Out Of Time | A Shelby

twenty five

It had been seven days and seven nights since Arthur last saw Nancy. He'd been under the radar, spending most of his time talking things out with Linda, trying to work out if there was a future that could be written for them.

He had missed her company. Linda seemed different now, she smiled and laughed more, touched him and kissed him more, looked at him with love in her eyes that he hadn't seen before. It made Arthur wonder.

It was just shy of eight o'clock when he walked into The Garrison with a spring in his step and a grin on his face. He hadn't seen his brother's in a while, but it wasn't a welcome return when he felt his head get slammed against the wooden panelling on the wall by John.

"What the fuck are you playing at, ey?"

Arthur tried to push his brother off him but John's hand stayed firmly around his neck, pinning him against the wall as he watched him squirm and try to muscle his way out of his grip.

"What are you talking about?"

John sighed and grabbed Arthur by the shoulders, throwing him into their room in the corner of the pub.

"Scotch, two glasses."

The barman nodded at John before he closed the doors and sat down next to Arthur, his arms folded at his chest.

"You're a bloody dis-"

"Sorry Mr Shelby," the barman smiled shyly as he passed the whiskey and the glasses through the hatch, "There you are."

John thanked him with a grin and took the drinks as he closed the hatch before turning to Arthur and slamming the bottle of whiskey down on the table with a foul expression on his face.

"Are you having a fuckin' joke?"

Arthur stared at his brother none the wiser. He took the bottle and poured both of them a glass of Scotch.

"Are you planning on telling me what you're talking about?"

John rolled his eyes and drank his whiskey, pouring himself another glass straight away.

"Esme's told me everything, Arthur. Absolutely everything, I can't believe what you've done to that poor woman."

As soon as John met Nancy and her son for the first time, he immediately felt very protective over them. He saw the bond that she and Esme had, not only as mothers, but as strong women also. He loved her like a sister and from the day she first stepped foot in their home, to the day John insisted he help pay for her and Vincent to have a home on their own, to hearing Esme telling him everything that Arthur had done, John knew he'd always protect them in any way he could.

"Fuck sake." Arthur mumbled, throwing his head back and closing his eyes.

"Yeah, my words exactly. How dare you treat her like that? She's been through Hell, Arthur, do you understand that? She has a little lad to think about on top of all that. And you've broken her heart for what? For fuckin' Linda?"

"Broken her heart?"

Arthur thought back to the last conversation he had with Nancy. She didn't seem sad, she seemed calm and content. She didn't shed more than one tear and she left with her head held high and a smile on her face. So Arthur thought, anyway.

"She's in pieces. Esme's been going round every day to check on her, says she's never seen her like this, not even after she left Henry."

He sighed and threw his head into his hands, rubbing his eyes.

"That woman is in love with you. You know how hard it's been for her to be able to let herself love someone again and you've ripped her heart out of her chest just as it started beating again. You've ruined her, Arthur, she's only a young woman with a boy who adored you and you've completely shattered her. All for a piece of shit like Linda who made your life a living hell."

"I can't help how I feel, John."

"And how do you feel?"

John looked at his brother, waiting for him to make some kind of heartfelt declaration of love for his ex wife that might make a small step towards justifying his actions. But that never came.

"I feel like I let Linda down, I feel like I let our marriage down. She wanted a child and I wouldn't give her one, she was hurt by that. Things might've been different if I'd have just tried to make her hap-"

"Fucking hell, Arthur." John slammed his glass down on the table and laughed in disbelief.

"What?"

"Linda was the devil in human form. She was a horrible woman and she never loved you, not the way you deserved to be loved. She was sleeping with other men for crying out loud, do you not remember that?"

Arthur hung his head low, the painful memory of Linda with other men cutting him like a blade. It still hurt, but not as much as it hurt knowing Nancy was losing herself because of his actions.

"And you want to try and make her happy? You feel like you've let her down? What about Nancy? What about the promises you made and things you said to her that you'd always be there to protect her and love her, make her feel safe and make her happy, someone who actually deserves to be happy? Don't even get me started on Vincent, you saw the way he worshiped the fuckin' ground you walked on, Arthur. The boy loved you more than his sorry excuse of a father and all you've done is show him that all men are the same, none of them care."

Arthur opened his mouth to speak but John silenced him by placing his empty glass down on the table and rising to his feet. He bent down to Arthur's eye level and looked at him, disgusted by his brother's actions.

"Think about what you've done and if even for a second it's worth it. You had everything you wanted in the palm of your hand and all you had to do was take it. Instead, you've let it go for a woman who wouldn't piss on you if you were on fucking fire."

John left, slamming the door and leaving Arthur alone with his thoughts. He didn't know Nancy was hurting. The way she'd left had told Arthur that she was fine, she would cope, that she understood why Arthur had made his decision. Clearly, he was wrong.

He loved Nancy and he loved Vincent, but he couldn't dismiss the weight of not knowing what could've been with Linda. The way Nancy left made it easier for Arthur to carry on and live with his decision, only knowing now what John had told him, the guilt was heavier than he could've ever imagined.

Arthur knew his brother was right. Linda didn't love him, not the way Nancy did. He didn't feel the same way he did with Linda as he did when he was around Nancy. He didn't feel the excitement and the fire burning inside his chest, he didn't feel like his heart was going a million miles an hour when he saw her, he didn't get that voice in the back of his subconscious telling him that he was right where he was meant to be.

Linda wasn't Nancy, and now, foolishly, Arthur knew that she was never even close.

an;
hi very random but i wanted to know if anyone would be interested if I wrote a little something with Tom Hiddleston in??? Just wanting to get an idea if there's an audience for him, or if you have any other suggestions??? I'd love to hear who you'd like to read about so please let me know, anyone at all is welcome.

I hope you're still enjoying this story, thank you so much for all the support!!

-martials