Chapter 7: Just Rest for a Moment

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     We finally get back to the house and I reluctantly take my coat off. It's so cold here, I'd rather sleep with it on. But it's been everywhere today and the bottom is covered in dirt, and I don't want to sleep in dirt. Niall sighs and runs right into the kitchen.

     "Niall?" I call.

     "We haven't eaten all day, I'm starving!" He shouts back. "Come join me."

     Harry and I, once our coats and shoes are off, join Niall in the kitchen. It's hard to find food that isn't fruits or vegetables in Whitechapel, so I wonder what he thinks we're going to eat.

     "We don't have much, Niall," Harry tells him.

     Niall places a meat pie on the kitchen table and grins. "Bought this on the way here after the investigation earlier today. They were expensive, so I could only buy one. I hope you don't mind sharing."

     We grab a few forks and begin eating from the tin the pie came in, not bothering to get plates. The pie is small, so we finish it quickly. It didn't taste too good, but it was food and Niall was right, we haven't eaten all day. Sometimes, I get so into my work that I forget to eat.

     "That was disgusting," says Harry as he puts his last bite into his mouth. "I think we should go to sleep, it's been a long day."

     "I'm with you, man," Niall replies. "I could sleep right through the rest of the week."

     I laugh. "You two go on ahead and sleep, I'm not tired yet."

     "Are you sure?" Harry asks, and I nod. "Well then, let me set the fireplace for you."

     He gets up from the table and walks right into the small living room, kneeling down and starting a small fire in the fireplace. I go into the living room and watch him lift a cushioned chair and place in front of the fireplace and a bit to the right. Then, he turns to me.

     "Thank you," I smile, giving him a kiss on the cheek. I sit on the chair and love the warm feeling I'm getting from the fire. "I'll join you soon, I won't be down here for more than an hour."

     Harry grins, "Okay. Niall's already gone up to his room. I almost didn't see him, he was so quick. I guess I'll go to bed now," he bends down to my level and kisses me. "Goodnight, darling."

     "Goodnight," I respond. I watch him walk up the stairs and go into our room, which is across the hall from Niall's room. I look forward and stare into the fire, letting my mind wander. This is my first official case as a detective, but it's unlike any I've ever come across. We already know everything we need to know to solve it, and it's only been a day. I'm not saying it's bad that it hasn't taken long to figure it out, only that there's definitely something wrong with this case. I've said this before and I'll say it again, it's too simple. It's not puzzling enough for me to have to use my brain that much.

     There's also the problem of Liam Payne. He's a strange man, and a little too excited for watching fights. Then again, he makes money off of these fight, I'd be excited too if that was me. What he said bothers me, though. Thomas Cutbush was at the fight club all night, he didn't leave until three in the morning. It doesn't fit in with the fact that his name was on Ms. Stride's list of clients last night. Then, I gasp.

     Liam said that Mr. Cutbush owed many people money, so that must mean he was set up by someone who didn't get money from him. It's entirely possible that someone would be angry enough to frame him for a murder they committed. This opens the door to many new theories, but I can't do a thing about it until we meet up with Mr. Cutbush himself. At least this clears him of any suspicions, but it just took me a step back.

     I hug my knees into my chest as I continue to stare at the flames. Why did Freddie come to me when his men couldn't figure it out? I mean, he's known me since I was a little girl so he knows what my mind is capable of, but it's strange that he would put so much faith in me for this specific case. Maybe he thought that I had more motivation to find the Ripper than anyone else because I'm a woman. He's right, just the thought of that monster going around and murdering innocent women gets me angry. I feel as though it's my responsibility to stop him and end this feeling of sheer terror he's instilled into every single woman in Whitechapel.

     My thought are interrupted when I hear loud snoring coming from upstairs, and I sigh. Niall snoring is the most obnoxious sound I've ever heard. He's all the way on the second floor and I can hear him loud and clear. He has his own home in Westminster about two streets away from me and Harry, so it's not a problem. But since we all have to stay in the same, small building, I've almost kicked him out numerous times because his snoring kept me awake. Harry doesn't seem to have a problem with it, though. He's a heavy sleeper, so there isn't much that can wake him up once he's out.

     Suddenly, I hear the small dings of the clock on top of the fireplace. It dings two times, meaning it's two in the morning. When we got home, it was only past eleven. Have I really been here for nearly three hours? There's no way time went by so quickly. I sigh and continue thinking. Then, I hear the stairs creak and I look at them. Harry's standing in the middle of the stairs, rubbing his eyes.

     "You're still awake?" He yawns, and I nod, looking back at the fire. He slowly makes his way towards me and pulls up the other cushioned chair so he's sitting next to me in front of the fire. "Why haven't you slept yet?"

