ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : run - daughter
⇄ ◃◃ ⅠⅠ ▹▹ ↻
ii. seven: ❝church visits❞
✵✵✵
Small Heath, Birmingham
MARIANNA JAMES ROSE on that Sunday morn with the kind of stubborn brightness that only women born of sorrow and fire could muster. Her boots clipped sharp against the cobbles of Small Heath, skirts swaying with a rhythm that belied her nerves.
She carried in her chest the warmth of a hearth long extinguished, a warmth she fought to give to others though her bones were carved through with frost. Today, her thoughts belonged to Finn Shelby—barely ten and already too acquainted with smoke and sharp steel. She wanted the lad to have at least one day of sweetness, one day where cake crumbs, not blood, stained his hands.
But the Shelby home was never a place of sweetness. It breathed smoke, lies, and danger.
When she knocked, the door swung wide to reveal Thomas Shelby—half-shadow, half-god—leaning lazy against the frame, a cigarette burning low between his fingers. His eyes were blue as the cold ocean, but they flared faintly when they caught her face.
"Morning, Mari," he drawled, voice low, as though it carried the weight of secrets best left in graves. "Come to see the young'un, eh? Lad's out with us at the fair. Big day for him."
She tilted her head, lips curving though her eyes remained sharp, watchful. Her voice was gentle, but each word carried its sting. "I'd thought to bake for him, Tom. Give him something soft for once. You reckon bullets and broken bones are enough of a gift for a boy?"
His mouth twitched—not quite a smile, not quite a sneer. "World don't give softness, Mari. Better he learns that early."
She stepped past him, brushing close enough that the fabric of her skirt whispered against his trousers. The warmth of her presence followed, unsettling in how it softened the smoke-saturated air. "Still, I'll bloody try. That boy deserves more than shadows."
The room pulsed with laughter and chatter as Arthur and John readied themselves. Finn's face glowed with the thrill of escape, his cap pulled low.
Marianna's heart dipped as she saw him edging toward the door.
"You lot leavin' me?" she teased, though her pout carried a heavier truth. "I want to come with you, see the fair. You can't rob me of that."
Arthur smirked, raising his brows at her theatrics. John's glance darted toward Thomas, who still stood watchful, smoke curling slow from his lips.
"No dice, Mari," Thomas cut in, tone iron, though his eyes betrayed a flicker of hesitation. "This is Blinders' business. You'll stay."
YOU ARE READING
METHOD OF MADNESS ━ 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐬 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐛𝐲 ¹ (Under editing)
Фанфикшн"𝘐 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸," she once purred, lips stained with whiskey and wickedness, "𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 �...
