Forbidden Afflictions // Alfie Solomons Peaky Blinders

(28) Bear

Even in a flurry of emotions, both what came in an outpour and what stayed pent up, Freya felt obligated to see the Silvermans and Roffes off before making her leave. She couldn't help her complexion or the redness of her eyes and nose but she made her best appearance to see them go.

Anna looked freshly taken care of, most likely the one in the shower when Freya returned that morning. Her hair was tied up in a beautiful pink scarf with tiny red accents around the rim. Her husband looked equally rested with a tarboosh of the same red as Anna's headscarf. Anna gave her a tender hug and Freya shook Ben's hand while Amado resorted to giving off a wave.

As she forced a smile and gave her guests the best sendoff she could, only Solomon seemed to notice how shaken she was. After catching her coming in earlier that morning to see her now, then taking into account what she looked like the night before, he was sure something else was going on. He thought he knew his cousin like the back of his hand but then suddenly had to question what he and this Gypsy woman did behind closed doors. It wasn't his place to interfere, especially after only getting to know the girl for less than a day, but he still took notice.

She didn't have any makeup on now and he didn't see any bruises or any marks of foul contact, but there was a reason she was so frazzled and shaken. If not a domestic altercation, perhaps a verbal one.

He watched her move from one person to the next with a stern brow and folded arms. He didn't open up to her when he was the only one not to say anything to her. His brother and Amado started to load the car they called for and Solomon didn't budge. She met his stare for a moment and he caught a glimpse of something that mirrored broken glass. Freya's eyes were so stark, so white, the slits of true blue in them acted as wounds to her face. She looked beyond tired—she looked broken inside.

When the silence lingered, he cleared his throat and moved for her hand. "Your perseverance hasn't gone unnoticed, Miss Shelby," Solomon spoke solemnly. "It was nice meeting you." He gave her hand a gentle shake and bid her farewell.

She stared at him in confusion, not understanding his meaning of 'perseverance' right away but he walked away before she could question him. She waited for the car to leave before putting on her coat and cap and shooting off to a pub to drink the morning events away. Driving to the docks was almost second nature at that point. She paid the bartenders to close the doors and since it was too early to house the workers on their lunch break, she didn't need to do much to get a private room.

It was just her and a bottle of whiskey for an hour. She had so much running through her brain and no way to express it. She could never talk about what Dr. Wilson and she discussed before but when she came back to Camden, it was all she could think about. She was actually looking forward to talking to Alfie about how her appointment went. Now she couldn't imagine telling him anything that could fuel whatever nonsense he was conducting behind her back.

What was he doing?

It didn't make any sense. All she wanted was for everything to be left behind. She couldn't live to remember what horrors she faced in Holloway and all Alfie did was remind her. He preyed on her retellings. He was using her trauma for some ulterior motive and she couldn't make any sense of it.

If he truly cared for her as he says he does, he wouldn't hurt her like that. He would listen to her. He would drop the subject and he would have never invaded her privacy like that. He wouldn't talk to her like that. He looked like a different person entirely when he yelled at her. The things he said, the way he said them, none of it seemed like Alfie.

Why would he continue to do such things if he truly loved her? Unless he didn't...

She had faith in their love. She risked her and her family's safety just to be with him. He went against his morals to be with her. They put up with being apart for a year and still came back to each other. She broke things off with him before she was locked away for months on end and he still came back to her.