"Guys, seriously, I highly doubt it was necessary to come over," I complained.
Kendal and Madison were over while Bayley was out at work. Amanda was at college, so she wasn't able to come over, though she really wanted to. I didn't bother to ask Darien, though a newlywed would be the one to ask in a situation like this.
If Dad was proposing to Mary, he needed to do it in a way that she'd find sweet and not cheesy. This wasn't like asking her to Prom, this was asking for a lifelong commitment. It needed to be memorable.
"This couldn't be done over the phone," Kendal assured me as she squished me between her and Madi on the couch. I had the laptop on the table, waiting for Dad to call. He was thinking about proposing in a few days, and I offered my services to help. I'd mentioned the idea to Kendal, Madison, and Amanda. I'd only asked for suggestions, not for them to come over and join the conversation.
"Over the phone does nothing," Madi told me, her hazel eyes glued to her iPhone. Kendal mirrored Madison. If they were on what I thought they were on, they needed to not be on their phones when talking with my dad. The last thing he needed was to catch Sherlock's name from their lips.
"Hmm, no new bizarre stories," Kendal murmured. "He must be back."
I put my head in my hands. "Not this again!"
"Rachel, why can't you try to think he's alive?"
"Because he isn't. I saw him fall off a freaking building!"
"Did you ever look down and see him on the ground?"
"Well, no..."
"Then he could have saved himself right under your nose."
"My dad saw him fall, Ken. I'm pretty sure Sherlock didn't save himself." I shook my head.
The laptop chirped. I connected the call.
I sighed, seeing as Dad was still stubborn in keeping that ridiculous facial caterpillar. Maybe if Kendal and Madison said something, it'd give him the good enough push to get rid it.
"Oh, hello again, girls," Dad stammered. I smiled sadly. "Rachel, I thought I told you I wanted to talk to you?"
"You did, but I couldn't stop them," I sighed.
"We figured the more, the merrier," Kendal chirped.
"No, you just had nothing better to do, so you figured you'd sneak in when this was purely a family affair."
"Oh well, what can you do about us?"
"I can call the cops and kick you out."
Dad cleared his throat. "Can we focus, please? I want to make sure this is easy. I've never done this before."
"Right," I agreed. "Do you have any ideas?"
"Just one."
"Please don't say you're proposing in a park or at your house," Kendal moaned. "To me, it speaks alone time, sure, but not romantic in the least."
"Oh, as if you've gotten a marriage proposal," I snapped. "But I kind of agree with you there, Ken."
"No, I was thinking a nice restaurant," Dad explained.
"Cliché," Madison deadpanned. I elbowed her, she flinched. "But hey, you're not going to extreme measures, right?"
"Exactly. I want to keep it simple and sweet."
"Which that is. It's a shame you can't go down there to witness it, Rach," Kendal whimpered.
"Why would I want to be there?" I retorted lightly. "Mary isn't being nosy or pressuring you, is she?"
"No, this is my choice," Dad assured me. "She's been the best thing that's ever happened to me."
"Gee, thanks, Dad. Say that right to your daughter's face," I joked.
Dad blushed. "Sorry." His head whipped towards his right. "I've got to go, Mary's back. Can't have her suspect anything. I'll let you know how it goes, Rachel, I promise."
We all said our goodbyes just as Dad disconnected. I leaned back against the couch, staring ahead at the blank flat screen TV. "Thank you for not mentioning...you know," I breathed, shifting my gaze from Madi to Kendal.
"We learned from the first time," Madi whispered.
When they'd met my dad, Kendal had accidentally mentioned Sherlock. At the time, it was still a fresh wound, and the pain was obvious on my dad's face. From that point on, the detective's name was never mentioned in front of him.
"Unbelievable, these wars on Twitter," Kendal grumbled. Daring myself, I peeked over her shoulder to see people going back and forth about—surprise, surprise—Sherlock being real or fake. "When will the disbelievers realize they're wrong? The news has confirmed it."
