Forbidden Afflictions // Alfie Solomons Peaky Blinders

(13) Blinded

Hi. Please ignore any typos. I've had a stressful week and I wasn't sure I would make the deadline to upload in time but I did... barely. I will try to make edits later, stabilize the pacing, and fix dialogue, and all that jazz. But I'm sure this will do in the meantime. I hope you enjoy. I love y'all!

-V

Alfie begrudgingly sent Samuel to Freya. She had a little giggle to herself as he rounded the truck near the house. She didn't give him a moment to exit the vehicle before she hopped in beside him. 

"Morning, Samuel," she announced, climbing into the seat beside him. "It's been ages..."

The tall Jewish man stared at her with wide eyes. Seeing her sent shivers down his spine and his heart beat faster whenever he knew she was near. He was fearful of her. She didn't understand how much power she held over those men at the distillery but Samuel knew all too well. If only she had heard what kind of drawn-out arguments and disciplinary retributions Alfie had given them over her, she might only understand why Samuel was so hesitant to follow such a contradicting order. 

He opened his mouth to say something but quickly realized nothing came out. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath before saying, "Good morning."

She didn't give him a smile or any indication that she heard him, and instead told him where she needed to go. She wanted to go to the commissioner's office in London before doing anything else. She had her ways with the folk who worked in Birmingham, but that would have been too far of a drive so those in London would have to do. 

She needed to find her family. She needed to find Polly. 

It was a crazy idea to think she had only spent time with the woman three months prior. It felt like so long ago and she could have sworn it was only yesterday she was being released. Time was a strange concept to her then—even more so now.

"Why are acting as if you really needed a poo before coming here?" she asked abruptly, noticing how the tension between them lasted longer than their initial introductions.

"Huh? Wuh—What?" he asked incredulously, turning his head and looking at Freya with a look of utter disbelief. "I... I don't. Why would you think that?" he wondered, feeling cold all of a sudden and checking his rearview mirror for danger. 

"You're stiff as a prude," she mocked, poking a finger into his shoulder and nudging him only a few centimeters. "And your face is pinched..."

"No, it's not," he argued lightly, keeping his tone of voice as neutral as possible. 

"It is," Freya informed him. 

"No," Samuel assured with a shake of his head. "I'm fine; just following orders..." he drew out suspiciously, finding it odd how Alfie asked him to go with Freya when there were plenty of other good men at the distillery who could have gotten the job done without angering him. 

Samuel could remember how it felt to be beaten with that lead pipe Alfie used to walk around with. He had the scars to remind him how he was reprimanded all those years ago for hurting Freya. Being asked to follow her now was beyond comprehension.

He was only following orders then—on Sedar—he did what Alfie demanded: he kept her quiet. He didn't understand why Alfie was so angry the following afternoon. He was following orders when he was told to stay away from Freya. He did as he was told and kept clear of her whenever she was in town. Now Alfie wanted him to be with her? Alone? All day?

He was worried he had misunderstood or done something wrong. He thought he heard Alfie wrong the first time when he called for him, and again after he made Alfie repeat himself. All Samuel could do now was hope for the best and hope Alfie didn't beat him again for sharing the same air as Freya Shelby.