Liliana Mae Rosa Shelby // A Thomas Shelby Fanfiction // UNDER EDITING

18 - BELLE

So you picked a fight with the Lee's on purpose?" Bella roared as she burst through the doors of the snug, faced with her husband, her brothers-in-law and Polly.

"They were bad mouthin', Belle," John replied. "Had to shut them up." Fuck, she hated it when he called her that.

Bella scoffed, downing the glass full of brown liquid that sat on the table comfortably in front of her. "In front of my nine-year-old daughter?"

Tommy pinched the bridge of his nose. He knew he shouldn't have started a fight with the Lee's, but Tommy had this incredible, fierce protectiveness that roared in the deepest pit of his stomach when it came to his family, and when one of the Lee's had referred to her as a slut, Tommy saw red and lost it. Of course, he wouldn't tell her that, because to Tommy, he never had to explain his way to anyone. He did what he did to protect his family and he never had to justify that.

"We're sorry, Bella," Arthur apologised, speaking up for his brothers. "We didn't mean for our Liv to see that. Things just got out of hand."

All the while Arthur was talking, Bella held a stare with her husband. Neither were budging, neither were too weakminded to give in. She demanded some sort of explanation, something, but that was the thing with her Thomas; she never got anything in return. Squashing her cigarette under her heel, Bella squinted at her husband. "A word."

Without moving, Bella reiterated, "alone."

Tommy soon left his seat and followed his wife out, who led him outside the Garrison, a fresh cigarette between her lips. Tommy could see her nerves, despite her stoic demeanour. She had mastered hiding her true feelings rather well over the years since Tommy had been in France, and if there was one thing that Tommy hated, was having lack of control over his wife's behaviours.

"What do you want?"

Maybe he shouldn't have started with such an opening line.

Bella's hand found his cheek before his eyes had even clocked her small hand moving quickly towards him. "You bastard."

"What the fuck, Bella?" Tommy hissed, grabbing her wrist and pulling her to the back of Garrison were Watery Lane widows couldn't witness the domestic.

"Blinding in front of our child? I thought you were better than that," Bella hissed, snatching her wrist from his grasp.

"Like Arthur said," Tommy explained, "it got out of control."

"Bullshit," Bella replied. "I've known you since we were kids. I know why you start fights, when you start them, and how it ends. I'm not fucking stupid, Thomas, so don't you dare make me out to be. I don't give a fuck you cut a Lee, or Lee's, I care about the fact our daughter is now fucking traumatised!"

Running his hand over his face, Tommy turned from his wife and kicked over an empty barrell. "Don't you even bother telling me you'll 'talk to her'. You broke that promise the last time."

"What is this, B? Hm? Trying to make me feel like a shit father?"

Bella scoffed, taking a drag on her cigarette. Poor Thomas. "Do you want to know what I see, Tommy?" She asked, eyes closed. "I see your father. The useless, no good bastard he was, and what he used to do to you boys. I see twelve year old Thomas upset, nine year old John covered in bruises, little Ada wailing. I remember when you used to cry to me at night about your father."

Tommy seethed. "Don't you dare compare me to him."

"Get your fucking act together," Bella hissed, face inches from his. "I don't want to see you at home tonight. Find elsewhere to fucking sleep, I hear Lizzie works Sunday's."