Not Just A 'Shelby'

Chapter 16: Confessions

After riding the horses back to the yard, Dot and Tom walked back to the house and into the den where the chaos was running... chaotically. John was yelling from the board, writing numbers as fast as they were shouting at him. Men were at their desk taking bets, counting money, and writing slips. Dot glanced over everything as she made her way to her shared office. She loved to see everything running well.

"Thea, you see all the people out there?" John entered the office, sitting in the chair next to her desk. "They're all here for Monaghan Boy." He smiled at her.

"That's great, J." She smiled at her twin, snatching the cigarette he held in his hand. He glared at her and she just smiled cheekily.

"You know Thea, that smile won't get you everything."

"Ahh, but it does John Michael. That's the problem, it already does." She laughed. "How have the kids been?" She asked, handing the cigarette back to him.

"They've been running me up the walls." He passed her back the cigarette.

"Aye, what about this woman that you spoke to me about?" Dot stood from her chair and walked across the room, pouring her and John a drink each.

"She's fine." He looked at the ground.

Tom rushed into the room, walking straight to Dorthea and pushed her against the wall. John ran to the two, trying to pull Tom off of their sister. As Tom held Dot against the wall, his face flashed from being his own to their father's. Nightmare flashed through Dot's mind of Arthur Sr throwing her around like a rag doll. She tried focusing back on Tom's face, trying to fight him off of her.

"You fucking knew?" He asked her.

"Fucking knew what, Tom?!" She asked, finally pushing him off of her.

"Ada, you knew and didn't think it would be a good idea to tell me?" He yelled.

"Wasn't my business tell you, Thomas. You should just ask her yourself." Dot sat back in her chair as Tom pushed his way out of the den.

"Fuck!" Dot yelled, slamming her hands on the table.

"What the bloody hell was that about?" John asked his twin.

"Ada is pregnant." She told him, taking a large inhale of the cigarette.

"Shit." John rubbed his face. "Do you know who's it is?"

"She wouldn't tell us."

"Us?"

"Polly and I went with her to the clinic. Found out she was pregnant but wouldn't tell us who's it was."

"Bloody hell."

"He has no fucking right to be mad at me!" She yelled, jumping out of he chair and pointing out the door at Tom as he left.

"Thea, you need to calm down." John reached for his sister, but she swatted his hand away.

"John, get out."

"Thea.."

"Get out!" She screamed at him. He turned away from her, exiting the room and slammed the door behind him.

Dot's breathing became rapid, her hands shaking. She grabbed the closest object and threw it to the wall. Glass shattered everywhere as the thing she had thrown was her full glass of whiskey. Tears began to stream down her face as the cleared Tom's desk of everything that was on it. Pens, papers, paper weights, and the ash tray fell to the ground as she continued on her rage fit. She moved to her small desk next doing the exact same thing, throwing things until her vision was too blurry from the tears. She grabbed the full whiskey bottle from her desk and slid down the wall and threw her head on her knees as she screamed out to the world. Her mind played her flashbacks of what had just happened, but instead of Tom's and Arthur SR's faces going back and forth, it was just her father's looking back at her. How could he do that? Of course he had no idea of the trauma that she had from being thrown against walls as a teenager by her father, but he had never hurt her before. She felt betrayed that Tom had let his emotions get the better of him. She screamed out one last time before becoming silent in the tornado ridden office.