"At least they're debating that and not whether he's alive or dead," I said. "So now what? We've got a little bit until Bayley gets back."
"We should go out for drinks tonight. You should bring Bayley along, Rachel! It's the weekend."
I'd forgotten today was Friday. "Eh, I think I'd rather stay home and surf the Internet."
"What are you, sixteen?" Madison asked. "Most sixteen-year-olds are having more fun than you! Come on, Rach! It's only one night."
* * *
Our plans turned from going to a bar to clubbing. It was awkward, considering Bayley was tagging along, but the girls insisted that he come. Apparently, he needed to have a little fun too. We were outvoted three to two, being that Amanda was coming as well.
Amanda, Madison, and Kendal had all disappeared once we got inside. Strobe lights made things more difficult, on top of the blaring music. If none of us became deaf after tonight, it'd be a miracle.
Bayley and I slunk over to a bar to have a few drinks while trying to search for the rest of our group. I wasn't sure how well-behaved the girls would be with a few drinks in them. I knew why Amanda came along: she wanted to have fun and hook up with a guy. Ever since Alex dumped her a while back, Amanda gave up on the idea of a serious relationship. She was more of a fling, one night stand kind of girl. Considering it was only one relationship that made her this way, I thought Mandy was overreacting. But hey, it was her life. Who was I to stand in her way and try to convince her that not all guys were scum? I could use Bay as that good example, but I knew Mandy would bring up Moriarty as the prime example of why you couldn't trust men, or anybody.
Bayley pulled me into the sweaty, pulsing crowd. I was sure it was the small amount of drinks that made me feel like moving around. I felt like I was back in high school, at the dances. Everywhere you looked, strangers were getting intimate, whether making out or grinding. Even though the idea bothered me back then, now, with a little alcohol in me, the idea didn't seem so bad.
Bayley held me close, a twinkle in his eyes. I kept my body against his, feeling the infectious mood in the club. I ignored all the moving bodies that bumped into us. Something erupted in my body, and I suddenly didn't feel like hanging around this nasty place anymore. I wanted to be back home, with Bay.
I grabbed Bay, slowly working our way through the hormone-driven crowd. The music vibrated through our bodies. More than once I swore I felt a piece of clothing get tossed onto me. Get a room and be decent.
I pulled Bay out of the club, ditching Madison, Kendal, and Amanda. I made sure to text each of them, saying Bayley and I were pulling out early and that they found a safe way home.
We were heading for the car when I was pulled away from Bayley. I yelped as Bay was ambushed by two strangers, being held back.
This was starting to go down the London path.
"What a beauty," crooned the alcohol-smelling voice that held me. "Mind if we take her?"
"Get off me, you creep!" I fought back but the man hit me hard. I fell to the pavement, scraping my palms. I scooted away as my captor advanced.
"You're going to learn some respect, girl."
Our attention snapped to Bay, who had suddenly collected herculean strength. He battled his captors, throwing accurate punches, sending them back running into the club. He charged for my guy next, taking him out by the waist. I got to my feet, watching in horror as Bayley took the guy on.
When I saw the guy pull out a knife, I took action. I jumped the drunk, disarming him and sent him a message by socking him across the face a few times. He fell on his back, unconscious. I couldn't believe I had just done that. Adrenaline had to be overpowering the drinks in my system right now.
I ran to Bay, who had a split lip.
"I'm fine," he panted. "Come on, let's get out of here."
Despite being a little shaken, I drove Bay's car home. I couldn't help but wonder and worry now about the girls. Hopefully they didn't endure what Bayley and I just had. Tonight reminded me that even though I wasn't in London running around solving cases or encountering criminals, I was living in a dangerous world.
Bayley and I helped each other into the house; I locked the door the moment it shut.
Bay led me into the bedroom. We both got changed separately. I sat on the bed, and Bay came back to look at me.
"How hard did he hit you?" He touched my face.
"It felt pretty hard." I touched his split lip. "Are you okay?"
"I've been through worse." He grabbed my hands, examining my palms.
"Let's not do that ever again."
"Agreed."