The Runaway • 𝑇𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑦 𝑆ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑏𝑦

9

The Runaway
Chapter
9

"First Impressions, Part 1"

♕♡︎♔

     The day was slowly rolling into the evening as the shouts of children running on the street grew quieter. Men getting done with their long work day were all rushing along to their favorite pubs. Slowly filling them with chatter and the clinking of glasses.

The Garrison was no exception. Charlotte had lost count of how many pints she had pulled or glasses she had filled. She had come in for her first shift two days ago, arriving in the early afternoon so Harry could give her the rundown of working in a pub, the in and outs of pouring drinks for Small Heath patrons. He trained her on how things are ran, where the cashbox key was, where the back stock was and where to pour out the buckets. He was impressed with how quickly she caught on.

Harry had also told her how things were ran when it came to the Shelby's, The Garrison's most loyal patrons. Everything on the house, no questions asked. He also warned her there was nothing he could do if one of them wanted her, but with how they had already taken a liking to her as well as her being related to Celeste and Scarlett, he figured she would be alright.

Harry was almost happy he gave her the job. He really did need the extra help like she had so blatantly pointed out to him when asking for the job. The past two days have cut his work load in half and he was grateful. It wasn't till he remember what kind of men came into The Garrison and how they would treat a pretty girl like her that he started to get weary, despite how well she was doing.

Freddie comes in later that night, a few hours before closing, and is shocked to see Charlotte behind the bar pouring drinks. He hadn't been in The Garrison for a while, meeting with Ada when she could get away and having meetings with his Communists friends had occupied his time.

"Well well, look at you miss prim, looks like you convinced Harry to give you the job." He looks at her and then at Harry down the bar. Wondering what the hell Harry was thinking giving a girl like her a job in a place like this. Surely Celeste and Scarlett had warned her, didn't they? Freddie takes a seat at the bar in front of Charlotte who was wiping down some glasses as she greets him with an eye roll and a small smile.

"So how's good 'ol Birmingham been treating you then?" Freddie asks after he orders a mild. Charlotte sets his drink in front of him as he nods in thanks setting a few coins on the bar.

     "Quite well actually. I'm settling in and I've got a job here so I'll keep busy too, it's nice." And it was. Charlotte was slowly building a life here with her aunt and cousins. She liked it.

     It had only been a little over a week since she arrived and settled in Small Heath but she was actually enjoying it surprisingly enough. She hadn't felt like this in a while, feeling safe in the comfort of friends and family. She was still on edge, still looking over her shoulder waiting for the ghost to catch up with her but she was okay. She still had nightmares every night but she figured that would be a regular occurrence in her life after all the blood and death she had seen.

     Charlotte had been spending most of her spare time with Scarlett and Ada, having chats over tea, as well as JP and Finn learning her way around Birmingham from 'the best of the best' as Finn and JP liked to say. After all she had been through and was running from, it was nice to relax a bit.