This ain't the Place for Good Girls - (inspired by The Peaky Blinders)

Death

Two months earlier:

It was still dark outside as I opened my eyes. Tony had left me on the floor. I felt the carpet against my cheek and my body felt numb. I brushed the hair away from my face and felt a sore spot above my eye. A tear ran down my face as I used my strength to get up on my feet. I could hear his loud snoring from the sofa. The anger built up inside me and made my tears run down my face without a sound. I had been free while he had been at war. One part of me had always wished he hadn't returned. But he did, worse than before, if that was possible. I walked up to his sleeping body and watched his face. It had that superior and evil grin on it even when he was asleep. I looked over at his desk by the window. I listened to hear if the servants were awake, but I only heard the clock. I walked over to the desk and opened the bottom drawer. I knew he kept his gun here. He wasn't a man who liked to carry a gun, but someone had insisted that a man should have a gun in the house. It was heavier than expected and I examined it in my hand before looking over at Tony. I brushed his forehead with the tip of the gun and placed myself a few steps away from him. His snoring stopped and he began to open his eyes. I pointed the gun in his direction and as he noticed me, he sat up and raised his eyebrows questioning.

"Clara, what are you doing?" His voice was for the first time uncertain and the superiority he always portrayed had disappeared.

"You have made my life a hell, Tony. I will not take it anymore" I said and felt my voice trembling. But I held the gun steady with both my hands. He looked at me with worry in his eyes and I took a deep breath before squeezing the trigger.

The alley behind Macmillan Tailoring shop:

The bullet flew across the alley and hit the man straight in the face. Blood splashed from the entrance wound and I turned my face away to avoid the obscene sight. It turned quiet and as I opened my eyes again, I noticed William staring straight at me with big eyes. Then I noticed the other man coming towards me and grabbing my shoulder while reaching for something inside his coat. William was faster and pulled the man away from me with such force that I lost my balance and fell, dropping the gun. I leaned my body against the door behind me as I watched William punch the man violently in the face.

"Fuck!" He shouted while for each punch becoming more and more violent. The man tried to fight back and tried pointing his gun towards him. But William kept on punching him with every strength he had left. The wrestled on the ground and Will reached for a larger stone on the ground to crash against the man's scull. When Will'd hands were soaked in blood and the only thing left of the man was a swollen, bright red face and a lifeless body, he sat up and hid his face in his arms before drying his face with them. Then he got up from the ground and looked over at me. I had pulled myself up from the ground. He walked over to me and grabbed my face between his bloody hands. He looked me straight in the eyes with a stressed and concerned expression.

"What did you do, Clara? Why did you do that?" he said, but his voice did not sound angry. Instead, it sounded worried. I looked at his eyes and realised I had tears in my eyes. I shook my head while he continued to hold my face.

"They wouldn't have made it in time. I knew they wouldn't have" I said, and Will took a deep breath. I took his hands off my face and looked down on them covered in blood.

"You shouldn't have done that. You shouldn't have had to kill a man for me" He said loudly and shook his head. He looked over at the two dead men and pulled his hand through his hair while looking at the sky.

"It's fine. I'm fine" I said and tried to look into his eyes. But he just shook his head and put both his hands against the wall.

"No it's not fine, Clara. It's not fucking fine" He said and looked down on his feet. Then he dragged me into the corridor and the back rooms of the shop before closing the door to the alley. He turned and pulled his hands through his hair.

"It's fine, William. They were trying to kill you; it was act of self-defence. I had to kill him" I said in a calm voice to him, but he just shook his head and then stopped his wandering in circles to look at me.

"No it is not fine. This is not fucking fine! And do you know why?" He shouted and pointed at me with his hand. I just stood watching him questioning. "It's not fine, Clara. Because I care. I fucking care, about you. Aright! So you cannot come here and kill a man, because I don't want you to become a fucking monster like me" he shouted and looked me straight in the eyes as he pointed his hand to where the dead men were. I felt my expression turn concerned and sad. Will walked up to me and grabbed my face between his hands. He leaned his forehead to mine and closed his eyes while listening to our breathings. I could feel tears starting to form in my eyes and William looked from one eye to the other while gently shaking his head.

"I'm a monster, Clara. This is what I do. I kill people, all the time. And you shouldn't be around me. Because I will destroy you" he said and examined my eyes. I felt a tear run down my cheek and shook my head, but I couldn't form any words. Instead, I pushed him away and walked into the closest room and grabbed a piece of fabric before walking back to him. I took the fabric and started drying away the blood that had splashed in his face. Then I took his hands between mine and dried of the blood. I looked up at him and smiled. He sighed while shaking his head. His hands were still red when I had finished.

"You need to get away from here. This never happened. I shot the man and killed the other man with my bare hands, alright? Close the shop and I'll walk you home. I'll deal with the bodies later before Dylan realises what happened" William said and searched through his jacket for his cigarettes. He found it and moved it to his mouth but did not think abut lighting it. I walked into my study and grabbed my jacket and things before returning to him. He had walked outside to get Arthur's gun. He walked into the office and placed it in the bottom drawer again before closing it and the door.

He followed me out to the shop and lit the cigarette while I locked the door. Then I jogged to keep up with his long legs. He held an arm behind me and constantly kept an eye on the streets as we walked together back to the main street. We passed a few people, but Will kept his head down and didn't greet anyone. As we reached my door, he placed himself in front of me and grabbed my shoulders.

"Stay inside. I need to move the bodies and make sure people are ready for when Dylan hears what happened. I'll come back later, alright?" He said and I nodded. He leaned his forehead to mine. "Fuck" he whispered before letting me go and walking in the direction of the pub.

I could hear Ruby in the kitchen but hurried up to my room and closed the door. By then I felt my body begin to shake.

Two months earlier:

Tony's lifeless body laid on the sofa with a pool of blood starting to form on one of the cushions. I dropped the gun and put a hand to my mouth. What had I done? I walked up to him and examined the large hole into his scull where blood kept sipping out. I had killed him. I had actually killed him. I stood there watching him before I realised the problem. He was dead and I had killed him. I was a murderer. I grabbed the gun I had dropped on the floor and placed it on the carpet under his extended hand. Then I took a step back to examine again. Like this, it could be interpreted as a suicide. Tony had returned from the war, there were constant stories circulating about men who killed themselves after returning. The police wouldn't question it. I walked quietly towards the bedroom door and listened for sounds. I heard something from downstairs and pretended to open the door to the study again. Then I took a deep breath and looked at the bloody scene in front of me before giving out a loud scream, something that made the hair on my body stand. It didn't take long before I heard running in the stairs. Hopefully this would work.