     I shrug. "There's too much to think about. Even if I went to bed, I'd still be wide awake. I can't sleep knowing that there's a murderer out there and I haven't caught him yet. For all I know, he might strike again tonight."

     "You think too much," Harry says, crossing his legs. "It's not a bad thing to think, but every now and then you should just take a break. All this stress isn't good for you."

     "I'm not stressed," I deny. "I'm just confused."

     His eyebrows furrow. "Why are you confused?"

     "This case is too easy for me, it's not as difficult as it should be," I explain. "At the same time, though, there are too many threads to follow. We thought it was Cutbush, until Liam said it wasn't. That means someone who didn't like him used his name that night to frame him, which means I was wrong. That's a whole other thing though, I don't have time to focus on my stupidity. Cutbush owed money to a lot of people, so we need to find him and ask him who he owes money to. Then, there's the fact that the Ripper is most likely a doctor, considering how cleanly he removed Ms. Eddowes's kidney. And then there's-"

     "Alright, stop," Harry interrupts me. "You're overworking yourself, you've barely eaten all day and now you're refusing to sleep. Mary, this isn't healthy. I know we need to find this man, but aren't you tired?"

     "How can I be tired?" I ask in rebuttal. "There's too much I need to figure out, Harry. I'm the complete opposite of tired, and I won't sleep until I find him."

     "I can see how exhausted you are!" He exclaims, uncrossing his legs and resting his elbows on his knees. "Mary, please just rest for a moment. I'm not asking you to turn your brain off forever, just for a little while. Come to bed, please, you need to sleep."

     I sigh and shake my head. "You can go back upstairs, but I'm not tired."

     "Fine," he says, but he doesn't get up from his seat.

     I look at him confusedly, "Aren't you going to go to bed?"

     He shakes his head. "Not until you do. It wouldn't be fair of me to get a good night's sleep if my wife is suffering."

     "I'm not suffering," I say. Then, I sigh. "Okay, maybe a little bit. But it's not my fault, my mind just won't give it a rest."

     We sit silently for a while, both just watching the flames dance around in the fireplace. Then, Harry turns to me.

     "Hey," he smiles. "Do you remember how we met?"

     I nod. "Yeah, why?"

     He shrugs. "I was just thinking about it for some reason. Someone in the park that all the children in the city would play in had stolen my money that my mother gave me, and I actually thought it was you."

     "I remember," I laugh. "The first words you've ever said to me are, 'Give me my money back, right now,' and I was so confused. I told you I didn't have your money but I offered to help you find out who did. Turns out, it was another ginger girl in the park."

     "That was our first case," Harry grins.

     "The first of many," I smile back. It gets quiet once again, before Harry decides to speak up.

     "Mary?" He says my name. "Do you think we'll ever have children?"

     "What?" I ask. "Why did that pop into your head?"

     He shrugs, "I don't know. I'd like to have one, but it hasn't happened to us yet and I'm starting to get worried. I met someone who works at a bookstore and he and I became friends. He told me how he and his wife have been married for twenty years but they haven't had any children yet. I mean, we've been married for a year. Don't you think it should have happened already?"

     "If it happens, it happens," I respond. "Don't worry too much about it, Harry. Besides, if it were to happen right now, I wouldn't be able to solve cases. I'd have a huge belly that would make it difficult for me to want to leave the house, and I couldn't go after murderers."

     "That's true," he agrees. "But I'd still like to have one. I wouldn't mind you having a huge belly that makes it difficult for you to want to leave the house."

     "That's easy for you to say, you're not the one who's going to have a huge belly," I joke, and he laughs. Then, I finally yawn. "Alright, I think I'm ready to sleep now."

     We both get up from our comfortable chairs and head up the stairs. I try to ignore the excessive snoring coming from Niall's room, and open the door to ours. As soon as I lay down, I remember how much I love sleep. My eyes immediately close, and I drift off into a dreamless sleep.

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This was kinda a filler chapter, I figured not every chapter can be super eventful or else it would seem like it's going by way too fast. I liked the little convo Mary and Harry had in this chapter, it's so cute. It seems like this book doesn't have enough interaction between the two of them, like Harry is just kinda there, so it was nice to write a cute little moment between them.

I keep thinking I have writers block until I sit myself down and force myself to write. It takes some motivation, but as soon as I start writing, the block immediately goes away.

Let me know what you thought about this chapter, I've probably said this before but you have no idea how much I love reading your comments ^.^

Vote and comment however much you want, I won't stop if you want to comment 100 times go ahead I encourage it lmao XD

Love, Tori

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