✓ | GOLDEN LIAR ↠ Thomas Shelby.

32.

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO.

               BREATHING RATTLED, FELICITY WOODS — no, Shelby — awoke to the distinct, stinging smell of hospital disinfectant that bit at her senses and shocked every one of her now―alert nerves. Once she came to the realisation that she could not move any muscle below her chest no matter how hard she tried, Felicity resigned herself to staring up at the high ceiling and taking in the overwhelmingly drab walls that had been painted a musty shade of disappointing grey. Or perhaps they were white, but had just been stained to a darker tint after so many years of ignorance towards their upkeep.

The door flew open with a startling bang and a nurse bustled in, carrying in one arm a wobbling pile of towels and sheets, and in the other, a pitcher of water, its contents sloshing about noisily inside. Felicity snapped her eyes towards her, watching as the older woman ignored her patient initially as she refilled the drawers towards the end of the room, stacking the cloths on top of each other before pushing them closed once again. 

"Excuse me?" Felicity called out in a plaintive voice, and to her surprise, each syllable that she uttered sounded weak and feeble. 

 The nurse did not turn around as she answered. "I'll be with you in just a minute, pet."

The following minute crawled by as Felicity continued to adjust herself to her surroundings, not quite sure of the day or time and praying to God that it had only been a day ― at most ― since the disaster that had been the wedding. Any longer and there might have been an opportunity for John Woods to fuck up something else with his immaculate aim and flooding tide of hatred. 

"Now, how are you feeling today?" The nurse asked kindly as she neared Felicity's bedframe. 

"I. . . I don't know." 

"Any different ― or better ― to yesterday?" 

"I don't k― what do you mean?"

The nurse pulled her eyebrows together, almost puzzled by Felicity's reaction, before the realisation seemed to hit her. She then walked back over towards the chest of drawers and gathered up a clipboard that lay upon it. "You don't remember?"

Felicity shook her head. "I was awake?"

"Yesterday, and the day before," she confirmed with a short nod as she scribbled something down hastily. "You've had visitors, but they came when you were asleep."

If she could, she would have bolted upright at this news. As it were, though, Felicity had to settle for letting out a surprised squeak and pushing herself up onto her forearms, so that she might get a little higher. Not that that would have made the nurse tell her any more, but it was worth a try. "Who?"

"A Ms Gray, and a Mr Shelby. The latter stayed the longest ― we had to ask him to leave in the early hours of this morning. Visiting hours are from eleven onwards."

The blonde looked at her expectantly. 

"It's ten forty now. No one's told us they'll be coming. . . but then again, Mr Shelby didn't tell us the other two days."

And that was exactly what happened that day, as Mister Tommy Shelby then burst through the doors and made a beeline for Felicity. Not expecting her to be awake ― as she had not been previously, of course ― he startled when he caught sight of the conscious blonde who blinked up at him, her little heart pounding as his gaze fell on her and hers fell on him.