Bête noire → Peaky Blinders [Tommy Shelby] [ BOOK 1 ]

Twenty four.

Chapter twenty four: Forget me not

"Your boyfriend wasn't so subtle when he was sneaking out this morning. I-Caroline! What happened?!"

Polly cut Oscar off by holding her free palm up whilst the other arm was wrapped around Caroline to keep her upright. With the intent to run the woman a cold bath to soothe her wounds in, she sighed as Caroline released incoherent murmurs. 

"I'll tell you what happened later, but for now, you have to show me where the bathroom is."

Nodding but flashing Polly a hesitant frown, he knew there was no time to ask questions because his sister's comfort was at visible stake, so, fast on his feet, he guided Polly in the direction of the bathroom. Momentarily, he froze and watched as Polly undressed his sister. He noticed the wounds that riddled along her arms as if she'd been kissed by a fire. Immediately, he hollowed his cheeks and blinked away tears that rapidly welled in his eyes. He couldn't stand the sight of the only person he had left suffering with significant injuries that he couldn't take away.

"Don't you know what privacy is, boy?" Polly tutted sympathetically when his head dropped low. "Look, she's sore but I'm going to help her more than the hospital can. She's in safe hands. Now, if you'll excuse us."

The last thing Caroline remembered was the alarming suffering she felt the minute her body submerged under the cold water in her decaying bathtub. When she awoken, a blank stare crossed her features and when she released a cough that wracked her chest, she spat blood into her palms. Worriedly, she wiped the residue on her bottoms and immediately scowled herself for staining the material.

"Calm down, you're alright, love."

"Why are you here? When did you get here?"

Polly sighed as she combed Caroline's locks. She'd dressed the woman in silk pyjamas and applied a remedy she'd created that would be easy and kind to her skin, but preferably to heal her outbreak. It was clear that she was disorientated from the amount of char that engulfed her lungs within a short space of time, and without another option, Caroline had to swallow the poisonous fumes, and from what the paramedics told Polly, if she hadn't been saved when she was, Caroline would have died seventy seconds later.

"I've been here the whole time, sweetheart. You blacked out again so I'm going to stay with you until Tommy comes."

Caroline sighed melancholic. "Oh, Thomas. I do wish he was here right now."

***

When a family meeting had been called by Thomas, not only had Caroline been invited, but her brother also. This caused an uproar from Caroline and Polly insisted that the pair stay in their own home and allow matters to be dealt elsewhere, but she was having none of it. She reckoned that Oscar was granted permission to hear the sinful words from the devil himself and she couldn't bare the thought of her precious brother following in his footsteps.

Finn was already wearing the signature razor cap and she couldn't imagine Oscar swinging it in the direction of an enemy's face to gauge out their eyes. It couldn't have been in his nature. He was too soft and the second he caused harm to anyone, he'd crumble. He wasn't cut out to be what the Shelby's required, but it didn't matter. They'd been summoned so they had to partake.

At least she felt better. With the rage bubbling inside her, it made the dizzy spells and blackouts disappear as though she didn't care about herself. Instead, her focus was on her brother to make sure he wasn't going to join the Peaky Blinders, especially not after she'd been personally attacked by unknown threats.