Rumours || Thomas Shelby [1]

n i n e t e e n

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A/N : The first part of this chapter is a flashback.

Tommy sniffed harshly as he battled through the harsh winds that threatened to knock him over as he walked through the abandoned streets of Birmingham. No one else was daring to test the winds and instead had found shelter. Not Tommy though. He had something set in his head and so, he would do it. Regardless of what the weather threw at him - wind, rain or snow - nothing would stop him. He rounded the corner and was surprised to see a small figure sitting on the doorstep of the very house he was heading towards. As he neared the house, he came to realise that he knew who the small figure was sitting on the doorstep.

The boy's hair was soaked to his forehead and his clothes, that were thin and layered, were soaked also. The boy shivered and took no heed of Tommy's approaching footsteps. He was determined to remain on the doorstep until someone let him in and see her.

Tommy wasn't sure what to do. He wasn't good with kids other than his own brother's. He licked his lip and coughed loudly, hoping that the young lad would look up in his direction. He didn't. Tommy fought to keep in the huff that threatened to leave his mouth, a huff that would make him sound like a child, like the one before him.

Neither said a word for awhile, silently challenging the other to speak first. Tommy's fingers itched for a cigarette but he was in competition with the young boy and he would be damned if he would lose. Eventually, Tommy had enough and picked the young lad up with ease. Bobby protested loudly but knew that it wasn't going to change anything. No one was around and besides, who was going to challenge Thomas Shelby.

Tommy managed to open the door with a protesting Bobby in his arms, he wasn't sure how but he did. The house was cold and it was clear that no one had been inside for days. Bobby stopped his cries as he realised that Kat wasn't there. He was confused why she wasn't there, he knew she was sick, so why wasn't she at home in bed?

Bobby was practically dropped onto a wooden chair as Tommy disappeared into the abandoned house. A drop of water trickled down Bobby's cheek as he wondered what he would do next. He wasn't going back to the Lee's, he refused to but he knew that Tommy was going to do just that. The Lee's weren't family despite what Esme would tell him. They wouldn't protect him, not like the way Kat would, like she did.

He was young but he knew what his parents did to him was wrong. The Lee's never did anything to help him and so he had run away and found Kat, who had looked after him like he was her own. She kissed his head every night and told him stories until he fell asleep. His parents never did that for him, they hated him.

A towel was landed onto his lap and Bobby looked at Tommy questionably but Tommy had already left the room, checking that none of the downstairs windows had been broken. Truthfully, Tommy didn't know how to talk to the young lad and didn't want to start an awkward conversation, so he opted to avoid it for as long as possible. Once it was established that the house hadn't been broken in, Tommy couldn't avoid the young boy any longer.