Forbidden Afflictions // Alfie Solomons Peaky Blinders

(2) Beleaguer

It was a beautiful little cottage-like house that Alfie took her to. He said it was an inheritance from an aunt of his but she didn't expect it to be something so... quiet.

London was as crowded as a can of fish and she noticed how Alfie and other Jewish folk stayed close together. They formed communities to stay safe from constant prosecution and discrimination and Freya didn't expect to be moved to such a cozy place with land, grass, and hardly any concrete.

If it weren't for the signs to Watford, Freya would have never guessed she to be so close to the city. The homes had land between, not like her old place in Birmingham, but it was still land. The homes lined up on either side of the road didn't all look the same, the cars were all in different conditions, and even the yards were used differently. Some had kids playing in the snow while their mothers watched, others had dogs, and some had rusty car parts littered across their grass. Every house was different.

Alfie pulled into the cobblestone drive and moving trucks lined one side of the road behind him. He turned to her and was startled to find her already staring back. Her eyes were glazed and her lips were chewed to oblivion, but she was looking right back at him.

He was almost too afraid to speak in case he spooked her. His lips were parted for a moment as he met her gaze. She was like a fawn in the middle of winter and he feared any movement, even the most slight and subtle would send her into the darkened wood again.

It was only a glance but it was more than she had given him in the weeks before. He hadn't moved but to breathe and she still curled in on herself after only a few moments. Her head was bent to the hands in her lap and Alfie thought he had lost her all over again.

He took a deep breath and pulled the key from the ignition. "Home sweet 'ome," he said mindlessly, speaking without knowing if there were any reason to—without knowing if anyone would hear him.

He opened the driver's door to leave but that's when he heard it.

"Wait," she called out softly.

She hadn't moved when she spoke. She kept staring at her hands, picking at the skin around her jagged nails.

Again, Alfie was too afraid to speak in case he scared her away. He didn't want to make her go back on what she said. She had something to tell him and she had finally said something of use.

He turned in his seat and tilted his head in an attempt to peer past her fallen hair.

"Yes?" he asked curiously, causing Freya to swallow uncomfortably before she turned and met his eyes.

"Thank you..." she trailed off hopelessly, blinking rapidly to clear the tears from her eyes.

Alfie furrowed his brows in question and searched her face for some sort of answer. She had lines between her eyebrows and the beginning of a permanent frown line when he looked at her directly. She looked lost. Her eyes were like giant marbles and her voice sounded so distant that if she wasn't staring directly at him, he would have to question if she was speaking to him at all.

"For wot?" he asked in a hushed tone, still not wanting to scare her off.

Freya exhaled very slowly and then sniffled. Alfie watched how her chest inflated at an equally slow rate and refused to move from his position until she was finished.

Freya swallowed again and winced as if it hurt. Then, with one hand against the lowest part of her belly and another reaching forward, she grabbed Alfie's hand and closed her eyes.

Alfie tried not to flinch at how cold her hand had gotten and convinced himself it was the weather that made her skin feel like ice.

Freya took another deep breath and sighed. "This," she whispered hollowly.