Only Time Will Tell - A Peaky Blinders Story

Chapter 11 - Welcome home, Michael

"Good morning, Pol. How was the party?" Cass asks as she enters the kitchen, failing to notice the third person in the room. "It was alright, would have been better if you were there." Polly replies. "Aren't you going to say hello?" She then asks expectantly, making her niece look towards her in confusion. That's when she finally notices Michael sat next to his mother at the table.

"Michael, it's good to see you again." Cass says, offering her hand for him to shake. "You too." He replies, shaking her hand. "Wait, you two have met?" Polly asks in shock. "She was with Tommy when they came to visit." Michael explains, not realising the rift it will cause between the two women.

There is a thick silence in the room, and Michael doesn't know where to look. "You knew where he was and didn't tell me?" Polly asks, staring at her niece as if she had killed someone in cold blood. "I did, Pol. But I told Michael that it was his choice if he wanted to come here. You demanded the address off Tommy, not me. I stayed out of it because I wanted to see if he would show up." Cass admits, raising her hands in surrender.

"How dare you!" Polly screams as she stands and stalks over to Cassie, slapping her across the face. "You kept that from me!" She continues to yell as she pushes her niece up against the wall and holding her pocketknife against Cass's chin. "Polly, I did what I thought was right. It worked out. He came home to you. Don't scare him away by doing this." Cass whispers, tears filling her eyes. This makes Polly calm down a little, but she never loosens her grip on the girl.

Just then, the door bursts open and John and Arthur come bounding in playing some sort of make believe. John stops in his tracks when he sees the two women glaring at each other. "You're dead! Go down, John." Arthur says, having not noticed. "John!" He then yells. Prompting his younger brother to nod towards what he is staring at.

"What's going on?" Arthur asks, unsure whether he should pull them apart. "It's just a disagreement." Michael replies, making the brothers snap their heads towards him. "Everything alright?" Tommy asks when he walks through the door. "Everything's fine." Cass replies bluntly before forcing Polly's hands away from her, making her aunt retreat back to her seat at the table.

"Who's this then?" Arthur asks, nodding his head towards Michael. "John, Arthur, this is your cousin. This is Michael." Tommy replies. "It's a pleasure to meet you." Michael says, standing and shaking the brothers hands. "You already know me. I used to throw you out the window so John could catch you." Arthur says. "Yeah, and I used to put you in a shoe box and kick you down Watery Lane." John adds, sniggering at the memory.

"I bet you're glad to be back." Tommy says with a half smirk. "I don't remember any of it. Only the day they took me away." Michael replies, prompting Polly to walk over to him and straighten his bowtie. "Well, we have work to do." Cass then says, waving her hand towards her brothers in an attempt to tell them to follow her, which they do.

"What the fuck was that about?" John asks as the four enter the betting shop. "Don't worry about it. Look, I'm going to be away on Wednesday and Thursday, so I need you to make sure Finn gets to school. Alright?" Cass replies. "Where are you going?" Tommy asks. "That's none of your business." Cass retorts, making her brother roll his eyes. "Can you two make sure he gets to school?" She then asks Arthur and John, not even bothering to look at Tommy. "Yeah." They reply in unison, prompting their sister to nod and walk out. The three are left stood in confusion as they watch her walk away.

~

"Cass, we need to talk." Tommy says as he barges through the door into her room. "Fucking hell, can't you knock?" Cass groans as she places the dress she was looking at back in her wardrobe. "No. Look, I'm sick of you acting like this. You're even fighting with Polly. Can you just tell me what the fuck's going on?" Tommy replies. Cassie sighs deeply before sitting her bed and inviting him to join her.

"Honestly? I'm overreacting. I know that. Although I also know that if it were me in Arthur's position you would be a lot different. You've shown me that in the past." Cass starts, accepting the cigarette her brother offers to her. "I'm just sick of you taking everything that happened with Grace out on us. She betrayed you, I understand that, but you can't blame us. Especially since I'm the one who warned you of her in the first place. All I'm saying is, maybe find some compassion. All of us are struggling, Tom. It might not be in the same way as everyone else, but we are. You have to understand that." She adds, a sympathetic glint in her eyes.

She watches as Tommy takes a deep breath, closing his eyes and tilting his head up towards the ceiling. He knows she's right, and she knows that he does. "Alright. I'll try and be better, ok?" Tommy says with a nod. "Good." Cass says with a small smile. "Right, you've got to go and meet with Billy Kitchen, and I've got stuff to do." She then says, standing from the bed and opening her door for Tommy to leave. When he doesn't, she sighs with annoyance.

"What happened between you and Pol?" He asks lowly, never taking his eyes away from hers. "She found out that I knew Michael's address. She wasn't too pleased." Cass replies with a light sigh. "She'll realise you did it for the right reasons soon enough." Tommy says, finally standing from his sister's bed.

"One more thing..." He then says. "Ok." Cass replies, furrowing her brows. "Where are you going on Wednesday?" he asks. Cass takes a deep breath. She knew that was coming. "London." She answers plainly. "Alfie Solomons?" Tommy asks through gritted teeth. "Would it matter if I was going to see him?" Cass asks, almost sounding intrigued. "Depends if his intentions are true." Tommy replies, making his sister roll her eyes. "If he hurts you, I'll kill him. I don't care what it would do to the business." He adds, making Cass laugh slightly. "Good to know brother." She says with a smirk before letting him out of her room.