the girl next door ↠ Thomas Shelby [DISCONTINUED]

23; choose your family

Even if Sullivan thought no one was really waiting for her in Small Heath, when she opened her front door and found Polly sitting on her couch, arms crossed on her chest, she wasn't that surprised.

"I can explain," the blonde assured, holding the wooden box on her chest.

"I'm sure you can," Polly answered, her tone calm, which made her more nervous than if she had screamed at her.

Sullivan pushed the door closed with her foot, letting the box rest on the table. "What was I supposed to do?" she sincerely asked, connecting eyes with Polly. "Let him go alone, traveling by himself?"

"Or maybe you could've stopped him from bloody go?" Polly proposed, raising an eyebrow.

Sullivan raised her hands in the air, slamming them against the table. "It's not the way it works and you know that," she disagreed. "He's too stubborn to even listen to me, and I'd better know you worried because we're both traveling alive than knowing him dead in a corner."

Knowing the blonde had a point, Polly stood up, stepping towards her and hugging her tightly. "Thanks," she muttered, lifting to the blonde next to her. Sullivan nodded before Polly was looking down at the box on the table. "What's that?"

"This is the second reason why I went with Tom in London," Sully revealed, grabbing the box and walking to the couch, where she sat down, opening the table on the coffee table. "The letter you received at the shop, it was my brother. Carlisle. Said he was in London and wanted to meet me. We did. He's coming to live with me and gave me that."

Polly smiled kindly, approaching the blonde when the front door went open, revealing Tommy and Arthur stepping in Sullivan's room. The blonde smiled when Arthur rushed towards her, putting her in his arms roughly, not caring she had to stand up and keep her balance at the same time. "You do this again and I'll kill you," he muttered in her hair while she chuckled, hugging him back.

"I promise I won't, so not gonna need that," she replied, which made the eldest Shelby laugh. They broke apart, Sullivan finding her seat back on the couch as she put the box on her laps, looking through it carefully.

It was full of family pictures, notes, some books and a necklace she used to wear when she was younger. Polly and Tommy sat at each side of her, both of them staying silent after they had answered Arthur when he had asked what was that. Sully exited a picture where she was posing next to her brothers, her parents probably ordering them to stay still. Polly snorted when she caught sight of Sullivan's younger self.

"What?" the blonde demanded, smiling at the picture. "I was cute."

She showed the picture to Tommy, whom of which rolled his eyes, grabbing the picture to take a better look. "I was wondering what could've happened to such a pretty girl to shift into you," Polly joked. Sullivan rolled her eyes, taking another picture in her hands and looking at it.

Polly's hand sneaked into the box, catching the silvery necklace, admiring the fines details. It was a cross, a Christian cross, decorated by lines and strange patterns, all built so beautifully she instantly understood why Sully would keep it.

"I didn't know you were a believer," Polly spoke, showing Sully's jewelry when the blonde shot her a confused look.

She took the necklace from Polly's hands, looking down at it carefully, trying to remember how she had gotten it, then thought about her parents' beliefs. "It was my grandmother's," she explained weakly, giving it back to Polly. "Would you mind?" she asked, clearing her neck from her hair and facing Tommy, so Polly wouldn't struggle to secure it around her neck.

Once it was done, she let Tommy's hand grab softly, watching it attentively. They spent the rest of the afternoon emptying the box and joking around at Sully's young face. She felt her chest tighten often, remembering some moments she had spent with her family, when she had seen this or this picture. Remembering each of Samual's features, her Dad's manner to always think about everything like it was the last time they would do something together. He was right to do it though. She ruined all her family when she ran away, leaving them behind her without thinking about it.