The Child Of A Shelby (Peaky Blinders)

Unraveling the secrets of the necklace

(Tommy's P.O.V.)
I got out the car and closed the door behind me as I looked up at the building stood in front of me. The adress was written on the letter my first love had given me, telling me where I could find my son. I didn't know I had a son but I immediarly had decided to go and find him to take him home. The adress was located in the poor part of the city. You could tell because the building had cracks in its brick walls, broken windows and the paint of the wooden door had withered away. People noticed I had arrived and quickly scurried inside their homes or passed me without looking into my direction. I walked inside the building and stepped towards the appartment that was written in the letter I had recieved. I knocked on the door and waited for a person to open. "Mummy, who is there?" A young childs voice softly came from behind the door, accompanied by another wailing child. "Yes?" A female voice asked opening the door. Before the door was even completely open a young boy ran out "You're staying here! Get inside" The mother loudly told the young boy while pulling him back into the house by his collar. Another child kept begging the mother for some attention, not liking that the infant brother or sister was being held by her mother. The mother ignored her begging child and looked up at me. I could tell she was a bit fearfull of me but she held the sterness of a true mother in her bodylanguage. Ready to tell one of her many children off immediatly after they would do something wrong. "Does a Miss Gimlet live here?" I questioned her, "Miss Gimlet?" She questioned, "never heard of her - would you be quiet" she told me before turning to scold her begging daughter, "sorry, I just came to live here and - Guys, I cannot even hear myself while all of you are whining - the female who lived here before, she has passed. Could that be Miss Gimlet?" She asked while juggling between answering my questions and paying attention to her children. "And the boy?" I asked her. The small infant in her arms started to cry harder "and now the baby is crying even louder" she said with frustration and tiredness, "Miss?" I loudly said gaining her attention quickly, "and the young boy?". "Sorry, I haven't seen a young boy. I already have enough children of my own to worry about. Maybe you could ask the neighbours". I nodded and thanked her before turning around. "Sir?" I asked the first person walking up the stairs to go to the third floor. "Mr Shelby" he greeted me with a quick nod, "do you know if there pived a young boy here?". He sighed "Mr Shelby, over time there could have lived about hundred of boys here" he told me before bidding me goodbye and continue his way to the third floor of the run down appartment building. I sighed before turning on my heel to leave the building. I walked back to my car but before opening I felt something bit me in the back of my head. I knew from the coldness that it must have been a snowball. I turned around and saw a group of boys quickly scatter and hide after realising the snowball hit me. I chuckled as I noticed familair eyes peaking from behind the wall. "Hello Oscar" I said with a chuckle while grabbing a cigarette to light it. I looked back towards him and saw him step from behind the wall. He looked annoyed that, well one I had noticed him and called him out for it and two that the group of lads he was playing with had ran off right after. "Good day, Mr Shelby" he greeted me. "You want me to drive you back to Alfie?" I asked him. Alfie's place was around a 25-30 minute drive from here, so I was suprised to see him here. His eyes showed annoyence and he roughly shook his head. I nodded realizing something might have happened and the young boy had probably ran off. "Well, you can't really stay out in the cold" I told him before nodding to the car. He hesitated slightly but decided to come along because of the coldness. After he got in the car, I began to drive off to my home. I was not letting this kid stay out in the cold and snow while I have a warm house with an empty bedroom where he could stay.

We arrived and I watched Oscar's eyes go wide once he saw the big house. Like he didn't know they could be build so big. He followed me through the door and he looked around excitedly. I chuckled noticing that he dragged snow and dirt through my house, but it didn't bother me. He was a young child who grew up on the street, before he met Alfie. So he doesn't have proper house manners. I followed him as he explored the huge house. He noticed the piano in the corner. I don't play but Greta loved to play. So that's why it stood proudly, yet lonely in the corner. A distant memory of my first love. Oscar seemed interested in it and walked towards it. He lifted the top of the piano and the black and white keys came into view. He moved the little stool back so he could sit on it before gliding his fingers over the keys. A smile appeared on his face after realizing it made noise. Eventhough he couldn't play the instrument, it still felt good to watch him play. It also felt familiar to me while I watched him, almost like watching Greta play. "Mr Shelby" a maid greeted while walking in the livingroom, "someone is here to see you". I nodded to her to let the person come to the livingroom. I turned to see Alfie walk into the room. He immediatly halted upon seeing Oscar. "Oscar" he breathed out with guilt lacing his voice. Ozzy abrubtly turned on the chair, body tense as he watched the two of us. I could see his eyes searching around the room, searching for a way out. I wanted to keep Alfie in the doorway so he could talk with Oscar from there, but the stubborn man walked forward making the boy quickly get up from the stool. Alfie noticed and stopped walking towards him and held up a hand in surrender "I just want to talk". Ozzy didn't reply and just carefully move away from the piano and us. Then, like I thought he would do, he dashed away. Both me and Alfie tried to reach for him but he is as sly as a fox and knows exactly how to escape.  He managed to make Alfie and me bump into each other almost falling over. Both of us cursing once realising he had escaped in the night. While walking back and forth in frustration I felt something being kicked away by my foot. It wasn't a large object. I looked down and saw a necklace near one of the cabinets. I picked it up and Alfie stepped next to us. "That's Oscar's necklace" he told me. It was a locket necklace and my curiosity got the better of me. So I opened it up. My heart stopped immediatly as I saw the two photos in the necklace. One of Greta and the other one of me, but much younger.

Published: 21st of December 2022

Update request AlyssaLee998