𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥'𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫 ᵖᵉᵃᵏʸ ᵇˡⁱⁿᵈᵉʳˢ

𝟒𝟖

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟒𝟖

Maeve found herself rushing around her bedroom, pulling on more presentable clothes and running a brush through her hair.

The house was dead silent. But not for long. Soon Billy began crying and with slight hesitation, Maeve walked over to his bedroom and scooped him up.

"Hello, Billy." She cooed, standing beside the window and rocking him slightly. The boy pressed his finger against the slightly condensed glass and dragged it across, drawing some sort of picture.

He turned and looked at her with a smile. Maeve nodded. "Well done, Billy. That's wonderful," she gasped, rubbing his back.

Laughs fell from the young boys mouth as he continued drawing on the window with his finger.

"Oh you're awake." Linda appeared at the door, seeming less hostile than usual. Maeve took a deep breath and nodded. "Thought i'd get Billy instead of waking you or dad." She explained, remaining by the window.

Linda nodded thankfully. "Well your father is downstairs waiting." She told the pair, spinning on her heels and leaving.

"Shall we go see dad, eh? Let's go see dad." Maeve said, holding him and carefully descending down the steps. As they stepped into the living room, a collection of presents sat by the tree.

Maeve lowered Billy onto the floor and gasped playfully. "What's all that, Billy?"

Arthur stood with a happy smile on his face, his arms wide open. "Merry Christmas!" He exclaimed. Maeve had been so caught up in what had been going on, she forgot about Christmas.

Arthur stepped to her and looked at her now short hair that was still in loose curls. "What?" She asked, still unsure if it was safe to talk to him.

Arthur swallowed and shook his head. "Nothing— you look just like your mother." He said quietly. She was unsure if this was a good thing or a bad thing. He observed her hair that was now short and sat below her shoulders, stopping at the middle of her back.

"Come on," he changed the subject, placing a hand on her back, "let's open presents."

She hadn't expected to receive anything off Arthur. After all she thought he'd just forgotten about her now that Billy had came along.

"Go on, Billy. Give that to your sister," Linda urged, placing a present into the boys hands. He slowly walked over to her, almost falling over multiple times before getting the gift to her. "Thank you." She smiled.

They watched as she unwrapped the messy paper, revealing a navy blue suede box. Maeve held it in the palm of her hand, admiring it for a few moments. Finally, she opened it, revealing a gold bangle type bracelet. The corners of her mouth turned upward when she looked on the inside of the bracelet.

There was an engraving.

Shelby

At first she was confused but then she realised. This wasn't from Arthur. "Who's it off?" She asked. Arthur looked up, thinking. "Your uncle Tommy." He said.

It made sense now. This bracelet was like the golden time pieces that they all had. Each of which had Shelby engraved on it. But it wasn't for nothing. It was to show she'd earned her place. After everything she'd done. She had finally earned her place.