Ex-soldier Birmingham-gangster bets his life on luck and illegalities, adroit wit and burning passion streaking his blood-stained fingertips as a dire quarrel commence between himself and the disturbed Dane who purloined his lover.
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SOUL MELTDOWN
INES LENZ REMEMBERED NO one being more involved in her childhood than Thomas Shelby from Small Heath. She remembered them picking apples and reaping carrots from the orchard for the horses her family kept, always sneaking a bite or two for themselves. How they used to play ball in the dark corners behind Tommy's house especially put a smile on her rosy lips when she reminisced those small, high-valued moments that filled the most.
When Tommy got old enough to speak back to his father, he used to go to Ines' house and to the stall where the horses were kept and he would sit in the hay and cry. Sometimes she would be there as well. Ines never cried for she had no complaints to her impeccable life, but she cried when she saw Tommy's purple and yellow skin, red veins in the white of the blue, drained orbs. They would sniffle in the stall for hours.
By the time Tommy reached the years of 12 and Ines the ripe age of 13, they could saddle a horse by themselves, so they decided to run away forever. The trip to the orchard served to daybreak for they woke up with stomachs rumbling and cool noses even though they had held onto one another all through the night. That day Ines returned home with Tommy and it was her first encounter with his Aunt Polly, a neat woman who seemed to care much more about her best friend than his dad. After that meeting, Polly came to take a much bigger part in Thomas' life and for a long period, he seemed happier than Ines' had seen him in a long time. Not many years later with the enjoyment of a good friendship whenever, she would come to visit Tommy after school and noticed his father was completely gone. Ines saw his tearing eyes and ashamed look so the first time she asked about his father also became the last.
One tragic event fell after another and one day Ines found herself, gathered in a room with the Shelby brothers and Polly and few other familiar faces, Ada there as well. First Arthur started off with kicking some joke in, to unease the tense situation, then he reminded all in the room of the event in Sarajevo that took place not too long ago.
Ines had heard much of men enlisting wherever she had gone; even around the city, posters were being hung, encouraging young men to take part in something revolutionary. A good course was what it was, Ines would be the first to admit to that. However, the idea of Ines' closest friend doing as many other men, had not once crossed her mind, so when Tommy broke the news both he and his brothers were shipping off to France, Ines had to leave the room in a haste.
Not much time went by before Ines heard the lock clatter but she did not dare look up to face Thomas. How could she possibly look him in the eyes knowing she might never get to do so again?
Tommy appeared in the open, his coat hanging long blew slightly back as he stood in the door. His eyes were taking in his surroundings, seeing what had changed around. He noticed a few horses were missing.
Then Tommy looked down at Ines and his heart broke as his lip tugged upward. By the way, his feet dragged along the ground mottled with horse shit, Ines could tell he came closer and she looked up from her cupped hands. She felt ashamed that he got to see her so down in the gutter, but she then remembered she was sitting where he used to. Wiping her glossy eyes from salt water, she tipped back her head to watch him. He was still standing tall before her, though he did not turn his attention to her.
Blowing a puff of smoke into the season cool air, his hand fell down his side. "Well, this is familiar."
"The reek of shit?" Ines hummed, a hint of humor in her bitter tone, eyes fixated on the burning cigarette in front of her eyes. She wondered if she was the one that had introduced him to the bad habit the day she brought her fathers cigarettes.
His deep, heavy breath hitched when he reached down on the ground to sit close against her and he stubbed out the cigarette.
"Loads of pleasant memories in this stall, eh?" Tommy peaked his head in Ines' direction, his blank eyes taking in her prominent features. Even when sad she was the prettiest woman he could think of. Before shipping off to France, he would have to be sure to get a photography he could bring. The thought of not being able to see her whenever tantalized him.
"We were such sad children."
Something between a snort and a chuckle sounded from Thomas thinking back to all the times they would sit and sniffle. He must have cried enough for a lifetime. Pathetic, he thought.
Once again, a heavy silence fell cold on them and though bombs could not be heard, Ines had never felt so close to the war. Putting her head on Thomas' shoulder; Ines breathed out and Thomas nuzzled her closer to him, placing a kind kiss on her hair.
"How long will you be away?"
"It's hard to say. Might be a while," he said honestly, not wanting some of his last words to you to be lies.
Ines felt her chest heave up and pain rummaged through her lungs as she breathed, her heart ached for this man and he was now leaving her. She supposed it was for good reason, however, with him away, he might as well be have been with another woman. Perhaps the matter of him with someone else should not pry her mind as much as it did, for after all they had only once shared a kiss. Ines' heart almost fluttered as she remembered them sharing a sweet, innocent moment under that tree in the orchard, but then she felt a tear fall down her cheek. She lifted her head and sniffled and wiped her hand across her face.
Thomas looked back down at his best friend as he bit at the inside of his lip, trying to think of something to say when he pulled a sly smile, "you look as if you'll never see me again."
She knew this was simply a try to lighten up the mood, but his faux smile tore Ines' heart right out of her chest. Thomas knew just as well as Ines, he might not. In an attempt to find a steady pulse, she inhaled deeply but her ragged breath came out in a loud cry and let her head fall back, hard against the wall.
"Is this selfish? Me wanting you here, home–all to myself, instead of over there. . . saving the world?" she voiced her mind in a tearful demeanor, shaking her head from side to side, before finally seeing him. "This is wrong, right?"
Thomas did not know an answer to that and he did not give it much thought either, for right now Ines' was clearly sadder than he had ever seen her and that was all that mattered. Not that she was being selfish in any way, but that she would feel better. The gloomy expression on her face put a pain deep in Thomas' heart as he watched her eyes shut only to block out more tears and her pink lip quivered. Thomas' mind wandered. Would he ever get another chance? Would it even be right for him to do so now, or was it like taking advantage of a vulnerable situation?
"Would you hate me even more if I kissed you?"
"What?" baffled, asked Ines, puzzled and unable to process all the different emotions that pervaded her mind. Her heart was fluttering concurrent to breaking and she did not know what to do with that. Why would he out of nowhere want that?
Grasping the moment she decided against her smarts, not wanting to live out the rest of her life regretting not tasting her loves lips one last time. And so despite all the worse things to come out of being spontaneous, Ines took charge of fate and let her lips softly touch Thomas'.
Filled with passion and to hearts beating for one another, their lips danced gracefully along. As if this share of two breaking down had removed all evil in the world, the two melted into each other's touch. For once in what Thomas thought to be forever, he was being sincere in a promising kiss. It was not forced nor was he waiting for it to end, on the contrary, it felt quite the opposite.
At that moment, two souls blended as one and in an action of love, they created a bond to never break.
