August Holmes, Sherlock's Daughter

Chapter Sixteen - Cool

Ms. Hudson was through the roof when she found out that Sherlock was alive. She screamed, cried, and grabbed Sherlock in a massive hug. It was amusing to watch.

"Oh, August this is great!" Ms. Hudson said to me.

"Yeah. It's wonderful." I remarked, sarcasm dripping off my tongue.

"Oh dear..."

"I need to get some air." I announced as I put on my jacket. It was currently the middle of winter so the air temperature got pretty low. Sherlock looked at me with this new, soft expression he has been carrying around lately. He looked at me like I was some sort of abused puppy. It was annoying.

I opened the door and embraced the crisp air. It was about a 25 minute walk to John and Mary's.

I sighed and let my thoughts drift me away as I started the trail to John's. I honestly had no idea what to do. Sherlock is back, pretending he never left and everyone else is just okay with it? I didn't want him to leave again, that's the last thing I want. I just don't know what I want. For Sherlock to apologize? He already did that. I don't need anything from him. I just need time to myself.

25 minutes later I arrived at John's flat. I haven't really seen much of the inside rather than when I helped him move all his stuff.

I knocked on the door and waited patiently for John or Mary to answer. Soon enough, I saw Mary's face pop around and break out into a grin.

"August! I'm so glad you're here. John has been worried about you. Oh please come in. Your face is bright red! You shouldn't be walking with it being this cold outside." Mary gestured me inside and I took tender steps in their front door. Inside, I saw John sitting in the kitchen bar with his laptop.

"August!" John looked over and smiled at me.

"Hey. I was just taking a walk and wanted to see you guys." I announced.

I looked at John briefly. He had dark underage circles and his hair wasn't styled properly. Either he must be having long nights at work or he can't sleep due to the current situation. He didn't look like this during dinner the other night, so most likely due to Sherlock being back from the dead.

"I'm glad you came over." John smiled at me. "I hope you're doing okay. Are you staying at home?"

"I did last night, but not the night of our dinner. I was kind of hoping I could stay here tonight."

"Of course you can stay here. Have you talked to him?" Mary chimed in.

"Not really. I don't want to talk to him." I mumbled, looking down at my hands.

"August-" John came and sat next to me on the couch. "You need to talk to him.

"I will. In my own time. How can you forgive him so easily?"

"I didn't. But I'm not beating myself up over it. I don't understand why Sherlock does what he does. But it doesn't mean we can't work past this." John stated.

"You don't understand what it meant for me when he came back 'from the dead'. John, my whole family was wiped out in a car accident. Permanently. And Sherlock comes and thinks it's just an okay thing for him to do? To pretend being dead?" I looked at John and sighed. "Look, I'm going to have to work past this eventually, but right now... let me hold on to this grudge."

John nodded. "Okay.. but August remember that Sherlock is not your only family. Mary and I will always be here."

I smiled. "Thank you guys. You mean a lot to me."

We ended up playing board games into late last night. I smiled and laughed for the first time in forever. I wish I didn't block John out so much during the past three years, but it's never too late to make more memories together.