𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙏𝙞𝙢𝙚 ▻ 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘴 𝘚𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘣𝘺 [1]

𝙎𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣

𝙎𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣. 𝘍𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘍𝘢𝘤𝘦

...

    UNABLE TO SLEEP Elizabeth finds herself sitting on the couch in the Shelby home thinking about the past, which was something she has been doing a lot more of recently. She can only assume this is a result of life catching up to her as she would usually just push things aside. Years of held back ache and emotion lay deep inside her mind, everyday pushing harder to escape. The day that her thoughts finally break free, Elizabeth knows it will be her reckoning. She is sure of it. And all she can hope is that no one is around to feel the blast.

    The Shelby's satisfied by the recent family meeting, collectively agreed to forgive the Alder girl. Not because of pity, although that is what they felt for her, but because she is truly part of their family. To each she holds a special place in their heart, different places for each one of them, but none the less a place for each that can't stay mad at her for long. Although not discussed among the Shelby's, they all share a common yet unmistakable feeling when it comes to Miss. Elizabeth Alder; A feeling of unexplainable weakness. It's something that the blonde hair and hazel eyed girl was not aware of, yet somehow without fail managed to use it to its full potential.

Their forgiveness was no doubt a weight lifted off of the girls shoulders, but there were still 99 more on there weighing her down. The most prominent one being her brother, given she had spoke about him more within a few hours today than she has since he left Small Heath.

Benjamin Wilson Alder. The one and only male Alder heir. Elizabeth's one and only sibling. Being only three years apart, like Arthur and Tommy, Benjamin and Elizabeth were quite close growing up. The Alder boy from day one felt this overwhelming responsibility to protect his baby sister. It was something that him and Arthur bonded over during the early parts of their life. Although their comprehension wasn't fully developed, at the time they both understood that they each cared deeply for the little girl, which was enough. There would be many days for the boy where that feeling was so heavy that he would refuse to let her out of his sight all day, solely to make sure she was safe. And little Liz always knew that her brother Ben was looking out for her. An unmatched sense of trust grew between the two. Of course there were the typical sibling fights, but much like the Shelby's Benjamin too shared the indescribable feeling of weakness when it came to his sister, usually resulting in him almost always apologizing first.

But where Arthur and Tommy were able to stay relatively close as they got older, age only seemed to define the two Alder siblings' differences more as each year passed. By the time Elizabeth was 15 her brother had stopped waiting around the house to make sure she got home before he went to work, by 16 he had stopped sharing his thoughts with her, and by 17 all she would get was an occasional short-lived conversation before a mumbled farewell. That is not to say his sudden departure did not affect her, because it did. She still felt betrayed and confused to why he would leave everything he had for a girl he met only two weeks ago.