The Girl Behind the Counter

Chapter 16

"OUT OUT OUT!!!" Maxie screamed. Liyana was confused and in shock. Why would there be a bomb in the shop? "NOW LIYANA!" Maxie shoved her towards the door. This brought the girl to reality. "Auntie!" Ana exclaimed with wide eyes. "You go, I've got her." Maxie rushed upstairs. "Get up! Get up now! We have to go!" Maxie hurriedly said while physically pulling her Aunt up. "Go? Where are we going? Why? I haven't got my coat on!" Her Aunt protested. "There is a bomb downstairs we have to get out NOW!" Maxie pulled her Aunt out of the door and down the stairs as the poor woman continued to ask questions. Who could blame her? This was a situation so unbelievable it verges on being impossible. Maxie finally got her Aunt outside where they met Liyana and the three ran down the street. "Tillie!" Rosella suddenly exclaimed. She turned and, with a surprising amount of speed, ran back towards the shop. "AUNTIE NO!" Maxie screamed as she started to run after her. "Stay there Liyana!" Maxie barked the order over her shoulder. The half second it took Maxie to give that order would haunt her forever. It was just enough time for her Aunt to get just a few meters away from the building. After that half second Maxie remembered nothing but darkness and a ringing in her ear. Slowly she came to her senses. "Maxie!" Liyana yelled as she shifted some rubble in order to kneel down and turn Maxie on her back. Maxie saw Ana's eyes grow wide once Maxie was facing up. She knew her injuries must be pretty bad. "Auntie." Maxie croaked out the word. "Everything over there is on fire. Maxie I... I don't think she could have made it." Liyana's cheeks were white with dust from the explosion and her tears left tracks running down her cheeks. Ana had a cut above her eye and cuts all up and down her arms. None of them had gotten as far away as they should have. Despite the ringing that persisted in her ears Maxie became aware of the sound of sirens. "The fire brigade." Liyana told her. Maxie tried to move, but winced. She wasn't able to locate the exact cause of what made her wince because there was pain all over her body. "Try no to move. Don't panic, but you have bits of glass and metal all over you. And there is a gash on your head." Liyana said through her tears. "Somebody please come help!" Liyana shouted. "I'm dizzy." Maxie whispered. "Just hold on, okay? Just stay with me! Don't you dare fucking leave me." Liyana warned. "Why not? Everyone left me." Maxie saw visions of her mother, father, grandmother, and Aunt run through her mind. Then she saw black.

Maxie woke up to her being rushed through white washed walls on a gurney.  She was pushed into a room and was shifted from the gurney to a bed. Every movement sent shocks of pain through her body. "Somebody get some blood in here now before she passes out again!" A doctor ordered. New pain started to erupt all over her as shrapnel began to be removed from Maxie's skin. From her face, her arms, her chest, her legs, and feet came shards of glass and metal of all different shapes and sizes. "Where is she?!" Maxie heard Michael's familiar voice. from all the way out in the hall. The door open and Michael gasped "My God!" One doctor was busily stitching up every little  and large hole all over her body, as another prepared to give her a blood transfusion. "Maxie!" Michael exclaimed as he rushed forward to take her hand. She cried out when he did this due to the still open wounds on her palm. "God I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Michael stammered. "Get out of the way boy!" One of the doctors barked. "Michael lad, stay back here." Maxie heard Tommy say. "Can I get a nurse to get me some morphine for this woman please!" Another doctor shouted. Maxie tried not to scream as the doctor stitched up the gash on her head. A needle would go in and then out, in and then out, in and then out. Maxie tried to keep count of how many times the needle stitched her together as a means of distracting herself from the pain, but she lost count at around six. A spoon was shoved into Maxie's face and she swallowed the clear liquid it held. Relaxation spread through her and she thanked her God above for the relief. Her eye lids began to feel as if they weighed a thousand pounds. She tried to lift that weight at first, but in the end her eyelids shut and she drifted into a dreamless sleep. "What are they doing to her?" Michael choked, trying not to cry. "They're giving her new blood mate. It's safe. I saw medics do it in France." Tommy tried to calm his cousin. "They said she lost too much blood. That's why she needs the new blood." A small voice in the corner piped up. Both men turned to see the girl huddle in the corner that they had not bothered to notice before. "You're Liyana, aren't you?" Michael turned to her. "And you must be Michael. She talks a lot about you. She loves you." Liyana replied. This caused tears to stream down Michael's cheeks. Liyana stood and went to him. They embraced each other and tried to provide comfort to one another. When the hug ended Tommy began to ask the important questions. "Liyana? I'm Tommy. I'm sorry you and I are meeting like this. What happened at the shop?" He calmly tried to coax the story from her. "We heard a beeping noise and we were trying to figure out what it was. Maxie looked behind the counter and then she yelled for me to run. She said there was a bomb. She made me run away while she got her Aunt. We were all out and safe and nearly a block away when Auntie remembered her bird. Maxie's Aunt wasn't well and that bird was her best companion. She turned back to get the bird and Maxie then ran after her. I started to follow them too, but Maxie yelled at me to stay and then the whole building just blew up. I was thrown back and hit my head. When I got up I ran over and found Maxie. I don't know about Auntie, though. I don't think she could have survived." Silent tears fell from Ana's eyes. Rosella had been just as much an Aunt to her as she was to Maxie. "Tommy. Tommy that rumor was true. Falco has been storing up all that gunpowder for bombs. It was one of his which means..." The thought Michael hadn't finished was 'which means I did this to her,' instead Tommy finished his sentence. "Which means Freddy Falco did this to her." He reassured his cousin. "This is because we roughed up his guy, I guarantee it. Which means Falco is dirty enough to go after loved ones. Maxie isn't safe, and I'm sorry Liyana but I don't think you are either." Tommy apologize. "Me? I don't even know what or who you guys are talking about!" She  argued. "It was you who was in the shop when we took care of Falco's man. I'm so sorry to bring you into all this. It was poor thinking on my part." Tommy once again apologized. "You're damn right it was on your part! You Peaky fucking Blinders think you can just smash people in and leave 'em bleeding on the street without there being any retaliation? For fuck's sake an innocent and sickly old woman is dead and all you can say is that it was 'poor thinking!' You fucked up! You fucked up everything! You've ruined everything!" Liyana yelled before falling to the floor weeping. Michael got down and wrapped her in his arms. "You're absolutely right. I fucked it up and nothing can make up for that. I'm sorry. We're gonna keep you safe, though. You're under the protection of the Peaky Blinders."