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*/ Chapter Four - Two Truths and a Lie
The act of an unmarried woman being caught in a man's home after dark was an unspoken rule that needn't be said by the general public—in fact, it was almost a given. Smart girls wouldn't show up at a man's door whilst her only caretaker had been lulled into an alcohol-induced sleep. Smart girls wouldn't associate with this man in particular in the first place. But Evelyn Kelly had never been known as someone that was smart. Quiet, a little snappy—but never smart.
That was why, while Michael Marsh's eyes slipped shut and his breathing steadied, she had slipped out of her home at midnight to visit the Shelby household.
Her knuckles rapped against the door three times and she leaned back against her heels, a cloud of smoke leaving her mouth due to the biting cold. Her eyes flickered over the alleyways that seemed to glare at her. The streets of Small Heath were still busy this time of night—but they were nowhere near the kind of company she would've wanted.
She didn't know if any of the Shelby siblings were awake, but she had recalled that Michael told her Tommy in particular found it a little harder to sleep during the night. They shared the same affliction, therefore they shared the same remedies: the pipe and the booze.
The lock turned and the door opened just the slightest bit. An eye peeked out to examine who exactly was knocking on the Shelby household's door at this time of night, but upon seeing who it was, John opened the door a little wider. He was clad in sleep clothes, but there was no semblance of tiredness in his eyes or an inkling that he had been resting. He was wide awake, and well aware of the fact that she was standing at his front door step at a time that was far from appropriate.
"Couldn't stay away from me, could you?" was the first thing John asked, a shit-eating smirk on his face. The toothpick that usually accompanied his smile was replaced by a cigarette, almost smoked to the end.
"I'm actually not here to talk to you." Evelyn said, shaking a hair out of her eye.
John placed a hand over his chest, mocking hurt. "You're breakin' my heart, Evie," he said, not looking the part at all. He stepped aside, opening the door a bit wider. "Come in—freezin' my balls off just fucking lookin' at you."
