The Thorne To His Rose

Ninety Five

"Your going to wear that today?" Tommy asked as Lili walked down the stairs. He folded his paper and looked up at her.

"Yes...why?" She asked, a frown on her face.

Tommy licked his bottom lip and stood up, holding her arms. "Go upstairs, brush your hair and put your best dress on. Trust me". He answered.

"I have brushed my hair". She muttered.

Lili rolled her eyes at him and stormed up the stairs. "Thanks Tommy, you know that makes me feel so much better". She shouted, slamming her bedroom door shut.

Lili combed her hair into a bun and put on a navy blue dress. She slipped on some heels and pulled a face at her reflection. She hated wearing dresses, she felt better in trouser's or long flowing skirts.

She walked down the stairs and placed her hands on her hips. "You happy now?" She asked.

Tommy looked up from his paper and smiled. "Much better. And you will be thanking me by the way". He answered.

Lili frowned when she looked at him. "Why?" She asked.

She watched as Tommy stood up as someone was beeping the horn outside. "Tommy why?" She asked, following him out of the house. Lili smiled widely when she saw Alfie standing beside a car, a pissed off look on his face. He continued to press the horn as Tommy and Lili walked over to him.

He stopped when Tommy and Lili stood in front of him. "Morning Alfie". Tommy muttered.

"Yeah, it is. It is". Alfie said. He turned to look at Lili, his eyes looking her up and down. "You're injured again?" He asked.

Lili nodded her head and smiled. "Yeah, a little scrape that's all". She answered.

"So how come everybody's in fucking bed?" Alfie asked Tommy. Lili turned her head to look at the man standing beside Alfie, her eyes roaming the extremely tall boy who was standing with them.

"So this must be Goliath". Tommy muttered.

Lili smiled softly at Goliath and looked back at Alfie, her eyes soft. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and kiss him, but she wasn't going to. Not with Tommy and Alfie's men beside him.

"Right. Let me introduce you to David". Tommy muttered.

Lili watched as he started to walk away. "This way boys?" Tommy said. Alfie turned to look at Lili, his eyebrow raised. "I assume that David's out of bed?" He asked. Lili snorted and hooked her arm through his, looking up at him.

"Your looking nice". He muttered down at her. Lili smiled softly and squeezed his arm. "So are you". She whispered.

Alfie snorted, but didn't say anything else. "So where are we going?" Alfie asked her. Lili smiled and rolled her eyes. "You'll see Mr Solomons". She answered, her voice soft.

They walked into Tommy's cellar, where he kept his drink.

"Oh right, the problem, right, between rum and gin is that gin, right, it leads to the melancholy, whereas rum incites violence". Alfie said as he walked down the stairs. Lili rolled her eyes and let go of his arm, walking over to Tommy.

"You know, it also allows you to be liberated from your self-doubt. I hear you're probably more in need of the old rum at the moment rather than gin, mate. Hmmm?". Alfie muttered. He looked up as he heard some birds tweeting.

"Oh dear, Tommy, you've got fucking starlings, mate. Oh yeah. That shit will rot your pipework. Those bastards only understand one language". Alfie said as he raised his gun.