The Sun Will Rise | T Shelby

six

"What the bloody hell is she doing in here?"

Thomas and Angelina both jumped out of their skin when the front door to the house opened suddenly, smashing against the wall with a force that made the walls almost shake.

A barrage of people entered the home, Grace at the forefront of the group. Behind her was John, three other men that Angelina wasn't sure if she recognised or not, and then Arthur.

"Get your hands off me!" Grace screamed, pushing John away from her before walking over to Thomas and casting her hand across his cheek.

He didn't even flinch.

"You didn't answer me, what is she doing here?" Grace didn't even look at Angelina, only pointed to her without breaking her gaze with Thomas.

"We were sharing a bottle of whiskey talking about our troubles, Grace. Now what are you doing here."

"She wouldn't have it, Tom," John began to speak, adjusting his flat cap and jacket, "Demanded to speak to you before we put her on the train."

Thomas just nodded.

"I have nothing to say to you."

"Tommy, please." She spoke in almost a whisper, her hands now gentle around him, caressing his face as she began to softly cry.

"We could've done a lot worse than pay for your train out of the city, Grace. I suggest you take advantage of our kindness before one of my brothers here ships you back to Belfast in a wooden box."

Angelina said nothing, simply observing the scene that was unfolding in front of her. She wondered how Thomas was seemingly so calm and un-phased, not looking upset in the slightest. She might've even have gone as far to say he looked happy.

Grace waited a few more lost moments, hoping Thomas would say something else to her, anything else. He didn't.

"You've had your five minutes, let's go."

John put his hand on Grace's shoulder, only for her to aggressively shrug it off. She glared at Thomas, picking up the hem of her dress and turning to leave the home, but not before spitting on Thomas, who again, did nothing.

The door closed, John and the other men taking Grace back to wherever they tried to take her before. Arthur stayed behind.

Nobody said a word. Thomas wiped his face clean with the sleeve of his shirt before rising to his feet with the bottle of whiskey in his hand.

"I think you need to talk to her, Arthur."

Thomas walked out. Angelina heard his footsteps on the stairs as silence filled the room. She felt sick, for some reason, looking at Arthur standing like a little child in the middle of the floor. He looked afraid.

He let out a heavy sigh, pulling up the chair beside Angelina and taking off his cap, placing it on the table.

"Did he tell you?" Arthur asked quietly, looking up at Angelina with sad eyes.

She simply nodded.

Arthur threw his head back, staring at the ceiling. He ran his hands over his face, mumbling something to himself that Angelina couldn't quite hear.

She looked around the room, her eyes noticing the medals hanging on the walls, framed pictures of the three brothers in their uniforms.

'Thomas Shelby - War Hero' she read, squinting to make out the newspaper clipping by the fireplace.

"I'm sorry, Angelina. I would've told you myself, I just didn't expect it to get this far, you know? You've only been in Birmingham a bloody month and look at what you've caused."

The two of them chuckled lightly. Arthur smiled at her, even though he was feeling a horrible pain in his stomach that made him want to throw up. He'd known this woman for just shy of a month, he didn't expect that she'd have this much of a hold over him so quickly.

It was bad enough that he couldn't have her, the marriage was arranged months prior and he'd caused an uproar when Thomas first told him about the plan, but over time, he agreed. It was best for business and for the family, and the woman whom he'd only met a handful of times didn't seem like the worst person in the world to be married to.

The thing that made it worse, though, was that Arthur knew his brother saw Angelina the same way he did. It seemed as though Thomas could get any woman he wanted just by looking at her. It wasn't as though Arthur was suffering when it came to attention from women, far from it, but the women he wanted, always ended up in Thomas' bed. This was the first time when the opposite had happened.

"Perhaps it's better we don't see each other again, Arthur."

Angelina's heart was heavy. She wasn't in love with Arthur, not even close. But she felt a comfort from being around him, he made her smile and laugh, but he was promised to somebody else. She didn't want to get in the way, not of the Shelby family and their plans.

"I suppose so." Arthur sighed, taking a lasting look at the woman sat before him.

"Just remember," Arthur continued as Angelina began to pull on her jacket, "If any man bothers you, tell me and I'll blind em."

Angelina couldn't help but let her heart flutter as he winked at her, gently kissing her cheek.

"You're a good man, Arthur."

+

"Lina, where have you been?" Lorenzo sounded angry when she eventually arrived back at home.

She immediately began preparing dinner for the boys and herself, putting a pot of tea on the table for them to drink while she cooked.

"Securing myself a job so you don't have to pay for my life anymore, Enzo."

Angelina pulled her hair out of her face, tying it back. She hung her jacket over the back of the kitchen chair and tied an apron around her waist.

"A job? Where?"

This was true. Although she hadn't secured it that day, she had got herself permanent work. Angelina had seen an advertisement pinned up in The Marquis for an apprentice seamstress. There was an opening for a barmaid job but Angelina didn't have the patience for men enough to work in the pub, so she visited the address for the seamstress advertisement and within an hour, she was hired.

The woman was in her mid fifties with greying hair and pale skin, like most women she'd come across so far in Small Heath. Despite this, she was warm and welcoming to Angelina, as well as being impressed by her seamstress skills that she'd learned from her grandmother as a child.

"Seamstress, something I'm actually good at."

Lorenzo smiled, kissing his sisters cheek.

"You're good at a lot of things, Lina. Just make sure you let us know where you are from now on, we need to make sure you're always safe."

As the evening grew stronger, Angelina and her brothers sat down together for their meal. They shared stories about their day, though all three of them sparing some details to the others. The Santoro's were all very close to one another, but they were also all full of secrets.

After they'd finished, Angelina retreated to her room. She practiced some sewing on an old dress that she no longer liked, read some of her book, and sat by the window, watching the men pass by on horses.

Underneath the glow of the orange burning street lamps, she swear she saw Arthur in his flat cap, staring up at her from the street below. She peered closer, almost pressing her face against the window. Only when she looked, she saw it wasn't Arthur at all, it was Thomas.