Laura's Secret

Chapter 32 - October 19th, 1921

Tommy's POV

I'm jolted awake to the sound of retching. Great, the morning sickness has chosen the perfect time to start. Laura slept all night after we lay down. I dread to think where her head is today. After she supposedly saw her ex-fiancé yesterday, her mind might drag her all over the place.

I roll out of bed and stumble to the bathroom. "Laura? Are you alright, love?" I say gently after knocking the door. "I'm fine." She yells back before continuing to vomit. "Can I come in?" I ask cautiously. No answer. "Love?" I push. I hope she's ok. Still no answer. After another minute of silence, the door slowly opens to reveal a very pale version of Laura. "Sorry, Tom. This is disgusting." She sighs as she pushes past me. "Hey, hey, hey." I say, gently grabbing her arm. "We're in this together, right?" I ask, hoping the hurt I'm feeling is showing. I'm not good with emotions. All I receive as a reply is a nod. "Now, come on. Let's go back to bed." I whisper as I push her back towards the bedroom. We silently lay back down, and I wrap my arms around her to keep her warm. She's going through so much at the minute and this is the only thing I can think of to help. I need to ring Polly desperately.

3rd person POV

A few hours later, Laura starts to wake up. She reaches her hands over to Tommy but soon realises that he isn't there. She slowly sits up and looks around the room. Upon seeing that it's empty, she grabs her robe and wraps it around her, desperately trying to keep the warmth that smothered her in bed. She quietly makes her way to the doorway of the lounge, where she can hear Tommy talking on the phone.

"Pol, I'm being serious. She's seeing dead people. What the fuck am I meant to do?" Tommy says into the receiver, making Laura nervous. "I am fucking supporting her. What do you think I've been doing?" he says after a moment of silence. It's obvious that Polly is just as stunned as Tommy. "No, I don't think she has any gypsy heritage. It's probably just due to the stress of the business and finding out about the pregnancy..." he says, forgetting that Laura wanted to tell his family together and face to face. "Tom?" Laura croaks out, acting like she hasn't just heard him break his promise. "I have to go, Pol. Talk soon." Tommy says quietly before quickly putting the phone down.

As Laura takes a few more steps into the room, Tommy turns to face her. When he sees the look of hurt in her eyes he immediately knows she heard everything. "I didn't realise you were up." He says softly, knowing he's in the wrong. "Yeah. I was worried when you weren't there. Is everything ok?" Laura asks, making sure to keep a distance between them. He broke a promise, she can't just fall into his arms like always. "Yeah, everything's fine. How are you feeling?" Tommy replies, not sure where this could go. "I'm fine." Laura replies, getting more annoyed by the second.

"Are we just going to ignore the fact that you told Polly just now?" she asks, her hurt and anger evident in her eyes. "Told Polly what?" Tommy replies, hoping he can sweet talk his way out of an argument. "Don't you fucking dare act stupid Tommy. I heard everything. Why the hell did you say that?" Laura yells. "You broke your fucking promise. It's bad enough you practically called me crazy, then you had to go and spoil the fucking surprise. Good job. Before we know it every nosey bastard in England is going to know about the baby and guess who will be the target of their stares. The infamous scary gangster that is Thomas Shelby or his poor weak fucking whore of a wife?" she adds, cutting off whatever Tommy was going to say next.

Tommy is lost for words. He had no idea that she was this anxious about the pregnancy. What was he meant to say to make this better? His mind was blank. All he can do is watch Laura as she sits on the sofa in defeat and allows her tears to flow. He slowly makes his way over and sits next to her, making sure to not touch her. They sit in silence, neither of them knowing what to say. Where would they even start?

Tommy's POV

I've royally fucked this one. After crying for about 20 minutes, Laura starts to calm down. She wipes her tears away and stands from the sofa. Without a word, or even a glance to me, she leaves the room. I literally can't even begin to fathom the words to apologise. Telling my family about the baby was the only positive thing she has going on lately, especially after the death threat. How the fuck am I meant to fix this?

I'm pulled from my thoughts when there is a loud crash in the kitchen, followed by a pained scream from Laura. I jump up and run to see her grasping her foot and wincing in pain on the floor. The kettle is next to her on its side. "Laura?" I ask carefully. "Fuck off Tommy." She hisses at me. "Just let me help. Please." I plead as I crouch beside her. "Fine." She sighs, allowing me to lift her up.

I carry her bridal style and place her down on the kitchen table. I quickly grab a bowl of cold water and some bandages. We're once again in silence as she soothes her burn in the water. I gently lift her foot and wrap the bandage round it, careful to not irritate the skin. Once I've pinned the soft white material, I kiss the top of it as if it would ease her pain. I literally have nothing else I can do to help her.

Once I've stood to my full height, I stand in front of her for just a moment, hoping she would just wrap her arms around my torso like always. Not this time. I let out a disappointed sigh before grabbing a towel and lifting the kettle back onto the stove and wiping away the rest of the water. I'm so far into my own thoughts that I don't even hear her stand from the table. I jump slightly when I feel a hand on my shoulder. "I can do that, Tom." Laura says to me as she kneels down next to me, prying the towel from my hands. "You don't have to, love." I say, but she ignores me and just continues to clean. I'm getting fucking annoyed now.

"Right, tell me what to do to make this better. I have no fucking clue so please enlighten me." I say sternly, hiding my concern when she flinches. "There is nothing for you to do, Tom. Just give me some time to think about everything." She replies, not once looking at me. What the fuck does she have to think about? "Fine, you want time to think? I'll give you it. I'll even give you the space to think about it. Alright?" I yell, standing up and storming towards the front door. At this point my anger is controlling me. "Tom where are you going?" she says as she follows me. "Out. Enjoy thinking." I snap before grabbing my coat and storming out, slamming the door as I do. Smart move Tommy, you fucking idiot.