𝙋𝙧𝙚𝙮, John Shelby

- 13

- CHAPTER THIRTEEN -

- IN WHICH SHE'S STUCK

. . .

HOW ARHUR SENIOR had managed to coerce them into bringing him back down to Small Heath, perhaps it was Arthur Junior's idea - he did seem happier than usual - Rory wasn't at all sure. One moment they were all staring at one another, wide eyed, the next, the two Arthurs had burst into joyful laughter, Rory and John watching with the uttermost confusion, no frustration.

Lorelai didn't know the situation between the father and children. Heck she hardly knew any of their situations.

But somehow the two Arthurs end up in the front of the car, John and Rory making the slightest, quietest conversation in the back as they made their way back towards the comfort of their homes. She had hoped to be dismissed as soon as she exited the small enclosure, however the brothers weren't keen on being left alone with their father, at least not without the rest of the family. And so Rory was sent to search for Polly, Finn and Tommy, with every instruction to return back with the latter.

Polly was where the Miller had expected to find her; just returning back from Ada's with the basket they'd left out the other day. Though now it looked slightly different, most of the fruits had obviously been eaten by the mother and anything else there was simply turned away and sat outside the door.

"Oh, Polly," Out of breath from walking at a substantially quick pace up the pathway, a brief yet awkward smile flashed across Rory's face. "There's been quite the coincidence- if you could call it that... Arthur Senior's here."

Polly's brows dropped to create a line, the skin between creasing together as she placed the basket down by the gate of her house. Only brief words were spoken between the two women before the Gray was heading towards the Betting Den, Rory heading in the opposite direction towards Charlie's Yard.

The same sentence was repeated to Finn when she caught sight of him in one of the stables, the identical flurry of brief words being shared between them before the youngest Shelby headed for home.

Rory did worry for the young boy often he was left out of the main business regarding the family, and no one was truly sure whether he'd even met his father, why would he need Arthur Senior when Polly Gray did the job he and their mother were supposed to do?

She sat down on a stray bench outside of the yard for a moment, elbows balancing on her knees and her chin coming to rest in her palms. Finding Finn and Polly was the easiest part of the task John had given her, they could happily mull around in Small Heath, but finding Tommy was going to be so much more difficult.

After the day before no one had really seen him at all, after all, everyone believed he was to blame for Freddy's arrest. Rory did have her suspicions, the Shelby men quite often turned to The Garrison in times of sadness.

"There you are, Tommy," She blew out a breath of relief as she burst through the private room beside the bar, dark eyes falling upon the bottle of half drunk whiskey. "No more of that," She swiped the bottle from the table, clasping it between her hands. Tommy's brow raised but he said nothing. "I suppose there's not much point bracing you like I did Finn.. Arthur Senior seems to have appeared."

Rory wasn't sure how much the man had drunk that day, whether it was one bottle or more, but the mention of his father appeared to spike something in his eyes that sobered him up straight away. The man was rising from his chair almost instantly, shrugging his coat on and placing his cap on his head. Then the two were crossing through the street, following alleyways Rory had no idea existed and arriving back at the Shelby Parlour within seconds.

The front door was thrown open, the two adults beginning down the corridor and through to the kitchen. They needn't even see any of the family before knowing he was their, his distinct voice was heard from outside of the building.

"Aye, well, speak of the devil." At this point it became clear Arthur Junior had solved any hunger issues the elder man had. "How are you, son?"

Perhaps Tommy really hadn't believed her when she said Arthur Senior was back because his face certainly showed it. Mouth agape, blue eyes bulging and the look of utter most hatred sat on his features as he stared at the man. But the look didn't last long. Soon enough he was shaking his head, "Get out."

"Come on, son." The elder Arthur smirked, not at all surprised by the childrens' behaviour. "I'm a changed man." He threw his arms up, eyes boring into his son's.

"This family needed you ten years ago, and you walked out on us." Rory suddenly felt rather displaced in the room. She was leant against the sink at the back of the room, out of the way of Arthur Senior who had no idea she was there and everyone else for that matter. "Not now. Get out of this house."

"Tommy, he's different-" Arthur spoke up, looking down at the table. He had spotted Rory moments ago but chose to keep quiet. She wasn't family so it didn't have anything to do with her, nor did she come from a trustworthy household, one which she knew was going to become annihilated very soon, but somehow she was was comforting, and they all wanted her there.

"Shut up." Tommy cut him off, not sparing a glance over to his brother.

"It's all right, son." Arthur Senior shook his head, adjusting the way he was stood so that he addressed the eldest child. "Arthur Shelby never stays where he's not welcome." He reached for the coat draped over the back of his chair and drew in a breath as he turned to Tommy again. "Quite something you've become." He went for the back door, fluffing up Finn's hair as he passed.

A sinking feeling hit Rory's stomach as her eyes followed Finn's, watching him gaze at the back of his father's head. John reached a hand out and pulled the younger brother's shoulder back, making him turn around. He locked eyes with the girl, the eleven year old crossing through the room under everyone's stares and wrapping his arms around her waist.

It was silent for a minute. A few sniffs could be heard, Finn's possibly the loudest as he buried his head into the crook under Rory's rib cage.

"He's our dad." Arthur muttered, fingers picking at a chip in the wooden at the table.

A sigh emitted from Tommy, his head shaking lazily. "He's a selfish bastard."

"You calling someone a selfish bastard, that's a bit rich, Tommy." Arthur's head slowly moved away from the table. "I mean, thanks to you, we're already down a bloody sister."

Rory draped her arms over Finn's shoulders, hands rubbing the boy's back. He wasn't crying anymore, in fact he wasn't doing much at all, except attempting to remove himself from the particular moment in time.

"You want to see him, Arthur?" Tommy was beginning to bite back at his brother, and Finn's arms grew tighter around the girl's frame. Eventually she would lose feeling of her internal organs if he kept up like this, so she had to remove him from the situation.

The boy was still only young. He shouldn't be witnessing his brothers arguing, he shouldn't be witnessing the comings and going's of his father.

Perhaps that was the difference between the family Rory came from the the Shelbys. Billy Kimber was horrid and sold his cousin short, but at least he protected her from the things that would really scar her mentally. There wasn't a fine line for the Shelbys when it came to keeping a filter from the younger children.

That was the problem for that family, it was all or nothing.

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