Bodyguard |Michael Gray|

Consequences

I awoke to the bright white sunlight seeping through my bedroom curtains. Sitting up in my bed I struggled to remember what happened last night, then it  all came flooding back. I jumped and slowly turned my head to see Michael sound asleep in my bed next to me. His breathing was steady and soft, I smiled at how cute and innocent he looked as his image of a peaky blinder seemed so far away. His brown hair was tousled into loose curls and his body was facing me, as if asking me to join him in his slumber. God I wanted too.

"Holy shit", I whispered as I realised we were both naked. I slithered out of bed and pulled on my robe that lay in a heap on the carpet. A loud knocking on my front door echoed throughout the house and I quickly walked down the stairs to see who it was. I heard muffled swearing from the step leading to the front door and hastily unlocked and opened the door. 

Arthur Shelby stood in front of me, his signature moustache twitching and eyebrows furrowed angrily to shade his eyes. "Is Michael ere ?", he bellowed, looking me up and down and peering into the house. "He's late for work and Tommy will 'ave his head." Without any warning he pushed passed me and into the house. "Excuse me sir but this is my house you're barging in to.."

My face flushed with anger as the oldest Shelby brother searched my house then proceeded to storm up the stairs, "Michael!", i realised how it would look for me, a seemingly respectable woman, to sleep with a gangster who was supposed to be watching over her. With that I ran up the stairs.

Quickly, while Arthur was in the bathroom, checking the bath and shower I entered the bedroom. I met eyes with a shocked Michael, he matched my confusion and embarrassment and I pointed to my bedroom window. "You have to leave, like now." I shuffled up his clothes as Arthur's feet pounded down the hall and then shoved them into Michael's hands as he stepped on the window ledge. I caught a smirk on his lips which I returned with a stern look myself. "What ? No kiss goodbye?", I pecked his soft lips to shut him up then as the doorknob turned I shut the curtain to cover Michael's escape.

The eldest Shelby brother grumbled as he threw open the door to no avail, it was only me in the room. "Apparently he's not here, sorry" I failed to keep my pleased expression at bay as Arthur grumbled then made his way out of the room and down the stairs again. Before he shut the front door he turned to me, "Tommy's hosting a party in his house this evening, he wants Michael there. Suppose you could come too." With that he slammed the door and drove off.

When Michael had to work at the betting shop, which was a couple days a week, I was given another blinder to replace him. Today it was Finn. I had only met Finn once before, and that was at the shop. Finn was quiet and only spoke to me when necessary. I enjoyed his company when he did speak to me and he was easiest to persuade so I made him come with me into town often.

So far being under the constant protection of the Shelby brothers wasn't that bad, having  Michael as a bodyguard had complications but I felt safe and I didn't know any different. 

Tommy's party plagued my mind entirely that day. While walking through the streets of Small Heath, my mind was elsewhere. I picked up a dress from one of my favorite shops on the Main Street. A friend of mine, Jane worked there, and I loved her designs. I was glad to be able to make any friends of my own in my situation. As I left the shop with my purchase in hand, I spotted Finn leaning against the wall of a familiar pub, The Garrison. "Hey!", I seemed to have startled him as he began to walk over. Finn wasn't as gutsy as the other blinders and he preferred to watch over me from afar. 

"Want to grab a quick pint?" I shot him a small smile as I gestured towards the pub his family owned. He appeared weary but tried to hide it, "sure Scarlett". Close up he seemed very young, his freckles scattered over his face. "Are you going to this party Tommy's hosting tonight?" As the barman pulled our pints I dared to bring up the topic I yearned for. "Of course I am the whole family will be there, why are you coming with Michael?" My eyes shot up at the mention of his name. 

"I believe so, but I wouldn't want to be a burden." Finn looked up from his disappearing pint, "You wouldn't be a burden, You're almost like a family friend at this stage" I doubted what he was saying but continued anyway. "Will it be held in the shop?" My eyes searched for all the answers I needed as Finn chuckled. "No it will be held in Tommy's house, it's actually the first one he's had since Grace.." I had heard about the tragic death of Tommy's wife. It was a reminder of the true dangers of our world. My mind wondered to my mother and I shook the thought away.

After I left the Garrison I decided to visit the betting shop, and save Michael walking back to my house alone, while I wasn't there. I had two pints with Finn and I felt a bit giggly, this was around the time Michael finished work. I had made a rash decision of letting Finn continue drinking in the pub, not wanting to trouble him anymore. I was sure I would be fine making my way to the shop alone.

The sky was dark by the time I reached Shelby Ltd. A cold wind brushed my legs as I held my coat close to my body. Pushing open the door I ignored all the hoots and hollers fired at me from within the shop and made my way to Michael's office. I felt my stomach churn as I pressed the door and peered in but instead of Michael sitting on his desk I spotted Polly Gray, the matriarch of the Shelby family. She sat in a chair facing her sons desk lost in thought. "Sorry I was just looking for Michael." My voice came out quiet and shaky, I coughed then waited for her to reply. "Oh- yes, Scarlett isn't it?" I was pleased to see she had remembered me.

"It's nice to see you again Mrs Gray" I stood next to the door, and fumbled my hands. "Oh dear you can call me Polly if you want." She smiled at me and I returned the gesture. "So you're the young woman who has caught my sons eye" my eyes darted around the room in shock and she smirked at me. Was it really that obvious?

"Don't worry dear I'm glad it was you and not some whore to say the least" she  let out a warm laugh and I felt my body loosen with ease. "My Michael is one for chasing after the wrong kinds of girls if you know what I mean", I didn't know how to respond so I smiled and hoped for the best. "He has really helped me these last couple of weeks". "Indeed he has and that's exactly who I want him to be, I'd rather him be proving himself to Tommy by looking after to you then rotting away at this desk and causing trouble at night", she stood up and walked over to me.

"I hope he treats you like a lady, his father was a real gentleman", she held up her hand and ran her fingers through the bottom of my curled hair. "He does." The woman noticed the blush on my cheeks but chose to save me the embarrassment, "I hope you know Scarlett, there's certain consequences that come with being involved with this family", she let go of my hair and walked to the door. When she had left I stared at the empty desk lost in thought,  I whispered to myself, "The same thing goes with being involved with me."

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hey guys i cant believe this story has 14k reads im so happy. thank you all for the support and votes and ill be updating again very soon feel free to leave a comment saying what you'd like to have happen and maybe I'll write some requests in xx