Childhood Memory (Finn Shelby)

Part 23

"Finn! What do you mean you want to go back to Small Heath?" Elsie exclaimed at the boy. "You can't go back, he betrayed his family, he betrayed you"

"But he's my brother, Elsie" he said, "Arthur, John, Michael and Polly are all being sent to hang! He's all I got left" he said the last sentence quietly.

Elsie stepped forwards and placed a hand on his shoulder, "you've got me, Isaiah, Esme, Lizzie and even Johnny Dogs, Curly and Charlie. Do you need someone who betrayed you?"

"I-I want to see him, Elsie" Finn told her, "he didn't do anything to me, besides I don't think he'll let them hang. He's not like that"

"Well, if that's your choice, then you can go" Elsie stepped back away from him, "we're not together so I can't tell you what to do" Elsie left Finn in the living room and went to the stables where she always felt the calmest. She really didn't want Finn to go back.

She decided to take a ride on Paint, who was allowed to be away from her foal for certain amounts of time. She saddled and put on the bridle expertly and jumped on her back. She trotted out of the stables and towards the forest.

"Elsie! Wait" Finn shouted but she pretended she couldn't hear him.

She didn't hear that he was heading home at that moment and she wouldn't have heard the car being driven away since she was in the opposite direction.

When she got back she leapt off of Paint and quickly tied her to her fence. She saw that the car was gone and she raced into the house and saw that Finn's things were gone. His bed made and a note was on it. It told her that he left to see Tommy and to speak to him about everything that happened and he was hoping to get back to Birmingham afterward as he missed the place. He also noted that he did enjoy his time with her but he really had to hear Tommy out.

"Fuck" Elsie ran her hands over her face. "Finn"

She didn't want to let Finn go to Tommy's and then to Birmingham by himself and she didn't want him to face his brother alone. But she also didn't want to follow him and stop him as that wouldn't be right of her.

So she stayed behind.

~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

A few weeks had passed and Elsie heard her phone ringing, she picked it up. "Hello?"

"Elsie, it's me. You need to come to Small Heath right now. It's an emergency" Finn's voice floated through the phone.

"Emergency? Are you alright?" Elsie's voice filled with worry.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine but please hurry" Finn then hung up the phone.

Elsie had no choice but to go, she packed her bags and threw them in the car. She quickly told Roland that she was leaving and to tell her other employees that she would be gone for a while.

She drove rather quickly down the country roads and through the small villages and towns she had to get through before driving into Small Heath. She didn't know where to drive to do she just headed to the Shelby Limited Company. She left her luggage in the vehicle and opened the door. "Finn?" She questioned worriedly into the building.

When she looked further into the building she saw John, Arthur, Michael, Polly and Finn. Elsie made a happy sound and ran over to the lot of them, hugging and greeting the lot of them. "What happened? I thought you all were... You know... Sent to hang?"

"Thomas got us out of there. He had it all planned all along. He just had to get evidence" Arthur told her.

"Left it a bit last minute, didn't he?" Elsie said before going over to Finn.