VULNERABLE | thomas shelby

✞T W E N T Y- T W O ✞

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO; LOVE MAKES US BLIND

BETH HADN'T REALISED she had fallen asleep until she was woken by the front door to Polly's house swinging open with a bang causing her to be woken from her peace. Tommy paced in through the door and Ada quickly tended to her baby was had let out a strangled cry for his mother. Beth sat up quickly, her eyes wide as she watched Tommy pace the living room. "What in the bloody hell is going on?" She demanded, finally breaking the tension that swallowed the room. Tommy avoided her question and turned to Ada. "You two and the baby into the bull ring now. Where there's lots of people."

Tommy began to pace anxiously yet again and Beth fell tired of waiting and managed to bring her hoarse voice into a shout glaring at Tommy. "What going on Tommy." Tommy sighed, closing his eyes but continuing to pace around the room again and again. "We've been fucking betrayed." He replied, reaching up to tug on the roots of his hair. "Someone let slip Kimber's men are on there way here." Beth frowned and scrunched her eyebrows. "Yeah but you can handle them Tom."

Tommy stopped pacing and walked towards Beth his hands cradling her face. "It's just us. All the Lees are on their way to Worcester. We're outnumbered." Tommy turned away from Beth quickly and slammed his hands down onto the closest thing he could find, his scream echoing through the house like a gunshot. "FUCK!" Polly walked into the doorway a look of anger written across her face. "But who else knew today was the day you were making a move on Kimber? You said you kept it a secret who else did you tell?" Tommy glanced over at Beth and nodded his head towards her.

Polly's eyebrows raised as she stepped in closer to the doorway, cautiously glancing at the blonde woman who scoffed. "Are you seriously accusing me of betraying this family? If you are, you and I are about to have a serious problem Thomas Shelby. You know I'd never, don't be so daft." Beth snapped, glaring at the man in anger. "There's only one thing that can blind a man as smart as you Tommy. Love." Polly paused her sentence, her eyes cautiously glancing towards Beth who opened her mouth to speak but Polly managed to get in before her. "It was that barmaid."

The room fell into a blazing silence, Beth's hands beginning to shake as she stared into the fire in front of her. Each ember and flame only a reminder to the spark of fury that was taking over her body. How foolish could she be? Of course, yet again Thomas Shelby had betrayed her. "I'll deal with Grace. If either of you set eyes on her you'll kill her." Polly spoke up, cautiously sparing a glance toward Beth who refused to meet her eye. Tommy had been stood, hand rubbing over his mouth as he stared down at her, wondering what he could do now this so little time to fix his mistakes. He'd have to leave, business was priority but walking out was only bound to leave more damage.

Ada who was yet to leave made the first move, tactically laying a gentle hand on Beth's shoulder but her hand had barely grazed her shoulder before Beth had sprung up in her seat, her blazing eyes meeting Tommy's. "Bethany-." He began, taking a hesitant step forward but Beth placed her hand out, silently telling him to stay back as she stared over at Polly. "How long has this been going on?" The room fell into a deeper silence but Beth snapped her eyes back to Tommys, her shaking hand held out turning to a finger that jabbed roughly into his chest as she took a step toward him. "I'm not doing this anymore."

Tommy never got another word in as Beth walked out, leaving the sitting room, leaving Polly's and finally when she reached the streets of Small Heath and had managed to stumble far away from the house, she leaned over her knees, the broken sobs beginning to choke her. Back inside Polly's the silence remained, the only noise being the soft sniffles from Karl who clung to his mothers shirt. "You're a foolish man Thomas. You like to run around pretending your the cleverest man in Small Heath but a man as clever as you claim to be would never, ever let a love like that be affected by another woman. Never mind a conniving rat."