A Collection of Imagines

Tom

Just Like a Shelby pt. 5

The blood drips off my fingertips as I run out into the daylight. I bring them up to forehead to move the strands of sweaty hair away. I'm sure I have spread some blood smeared there. Now look more crazy than I already do, but that's not the point now. I rush into the house, evidently smearing blood everywhere. I run into the kitchen to pull open the drawer with all of the towels and handkerchiefs and gather them all into my stained hands. I sprint out of the house again, leaving the front door open and dashing back towards the shop. Everyone gathers around him as I throw the towel next to his body. We all are cleaning up his blood and asking the same questions in different ways, but I lean down closer to his face. "Arthur, tell us what happened." He hisses as a place a wet rag that Aunt Polly handed to me on one of his cuts on his forehead. It's deep enough that he may need stitches. 

"Where's Tommy?" 

"Arthur, he's coming. Just tell us what happened." He has refused to tell us what happened until Tommy comes. I know what he was meant to do. He was to go to Alfie and talk more business. After the victory against Sabini, our business with the Solomons' was mostly about rum import and export. I can't imagine Arthur had nothing to do with that and that's why he went to Alfie, but I can't imagine they would do this. Arthur winces again when one of us addresses the wound on his neck. Not as deep as his forehead, but I still worry. The door flies open again and we all turn, terrified to see who had come in. When we all realize it was Tommy, we all sigh in relief. He's quick to his brother's side. 

"Arthur, what the fuck happened." 

"It was Alfie." 

My head shoots up to his direction, away from the wound that I was addressing. My heart stops as his name leaves his mouth. 

"He betrayed you, Tommy." 

Tears threaten to prick the surface of my eyes. My hands begin to shake as I hold up the rag up to Arthur's face as it quickly turns to rage. 

"He sacrificed a goat and called it Thomas Shelby. He killed everyone and left me with the message." 

I bring my hand up to my mouth to stop the gasp from escaping my lips. The rest of us are doing a similar rendition of what I was doing, but they were doing it for a different reason. I was grieving. They were enraged. They were inspired by revenge and I was feeling loss. I feel as though my heart will crack in my chest. 

"That fucking bastard!"

Tommy screams behind me, causing me to jump up from where I crouched down next to Arthur. No one has noticed me yet as they all listen to the horrifying news. I feel the bile rise in my throat and I begin to rush out of the room. I make to the door when Polly calls out to me. 

"Where are you going, girl?" 

I spin around with a lie ready for her. "I'm going to get Arthur some new clothes. He has holes in his shirt." They all turn to Arthur to see if what I said was true, but Tommy still stares at me. His eyes tell me that he can see right through me, but the vomit in my mouth and the nerves in my stomach tell me to leave. I burst through the door and take a few steps towards the apartment. I heave over and expel the contents of my stomach on the concrete sidewalk for all of Birmingham to see. I can't believe this is happening. He doesn't give a shit about me. I pick myself up and wipe the excess off of my lips. My feet take me somewhere I do not know of yet. I move swiftly past people on the sidewalk. The only thing going through my head is Arthur's words of Alfie's betrayal, not just Tommy's, but mine as well. Before I knew it, I was at the mine yard next to the river where we pick up our exports from the Solomons. My knees hit the mud of the yard and my sadness takes over. I scream out into the vast space with waterfalls of tears leaking out of my eyes. My body shakes as I grieve for him. He doesn't know the gravity of his mistake. He lost me. Footsteps approach from behind me. I try to wipe the water away from my face to see who was approaching. I turn my head towards the sound of leather shoes meeting wet earth and I feel like crying even more. There he stood with his hat in hand and a scowl on his face. "You shouldn't be here." He says nothing as he watches me kneeling on the ground. I look to the river in front of me, debating whether I should drown myself. Who he jump in? I don't know. Another chill runs down my back. "Do I mean nothing to you?" 

"No." 

My eyes snap back to him. He took a few silent steps towards me. I hadn't noticed. "I told you I did not want to be your whore, Alfie." 

"You are not my wh--" 

"Than why have you used me so? Huh? Do you realize what you've done?!" I stand up from my position in the mud. The cold wetness have seeped through my clothes, permeating onto the skin of my knees. "You've betrayed me." 

"I betrayed Tommy." 

"Yes, but you also betrayed me." I step towards him and my fists collide with his broad chest. "You say that I'm not your whore. You say that you're falling in love with me and then you fucking betray me, huh?" 

"I betrayed Tommy!"

"Who is me! Do you not get it? You betrayed my family, Alfie. AND TOMMY IS GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU!" I step away from him, finally realizing what is going to happen. "You're going to fucking die, Alfie." And I am going to die with him. I'll be a ghost that is still living. 

"You don't know that." 

"I do. He won't stop until you're dead." I take another step back and look towards the river again. "We are never going to be more than this, right?" I hear him step closer to me. His hand lands on my waist. I slap it away. "Don't touch me." His hand goes back. I push it away again. "I said don't touch me, Alfie." He tries again and again until I'm shouting obscenities at him until he engulfs me in his arms. I struggle to get out of them due to his strength and my sadness getting the best of me. I finally relax into him, hating myself for doing so. His head dips down to mine. I could feel his scratchy beard on my forehead as he places a sweet kiss there. 

"We will be more than this. I promise you, alright?" 

"I can't believe you did it. I can't believe I'm going to lose you." I bury my face into his chest. His smell fills my senses. The holy smell of tobacco and sweet rum.

"You will never lose me. I'm the Wandering Jew, luv. I'm always going to be here." 

I would chuckle at the nickname that he had given to himself, but I'm too consumed with the image of Tommy holding a gun to his head.