Peaky Blinders Imagines✔️

Shelby Clan- Best Friends Wife (Platonic)

The war has been going on far longer than it should have. My husband, Richard, enlisted alongside his best friends, the Shelby brothers. Today they return, I have not received a letter from Richard since he told me the war was nearly over and he would be coming home, so now I wait with Ada and Polly, eager to see my husband and friends.
The train finally stops at the platform and the doors open. Tommy is the first one to exit the train, his brothers and Freddie behind him. I frown not being able to see Richard and begin looking around. Tommy looks at me with sad eyes while taking his hat off . He walks over to me
"YN..." somethings wrong, he better not tell me what I think he's about to 
"No, Tommy don't you say it" I point at him with my finger "he said he was coming home, so don't you dare tell me..." my breathing starts to become irregular and tears start to pool my eyes
"YN..." John now looks at me with sad eyes
"No, no this.. he's not , no" I shake my head frantically until I feel hands on my shoulder. I look up to see Arthur looking down at me
"I'm sorry YN, but he's not coming home. He..."
"Don't say the word, please..." my bottom lip starts to tremble
"He died an honorable death YN" my ears start to go fuzzy and all I can hear is muffled noises. I can't tell if I'm going to pass out, throw up or both. All I remember is that I fall to the ground, but before my knees hit the floor I feel arms around me holding me up.

"Drink your tea love" Polly's voice cuts through the silence
"Like it's going to help" I scoff
"YN it might" Ada tries to help
"So tea will bring my dead husband back will it?" I practically yell at the Shelby family
"Richards dead?" a little voice announces
"Finn" Polly sighs "Finn go play outside. This is grown up talk"
"But YN said..."
"Finn!" Tommy snaps
"I'm sorry YN. I liked Richard" Finn gives me a quick hug and a kiss on the check
"So did I Finn" he then leaves the room
"YN poll is right you need to drink something, you've not drank anything since we got back and you'll get sick" Tommy points out
"How?" I look up at Tommy with tears in my eyes "how did he die? someone shoot him?"
"No, you don't need to know"
"Tommy the last thing I heard from him was that the war was nearly done and he would come home soon. So please I need to know how" I plead
"Tom she does have a right to know" John says sitting next to me at the kitchen table
"Fine" Tommy rubs his face and sits opposite "the war was over, Richard was excited to come home to you, but as we were leaving the trenches there was a bomb that hadn't been disarmed"
"Oh god" my hands automatically go over my mouth
"It exploded, he stayed alive to tell you that he loved you. He told me to tell you to move on"
"No" I shake my head "how am I supposed to move on?" I cry. John takes one of my hands and squeezes it
"Like I did. I still love Martha and I always will. You helped me YN so now it's my turn to help you. Whatever you need"
"We're all here YN to support you" Arthur says trying to smile
"How do I go home to an empty house? we didn't have kids so it's not like I have anyone to care for"
"You can stay here love. As long as you need. Now drink your tea"

That night I sleep in a spare room but I'm shivering from the cold. I decide to get up and go downstairs, but before I manage to get to the staircase Tommy bumps into me
"Can't sleep?" he asks. I shake my head
"Come on" Tommy nods to his bedroom. I follow behind him
"Richard was one of my best friends and I promised him I would take care of you" Tommy hands me a cigarette and lights it for me before lighting himself one "so we're going to sit and talk until your sleepy, then your going to lay down in my bed. If you need me to sit and watch you I will, if you need me to hold you while you cry I will. If you want me to fuck off and sleep downstairs I will. It's up to you"
"Thanks Tommy. You really are a great friend" I take a puff of my cigarette "Margaret lost her husband during the war. She said things get easier. Is that true?"
"I think things get bearable. We all saw things during the war that no man should ever have to see. Soon we all became numb to the feeling of death. I think it's important to feel some pain because YN feeling numb is just as bad"