The Sweetest of Hearts.1| T.S

•Driven crazy with longing.

XLI. Driven crazy with longing.

⚠️Mentioning of slight smuttish talk⚠️

Much to Maude's dismay, everyone in the family had decided they would stay at Arrow house with her until Tommy returned again. There was no use in arguing as everyone's minds were made up, and a part of her appreciated the sentiment.

She was sat in the living room with Daniel, Charlie sleeping next to her with his head on her lap, his tiny hand clutching onto her skirt. Ada and Finn were off to bed and Polly was wandering around, and the rest of the men were all outside, shooting pheasants in the field.

"We killed Angel Changretta," Daniel informed her as he got up from the couch, making his way over to the liquor cabinet inside the room, pouring himself and his sister a glass of whiskey. "Slit his throat in his hospital bed." He muttered before returning to the couch, handing her a whiskey before sitting down again. "Tommy wants us to kill the old man and his wife."

"Mrs. Changretta?" Maude repeated as she looked at her brother with furrowed eyebrows, and he nodded his head in response. "She had nothing to do with this." She muttered as she shook her head, knowing the old woman was innocent of what her son and husband had done.

"John and Arthur don't agree with killing her." He informed his sister as he drink his whiskey, finishing the glass and putting it down on the coffee table.

"She's a good woman." Maude insisted as her gaze turned down to her sleeping son, running a hand through his dark hair. "She doesn't deserve the fate Tommy wants to give her." She insisted as she shook her head.

Daniel stared at his sister, surprised she did not agree with Tommy, because most days the couples were always on the same side of everything. He was silent for a second. "Mr. Changretta does." He insisted as his top lip pulled into a snarl, his jaw clenching. "The old fucker deserves the fate Tommy will give him." He spat.

Before Maude could reply, the back door slamming open caught her attention. Michael stormed into the house, rushing past them with a pissed-off expression on his face. A few seconds later, Polly walked into the house with a huff, grumbling something under her breath.

"Right, what's going on?" Maude asked as she looked over at Polly with furrowed eyebrows, her head tilting to the side and a comforting hand resting on Charlie's back as he began to stir in response to the loud noise.

"Those lot were having a piss fight out there." Polly huffed again as she looked over her shoulder at the door she entered, and Maude figured the woman was talking about Arthur and John picking on Michael about the meetings earlier.

"They're still on that?" Maude asked as she raised her eyebrows and Polly nodded her head before walking off to find her son. "Bloody hell...it's going to be a long three days." Maude sighed as she threw her head back against the couch.

The following morning Maude and Polly were up early, before everyone else, and the two went to the dining room to have breakfast. "How are you feeling?" Polly asked as she glanced at the girl, holding a warm tea cup up to her lips as she eyed Maude over the rim of it.

"I'm feeling alright, Pol," Maude assured with a nod of her head as took a few bites of her toast, thankful she had escaped the horrid food of the hospital. No matter how expensive the place was, the food was not up to standard quality.

Polly looked around at the vases of flowers that stood on the other end of the table, a good few of them still left behind. "Christ, how do you breath with all these flowers in here?" She asked as her eyebrows furrowed.

"Those are only the ones we didn't get a place for," Maude explained as she looked over at the flowers, a sigh slipping from her lips. "I don't know what to do with them, or the dozens of baked goods still in the kitchen." She muttered with a shrug of her shoulders as she took a few more bites of her toast.