"While the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." -Matthew 8:12
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Really, Trixie should've seen it coming.
After all, if memory served true, there hadn't been a single promise Tommy made that didn't involve an asterisk, or a conditional, or that he didn't outright break. It was part of the business, but it had grown exhausting. So when Trixie returned after work to collect the gloves she'd left behind, only to find Arthur throwing things around his office and shouting at nobody in particular while a messenger from the tracks scurried out nervously, it wasn't difficult to connect the dots.
Monaghan Boy had won. They wouldn't collect money from the bets placed—they would have to redistribute it. And though it wasn't exactly the biggest problem they were dealing with, Trixie wasn't all too pleased about the idea of working late.
"Arthur?" she asked, cautious. The rest of the betting shop was abandoned, no doubt due to his outburst, so Trixie was careful to make herself small.
"It bloody won," Arthur muttered.
"The horse," she finished, not really asking.
"It bloody won!" he shouted, swiping at a bottle on his desk and sending it shattering on the floor. Trixie jumped back, but did her best to remain calm. "I'm gonna fucking kill Tommy."
"No you aren't," she disagreed, reaching into her purse for the cigarette tin and pulling one out for him. Booze was Arthur's medicine of choice, but nicotine didn't hurt. He accepted the smoke warily, and she followed it with a lit match. As annoyed as she was over the win and what it meant, Trixie knew that Tommy never did anything without being deliberate. Surely, there was some other motive here. That didn't mean it would be a good one. "Have you asked him about it?" she inquired.
"He's on his way here." Arthur rubbed at his eyes, throwing out curses in rapid succession that culminated in a loud, furious, "Fuck!"
"Fuck?"
Tommy stood in the doorway of the office, nonchalant as ever. He removed his hat and tucked it under his arm.
"Monaghan Boy fucking won," Arthur shouted, lunging for Tommy. Trixie wasn't exactly sure why she did it, but before she could stop herself, she was jumping forward and blocking Arthur's way with a firm hand planted on his chest.
