Firecracker- John Shelby

-one-

I won't pretend I have a lot of work ethic. I was born into enough money to live comfortably, far from rich, but far from starvation. It wasn't unusual for me to sleep into the evening on an odd day, it was refreshing. Today was one of those days, until I heard banging on my door. I jolted awake and picked up my gun from my nightstand, running down the stairs and opening the door with the latch still on. I let out a breath when I saw John Shelby on the other side of my door.
"Expecting someone?"He said glancing down at the gun pointed at him
"No"I said dazed from being woken up and startled
I took the latch off the door to allow John to move out of the cold. He pushed past me into the house and I followed after him, scoffing as he plopped down onto my couch without taking his shoes off.
"Shoes" I said as he lifted up his leg
I rolled out eyes and removed his shoes of each of his feet for him.
"Arthur said family meeting at 8"he said
"Have fun"I said sarcastically
"Nah he said you've got to be there"John said
"Ha!"I said breathily as a plopped into the armchair opposite him.
"Why didn't Ada come" I asked
"Fucking polly sent me, thought you could sober me up"he laughed dryly
"What does she want me to do"I said incredulously
"Fuck knows"he said
"Well Polly gray is a scary fucking woman so go,shove your fingers down your throat,drink some water, eat some bread. Your not leaving drunk"I said in a manner of urgency
He got up sulking and walked out the room.
I quickly got up to go back to my room and put something over my nightdress. As soon as I shut the door I heard John retching and sighed. I slowly walked out my room to the bathroom where John was knelt down over the toilet,I knelt beside him and started rubbing his back. After he was done puking he leaned back against the wall and I got up to pour him a glass off water. I knelt back down and handed it to him, he eyed it then took it hesitantly, before downing it all.
"Better?" I asked
"Yea"he said weakly
Once he was ready he stood up and walked back out of the bathroom, down the stairs and back into the living room. He sat down and started putting his shoes on.
"Make sure you show up or Arthur will ave both our eds"he said
"Arthur's an old prick"I said laughing
"Ah well" he said standing up
I walked him to the front door and waved him goodbye. As soon as he was at a good distance I shut and locked the door before walking back into the main area of the house and lighting a cigarette.
I never questioned why I was always made to go family meetings, I dont work so the peaky blinders are the only thing I have to occupy my time, preventing me from going insane. I don't particularly go above and beyond in my role.If things where run my way we would of expanded nationally by now. Although I do love Arthur, he isn't the brightest when it comes to business. There have been many instances in the past where he has come to me for advice on business, being to proud to ask Tommy or polly. Although when Arthur explained these plans at family meetings, I always caught Tommy sneaking me glances. One time, he caught me after a meeting and congratulated me on my ideas, calling them brilliant, I pretended not to know what he was talking about and he didn't push. Luckily, he spared Arthur the humiliation and never asked him about it.
I wondered if it would be worth it to go to the betting shop for a few hours before the meeting, but I decided against it. I would try and sneak in a few hours of sleep before then. So I set my alarm and lied down, immediately passing out.