Treat You Better ➳ PEAKY BLINDERS (on hiatus)

iii.

HOSPITALITY

~~~

Ivy shot up from her seat. 'Does business always mean getting hurt?' She thought to herself. After all, that's what it meant for her father and he and Thomas usually dealt in similar 'business'. "What? How?" Finn asked rapidly. He was also sat bolt upright. "He got beat up in an alley. That's all they told us." Arthur grunted. "Shit." Finn breathed out. "You two." Arthur started and pointed at Finn and Ivy. "Sober up and get ready. We're going to visit him in ten minutes." The teenagers walked to the kitchen where they downed a glass of water each to sober up slightly. "I think Ada might have left a shirt here that you can borrow if you want." He gestured to her ripped and bloody shirt. "Thanks but, I think I brought a spare."

~~~

Twenty minutes later and all the Shelby's were packed into two cars and on their way to see Thomas in the hospital. Ivy felt awkward and out of place. Yes, she did feel attached to Tommy in some way but she didn't feel close enough to him to be visiting him with his family. Finn's hand slid into Ivy's and gripped it. "Don't worry about it," He whispered in her ear, as if reading her thoughts, "I'm sure he'll want to see you." I scoffed "Yeah, right."

A woman climbed into the car. She had dark hair with dark eyes to match. It was short and curled, elegantly framing her face. Her lips were thick and almost looked as if they were pouting. "Are we going then?" She spoke in a light Brummie accent. "Who's this?" The woman asked as she saw Ivy sat in the back seat next to Finn. "Her name's Ivy. We found 'er in London." John spoke nonchalantly. "So you just took her?" The woman continued, confusion ridden throughout her voice. "I was injured ma'am, I needed help. Thomas, Arthur, John saved me." Ivy told her with a smile on her face. "Since when were you heroes?" She quizzed, looking between John and Finn. "Tommy said we should look after 'er for a while, something about her father." John answered. Her eyebrow twitched, curious as to who the girl's father was. And as for Ivy, she wondered what Thomas wanted with her father. "Alright," The woman said to herself. "I'm Polly; Tommy, Arthur, and John's aunt." Polly held her hand out for Ivy to shake and she gladly did it. "It's a pleasure to meet you." Ivy greeted with the smile still stretched across her plump lips. She already loved Polly, and they had barely known each other for ten minutes. The woman seemed strong and sure of herself, that wasn't too common where she was from.

All of them walked through the front doors of the hospital. Ivy had a slight limp from the gash that ran down her thigh. A dull ache seeped through her body and a headache rested in her mind. It felt like time stopped as everyone stared at the group. Polly asked if the group could see Thomas and they were whisked away to see him. Three empty beds, one full. He had an entire wing to himself. 'Rich bastard.' Ivy hadn't had a particularly rich childhood. Her and her father had enough money to cope but not enough to splash out on random gifts and gadgets for everyone. It was only in recent years that Alfie's fortune had grown. "How are ya', Tom?" Arthur walked up to Thomas and shook his shoulder. "I was alright 'til you walked in." He grunted with a smirk. "Who did this to you, Thomas?" Polly asked with a slight trace of concern. "That is not important." The Shelbys shared looks of suspicion with each other but nobody asked any further questions relating to that. They talked to Tommy for a while. Ivy stood there in complete silence, she thought it wasn't her place to speak up and ask tons of questions. She hadn't even been with them for a whole day yet.