Walking Toward the End

For the first time in weeks, I woke up by myself. Not by nightmares, not by shooting, not by fights with a Samurai, not by Sherlock dragging a sheep carcass around (don't even ask). I stretched and put my robe on; I was freezing underneath my red and white pajama bottoms and black tank top. I rubbed my eyes as I walked into the kitchen and started to fry sausage. Sherlock was sitting as motionless as usual in his chair.
"You slept a while," he remarked.
"Well, when I fall asleep at five thirty, I kind of want to sleep in." I replied.
He went back to his world of thoughts.
Once the sausage was cooked, I put bread in the toaster and started to make over-easy eggs.
"Do you want anything, Sherlock?" I asked.
He didn't reply.
"Sherlock,"
Silence.
Annoyed, I walked over to the nearest lamp and took the lampshade off. From behind him, I placed it over his head and walked to eat my breakfast.
"I asked, do you want anything?" I repeated.
I turned to see his eyes narrowed at me. "Yes." He said simply.
I sighed and made him scrambled eggs.

-x-

I went to the store around noon. While checking out, I felt eyes bore into me. I glanced back and saw a pair of eyes-so blue, it startled me-staring at me from in between a shelf.
"Hello?" I called.
The eyes disappeared.
I grabbed my bag with the milk and headed out of the store quickly. A brunette girl stood by a car texting.
"Hi," she greeted with her eyes still on her phone.
"Um...hi," I replied.
A black limousine parked up and the driver opened the door.
"Mycroft?" I asked her.
She nodded and got in. I sighed and followed her.
I sat there on the edge of the seat awkwardly. The girl didn't look up for a second, and never stopped typing, like she had to reply to every person in London at that moment.

We arrived at an old empty factory in two minutes. I got out and strolled inside.
"You know you don't have to be all mysterious," I called. "There's this thing called a phone."
Mycroft rounded a corner with an umbrella, even though it was perfectly sunny.
"Eveline," he completely ignored my remark. "It's been a while."
I nodded and set down the milk. "I was hoping you would at least give me a chance to drop this off."
"So, you're living with Sherlock," he continued, obviously not wanting to answer me. "I'm guessing he pretended not to know you."
I nodded. "There's got to be a reason though."
"Why would you think that?" Mycroft asked.
"Because he's Sherlock. There's always a reason," I paused. "I sort of speak without thinking about that, so I might have given that away."
"I heard about the incident on the field." He continued, "Jim Moriarty."
"There's nothing else," I informed him, "what if it was just a test? To see how we all would react?"
ping
My phone went off.

I need you to pick up the DNA from Lestrade. -SH
I tapped the reply button on my iPhone and typed,
I'm a bit wrapped up right now. Why can't you do it? -EO
I looked at Mycroft. "Your brother will not get anything for himself."
He just snickered.
ping
You're out already. -SH
"Well, this's been lovely, you know, I'm very keen about abandoned factory and all, but I have to get some samples."
I gave a circular wave and jogged towards the door, where Mycroft called back,
"You remember that note you got once. You're nearly 28,"
I stopped without looking back.
"It was just a kid thing," I assured him, "I'll be fine."

And with that, I jogged out, leaving Mycroft in silence.

-x-

"Did you get it?" Sherlock asked as I stepped into the flat.

"Yes," I thrust him the small plastic bag.
I sat down at the table and started to examine the last photograph taken of the living Leana Wood. A mere half hour before she disappeared from Brazil and was found a month later under a very well-known fishing pier.
"Lestrade said it was poison, but it wasn't swallowed or injected," I told him, "so it must have been touch?"
I tapped my foot on the ground while I searched for something to help, but my ADHD brain wouldn't focus. I stood up and paced, checked my phone, then played a game of multiplayer Tetris to get it out of my system.
"No!" I shouted at it, "Now I've lost a whole rank!"
Sherlock looked at me curiously.
Finally, I was able to sit down and focus. I tore down the image mentally, searching it piece by piece for something until a red speck caught my eye. It took a minute, but I eventually identified it as a poison tree frog. We'd learned about that in...
"Year three," I hadn't even noticed I said it aloud.
I remembered what Mycroft said, You remember the note you got.
I looked outside for the first time in a while and it was dark. I checked the time, and it was actually midnight.
Suddenly, I just felt like passing out on the couch.
I stretched my back. "Goodnight, Sherlock."
I heard a grunt in reply as I stepped into my room and closed the door, slipping into another dream.

The bell had just rang to call my class in. As usual, I was laughing with my best friend, Emma, from America.
"Come on, Emma!" I called and had to practically drag her away from the swings to get to class.
"But it's so boring," she complained. "All we do is learn."
I rolled my eyes as we walked inside.
We were forced to separate as we walked to our desks, which I found a note on:
Enjoy this while you can. While you're nearing 28, you are walking toward the end. -JM