'd be thoroughly involved with the case."

"I was," I spoke through gritted teeth. It wasn't like me to let my emotions show so easily, so I tried to calm myself down. I propped myself onto a silver bench, resting my back against the wall. "Lestrade asked me to come down. He's being incredulous!"

Molly couldn't help but smile. "Why? What happened now?"

I gathered my thoughts together, stringing up a convincing sentence. I suppose from an objective perspective it didn't make much sense. "He advised me to take a break from John's case."

Molly let out a small chuckle, receiving a glare from me. She took a step toward me, formulating a sentence. "People just want you to take this case easy because it's involving John."

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion, but quickly resumed my collective state. "I don't understand..." I admitted, speaking softly.

Molly took a deep breath, her eyes searching the ceiling until they reached mine again. "Everyone thought you wouldn't find love... because you didn't want it. That's not how you work. It wasn't until you met John, and the Fall came about, did I realise that I misjudged you.. You love him. I'm not saying in what way, maybe you don't even know yourself, but anyone paying attention can see."

Once Molly finished speaking I turned my face away from hers, feeling exposed. All my barriers had come down, everything I set in motion so that none of this could happen. I admit I'm confused when it comes to John, a feeling unknown to me. I suddenly felt very uncomfortable with the situation, even with Molly. "How do you deal with it?"

Molly was at first hesitant, but the realization that I was asking her for advice soon dawned on her. "You'll find him. And when you do... just tell him."

"But-"

She shook her head, silencing me. "Take it slowly. Just... make sure to tell him."

I was silent for a moment, but soon found myself and nodded, I stood up and made my way to the door, my hand turning cold once it felt the doorknob. "Thank you, Molly," I heard myself say.

I walked to Baker street, in no mood for a drive. My mind jumped from one thought to another, my heart in my throat.