LIKE STEEL || Tommy Shelby

XII. FROZEN HEARTS

- FROZEN HEARTS -

February 27th, 1920

Church bells rang out as morning light shone through Rose's curtains onto her face. She rolled over in her bed, the events of the night before racing through her mind. She gingerly brought a hand to her throat, running her fingers across the shallow cut.

Gently, she reached across the small bed to find it empty. The pillow still smelt like woody cologne as she pulled the covers away. Rose didn't know why she expected him to be there; he had only said he would stay the night, but something in her chest sank as she saw the empty bed and his clothing gone from the chair.

She sat up, bracing herself for the cold, only to suddenly realize that it had not only been the stray beam of sun that had warmed her, but the small, crackling, fire slowly burning in her fireplace.

She stared at it for a moment, watching the flames dance and remembering the flicker of his phantom breath across her neck.

Even as she set up the clinic for the day, she could still feel his lazy touch up and down her arm. He made her angry and frustrated and more confused than anything, but somehow amongst all the chaos, there was something else. Comfort.

The ringing of the telephone snapped her out of her daze.

"Hello?" she said, quickly picking up the phone.

"Rose, it's Polly."

Her voice was rushed and hard to hear over the phone, but Rose would recognize the woman's drawl anywhere.

"Hello, Polly," Rose replied, trying not to think of all the reasons Polly might call her. "What can I help you with?"

"I need you to go to the police station."

"What? Why, Polly?"

"I don't have time to explain, but-"

"No, Polly, I can't just be left in the dark again. You tell me why and I will close up the clinic and go now, but I won't be left to guess."

The line fell silent for a second, and Rose was frozen on the spot.

"Polly?" she asked quietly.

"It's the guns, Rose. Tommy said you know about them. My sources said they were taken this morning- apprehended by the police and that new fucking Inspector. I need to know for sure."

Rose's heart dropped and she braced herself against the wall. Everything that had happened the night before had been for nothing. They had found out the location of the guns anyways. Rose tried to keep her voice even as she lifted the phone back to her lips.

"And why would going to the police station help you?"

"Because," Polly almost whispered, "we need to find out what they're planning on doing about it. I need you to go down there and see if they're saying anything."

"Why me, Polly? Why not send one of the boys?"

Polly sighed, "The moment I send any of our boys down there, their mouths will shut. They don't know you're a Blinder, so use that. Tell them somebody stole your purse, I don't care."

It was Rose's turn to fall silent.

"What?"

"You heard me, love. For better or worse, you've gotten yourself tangled up with us. You're a Blinder now, Rosie. So, go down to the police station and figure out what's going on."

The line went dead and Rose slowly hung up the phone.

A Blinder. She was a Peaky Blinder.

Everything she had heard told her that the Peaky Blinders were evil. Murderous. But each time she had been around the the Shelbey family, they had shown her nothing but kindness. Around them the brokenness of her heart did not matter. She had lived in Small Heath for months, but somehow, they were the only people that felt like family- that felt like home.