Destruction of the Mind / [Thomas Shelby | Peaky Blinders]

chapter / eleven

Thomas stood still in front of Florence who had tears streaming down her cheeks. He couldn't help but feel guilty, but what for? He was glad he'd ridden the streets of the filthy man, and more importantly, he was glad that Florence was going to be safe. Yet the guilt flooded is system as though there had been a dam in his mind, that was slowly being destroyed, letting his whole brain become swamped with feeling.

He grabbed at her hands and held her still as she flailed her limbs in an attempt to keep him away form her.

"Look at me, Florence," he growled, "Look. at. me."

She slowly turned her gaze upwards, his eyes boring into hers as she finally looked all the way up. He pulled her closer to him, softly, one arm enveloping around her petite body whilst other gently touched beneath her chin, preventing her from looking down again. He heard a small click behind him, but he didn't let his eyes stray from hers.

"You listen to me right now," he whispered, his hot breath fanning her face, "the things I have done can be justified. I want you to trust me. I would never, ever, dream of hurting you. Florence, I- this feeling is so foreign to me. I am attracted to you, I need you. If there's anything I truly want from you, it's for you to accept that I am who I am."

Florence felt her eyes water and she blinked rapidly to keep her tears from falling. She nodded. She was lost for words. She slowly leaned up, pressing her soft lips against his. She bought her hands up to cup his cheeks lightly, his skin soft against her palms.

"Tommy?"

Thomas spun around to find his aunt Polly standing by the kitchen door, her arms crossed over her chest with a stern look on her face. He clenched his jaw as he stared back at her, just as she stared at him.

"Aunt Pol, this is Florence." he said, finally, "Florence, meet aunt Polly."

"It's nice to meet you, Polly." Florence announced, sheepishly.

"Likewise to you, Florence," she nodded briskly in reply, "but Tommy, we need to talk."

Florence couldn't help but feel intimidated by Polly. The way that the old brunette wouldn't even look at her face made her feel unwanted; uneasy. She felt Thomas take her hand in his, giving it a small kiss and sending a cheeky wink her way.

"I'll come see you at work tonight, love," he gave her a small smile before following Polly out of the building.

Her heart fluttered in her chest and she walked backwards without looking behind her, holding her arm out to feel the back of the chair before she sat herself down slowly onto the seat. She took a deep breath to calm herself just as Cora came bustling through the door, muttering.

"I'm sorry, Cora," Florence sighed, "I don't mean to be a pain."

"Don't you worry about it, dear, I've had worse," she teased, smiling at the beautiful blonde sitting at her table, "now how about some tea before you go to slave away at the bar?"

Soon after she had finished her tea, Florence freshened up in her room before practically skipping to the Garrison. The blackened, dirty streets did nothing to down her mood as she happily burst into the bar, greeting the regulars as she tied her apron round her waist.

As she settled down, making a few drinks, the doors opened and another woman walked in. She was quite beautiful, with bright blue eyes and short brown hair. Florence had never seen her before. She looked tall, maybe 5'8, but Florence couldn't tell due to the heels on the woman's feet. She stalked towards the bar, slamming her hands down on the wooden surface in front of Florence with a cheeky grin on her face.

"So, you and Tommy, huh?" she giggled, throwing her head back as she laughed.

It wasn't a vicious laugh, it had a twang of light-heartedness in it. Florence examined her a little more, noticing her short brown locks of hair cascaded in waves until they abruptly finished just below her jaw. Her blue eyes were vibrant, making her mind swirl thoughts of Tommy into her brain. She had a cheeky aura, her smile being the most bold feature on her face - and quite possibly the most beautiful.

"Ada, quit being so childish, and leave the poor girl alone."

Florence hadn't noticed Polly walk through the doors, and she decided that she must've been too distracted by the woman, she now knew as Ada, had entered. Behind Polly stood the rest of the Shelby boys, and Florence thought she was going to have a heart attack. She saw Thomas come forward and sit at the bar stool next to Ada. Florence set a glass of whiskey in front of him and watched as he stubbed his cigarette out into the ashtray on the counter.

"Go home, Ada," Tommy mumbled, tipping the glass to his lips and taking a mouthful of drink. "you have had quite the number of drinks at home, you don't need any more."

"But I wanted to meet your girlfriend, Tommy," she whined, her beautiful smile vanishing as a pout appeared on her lips, "everyone else has met her but me!"

"Fine. Florence, this is my sister Ada. Now go home, Ada. Please," he sighed.

"You don't let me do anything, Tommy!" she shouted, before proceeding back out the main door, cursing.

"You have a big family." Florence commented as she stared at the door where Ada had just left out of.

Thomas let out a low mumble in response, finishing his drink off. He told her he was going to drink with his brothers in the private room, so she handed him a bottle of whiskey and three glasses so that he could go and relax. He left her alone to her own devices, and she begun to clean the ashtrays out into the waste bin beneath the bar. A small cough from the other side of the bar distracted her, and she quickly spotted Polly sitting at the stool in front of her.

She immediately paused what she was doing to listen to what she had to say.

"I'll have you know that I don't take to well to newcomers, especially ones that get caught up with one of our boys," she began, pointing her bony finger at the bottle of wine behind Florence, indicating that she wanted a glass, "I also must point out that if I find out of any wrong-doing on your part, I will not hesitate to come and give you a visit."

Florence nodded in understanding, placing a glass of red wine in front of Polly.

"Thomas and I aren't official," she mumbled to Polly, playing with the hem of her apron as she tried to keep herself from appearing like a frightened little girl, "I mean, we've only just met."

"And I haven't seen Tommy like this since before the war - and this is why I mean it when I say, you better not mess this up. I heard everything he said earlier today in Cora's kitchen. The war changed him, Florence. You deserve to know that much. He's done some awful things, but he's a good man, and he's family. I will not have you come along and mess him up."

// so sorry for a late update, i've been given a buttload of coursework and it's killing me. i hope this is ok and if there's any mistakes i'm sorry but i've got plans for this story. biG PLANS //