Childhood Memory (Finn Shelby)

Prologue

Elsie and Finn were playing around the streets of Small Heath. "Fe! I bet I can run faster than you" Elsie said with her bright smile.

"I'm faster than you" he replied, sprinting down the road, weaving his way through the crowd with Elsie at his heels, calling him a cheater.

Elsie and Finn had been friends for around a year, with Elsie's family moving to Small Heath the previous year and Finn being one of the only children around her age.

"El?" Finn questioned as he couldn't see his friend anywhere.

"Boo" Elsie shouted and jumped from behind a crate, scaring the boy and a nearby drunk who fell off another crate, groaning about noisy children.

"Oh Finn, look a motor vehicle!" Elsie said, pointing to the shiny black car.

"That's my brother's" Finn said proudly and smugly, raising his chin in the air with pride.

"Can you drive?" Elsie said stupidly with curiosity looking at her friend in question.

"No" his voice faltered from the smug tone, he noticed Elsie frowned, "but we can climb in, the window is open"

"Are we allowed to?" Elsie said as she watched as he climbed up the side of the car and tumbled through the window.

"Yeah!" He smiled, holding onto the wheel, "come on Elsie, or are you a scaredy cat?" he teased.

Elsie pouted childishly and stomped her foot, "I'm not scared" she said defiantly, she placed her small foot on the side of the car and heaved herself up and with a hand from Finn as he pulled her through the window. They bashed heads as she tumbled through but both smiled and played pretend in the car.

"I'm just like my brother" Finn beamed, pretending to drive the car, Elsie sat besides him, smiling at him.

Elsie and Finn turned when Finn's name was called, "Finn! Finn, stay exactly where you are." Elsie recognised him as Finn's brother. "Elsie don't move either" he told the pair.

"I was pretending I was you" Finn told his older brother, smiling.

"Which door did you open to come in, Finn?" He questioned, indicating the two doors with his hands.

"We didn't, we climbed in" Finn smiled with pride and Elsie smiled too, Tom didn't look happy so Elsie's smile faltered.

"I want you both to climb out exactly the same way you climbed in, okay?" Tommy told the pair, softly but still commandingly as he moved closer to the car.

Finn ignored his brother and opened the car door, "No, Finn!" Tommy shouted as Finn giggled, Elsie followed him out as Tommy grabbed something from the car and threw it as he shouted the word "Clear"

He ran back to the pair and pulled them into a protective hug as an explosion sounded from behind them, Elsie shook as tears started to fill her eyes, "are you two alright? It could've killed us" Tommy asked the two of them.

All three of them were panting heavily and the two younger ones were shaking. Once most of the smoke cleared up Tommy took Finn's hand and Finn grabbed Elsie's as they walked out onto the street. Tommy knelt down to Finn's height and held his face in his large hands, "that's why you should never pretend to be me, okay? Okay?" Finn nodded frantically, holding back his tears. He ordered Finn to go straight home while he gently asked Elsie where she lived so he could speak to her parents.

Elsie took Tommy's hand and lead him to her house, "Mummy!" Elsie shouted into her house as she stood in the open doorway.

"Elsie, sweetheart" her mum crouched down to pick her daughter up before seeing the blue-eyed man behind her. "What are you doing here?" Her voice harsh and accusing.

"There's been an incident, may I speak with you, please" Tommy said seriously.

"Elsie go to your room, go on" Elsie got set down on the floor and she followed her mum's order of leaving but she laid down on the landing so she could hear their conversation.

"Elsie and Finn were playing in one of my cars, however, there was a grenade planted. Luckily I was there to throw it out before Elsie or Finn was hurt. But I thought you should know since she's your daughter"

"How dare you put my child in danger!" She shouted, almost slapping the man but deciding against it, knowing the consequences. 

"Ma'am I didn't know that there was a grenade in there-" Tommy started but got cut off.

"I don't want you or your brother, Phil, around my daughter!" She said.

"Finn and Elsie are friends, you can't take her away from him" Tom told her.

"Well, watch me," she said before holding the front door open. "Mr Shelby, I would like for you to leave my property, now" she commanded.

Tommy left the house as he lit up a cigarette, "goodbye Elsie" he said before Elsie's mother slammed the door in his face.

Within a week, Elsie and her parents had mysteriously disappeared, Finn was confused as to why his best friend had gone, he asked Tommy what happened but he said he didn't know, this was semi-true, he knew why they left but he didn't know where they went.

Elsie protested endlessly as she didn't want to move to the countryside, many miles away from Small Heath, but it was a great opportunity for the family. Her father got a well-paying job: buying and training racehorses, her mum earned some money too. Elsie became a beautiful, educated young woman and she didn't even remember a thing about the boy named Finn.