DEVIL IN DISGUISE ⇉ TOMMY SHELBY

EIGHT ¬ 𝐹𝑅𝐸𝐷𝐷𝐼𝐸 𝐹𝑈𝐶𝐾𝐼𝑁𝐺 𝑇𝐻𝑂𝑅𝑁𝐸

IT WAS PREDICTED THAT AT SOME POINT ADA WOULD HAVE TO BREAK THE NEW TO HER BROTHERS, ESPECIALLY TOMMY, who was seen as the head of the Shelby family. Ada had asked Bela to talk to Tommy, to calm him down before he spoke to her face to face. "John, if Tommy comes in here, tell him I want to see him in the kitchen, immediately." She told him seriously, as he nodded, walking off to note down more of the bets being put into place.

Going into the kitchen to wait for the arrival of Tommy, Polly walked in, placing a hand on her hip. "Are you telling him or am I? You know he'll listen to you more, none of them listen to me." She tutted, rolling her eyes as Bela smirked. "You just don't have my charm, Pol." She laughed as Polly flipped her off.

"I'll do it, though if I throttle him, please don't think anything of it." Bela sighed, knowing that this certain conversation would not be one that she nor Tommy would enjoy, especially when getting Tommy's reaction to what she would be telling him.

"My dear, I would expect nothing less." Polly chuckled, as both the women turned round to the door to which Tommy was leaning against. "John said you wanted to speak to me," he said to Bela in his thick Birmingham accent. Polly turned to her, before leaving to close the kitchen door. "Good luck," she muttered to Bela.

Sitting down, lighting his cigarette, Tommy leaned back, looking at Bela questioningly. "What's this all about, Bee?" He asked, as Bela mentally prepared herself.

"Tommy, please don't freak the fuck out, okay?" He raised his eyebrow, "Ada's pregnant." He stood up, trying to get out and find his sister, but Bela stopped him, putting a hand on his chest quickly.

"Stop, Tommy. Stop!" She exclaimed before he could get out the door. "No, Bela, that's my sister and she's fucking pregnant and she's not even fucking married." He shouted as Bela pushed a finger into his chest.

"You think she doesn't know that Tommy? You think she's happy and skipping around at the fact that she's unwed and pregnant. She's scared out of her fucking mind, I had her crying in my shoulder this morning, scared because her brother's opinion means more to her than fucking anything. So be careful what you say to her because if that girl comes crying to me, you'll have a fucking death wish on your hands." She said, breathing heavily. Although close to Tommy, Bela wasn't afraid of him like everyone else in Small Heath. Before the war, so many few were scared of Tommy, he smiled and he laughed. Bela remembered a time from when they were at school together and a boy she had liked rejected her to her face leaving her heartbroken, as a little girl would be, and he hugged her and sat with her until she felt better. But it wasn't like that now, since the war he became so distant, but Bela knew, deep down inside he was still that smiling, happy young man she once knew.

Calming down slightly, Tommy nodded, looking the girl straight in the eye. "Fine, but I'm still talking to her, this isn't just something that can go unspoken about."

"She's down at the theatre," Bela told him as he went to leave, but not before calling out to him. "And Tommy," he turned to her, "don't be so hard on her, remember." He nodded, putting on his coat, walking out the door, allowing Bela to breathe a sigh of relief that it had gone better than she thought.

++

Tommy stormed into the Shelby betting shop once again, seething with rage. Seeing this, Bela braced herself for what was about to happen. "You didn't tell me the father was Freddie fucking Thorne." He told her, grabbing her by the arm, pulling her into a more silent area where they wouldn't be overheard. She shrugged his arm off her, "Tommy, it wasn't my place to tell you, okay?" She told him, as she could tell that he was still seething.

"For fucks sake, Bela!" Tommy turned to punch the closest wall to him. Bela rolled her eyes, not flinching in the slightest at the loud sound that came from Tommy's anger.

Getting something out of her pocket, she handed it to the young man in front of her. "After you've finished your temper tantrum, I need you to do this for me." Tommy looked at the envelope that Bela had handed him, "Ada wants you to give this to Freddie, to let him know that she's having his baby. He deserves an opportunity to do the right thing. I say we give them the chance, they love each other Tommy, you can't stand in the way of that." She told him softly, not wanting to anger him anymore, but instead to calm him down.

"For a woman who hasn't had much romance in her life, you sure have a big heart for the soppy romance shit, don't you?" He told her as she stared at him harshly, "once you find love, you've got to keep it, haven't you? And I won't have you or anyone else stand In their way, Tommy."

Tommy raised his eyebrows, "What do you think that Freddie sees in our Ada?" He asked as Bela shrugged her shoulders, "that's his business."

Tommy shook his head, "no, I'll tell you what he sees. He sees machine guns and rifles, and ammunition and some glorious revolution."

Anger flooding through her mind, Bela slammed her hands down on the closest desk, fists against the wood. "Will you stop fucking thinking business for one second and believe that maybe, just maybe he might be good enough for your sister and your unborn niece or nephew. She loves him for Christ's sake, just fucking accept him!" She rubbed her head, unsure of what else to say to convince Tommy that although she wasn't to keen of Freddie herself, everyone deserved a chance of happiness.

"Tell me, Tommy, if you fell in love with a girl that your family hated, would it stop you from loving her?" She asked, looking at him questioningly as he scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"You know it wouldn't," he said quietly as Bela threw her hands in the air in anger, "So why should it be any different for Ada? Huh, Tommy? Why do you hate Freddie so much that you are willing to stop your own blood from being loved?" She breathed quickly, out of breath.

Without looking at Bela, Tommy dropped the letter into the fire, trying to ignore the cries of desperation from Bela.

"Damn them, for what they did to you in France Thomas Shelby," Bela shouted, tears welling up in her eyes, unable to understand why Tommy wanted to make his sisters life miserable so badly.

"Tell Ada he's gone to America or even Russia. Bela, It would do no good for Ada to bring a baby into the world alone." He raised his voice as Bela began to gather her things, not wanting to stay in the same room as Tommy any longer.

She turned to his almost bursting into angry tears, something that was unusual for the woman that Bela had become. "You don't want to accept Ada and her baby, then fine, but don't even fucking think about coming near Ada or even me. You're not the man I thought you were Tommy, and it breaks my heart because I can't seem to find the old you."

Tommy looked down at the ground, "the old me died the day I set foot on the battlefield."

"And that's what's the saddest part," she stared at him, "knowing we'll never get that person back." She turned, leaving Tommy sat there, kicking his desk, as Bela slammed the door behind her, almost breaking down the door.

Like Tommy had said, the younger boy Bela had once knew had gone, and now all they were left with was a stone cold man. Yet, Bela had to find the young boy she once knew, or else, would this new Tommy ever find peace in himself? If not, Bela sensed, Tommy could not only destroy himself, but others along the way.