As the youngest Shelby child and twin to Finn Shelby, Kezia has spent the last 4 of her 10 years locked away for her mental defectiveness.
She returns to Small Heath under the legal guardianship of her brother, Thomas Shelby. Despite knowing she's s...
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CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
"Hey, Finnie."
Kizzie's twin sent her a sleepy smile. "Hey."
They stood outside the betting room, afterhours on a Sunday. Kizzie hadn't been back home in a month. Well, that wasn't entirely true. She came here still, but never for more than an hour. Tommy still didn't allow her to sleep over, despite having Ozzy around.
She loved her new friend. She knew Tommy framed their relationship as friendship, but Ozzy was there to keep tabs on her, protect her. It made sense and Kizzie didn't want to worry Tommy and the family again. She believed Ozzy saw her as a friend, too.
But not being home created a bigger strain on her and Finn.
She didn't crave his presence the same way she did Tommy, but the need to know he was nearby was taken from her. Because of her.
But Finn didn't seem to share in her need. He looked at her like a sibling now, no longer his twin.
"Let's go inside," he told her, opening the door.
Kizzie raced for Esme sitting on the stairs.
"Hello, love!"
"Hello."
She tugged the ends of Kizzie's hair. "Braids?"
"Yes!" Kizzie took a seat below Esme and closed her eyes. "I can still come over for dinner tomorrow?"
"Mhm. John and I would love to have you over."
Kizzie smiled and found John in the corner by Aunt Polly. He and Finn looked more alike by the day. She wondered, quite often, who she looked the most like. People mistook her for Tommy's daughter when she was younger, but her face has changed since then. Kizzie knew she didn't look like Arthur—he didn't really look like any of the siblings. And his colors reflected that sometimes; they felt lonely.
Even now, her eldest brother sat alone at the table, flexing his fingers and palms. Tommy said he began fighting in some club. Dangerous business but it seemed to keep him in line. Kizzie had once or twice caught him mumbling to himself around the house, picking fights with strangers in the street. Something changed, and he was a bomb ready to implode.
Kizzie went to sit beside him after Esme braided her hair. "Hello."
"Kizzie, girl!" Arthur pulled out the seat for her. "Feel like I barely see you these days."
"Sorry."
"Not your fault!" Arthur poked her side and earned a giggle out of her. "What did Tommy say about apologizin' all the time, yeah?"
"Okay."
He smiled. "Good, good."
They fell into silence. Kizzie traced the grooves in the tabletop, pretending they were rivers with no end. She rarely went to meetings. Only the most important and less stressful—of which there were few.
