A Family bond

London

Tommy had laid down some ground rules for London. He didn't want to be over baring but he still felt a need to assert a few somewhat strict fatherly rules for their holiday. Home before eleven, no leaving the city, make sure he knows what their plans were and who they were meeting. He thought it was fair, and honestly so did the twins, but that didn't mean they'd stick to them. When they arrived in London it was late, around  midnight and so they just settled into the house Tommy had rented in the city. Everyone had headed for bed but Thea had other plans, she waited a few hours and to her defence she did try to just sleep instead but she couldn't. She was in a strange house that smelt solely of cleaning products, lying next to a perfectly made bed. Yes lying next to. She couldn't sleep in beds, she'd tried there first week in Birmingham but the night she'd had a nightmare so bad that Thomas had walked in to wake her up she gave up on it and each night since had settled on the floor or in the chair she had in the corner. Aaron knew she did this because she did it everywhere they'd ever stayed. She tried for a few days even a week before just settling back down on the floor. Tommy of course didn't know this, after that night of her awful nightmare where he'd gone in to wake her, he'd never gone in again. He wouldn't tell anyone especially never Thea but he was hurt. He couldn't put his finger on why but he was, it's not like he'd expected her to hug him and tell him all her troubles. But she'd straight up ignored his existence, for days after as well. Tommy had however noticed the consistently perfectly made bed, a stark contrast to her brothers who room was quite frankly a tip, but he'd put it down to her just being tidy and moved on. Things were going to be different the next few days that they were in London because the flat only had two rooms, the twins were to share which of course wasn't a problem as they had done so many times before, in fact aaron preferred it. He liked being close to his sister, liked to think that if something were to happen he'd be right there to stop it and protect her. Thea on the other hand didn't, she loved her brother, that was clear but she found it hard to sleep with someone else near her, knowing someone else was in the room with her made her uncomfortable. Earlier though when on his way to bed Thomas had passed the room as Aaron was going back in from the bathroom and through the crack in the door saw Thea setting up a make shift bed of a pillow and a blanket on the ground. He barley had time to furrow his brow before the door was shut. He couldn't work out why, and was honestly to scared to pry in fear of going all the way back to square one with the two of them, so instead he made a mental note to bring it up the next time they're all on good terms. But it's been a few hour since then and as Thea lay staring at the ceiling listening to her brother snore, she decided enough was enough. She got up and pulled on her coat and her shoes before making her was out of the room. As she passed Tommys room she saw the light still on and paused her steps for a moment listening, when she heard no movement she pressed on with a destination in mind. She made it out the house and set of into the quiet streets of London without so much as looking back.
"Good morning" Thea heard as soon as she shut the door behind her. It was around six in the morning now, she was stupid to think she'd make it back before anyone was up. Her hands were shoved deep in her pockets trying to stop the cold from biting at them, Tommy was yet to look up from his paper. "Good sleep?" He questioned still not looking at his daughter who was now stood shivering, mentally scalding herself for not wrapping up warmer. She had no intention of talking to him and Tommy knew that and so he decided now would be a good time to take a different approach to his parenting. Polly had constantly been telling him that he was to soft on both of them and so right there and then he decided to put his foot down. "Where fucking were you?" His voice was so deep and calm if it had been anyone else he was talking to they might just have shit themselves there and then. But Thea knew better, or she didn't really but she acted like she did. In all honesty she was terrified of the man and if Tommy knew that his heart would surly break. But he didn't know, and she wouldn't tell him and so here he was making yet another attempt to get through to her. When she just started back at him without so much as blinking, Thomas lost his patience. He'd been up all night after he'd seen her walk out from his window. He would have followed her too if it wasn't for the fact he'd just taken a particularly large hit of his opium pipe, it took everything in him to stay awake to hear for her coming home never mind if he'd been trying to follow her around the streets. "Where fucking where you!" he shouted slamming his hand on the table, this earned him a blink