𝐞𝐠𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 · 𝐚𝐥𝐟𝐢𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬

𝐭𝐰𝐨

𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡, 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐡𝐚𝐦, 𝟏𝟗𝟐𝟒

THE SHELBY FAMILY was divided since the death of Grace. Tommy had been distant, leaving Charlie in the care of Evelyn before he set out to Wales to go get the necklace Grace wore, that he claimed was cursed, destroyed. When he returned to Birmingham, he was out doing God knows what, with God knows who.

The deafening cries from Charlie Shelby had Evelyn rushing out of bed, the sun only beginning to rise, and into the spare room that she and Polly had set up for the child. Making her way through the room and over to the cot where the boy was kicking his legs, little whimpers of "mummy" passing his lips.   

The strain of missing both his parents – albeit that Tommy visited in the mornings – was having a terrible effect on the boy and therefore was impacting everyone in the house. Finn had resorted to sleeping on the lounge in the living room because Charlie would often stay awake until the early hours of the morning; crying and he was in the room next to him.

"Hey LeeLee," Evelyn cooed, comforting Charlie with his nickname. Picking the young boy up, Evelyn bounced him slightly on her hip, trying her best to soothe his whimpers. "Decided to start our day bright and early, have we?" She teased, wiping his tears.

Once Charlie had calmed, his face buried in Evelyn's shoulder as she pressed kisses to the crown of his head; she took him downstairs. Sneaking past a snoring Finn on the lounge, Evelyn and Charlie crept into the kitchen.

"Aunt Eve is gonna make some tea," She muttered, lifting the boy higher on her hip. "Would you like some breakfast, Lee?" 

The obviously tired boy nodded his head, letting it fall back onto his aunts shoulder before his eyes began to droop – Evelyn knowing that he wouldn't be eating anything she made him anytime soon. So with one arm, she grabbed the kettle and filled it with water before placing it on the stove – tossing a couple of tea leaves into a cup from the sink.

The sound of the front door opening had Evelyn tensing before she peeked around the corner of the wall, eyes catching the familiar stature of her older brother. He removed his cap and coat before running a hand through his disorderly hair, a deep sigh emitting from his throat. 

Walking into the doorway, Evelyn cleared her throat as quietly as she could making Tommy look up at her – his eyes softening at the sight of Charlie safe in his sisters arms. Gesturing for Tommy to enter the kitchen, he followed behind her as she took the whistling kettle off the stove – filling the cup she had taken out with water before passing it to her brother at the table. He needed it more than her.

Evelyn's head tilted slightly so her cheek rested on the top of Charlie's head, rocking slightly on the spot as she took in her brothers appearance. His eyes were red and bloodshot, the bags underneath adding to the tiredness that he exhibited. With parted lips, Tommy took a cigarette out of his jacket pocket and lit it as Evelyn took a seat in the chair opposite him. 

"How is he?" He whispered, smoke flowing around him – eyes never leaving his son.

"About as tired as you. He only fell asleep a couple of minutes before you arrived."

Nodding, Tommy finally looked at his sister with sorrowful eyes. "He's been asking for me, hasn't he?"

"You and Grace," She confirmed, noticing the way her brother tensed at the mention of Grace's name. "You've got to come back to us Tom. If not for me or our brothers and sister – then come back for Charlie."

"I know."

A silence settled over the siblings, before Tommy stubbed out his cigarette and held his arms out for Evelyn to pass him Charlie. As gently as the girl could, she stood and let the boy curl up in his fathers arms.

"I need a favour," Tommy mumbled, pushing the cup of tea slightly towards Evelyn who was eyeing it. "You can say no and I'll get John to do it, but I'd prefer if it were you."

"Anything you need, Tom. You know that."

Clenching his jaw, Tommy ran his hand down his thigh – eyes darting to the floor before he exhaled deeply. He knew he looked like a mess and smelt of whiskey, gin and whatever other substance he had been using to try to forget his nightmares 

"I need you to go to London," Tommy began, before shaking his head. "No. I need you to move to London."

"You want me to move?"

Tommy briefly shut his eyes at the shock that his sister was expressing, briefly shifting Charlie so he could lean his arm on the table. "You met Solomons, yeah?" He questioned. 

"Yeah, he's not as bad as you all say."

"He is." Tommy shut her down, before taking a deep breath. He was doing that a lot recently; calming himself down before he exploded. Evelyn knew it was his tactic to not be seen showing emotion. "But it seemed as though he took a liking to you – much to Arthur's dismay."

"It was just one dance, Tom."

"You made him smile."

Evelyn felt her skin begin to heat up at the memory of her meeting with the Jewish gangster. She had resorted to trying to push it to the back of her memory, believing that none of her family would ever let her go near him again. If they hadn't lost Grace that fateful night she surely would have gotten an earful from them.

Clearing her throat, Evelyn took a sip of the tea in her hands before staring at her brother. "Why do you need me to move, Tom?"

"I would like for you to take over the London side of business," he explained, leaning back in his chair. "I just need you to make a couple of deals with Solomons, I'll phone you when we need you to make one."

Evelyn furrowed her brows, "why can't you do that?" 

"I have some business with the Russians that I need to take care of. We need the Jews on our side, I believe that Solomons is more likely to not double cross us if it's you making the deals."

Nodding, Evelyn continued to drink her tea – watching as her nephew gripped Tommy's shirt and nuzzled closer; it was clear that he missed his father immensely.

"Where am I going to stay?" Evelyn inquired, resting her head on her palm that was propped up against the table. "With Ada?"

"She's renting out her fucking rooms," Tommy ran a hand down his face in what appeared to be annoyance. "I bought you a house close to Alfie's distillery so you won't have to walk far. It's small, but I think you'll fucking like it."

"You bought me a fucking house and I haven't even said yes," Evelyn snickered, a small smile creeping up on Tommy as he amused his sister. 

If there was one person who could stop the man from giving into the darkness that kept him awake at night; it was Evelyn. The girl somehow always managed to make the Shelby family forget everything wrong with the world. 

Taking her older brothers hand that was mindlessly drawing circles on the table in front of him into hers, Evelyn gave his a gentle squeeze.

"What do you need me to do, Tom?"