Crown of a Prince (Finn Shelby)

84.

Finn had to resist the urge to call after her. He didn’t want her to leave, not like that. It felt wrong for her to walk away from him in an argument. That wasn’t how they were meant to act towards each other. But she had lied to him, to protect Tommy or protect herself, he wasn’t sure but he was so angry with her for it. She was meant to be the one person he could trust with everything and above everyone. And she had lied to him, whether it was a small or big lie Finn didn’t care.
 
He grabbed his shovel, getting back to work beside Curly who was uncharacteristically quiet. He could sense the tension between Ailbhe and Finn and knew it was better not to ask questions. For hours they worked in silence, not a word between them until Curly went to the shops to run some errands for Charlie. Finn took a seat by the burning barrel, not feeling the cold at all since he had been working hard to forget his argument with Ailbhe. Charlie found him, face like thunder and cigarette in hand. He thought to himself how you'd have to be blind not to see the resemblance to Tommy that Finn held.
 
“You alright?” Charlie asked him, taking the seat opposite his nephew.
 
Finn was getting more and more like Tommy every day and less and less like his mother.
 
“Fine” Finn replied instantly, looking down at the dark waters of the cut and ignoring his uncle’s intense stare.
 
Charlie had seen Ailbhe leave a few minutes after she found Finn. She was never one to shy away from hard work so from the raised voices and her swift exit, they had clearly had an argument. Not sure how it could happen, Charlie was baffled. They were practically joint at the hip and the head those two.
 
But Charlie had watched Ailbhe grow up and had seen the changes in her behaviour since coming home from New York, he had seen how Tommy changed too.
 
“Finn” Charlie’s voice was more serious now, his tone dropping that sarcastic and joking manner it usually had.
 
Finn looked across at him, seeing that whatever was bothering his uncle, was something serious.
 
“You’re too young to remember but your mother… she went like this too, Finn”
 
Finn didn’t remember his mother, nothing worth remembering he always thought. While he thought sometimes, he had memories, they were only his imagination and stories he had attached to photos that his brothers and Polly had. He knew what happened to her, his brothers and Polly had told him when they felt he was old enough to understand. But he never understood, never could understand why his mother had stepped into the canal one day and left him without a mother. And then, Ailbhe’s mother did the same.
 
“Went like what?” Finn asked, not sure what his uncle was getting at.
 
Charlie shook his head, as if to banish the thoughts.
 
“Talking about spirits and ghosts, feelings and bad instincts” He muttered, remembering how Finn’s mother had babbled and droned on and on about things the rest of them couldn’t see, things even Polly couldn’t see.
 
“Ailbhe isn’t like that” Finn replied quickly, knowing that Ailbhe wasn’t like his mother had been. Praying that Ailbhe wasn't like his mother had been.
 
Charlie wasn’t sure. He had watched the woman he loved descend into madness and take her own life, so of course when he saw someone he cared about flirting with this path he got nervous. He didn’t want that for Ailbhe, he couldn’t let that happen to her.
 
“Really?” Charlie snapped sarcastically, “Because I see it in her and she sees it too.”
 
Finn looked away, taking a pull from his cigarette. Ailbhe wasn’t insane, she was infuriating and baffling at times but she wasn’t insane. She couldn't be.
 
“That look in her eyes.” Charlie murmured. It was a look he’d seen before, a sense of being lost and alone.
 
“She’s a lot more like Tommy than you want to admit but they’re on a dangerous path, Finn. You fucking know it too” Charlie warned him, throwing the end of his cigarette into the barrel and watching it get swallowed up by the flames.
 
Charlie was right. Whatever path Tommy was going down, he was bringing Ailbhe along with him and it would be too late to turn back soon. Ailbhe went with him, thinking she could help him, thinking she could save him. But she hadn’t thought about herself, about how she’d come back to Finn. And that was what stung so much. Finn was terrified that she was going to leave him again and this time he didn’t think she’d be able to come back.
 
“Don’t let her go” Charlie warned him, knowing that Finn was stubborn and hot-headed, that he never wanted to admit when he was wrong or apologise. But Ailbhe needed him just as much as he needed her. Charlie wouldn’t begin to try understand them but he understood enough of the world to know when two people needed each other.
 
Sounds of running footsteps made Finn and Charlie jump to their feet, guns out but they should have recognised the footsteps.
 
It was Curly, running towards them panting and waving his hands.
 
“Finn, Tommy telephoned. He’s looking for Ailbhe. A man called Younger is dead” he blurted out, panting and desperate to catch his breath.
 
Finn holstered his gun again, groaning in frustration.
 
“Fuck” He shouted, throwing the cigarette in his hand to the ground.
 
Whoever had Younger killed might be onto them, onto their plan, onto Tommy.