Another Paradise | T Shelby

FOUR - MIDNIGHT

The ticking of the clock on the wooden chest of drawers at the end of Blair's bed was all that she'd heard for the past two hours. She'd tried to sleep at ten o'clock, but the same as every night since moving into the Shelby manor, she had been unable to do so.

Unsure of whether it was the new surrounding that was keeping her awake till an ungodly hour, or something else, Blair took on every day for the past three weeks with little to no sleep.

Running on several cups of tea and bites of toast when she had a spare few minutes, Blair had been exhausting herself running around after Charles. She had bonded with the little boy, enjoying learning about him on a much more personal level than she ever got to do with a class full of students.

Blair loved teaching Charles. She enjoyed seeing the delight in his face when he finally spelled things correctly or completed a math question right. He was a charming child with a contagious smile and heart-warming laugh, but he was a bundle of energy that Blair thought even with a full night's sleep she'd have trouble keeping up with.

It was Saturday tomorrow and Charlie usually slept in till after 10 on a weekend, which meant that even if she was awake, Blair had longer to lay in bed and rest than she did in the week. She usually took Charles out to see the horses on a Saturday morning, spending the summer afternoons outside as much as she could, remembering just how much she'd enjoyed the endless fields on her doorstep as a child.

It was pitch black outside through the net curtains, but Blair knew that she'd have to do as little as blink for the sun to be rising over the hills in the distance. The nights felt long and short all at once, but her confusion might've been down to the lack of sleep she was getting, she thought.

Sighing, Blair pushed the covers from her body and slid on a pair of black fur slippers that she kept beside her bed, grabbing her silk robe from behind the door and tying it tightly around her waist.

Despite it being the middle of summer, the house was frighteningly cold, especially in the evenings. The bitter air made Blair shiver as she tiptoed along the corridor and down the staircase, heading towards the kitchen, hoping not to wake anybody.

She hadn't had chance to eat dinner that evening after being busy with Charlie all day, and by the time the boy had settled down to sleep, Blair was too tired to eat, but as it goes, she ended up being too hungry to sleep.

Pushing open the door, Blair winced as the hinges creaked loudly, tightening her body as she crept into the kitchen, hoping to avoid any loud floorboards at the late hour.

"Frances?"

"Oh my god!" Blair whispered loudly, covering her thumping heart with her hand as she tried to calm down her startled body.

Thomas was sat on the kitchen table, a glass of whiskey in his hand. No lights were on, but there was a glow coming from the outside of the stables that cast a faint, orange shadow into the kitchen window, making his shape only just visible through the darkness.

"I'm sorry," Blair said, swallowing once she'd caught her breath back, "I didn't know you were in here. I just came down to get something to eat, I didn't have any dinner."

"Why didn't you have dinner?" Tommy asked, pouring himself another glass of whiskey from the bottle that sat beside him, "The chef made cottage pie, you like that, don't you?"

Blair nodded, but realised he probably couldn't see her, "Yes. I was too tired to have an appetite, but I couldn't sleep in the end."

Tommy cleared his throat and jumped down from the table, flicking on a light switch that illuminated one half of the large room with a warm, yellow light.

"Charlie run you ragged, has he?"

Blair walked closer to him, perching on the edge of the table as she watched Tommy rummage around in the pantry, pulling out a loaf of bread and setting it down on the side.

"He has a lot of energy, that's all. How come you're not asleep?"

Blair immediately felt like she was prying, asking questions like Thomas was still someone she considered a friend, not her employer. He fell silent, not giving her a response while he sliced up the bread.

"I don't sleep," he finally said, though Blair didn't ask for a reason why.

She sat in silence as Tommy smothered the bread in jam, grabbing another glass from the cupboard and pouring her a glass of whiskey before carrying them both over to her.

"Thank you," she said quietly, "I should be doing this for you, I'm the employee."

Tommy scrunched up his nose, shaking his head as he sat beside her, a small gap between the two of them that once upon a time, wouldn't have been there.

"You're a teacher, not a cook. You still wear your wedding ring."

His tone made the statement sound more like a question than anything else, but made Blair blush when she looked down at her hand, twisting the ring round her finger, still feeling a flare inside her heart whenever she touched the gold band.

She looked across at Tommy discretely, noticing his hand was bare.

"You don't?"

He sighed loudly as Blair took a bite of the bread, washing it down with the whiskey. She didn't drink much, not since her husband had passed away, but she didn't want to be rude and refuse.

"She's not here, she won't ever be here again. I let go a long time ago."

He didn't look at Blair when he spoke to her, but she looked at him. She could tell he was lying by the way he narrowed his eyes, looking back out at the orange light by the stables. His breathing was long and deep, his shoulders rising and falling heavily, something he did when he had no faith in his words.

"Well, I don't have anything of him left. I never got to say goodbye. I don't think I can ever take it off."

It hurt Blair to talk about her husband, but it also felt strangely comforting at the same time. It wasn't often that she did confide in people about how she was feeling, and even rarer that the topic included her husband, but when she did, she felt lucky that the memories she had of him were bright in her mind, still remembering the curve of his smile and scent of his aftershave like it was yesterday.

"I think I'd rather have not said goodbye than say it the way I did. No goodbye would've been better."

Tommy poured the entire glass of whiskey into his mouth, kissing his teeth once it was empty. Blair knew not to pry again, knowing that he had probably already said more than he'd wanted to. He had never been a man of commitment, which she knew all too well, but Blair had thought that the woman he'd left her for would've been worthy of him keeping his wedding ring on for, even after her passing.

"I should probably try and sleep, thank you for the bread, and the whiskey." Blair said as she took the plate and glass over to the sink, leaving them in the water to soak.

"I wondered how long it would be before I saw you down here one night," Tommy said, still looking out at the stables, "I remember you always used to wake up hungry at stupid hours of the morning."

Blair thought she could hear a smile in his voice, but she couldn't see from where she was stood. Nevertheless, the reminder that he was in fact her boss, no longer a lover, made the conversation they were sharing one that felt slightly uncomfortable.

"Goodnight, Thomas."

She lingered in the doorway, watching as he poured himself another glass of whiskey. He turned his back to look at her over his shoulder, a lack of emotion on his face, but the orange light from the stables giving him a warm, subtle glow that made his features seem softer in the dim light.

"Goodnight, Blair."

an;;
a bit of a boring chapter but like usual pls stick with me, things will pick up gradually! Thank u for reading, let me know what you think!