Candy [THOMAS SHELBY]

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Josephine stared at the man on her doorstep in shock, convinced that she was seeing a ghost. The man who she had countless dreams, nightmares and restless nights from crying too much was stood in front of her as if the event from almost one year ago never happened.

"Josey?" William asked, slightly concerned over her prolonged silence.

Josephine blinked her eyes as if she was just waking up and slowly reached a hand out to prod William, making sure that he was real and when she felt flesh under her finger she let out a sob and threw herself into William's arms.

Josephine struggled to find the words and speak so she settled on crying and gasping into William's chest whilst she clutched at his jacket. William kept her close to him, allowing her to cry as he pressed multiple kisses to her head.

"Josephine?" Tommy's voice made Josephine pull away from William and look back at him, she had totally forgotten he was still in the house.

"Oh, Tommy" Josephine wiped her tears, "This is William, he's my uh---"

Tommy got a look of understanding on his face as he connected the dots. William had returned and his chances of getting back with Josey were diminished. There was pain on Tommy's face as well, he was so close to getting everything back but it had been pulled from under his feet. After everything he had put Josephine through, Tommy knew that she would return to Sweden with William and he didn't blame her but that didn't make it hurt less, he needed her by his side and to love him.

"I'll uh- leave you two to it." Tommy picked up his coat and quickly left the house, brushing past them and not looking back as he walked away. Josephine watched as he stalked down the street.

"Who's that?" William asked.

Josephine turned back to William and as she gazed at him she felt the corners of her lips tip up, still unable to believe that he was back. She took his face into her hands and brushed his hair out of his face before she pressed a kiss to his head.

"Just a friend." She smiled at him, "Remember my friend Ada from the letters? It's her brother. Now come in, it's late."

With a tug on his hands, Josephine pulled William into the house and into the front room before shuffling to the kitchen to make them some herbal tea. She sat next to him on the couch when she was done and after a moment's hesitation, she took his hands into hers. It was weird she thought, she knew William, they were in love and had been engaged but he had been missing for almost a year and now she felt slightly awkward with him as if they were strangers.

"Y-you're back. They told me that you got lost at sea and that you were dead" Josephine teared up as she thought back to that day when she got that fateful letter and her world came crashing around her.

William squeezed her hands in comfort, "We got shipwrecked just off the coast of some country. Most of the people on the ship didn't survive but the ones that did, we had to swim until we reached land. It was terrible, losing over half your shipmates and stuck in a random country but the thought of coming back home to you made me push through. I knew you would make everything better, you always do."

William had begun to cry as he spoke and Josephine did too but as she pulled him into a hug, she felt sick from the guilt she was feeling. Not even an hour ago she was with Tommy and he had confessed his feelings and now she was sat cuddled up with a man she loved yet thought dead.

Josephine clutched him close and pressed a few more kisses to his head, "It's alright. I'm here and you're back here, safe and sound."

William continued to cry into her neck and Josephine let him, not judging him as he went through hell and back. Once he stopped, Josephine handed him a tissue and let him compose himself.