|| Be Her Guard || Sherlock Holmes x Reader

|♢| Chapter 13 |♢| Past And Present

A sigh escapes your mouth as you stretch your stiff back and arms. Standing on your feet for hours on end while dealing with a bunch of angry customers can become rather tiresome, but it should all be worth it once you get your life back to normal after your failed engagement.

It's been two weeks since you've called your relationship off and, despite feeling horrible for breaking Apollo's heart, you're also very proud of yourself for finally putting your foot down. It isn't as if you hadn't tried loving him, in fact, you did care for him to some degree in the beginning, but as his behavior slowly began to change for the worse, so did your hope for the relationship ever working out. In the end, you were forced to look at the big picture, realizing that it was a waste of both your times to keep begging the brick wall to open.

So far, everything's been going well for you as you readjust to the life of a single woman. Your mother has been generous enough to allow you to stay with her until you finish college, after which you'll hopefully be able to gain a job at the city's forensics lab and find a stable place on your own two feet. Hell, maybe you'll even put more consideration in gaining citizenship in the United Kingdom. You're sure Sherlock could help with that, after all, you're pretty sure his brother basically runs the country.

In the meantime, you've been continuing to work at the local grocery store. You've even earned a second job as an assistant researcher in the criminology department at your college which will no doubt help boast your resume regardless of what you plan on doing later on. Yep, things are beginning to look up for you which has removed a lot of stress from your shoulders. Finding a job outside of college is a much smaller step than 'hey, let's get married and start a family after graduation'.

Telling your coworkers to have a goodnight (even the one you don't like), you gather your belongings and clock out before leaving to your car. Seeing that you have one of the last shifts of the night, the employee parking lot is nearly empty aside from the cars belonging to the closing staff, but nonetheless, it's an open space with no one else in sight, at least, not that you originally notice.

"(Y/n)," you jump at the sudden voice, your hand flying over your heart while you spin around only to meet the face of your ex which allows you to give a small breath of relief. You'll take the awkwardness of seeing him again over a kidnapper or mugger any day, but that doesn't necessarily mean you're 'thrilled' to be in his unexpected presences.

He offers an apologetic smile when seeing your fright, holding his hands up defensively," woah there. Sorry, I didn't mean to scare ya'. I went in to talk to you, but the guy upfront said you've already clocked off. I was worried I had missed you."

You give an uncomfortable nod before maneuvering around him to continue walking towards your car. While you'd rather not have a conversation at all right now, you don't feel you can completely ignore him either," what did you want to talk about?"

"Our engagement."

Regardless of somehow already knowing what his answer would be, you still stiffen and bite down on your bottom lip. You don't even want to look up at him," I don't see what there is to discuss. I said what-"

"-I know, I know. You said it wasn't working out, but please, babe, just give me one more chance. I promise to change. I'll...I'll get counselling, I'll work on my issues; I'll do whatever it takes to make it work- to make us work. We just have to try again...just one more time, please..." he begs while grabbing hold of your arm which makes you flinch out of habit.

"Look Apollo..." you sigh, finally meeting his eyes with a deep breath. For once, you're able to retract your arm from his grasp without a fight," I really wanted to make things work out between us in the beginning. You were such a great guy, and I was honored to see how much you loved me. I thought that if I gave you a chance, I'd end up returning you feeling properly over time, b-but then you began to change...I saw a different side of you; one I didn't like.