Falling // Florence Boswell // Finn Shelby

(59)

The one thing Flo loved was the smell of the fresh rain. Tillie and Eddie both called her weird, but it was the only thing that calmed the storm in her mind.

It was early in the morning, the time was roughly around eight forty-five. Although the rain had now stopped, the after-effects still loomed. Florence walked alone, her large coat wrapped around her body keeping her sheltered from the bitter cold.

She had gotten a ride from one of Tommy's men, who had been sent back to Small Heath to do a job. Florence knew well enough to not ask questions anymore, but when she heard he was going she asked could she have a lift.

Florence wanted to walk for a bit, until she was to meet Tillie and Eddie. Her initial plan was to go to Sutton to see Polly and Michael, but after being on the phone with Ada the night before she decided it wasn't the best decision at that moment.

Since their near hanging the family had changed. Ada told her that Polly was still doing her readings and talking to the dead. It concerned Florence, as Polly was a woman that she looked up to and admired.

Florence thought back to those three nights ago, when Finn had kissed her and she told him she loved him. She wish she could take it back as she knew at that moment she was weak and her true emotions had come out. She never once lied to Finn about how she felt, and now she felt more alone than she ever did.

Yes, she had her brother, and she had Tillie and Eddie. But Finn was the one that made her whole. He was the one that fixed her broken heart, and now he had shattered it into a million pieces and she didn't know if it could ever be fixed again.

Her eyes shot up as she heard someone shout her name, and a small smile spread across her face. Theo joe and Paul were walking her way, large smiles on their faces.

"Hello, love," Paul said.

"Hello". Florence said softly.

Joe stood beside Flo, his arm wrapping around her. "So where are you off to on this fine Tuesday morning?" He asked.

Flo smiled gently up at him, her shoulders shrugging slightly. "Just for a casual walk. I'm waiting for my friends to get up so we can meet". She answered.

Paul smirked his head nodding. "At least you're wrapped up. The last time you got sick". He muttered. Flo rolled her eyes at Paul's comment, her head nodding. "I remember Paul". She whispered.

She looked at the three young men. All three wore their caps proudly, and they all wore three large coats. "So what are you up to then?" She asked.

"Just waiting for Finn...Tommy gave us a job to do". Theo answered.

Florence nodded her head, her eyes on her shoes as they walked. "That's good". She whispered, suddenly feeling tense when Finn's name was mentioned.

The three men looked at each other with knowing looks. "You know...he does miss you. Don't tell him I said that...he will probably kill me. But we know he misses you, if anyone mentions your name he has this...almost sad look on his face. And when anyone talks to you he gets pissed off. We're not saying wait around forever, but maybe wait for a little bit. Just until he comes around you know?" Paul exclaimed.

Florence smiled softly at him, her head nodding. "Yeah". She whispered. Her chest hurt and she didn't know why.

"Right, this is where we love you and leave you. But see you soon yeah?" Joe asked.

Flo nodded as she gave him a small smile. After hugging them each, she continued her walk. She was meant to meet them both at ten am outside the Garrison. They were then going to walk up to the shop and then down to the canal to their special spot.