medicine (finn shelby.)

five.

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Penny danced her way home, drunk on simply life. The smile on her face was a non mover and she couldn't wait to scream in Ivy and Vera's faces about how much fun she had. They'd watched her struggle through the first few clients and were starting to wonder if the job was right for her, regardless of whether or not she needed it.

After a quick stop to buy some food with the money Finn had given her, Penny soon found herself trotting up the dismal staircase into the hallway of her home. Her coat pockets had grown in size due to the fact she'd stuffed them with snacks, and were drawing attention from the other men in the brothel.

She noticed one man in particular, his pajamas and bandages making her do a double take.

"Michael?" She asked in disbelief. "I thought you were in the hospital."

The confidence she'd magicked up in the past hour caused her to talk to Michael as if she knew him personally. Any other time of day and she wouldn't even make eye contact with him.

"I was." He spoke in hushed tones so no passers by could hear. "I popped out to see Ivy."

Penny smirked as she realised what he meant by 'popped out'. He had become so desperate to see Ivy that he'd sacrifice his own recovery.

"I'm going to see her now." Penny nodded slowly as an awkward tension grew.

"I know you fucked my cousin." Michael revealed.

Penny averted her eyes as she blushed profusely.

"Do you ever look at someone and just think, 'I really can't imagine you shagging'?" He asked her, out of the blue.

"Yeah, I guess." She shrugged.

"That's how I feel with Finn." Michael mused. "See you around." He limped off, using his stick to prop him up.

"See you?" She questioned what the hell she had just been a part of.

Penny's mind instantly flickered back to her encounter with Finn and her beaming smile showed once again. She slowly walked down the hallway, examining the room numbers until she found Ivy's.

"Open up bitch, it's me." She banged her fist hard on Ivy's door.

"Oh my god!" She heard Ivy squeal from inside.

In that precise second, Julian and Vera appeared, all ready to listen to Penny's in depth story she was ready to tell.

"Well?" Julian shouted, his voice riddled with panic.

"Calm down and I'll tell you everything." Penny rested her hand on his shoulder as they all entered Ivy's room.

Considering Michael was severely injured, the mess he had caused in her room didn't show it. The bed was unmade and trashed, all her personal belongings had been pushed off her table and her chair was tipped over.

"Should I even ask?" Vera took a long look at the mess they'd made.

A sheepish looking Ivy simply smiled as she hid under her duvet covers.

"Ladies!" Julian snapped his fingers together. "Bigger issues." He nodded towards Penny. "I want to know every single grotty fucking detail."

So Penny told them everything. From the nerves he first exhibited, to how he fucked her over his older brother's desk, to the extra money and the care he was showing. She spared them from the detail that she wanted to go and see him of her own free will on the knowledge of Julian's past anger at mixing work with relationships. As further proof, she showed them the snacks she had brought, which Ivy started to munch her way through as she listened to the story. By the end, the girls were in awe and Julian was aghast.

"So?" Penny turned to him for the seal of approval.

"I love you." He stood up and kissed her forehead, beaming with pride. "I absolutely fucking love you!"

Ivy and Vera cheered as they saw the relief flood Penny's face. The joy she was showing was enough to make their hearts warm, especially after the shit her family had flung at her recently.

"I'm so proud!" He pulled her into a hug and squeezed her so tight she could barely breathe. "So proud in fact, you can keep all your earnings from tonight, I won't deduct anything."

"Thank you." She smiled and hugged him back before he swiftly pulled away and put up the wall between work and fun.

"Right girls, enjoy your evening." He pointed to the snacks. "Vera I wouldn't sit on the bed if I were you, Michael Gray just spunked in it." He smiled sarcastically before leaving.

Vera leapt up like a cat on a hot tin roof and started berating her little sister for not telling her. Whilst the Davis' were arguing, Penny quickly ran over to her room to change into her nightgown before she would rejoin the girls.

When she reached the peaceful and row-free zone of her bedroom, she slid her heavy coat off and chucked it on the bed, cash still in the pockets. Her clothes instantly came off and she dumped them in the corner of the room in a makeshift washing pile.

Slinging her hair in a ponytail again, she let her hand trace over her painfully prominent rib cage. Finn was right. She was extremely thin, far thinner than she should be. So not to worry him, she made a vow to start regulating her eating more and making sure she wasn't going too long without food. If he was to provide the money for her then it was only fair she put it to good use.

Penny slipped her nightgown over her freezing body and felt the instant warmth of the extra layer. Grabbing her dressing gown from the back of the door, she wrapped it around herself. Her eyes caught her coat on the bed and she pulled the wad of money out of it before she could forget.

She undid the string that was carefully tied around it and started to flick through the notes. In amongst the uniform sheets of paper was a unique scrap that stood out to her.

Finn had left her his telephone number scribbled on an old betting slip.

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a/n: after joining what looks like a polish cult, does harry kirton deserve rights? discuss! also thank you so so much for all the lovely comments I get on chapters, it proper melts my stone cold heart x