Primed for sin // Peaky Blinders

Part 27

Rosella truly needed a break from her family. She loved them, yes, there was no denying it. But there came a time where too many death threats and attacks came about and it was becoming rather tiresome, she was due a break.

In the early hours of the morning, where the drunkards were stumbling back into their houses and the birds hadn't sang their songs yet, Rose stealthily slipped out of her bedroom window and scorned the streets of Small Heath.

Making her way to James' house, she picked up a stone. The pads of her fingers swept over the roundness of it, the muck collecting on her fingertips before she lobbed it at the window. She held her breathe, releasing it once she found she hadn't cracked the glass. But either way, a tired James made his way to the window, confusion on his face.

"What the fuck you doing, throwing windows at my rocks?" He whisper shouted.

"...do you mean rocks at your windows?" She asked.

Hands dragged down his face, specifically rubbing at his eyes as he tiredly replied "what?"

She shook her head "never mind that, get dressed and get your arse down here"

"It's the crack of bloody dawn!" He argued

"And?" She shrugged "I heard Uncle Charlie talk to Curly about betting on a new horse. I wanna go see if they won"

He sighed dramatically "you couldn't of done this later on?"

She scoffed "first come, first served. We could claim this horse, James. Don't be so small minded"

"You owe me, Shelby" he told her before turning around and getting dressed. Rose just casually leant against the wall, a small smirk on her face.

"And don't I know it" she whispered to herself.

He came stumbling out his window, sly footing and quick reflexes saving him from plummeting two stories down; a sight that Rose would pay to see. He climbed down the pipe gutter by his window, landing where his friend was stood. He took of in front of her, lighting a cigarette but swatting her hand away when she reached for it.

"Nope, get your own" he told her. All she did was role her eyes in response to him.

However, through the short silence they acquired, his curiosity got the better of him.

"What you need a new horse for anyways? You have May"

She nodded "right you are, James lad. I don't need a new horse. But you might"

"Why would I need a horse?"

She sighed, throwing her arms about "cause I'm tired of lugging you around on May. She's getting on a bit now, can't be handling both our weights"

He raised his eyebrows at her "are you calling me fat, Shelby?"

All she did was nudge him slightly, both of them laughing and sauntering down the lanes and into the yard. She spotted Curly first, the man waving energetically at her and bringing the two of them to the stable to see the horse.

When her eyes landed on it, she whipped her head around to her Uncle. "What the hell do we need a Stallion for?"

Her uncle shrugged slightly "Tom said he'll be good for breeding"

Her eyebrows pinched "breeding with who?"

He just stared at her, then she caught on and started to shake her head "absolutely not, you ain't breeding May!"

Her uncle just sighed "take it up with Tommy"

However, as he goes to leave the stables, James calls him back.

"Anyone claimed him yet?" He asks.

Charlie nods "yeah, some lad called Zain, paying good money to keep him here"

Both of the teens faces drop, Rose's mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. Her uncle took no notice of her, leaving the stable and beckoning Curly to follow him. James turns to his best friend, staring at her in a way that said "what the fuck?"

"You're telling me that you're boyfriend just claimed my horse?" James asks in exasperation, forgetting the part where the stallion wasn't even his.

"First of all, he ain't my boyfriend. But second of all, since when can he ride a horse?"

"He's your boyfriend, Rosie. You should know these things".

A slap to the chest had him shutting up "he ain't my boyfriend!"