Out Of Time | A Shelby

twenty one

Arthur lay beside Nancy, the bed sheets down by their ankles and nothing but the cold air from the window being cracked open covered their skin.

The way Nancy gazed up at Arthur with a small smile playing on her lips only cemented the thoughts Arthur already had, this was where he belonged. In this bed, with this woman, that was where he was meant to be at that exact moment. He wouldn't dream of having it any other way.

"Don't you ever think about how much has happened for us to be where we are right now? Everything we've been through?"

Arthur just smiled at her, brushing a strand of hair from her face and watching her eyelashes flutter as she lay and pondered in thought. It was like their minds were in sync.

"I think about it all the time," Arthur admitted, running a hand through his hair, "And I thank God everyday that it was you that pulled me down from that bridge."

Nancy smiled at him, turning on her side and touching his face. She traced the edges of his moustache with her fingertips and across the freckles on his nose.

"Well," she whispered, "I thank God every day for the same thing. You have saved me just as much as I saved you, Arthur."

He couldn't help but kiss her. The way she spoke made every word that passed through her lips sound like a lullaby. Her eyes pulled him in and held him there, she had the ability to make him feel any way she wanted with just the bat of her lashes. Arthur was mesmerised, completely under the spell of the young woman that had saved his life.

They pulled apart. The sound from people walking below the window on the street and laughter from the pubs in the distance was all they heard apart from the softness of each other's breathing.

"I know what we said," Arthur began, fixing his eyes on hers, "About taking this slowly, but I need to tell you something, Nancy."

Her face held an innocent smile. She had both her hands draped around his neck, their chests touching and their faces barely apart.

"What is it?"

Arthur paused. There had been thoughts intruding his mind for a while now, ones that he didn't dislike being there, but ones that made him wary. He had a lot of walls around himself that he was reluctant to let down, wanting to protect himself after suffering from letting his guard down in the past.

He'd worked hard all his life. He and his brothers were on a path to success and Arthur wanted that, he'd always wanted a life where he didn't have to worry about there being enough food for everybody to eat like he and his family had done growing up. But now, there was potential for his path to change.

Arthur knew that once he said what he wanted to say, everything would change, and it could never go back.

He took a deep breath and broke her gaze for one last moment, taking a look outside at the stars hanging against the midnight black. It was a risk, but when was Arthur Shelby ever scared of a risk?

He looked back at her. She was laid on her side, the curve of her waist tantalising his imagination as he pulled his eyes up across her body till he met her electric gaze once more. Once he looked back into her eyes, he knew that in fact, it wasn't a risk at all.

"I'm in love with you, Nancy. I love you, I can feel it in my head and in my heart, in every bone in my body. I can't keep it to myself anymore, I want to tell you every second of every day. I want you to know that you are loved, and I promise that I'll remind you of that for as long as you let me."

Nancy let out a breath. She felt euphoric at the words Arthur was saying, and what made it even better was that he was saying it to her. The way he touched her skin ever so delicately as he spoke, his eyes not daring to glance away from her for even a second made her heart feel as though it was on fire.

She had been through enough in her twenty four years on Earth to know the difference between somebody telling her they loved her for the sake of it, and somebody telling her they loved her because they felt as though they wouldn't be able to live another second unless they said those three words.

Nancy knew Arthur was telling the truth.

Arthur was safe in silence after finally telling Nancy how he felt. He was content with never speaking another word again now he'd told her he loved her, feeling as though his purpose in life had been completed. Though when she did speak, he knew his purpose was only just beginning.

"Say it again."

He grinned, resting their foreheads together and placing a soft kiss on her lips.

"I, Arthur Shelby, love you, Nancy Evans."

It was as if the chocolate brown of Nancy's eyes melted away and left a warm honey glistening as Arthur looked at her. They reflected her perfectly, soft and gentle yet mysterious and intriguing. Arthur knew he would never get tired of looking at her.

"You do?" Nancy bit her lip.

She couldn't remember the last time Henry had told her he loved her, and actually meant it. Hearing those words again, but coming from Arthur, made her feel like it was worth the years of pain in her last relationship if it meant she'd reach this point.

"I do."

"And I love you, Arthur."

Nancy watched as his eyes lit up. She had never seen them so bright before, so full of life and excitement, but she knew she'd never want to see them any different.

She had known for a while that she was falling for the eldest Shelby brother, but her pride and self-protection made her convince herself that her feelings weren't as strong as she thought they were. The truth was, Nancy loved everything about Arthur. She saw a side to him that not many people ever saw, and it made her feel grateful every day that she had been lucky enough to have him in her life.

It felt like home whenever Nancy looked at Arthur. His weathered skin and bruised knuckles, scars across his shoulders and his shins, his eyes that had seen a million and one things and his mind that Nancy thought was one of a kind, he was like no man she would ever meet in her lifetime. And she loved him, she loved him happily and confidently in the knowledge that this love wouldn't hurt her.

"Y-you love me?" Arthur stuttered over his words, taking a small breath in disbelief.

Nancy just nodded eagerly, a smile on her lips.

"I didn't expect you to say it back, Nance. I just wanted to tell you how I felt, I couldn't keep it in any longer, especially after being away from you for a week."

"Arthur," Nancy placed a hand on his cheek and kissed him, "I feel like even love isn't a strong enough word to describe how I feel for you."