A Time and Place for Us

Unearthing Truths and Telling Lies

Thank you for reading! I'd love to know what you think of this one xxx

Time seemed to freeze as Sweeney looked at Nellie, blissfully unaware of the magnitude of what she'd so casually revealed. He had to fight the urge to slap her so hard she didn't feel like talking anymore because it was clear to him that she wasn't in her senses, and he promised her and himself that he would not hurt her anymore. But he couldn't stay idle as she spilled more secrets. He only managed to grab her hand to pull her with him before the other woman predictably started screaming like a banshee.

"Sweeney Todd is aboard the ship!", "Lord take mercy on us!", "Someone save us from the demon barber!" he heard a cacophony of voices yell behind him but he was already running away with Nellie.

Rounding the bridge and the funnel, Sweeney and Nellie made it to the emergency stairs that led to the steerage cabins below, to their cabin. He was intent on shielding her until her coherence returned, but the trapdoor was locked. In an emergency, the sailors had locked the emergency exit. Bloody geniuses, now the killer could go on a rampage if he so fancied. On the overcrowded deck in the middle of the night, pushing someone overboard would be seen as a "regrettable accident".

But at present, Sweeney wasn't in a murderous mindset. He just wanted to get Nellie somewhere where she couldn't put her foot in her mouth and accelerate their sinking in quicksand.

"We'll take the regular stairs. Give me your hand and stay close to me" he told her, already anticipating the hordes of flapping passengers blocking the way. He shivered as his fear of crowds threatened to make a comeback, but he had no choice but to deal with it now.

"Aw, love. You're adorable. So in a hurry to shag me" she commented in amusement. "But we can shag here, baby. You know I love an audience."

She wasn't taking him seriously and while that didn't sit well with him, they had no time for that. Without another word, he grabbed her by the wrist and roughly dragged her with him as he pushed everyone in his way to get to the main entrance.

"Sweeney! You're hurting me" she yelled and when he turned round, his eyes were darker than the night.

"Don't call me that!" he warned, hoping nobody had heard. Fortunately, with everyone screaming his name in their panic-stricken states, no one seemed to bat an eye when Nellie did too. "I'm Charles, Charles!" He grabbed her by the chin, her brown eyes wide in surprise or perhaps fear. Her soft plump mouth scant inches from his. "Your husband."

With that, he kissed her, deeply, brutally, passionately; leaving her breathless and speechless when he pulled apart. He should have remembered this was always the most effective way to shut her up. He licked his lips, savouring the remaining taste of her as he smirked; it was also the most pleasurable one.

With a now somewhat calmed-down Nellie walking with him, they crossed the wooden door to go back inside. Everyone must be on the deck already, for there wasn't many people in the corridor. He had been hoping to use the chaos to his advantage, to blend in and make it to the main stairs undetected, but given the empty state of the corridor, the ship officials spotted them as soon as they set a foot in.

"You are not allowed here. I urge you to return outside until we deem it safe to retire for the night once we conduct the necessary investigation. A vile crime has been committed tonight" one of them informed Sweeney. He managed to remain visibly calm on the outside, conducting himself with the stoicism that befitted a cold-blooded murderer like himself, despite his heart beating wildly in his chest.

"Tell me more! Spare me no grisly details!" Nellie jumped in and he found himself eager to shut her up with another bruising kiss. He hated that stupefying thing called love for clouding his judgement and making him lose focus, but she looked even more attractive in this lightning, all dishevelled from the sea breeze, with her eyes as red as the blood of his victims and her lips still swollen from his kiss.