To Be A Shelby

Chapter Nine

MARIE

It was almost time for lunch and while she was on a high for bonding with the Shelby brothers, Marie's stomach grumbled which Arthur heard so he let go of the group hug first and said, "Someone's got an appetite."

"Sorry," she said sgeepishly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I packed some sandwiches," John volunteered, running to the car to retrieve the food he had taken with him.

"Well, I'll be damned. Sandwiches? Sounds a bit too responsible for our Johnny," Thomas speculated.

"I'm with you on that one. Who's the woman?" Arthur replied.

Marie listened carefully but silently. She also wanted to know who John had been seeing. The changes in his demeanor were obvious and even she could sense something was up with him.

"He'll tell us soon enough," Tommy simply replied, puffing out a smoke.

As if on cue, John rushed back to where they were with 3 sandwiches in hand, "Sorry, I only packed three, I thought it was going to be just us."

"It's okay, Marie can have my share. I'm not hungry," Thomas said, distancing himself so he could smoke where no one was eating.

John shot her a knowing look and whispered as he handed her a sandwich, "Here's a sandwich from Thomas Shelby."

His teasing made her blush which Arthur apparently noticed so he asked, "Are you running a fever?"

All too suddenly, and before she could answer Arthur, Thomas had apprached them and was now standing in front her. He put his hand on her forehead which didn't help at all with her blushing and instead made her face feel hotter.

"I-I'm fine really, it's just the weather," she said looking down to hide how red her face was.

Tommy simply nodded, handing her a bottle of water before leaving. Arthur left with him to smoke, which meant she was again at the mercy of Johnny's relentless teasing.

"See how fast he got here when he heard about your fever?" Johnny told her, laughing as he spoke.

"He's just concerned, Johnny," she defended.

"Since when? Since yesterday? That's a bit too sudden, don't you think?" he further asked.

"We're just getting along better than we used to, there's nothing more to it," she dismissed.

Johnny was going to let it go but not before he said, "You know, it was Tommy who told us to treat you better. 'She's done us so much good and we ought to be more appreciative' was what he said," and then he left to join the rest of his brothers.

She stood there for a good five minutes, thoughts lost in confusion as to what Johnny had told her. She loved the idea that Thomas was being kind to her. But she hadn't expected the thought that he's treating her better for other reasons. What bothered her even more was that she was actually considering the absurd notion of a relationship ever forming between them– one that goes beyond brother and sister.

"How long do you plan on standing there?" Tommy called, snapping her back to reality. She ran towards them, Johnny clearly laughing and speculating.

***

When they got home, Finn immediately ran to her. She picked him up despite him being so heavy saying, "Were you a good boy while I was away?"

"Of course, you can ask Harry. I've been talking to him all morning," he replied, his enthusiasm was through the roof.

"That's nice. Now, let's go play like I promised," and then she took him away, looking back at Thomas and the others to wave goodbye.

***

The gun that Tommy gave her weighted heavily on her pocket. She wasn't too concerned because the safety was on. She looked back on the rest of the morning, learning how to shoot with the Shelbys, and she smiled at the thought.

"Heads up, Marie!" Finn yelled and before she knew it, the ball went over her head and way across the street, into the alley.

"Don't count on her to catch the ball, Finn. She's busy thinking of your dear Uncle Tommy," John teased, leaning on a post. She laughed at him and rolled her eyes.

"Don't kick it too strong next time, Finn," she said and ran off to grab the ball, she even heard Finn yell, "Sorry!" which made her chuckle.

Just as she was heading out of the alley and back to Finn, a man entered. It was a face she could never forget even in death.

"What are you doing here?" she asked coldly, trembling in both fear and rage as her stepfather looked her in the eyes with disgust and hatred.

He was a big man, about six foot tall. A beer belly clung to his torso, his entire body reeked of alcohol and months worth of no bathing.

"It hurt me that my daughter never once visited me in jail, so I'm visiting her instead," he said, spitting on the ground after.

"Maybe because you were no father to her," she retaliated, backing away as he continued to close the distance between them.

"Do you have any idea how hard it was to get out of that fucking shithole that you and your Shelby friends put me in?!" he yelled, sending shivers down her spine.

Hands on her pocket, she fumbled around to unlock the safety of the gun. Just when she'd found it, her back hit the wall, it was already a dead end.

Her stepfather ran towards her, swinging an arm which she quickly dodged by ducking and then she ran forward so now he was on the side near the wall and she was on the side of the exit. She made a run for it but he grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked it, causing her to fall on her back.

"Don't go yet, you little bitch! We've got some catching up to do!" his smile reflected the evil glint in his eyes as he threw a punch that connected directly with her face. Her vision doubled, and it almost darkened completely when his calloused hands wrapped tightly around her neck.

Using the last bit of strength she had, she took out her gun and without thinking she aimed at his stomach and pulled the trigger.

His murderous expression was replaced with shock and horror, and he let her go. She fell to the ground, thrashing and gasping for air like fish out of water. She started crawling out but he grabbed her by the ankle and as if on reflex, she turned to face him and shot him on the head.

She managed to crawl a bit further until her strength was drained and she collapsed, the image of two men in berets being the last image she saw.