devil's backbone 🗝 tommy shelby

chapter 17

n// this is a pretty long chapter that i was considering splitting up in two but decided fuck it because i've made you guys wait long enough so!!!! here u go. enjoy my angels!

Sybil didn't know what to think at the moment.

Every single time she closed her eyes, she was there again. Back in her classroom with none other than Thomas Shelby, his lips upon hers. She could remember every single detail of the moment: the smell of his cologne, the taste of his cigarettes, the feeling of his hands on her cheeks, the starched collar of his shirt brushing her skin — all of it. The moment had been burned into her memory from the second it began and would remain there until the day she died. And although she'd come to that conclusion, she also came to the conclusion that she had no fucking clue as to what came next.

Sybil, to put it in the simplest of terms, felt like Alice, falling down the rabbit hole. There were things that obviously needed to be addressed between the heroine and the bad man, but she didn't know how to go about it. Or, on the opposite side of the spectrum, if she even should address it.

On one hand, the kiss could result in an emerging couple of the two. It could be the start of a wonderful relationship that would be the cure to all of Sybil's inner thoughts and feelings. But on the other, more pessimistic hand, it could be the end to a lot of things. Thomas could decide that it was a heat of the moment gesture and never speak to her again, or not acknowledge it at all. Then there was the possibility that they could get into a relationship and have the shady inspector and his little lapdog of a barmaid get a hold of the information, and ruin it. Even worse, it could very well crash and burn, leaving Finn in the crossfire.

Sybil was trapped in the space between a rock and a hard place, and she hated it. She hated the overthinking, the what-ifs, the confusion, and everything else that came of the situation at hand. But Sybil, however confused she may have been, knew that she would never regret that kiss for as long as she lived, nor would she ever forget it.

Sighing, Sybil allowed her eyes to flutter shut and her hand to brush her lips, cherishing the memory of Tommy's lips upon her own. Opening her eyes, she looked up at the ceiling and let her hand drop back down to her side.

"Alright," she muttered to herself. "That's enough of that, Billie. Enough of that, indeed."

Sitting up, she forced herself out of the comfort of her own bed and padded over to her closet, picking out the first dress she saw and got dressed. From there, she proceeded to brush her hair and make sure that her unruly waves were somewhat tamed before making up her bed again and heading to the kitchen. But as she made her way through her small home, something caught her eye.

There, slipped under the crack in the door, was a letter.

Furrowing her brow, she cautiously picked it up with trembling hands, already assuming the worst. Taking a deep breath, she tore the blasted thing open, but was in for a surprise when she looked inside.

Inside the envelope, there were two things: a card, and a ring.

Sybil didn't even need to read the letter to know who the damned thing was from. She knew that Archibald Hayes had decided to make an appearance once more.

Taking out the card, she flipped it open, and let out a shaky breath at the messy handwriting.

"I won't let him come between us, Sybil.