Rumours || Thomas Shelby [1]

f o u r

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KAT WOKE UP AND QUICKLY REALIZED THAT SHE WAS HUNGOVER. She lay still in her bed, her mouth unbearably dry, her belly doing somersaults and her head throbbing relentlessly. She groaned and turned onto her side, curling her body into a ball. She sniffled and licked her dry lips, in desperate need for fresh water. Her eyes remained firmly closed and she willed herself back to sleep, praying that when she woke up, her hangover would be gone. Her frail body shivered beneath the thin sheets and the lumpy mattress with its loud springs that prevented her from doing so.

Outside she could hear the soft sound of horses trotting outside which was odd for this time of morning. Regardless she kept her eyes closed and attempted to fall back asleep. This wasn't going to be possible, however.

Her eyes were finally getting heavy again when she suddenly heard yelling outside on the streets. Her front door was in the process of being kicked in as Kat suddenly realized that she was being raided. She stumbled out of her bed, slightly losing her balance but stumbled over to her nightgown. She shoved her arms through the material of the nightgown and wrapped it around her body just as coppers barged into her room.

Kat yelled loudly as the coppers grabbed her, pushing her against the wall. One of her hands kept her nightgown closed around her as she hadn't time to tie it and the other was pressed against the wall as one copper kept her there. Then, she was being dragged out of her own house as they overturned every item she had inside. She was shoved out the front door and she stumbled onto the street. It was then that she realized that this had happened to everyone on the street. She stared in horror at the activities in front of her but this horror slowly turned into anger. How dare they? 

She let out a gasp as she felt a tug on her nightgown and met the big eyes of a child. He tugged on her gown, tears welling up in his big round eyes. Kat bent down to his level, unsure as to what to do but the child simple climbed into her arms. Her eyes widened and she didn't know what to do but pick him up and balanced him on her hip. She looked at his frightened face and smiled softly at him. "It's alright, laddie. It's going to be all alright."

Kat felt no choice but to begin walking down the street barefooted, looking for the child's mother. As she walked, she looked for any sign of a concerned mother. The little boy tucked his head into the crook of her neck and she stiffened slightly, not used to this type of contact. Kat sighed as she reached the end of the street and saw no hysterical woman. She stood still for a moment, complementing what she should do.

As quickly as the coppers came, they left just as quickly. Slowly people began to re enter their houses and so, Kat walked back down the street to her house with the child on her hip. As she entered her house, she heard the boy's tummy growl and she sighed as she realized that she had no food. Her house was a mess and Kat could feel the anger she felt earlier return. Making a snap decision, she exited the house again.