from the girl. "You'll fucking answer me, eh!" He shouted again rising from his seat and pointing a finger in the girls face. Now Thea was the one mad. He was trying to intimidate her? She'd seen enough of men intimidating women that she decided she wouldn't let anyone do it to her, she was taught better than that. She slowly and calmly pushed his finger out of her face and moved around him towards the kitchen table. He was silently in complete shock. He was so used to scaring people into doing whatever he asked of them, usually just with a look never mind having to raise his voice at them. But the twins were different, Thea knew to much to be scared of anyone and Aaron figured if his sister wasn't scared then he had no reason to be either. It was something Thomas was having to learn very quickly. He just watched her, she made no move to answer him or in fact even acknowledge him, as per usual, and by this Tommy concluded shouting at her was not the way to go. He just let his eyes follow her as she moved over to where he'd been sitting at the table, a recently empty glass, bottle of whiskey and the newspaper paper being all that sat there. She ran her her hand over the paper, not sitting in the chair but standing in front of it in the space between it and the table that Tommy had created when he'd so abruptly stood up. Her eyes flicked across the page, to quickly to be reading Tommy thought. He sighed and ran his hand down his face shaking his head softly at the girl but she wasn't looking. "Do you want breakfast?" He wouldn't apologise and she didn't want him to, but they both knew that was it, that was his sorry. "No" she said unscrewing the cap of the whiskey and pouring a generous glass. He'd knew she'd say no when he asked but that wasn't why he'd asked really so it didn't matter. Thea didn't do breakfast, polly Learnt that quickly enough, there's only so many times you can try and force feed someone. She let out a deep sigh leaning a hand onto the round table "no" she repeated downing the glass of whiskey, not making a face as it burnt her throat. Tommy watched her fill the glass up again but this time she slid it over to him, taking up his  previous seat. "I was worried" he spoke quietly as he to sat down. He almost didn't think she'd heard him until he caught the subtle nod of her head, the movement so small he nearly missed it. He drank the whiskey, him too not making a face. They settled into a semi comfortable silence. Not so much comfortable really more understanding, they understood each other, that they both knew. Thea sat, her arms folded resting on the table in front of her looking to her left at nothing in particular. And Thomas sat looking straight at her, watching her. He felt like he did that a lot, but what else could he do. She didn't speak, not enough to really tell him anything anyway, but the more he watched her he realised the way Thea acted didn't tell him anything either. She was closed of and monotone Most of the time, but Tommy knew more about the girl than he thought he did. He'd picked up on the little things about her. The things she didn't try and hide about herself because she didn't think they mattered, she didn't think anyone else would notice them. But Thomas did, he picked up on the little things because she never gave a way any big things, he felt like he was fighting for scraps trying to learn about his daughter. Though as she sat across from his at the kitchen table he did see her shivering. It wasn't a surprise, she'd been out all night in hardly any clothes and only the thin, worn  jacket she owned when Tommy picked the twins up all those months ago. Thomas felt like a bad father for not noticing her temperature (or lack there of) the second the had walked through the door. Cautiously he stood up, Thea didn't look to him but he knew she was watching his every move out the corner of her eye. He made his was around the table to stand behind her chair, picking up his coat from off the back of it. He first dug his hands into the pockets, finding his cigarette tin and some matches. He lit one, passing it down to the girl before lighting his own. Now Tommy didn't like that his kids smoked, but they started before he even knew they existed so he figured he fight one battle at a time and put the argument about their smoking habits on the back burner for now.  Thea thought he'd simply walk back to his chair now or even out the room and so when Thomas laid his jacket over the small shivering girls shoulders she tensed, borderline flinched in fact . Tommy noticed, of coarse he did, he felt her whole body stiffen under his hands as he wrapped the significantly larger coat around her skinny shoulders. He didn't mention it though figuring that too was a conversation for another time, he just moved back to his own seat, not daring to leave the room in fear of rupturing the strange peaceful feeling he had in his head while he sat at the breakfast table with his daughter. "So what are you plans today eh?"