Nothing Left To Break

27

"Just any Solomons connection" Thomas speaks with hushed tones on his office telephone. He had been locked up in there all day. Lani hadn't told him the name of her ex fiancé, but he had to find out. Instead, he was searching for Lani's name instead, then would ask her old neighbours or friends about the man. The only problem was that nobody new Lani's name. They knew the surname, but not her first name. She wouldn't have changed it, would she? She would have told him.

"Tom, we're goin' to the Garrison. You coming?" John barges in his office and practically shouts at his brother.

Tommy holds up a finger at his brother as he is still on the phone, and there is no way he is leaving this conversation.

"Who you been on the phone to all day?" John asks, stepping more into his office, ignoring his brother.

"John. I'll be there in a bit, can you fuck off" he demands, holding his hand to the phone so the lady on the other line won't hear him.

John nods, rolls his eyes then leaves, slamming the door behind him. Not out of anger, it was just the way he was.

"Sorry about that. Did you think of anyone?" He asks, politeness making its way to his voice. He was trying to sugar coat her so she would tell him what he wanted to know.

He has found this woman through one of his old comrades, apparently she was her old neighbour, well, Tommy was hoping that she was. This was his last hope.

"I knew of an Angharad Solomons" she speaks. Tommy's eyes shut at this. She lied. Why was he so upset about this? He had lied to her a thousand times over.

"And what was her fiancé's name" he demands, the politeness faltering in his voice.

"I'll spell it for you" she says, almost mocking him. I'm all fairness, there was no way that he was going to be able to say that, let alone spell it.

"Thank you" he says before hanging up the phone.

Without another word he hung up and got off his chair. He needed a drink.

He knew his name. He knew him. Tommy had served with Rhodri Garmon in France. He was ruthless and harsh. He experienced severe ptsd during the war and completely changed. How could he kill someone who had experienced the same things that he did? But how could he not kill someone who did that to Lani. Yeah, he really needed that drink.

----

"Is she worth it, Tom?" Arthur asks him.

They had been drinking for the rest of the evening, it was very late now so there were very few in the pub, Tommy had slowly begun to loosen up and came clean to his brothers about the current situation. He had stormed into the pub and not said a word until he was buzzed. He couldn't talk about anything. He couldn't believe that he was even considering not killing the man. In any other case there would be no argument. But this was his comrade. He had felt his pain. He had been where he is, not that he would ever take his anger out on a woman, no less a woman that he supposedly loved.

"Of course she is Arthur. Do you see the way he looks at her? He hasn't looked at anyone like that ever, not even Grace" John argues in the corner, slurring on his words slightly.

"So fucking shoot him. Disgusting man for doing that" Arthur says, finishing his whiskey and going to the almost empty bottle for another glass.

Noticing this Tommy knocks on the window to get another bottle. While doing this he leans on the side and turns to his brothers.

"But it's not that easy. You of all people know what France did to us" he says, the room spinning slightly as he grabbed the bottle off Harry and went back to sit down, staggering as he does so.

"But I never raped a bird" Arthur states, raising his glass and looking Tommy straight in the eyes.

This sentence brings Tommy to his senses. It was enough to make him shudder on the inside. The image of that happening to her. The scars that she must have that he hasn't seen yet. That she wouldn't let him see.

"Fuck" Tommy mumbles, burying his head in his hands, trying to stop the room from spinning, also trying to get his brain to stop bringing those images to his mind.

"He doesn't deserve an honourable death, Tom" John whispers. It sounded like he was also seeing what Tommy was seeing.

They all sat in silence. Thinking of that.

"Have you fucked her?" John asks, completely going against the topic. It seemed as though they had all had enough of that subject. And Tommy knew what he had to do.

Tommy let's out a laugh at his brothers directness.

"And why do you need to know that eh?" He asks, shotting down the rest of his drink. Letting the liquid consume him. He had thought too much these last few days, he needed to let loose. He needed this.

"That's a yes isn't it brother?" Arthur asks, laughing again and pouring them all another drink.

He nods while laughing, his guard completly down.

At that Arthur stands up and prompts John to do the same.

"To good fucks" Arthur shouts happily, looking down at his brother. Who, for the record, hadn't put those images out of his head, but god the alcohol helped. And his brothers. So, with that, he stood up and raised his glass.

"To good fucks" the three cheer, smashing their glasses together and chugging their drinks down before slamming them back down on the table.

While sitting back down laughing the door opened and in walked Lani. In Tommy's opinion she had never looked so beautiful. A worried look on her face as she scans the pub for Tommy's face. That in itself bought a smile to his lips. She was looking, for him. She was worried, about him.

Her worried expression fell as she finally saw him. His hair was a mess, his skin flushed and his eyes slightly red. Yep, he was drunk as fuck. Lani rolled her eyes playfully before continuing across the pub into the small room which had its door wide open so she could see that Arthur and John were there too. He needed some time with them.

"Hello boys" she says happily as she waltzes into the room, placing a hand on her hip and the other on Tommy's shoulder. This act alone send a wave of domestic bliss through Tommy's body. A sense of warmth that was ever so rare.

"Let's get you home" she says, picking up the whiskey bottle and their glasses and putting it through the small window so Harry could clean them up.