from a shelby to a solomons

two

At four in the morning, Thomas Shelby screamed. This time, it was loud enough to wake Charlotte, Finn, and Arthur, the latter of who had fallen asleep in Charlotte's room after consoling her for hours. Arthur jolted out of bed and immediately went on the defensive, not knowing what was happening or who was there. Charlotte shushed him and whispered, "It's just Tommy, go back to sleep." Arthur was half-asleep, so he easily compiled, quickly falling back into a state of unconsciousness.

Charlotte creeped out into the hallway, quietly shutting the door to her bedroom behind her to let her eldest brother sleep. She saw Finn down the hallway with a confused look on his face and a bat in his hand. She waved him away and mouthed "it's ok. Tommy". He gave her a glance and shrugged before retreating back into his room to get some more sleep. Charlotte gently opened Tommy's bedroom door before closing it behind her. She knew the routine, as this was a common occurrence within the past year since returning from war. "Tommy," Charlotte whispered, walking quietly towards his bed. He was asleep, but he was violently turning his head and his limbs were lashing out from side to side.

"No, no," he mumbled, face sweating, "AGH!" His last scream was loud enough to shake the entire house, and Charlotte ran to the hallway to assure her two other brothers that everything was ok.

"Tommy," Charlotte spoke louder, entering the room again, shaking her brother to get him to wake up.

He awoke, but was clearly disoriented. "They-they were in the wall. I heard them, I heard them." His breathing was irregular and his sleep shirt was wet through and through from sweat.

"I know, Tom, I know," Charlotte consoled him, reaching into his wardrobe to hand him a new, dry shirt. "It was just a dream."

"Fuck." It happened again, he realized. And fucking Charlotte had to take care of him again. He was beginning to feel like roles were reversed sometimes, that she was the caretaker and the provider and that he was the young child needing to be taken care of. He hated that feeling.

"It's ok, Tom, everything is ok," Charlotte spoke, sitting on the side of his bed. "There are no tunnels and no one is digging anywhere."

"I know," Tommy spoke roughly, grabbing his new shirt out of his sister's hand. "Go back to bed, Charlotte. I told you I didn't want to see you until supper. I reckon it's not supper yet."

For once, Charlotte was at a loss for words. "I-I-I just wanted to see if -"

"Bed. Now." His tone was clear and harsh, unlike his faltering, terrified voice from just moments before.

"You're welcome," Charlotte grumbled before stalking out of his bedroom, closing the door behind her.

Tommy reached into his nightstand drawer for a smoke. He puffed and he thought about the war, about his family, about his business. He smoked for a while, unable to stop the thoughts from spinning around inside his head. He finally snapped out of it much later, and saw the sun coming up in the distance through his window. Tommy dressed himself before deciding to head downstairs to the office to start the day early. He stepped into the hallway, almost falling on his ass. Looking down, his eyes were met with a girl sleeping on the floor.

Charlotte was curled up in a ball in the hallway right in front of Tommy's room, shivering. She had no blanket and was only wearing her clothes from the day before. Tommy sighed, looking at the small girl on the floor. She was only 18, and Tommy had shoved her out of his room as she was trying to help him like she had done so many times in the past. Even though they fought often, Tommy always had a soft spot for Charlotte. She was his only sister, and his baby sister at that. The fights usually stemmed from Charlotte wanting to do something, and Tommy saying no. All he wanted was to protect his little sister from everything that he could - and he was determined to do so. Now, it would be much harder that she was eighteen and could technically do anything that she wanted.

Tommy bent down to lift Charlotte up from the ground. "Oi, Lottie, let's go to bed," he whispered. He lifted her up and brought her into her own bedroom. Arthur was soundly sleeping, snoring, and sprawled out on Charlotte's bed. Tommy sighed and turned around, carrying Charlotte back into his bedroom, placing her under his covers. He pulled his curtains closed and turned to leave the room.

"Tommy?" Charlotte whispered, barely audible. He turned to face her. "I'm eighteen, I don't need you to carry me into bed like a child. I'm an adult now." Her eyes remained closed, but a smile played on her lips. Tommy just stared at his little sister. She was a firecracker, and still was even when she was half-asleep. He rolled his eyes, smirked, and mumbled, "Shut up, Charlotte" before closing the door behind him.

~~

"Good morning." Charlotte yawned as she walked into the kitchen where John and Aunt Polly were sitting.

"What the fuck are you doing?" John spoke first, confusion in his eyes.

"Eatin' breakfast," Charlotte replied, pouring herself a cup of tea from the kettle. "And good morning to you too."

"It's not supper yet."

"What? I know, it's fucking ten thirty in the morning, John," Charlotte grumbled. It was way too early for John's antics.

"Tommy told you to stay in your room 'til supper. Don't be a fuckin' sap." John replied quickly, confused at how his sister wanted to test the limits of Tommy every day.

"Well I don't want to stay in my room. I stayed all last night, and I think that's enough for me," Charlotte retorted. She took a butter knife out from a drawer in the kitchen, buttering a piece of the now cold bread that was sat on the table.

"Charlotte, you are pushing it," Aunt Polly said, shaking her head at her only niece.

"Tommy will fuckin' kill you, Lot. You'd better get your ass upstairs right now." John spoke to her like she was one of his kids sometimes, something that annoyed her to no end.

"Absolutely not." Charlotte mocked Tommy from last night, embellishing the truth. "I'm Thomas fuckin' Shelby, and I am a goddamn liar. I say things that aren't true, and I make promises and then break them!" Charlotte expected at least a half smile from John, but there was no response. She knew exactly what had happened when she saw John and Polly's facial expressions quickly change. "Fuck," she muttered.

"Fuck is right, young lady," Tommy suddenly spoke from the front door behind her. "I really don't know who the fuck you think you are, but you need to get your ass up those stairs right now before I think of a worse punishment for you."

"Tommy, I'm tired of you treating me like a child, I am not-"

"You are a fucking child, Charlotte," Tommy interrupted. "You proved that to me last night, and you proved that to me right now. For God's sake, I can't even have you in the same house as me right now. I have important things to do, and I don't need your antics fucking everything up. Go to John's and help the nanny with the kids for the rest of the day." Tommy commanded her, and Charlotte rolled her eyes. "Now."

"No," Charlotte retorted. She didn't know what came over her, but something sure did, because she was on a roll and wouldn't stop.

"Fine. Then let's go upstairs." Tommy forcefully grabbed Charlotte's hand, yanking her up the stairs behind him. He brought her into her room, and pushed her onto the bed. She propped herself up on her elbows to look at him, confusion in her eyes. "This can be your punishment then." Tommy smirked and closed the door to her bedroom behind him. Charlotte didn't understand. How the hell could this stop her from just up and leaving like she had so many times before?

She walked towards the bedroom door and pulled on the door handle. It was stuck. "Tommy?" Charlotte spoke. "I can't open the door!"

"Perfect," Tommy spoke, "Then it worked. I had John screw on a lock from the outside, so that you'd have to stay put. I'm not sure why I didn't do that last night, but here we are."

Charlotte was left with her mouth wide open as she tried the door again and it didn't open. She heard Tommy's footsteps leave the upstairs level as she laid back on her bed and stared at the ceiling.

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A/N: alfie comin soooooon