𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙏𝙞𝙢𝙚 ▻ 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘴 𝘚𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘣𝘺 [1]

𝙀𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩

𝙀𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩. 𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘊𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴

...

    A COUPLE DAYS PASS and the golden haired girl still finds herself in Small Heath. The reasoning to why was still unclear to the girl, but yet there she remains. The old Alder home, as she was previously told by John was seemingly untouched. The night she finally step foot into the home, to her dismay, everything was how it used to be. Like the Alders never left. To whom kept the place clean all those years was a mystery to the girl; more importantly one that she didn't care to figure out. Being alone in her old home made Elizabeth feel uneasy. Was it because of the memories that the home possessed? Or was it the pure element of being alone? To that Elizabeth could not determine, so she settled with it being a combination of the two in order to set the thought aside.

Although forgiven, the girl still tried to keep the contact with the Shelby's to a minimum. But like most things, it is easier said than done. Oddly enough, much like her last few months of being in Small Heath eleven years ago, Elizabeth found herself spending her time with Finn. With the boys all grown up and at work, same with Polly, it seemingly left the little boy alone for most of his days. Finn very much enjoyed the golden haired girl's company, and she enjoyed his. She felt as if there was still some hope left in this world as she spent her time with the boy. Oh to be a kid again, she thought; The innocence, the freedom, the joy. All the things the Alder girl seemed to lack she could see in the boy.

    "Arthur's mad as hell", she hears the boy say in the other room.

    The blonde only stepped out of the house for a moment to change her clothes, as she was clumsy enough to let ash from her cigarette fall onto her lap. It must have been the angel looking over her shoulder as she sees that the although annoying situation has allowed her to avoid whichever Shelby was in the room with Finn. "What does a ten year old know about hell, eh?", she hears the unmistakable voice of Thomas Shelby say.

    "I'm eleven Sunday", Finn retorts back which brings a small smile to her face.

    As she peers around the corner she sees Thomas open the doors to the betting shop and walks in. As if it was her cue, she swiftly takes advantage of her time and walks up to Finn and takes him my the arm, "Come on now", she says.

    To stay away from the Shelby men was one reasoning, but to keep Finn away from the family business was another, which she can only assume is the same if not worse than what it was when she left. Although she wasn't around to keep him away for the first decade of his life, for as long as she is in Small Heath she intends to do just that. When Elizabeth sees the young boy she sees potential. She sees a boy who can still make something of his life that isn't fuelled by petty crime. And if not one of his siblings want that for him, she will be the one to do that for him.

    "Why do you avoid him?", Finn asks which causes her to stop in her tracks.

    "Pardon me?", she asks as she is curious to see if the boy believes repeating that question is a good idea.