Anna [J.Shelby]

CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE

Rural Birmingham, Christmas 1925

One year on and they had done just as they had set out to do after the robbery, brought a home in the country, and dogs which John loved like they were his children.

John wasn't ever quite the same after the robbery and then jail, and Anna couldn't blame him, he thought he was going to die with a noose around his neck until the very last second. And it haunted him.

Anna stood in front of a big window, looking out to the field where she could see John shooting pheasants with the dogs beside him. She swirled her glass of whiskey before she took the last few drops, it was Christmas Eve after all.

"Can I go out there with dad next time?" James looked up at Anna who laughed, she wasn't quite looking down on him anymore, he was 14 now and nearly as tall as her.

"That's something to ask your dad." She told him.

"Now go outside with your brothers and sisters, and make sure Isabelle doesn't drop Eddie again, he's only little" Anna laughed, guiding her son through to the back door where the kids were running around and Anna stood in a daze staring at them happily.

She was broke out of the daze by talking coming from the front of the house.

She followed the noise through the house to the doorway where there was a pleasant surprise.

"Oh Ada!" Anna approached her for a hug, she laughed in return.

"Hello you" Ada smiled at her as she entered the house- which was overdue a tidy up due to all the kids being at home every day.

"Thought we'd lost you to the great white way of Broadway" John commented as he grabbed a glass of whiskey and sat down in the living room.

"No. This beats Watery Lane, eh John?" Ada glanced around the room, Anna let out a snort as Ada straightened a picture up and Anna poured herself her own glass of whiskey. Another wouldn't harm her.

"Does it? Take a seat, I'll grab the kids," John began before Ada shook her head at him with a smile.

"No need, I'm not stopping. I just came to drop these presents off for tommorow. Stop by, see what life you've built for yourself. Ask how many kids you have now"

Anna let out a loud laugh, "the same amount as last Christmas, thank you Ada"

"Well done John, that must be a personal record" Ada teased her brother who shrugged her off with a lazy smile.

"So where are you staying?" Anna asked Ada.

"With Poll" Ada replied.

"She's in a bad way" John informed her before finishing his drink.

"I'll bring her to her senses" Ada stated.

"Michael's already tried that" John replied.

"Most of us have. Finn tried, he wasn't much help. Me, John. We took the kids to see her once and she nearly broke down because of the noise. She went on about how she could feel the presence of my mother."

"And you're still coming to the party New Years eve?" John asked her.

"Of course! Anyway, there's your presents, and how's Arthur? I'm going to see him now"

"For Christmas get him a sewing kit, so he can sew his fuckin' balls back on" John huffed in response as he sunk lower into the chair.

Around an hour later, John had collected the post, which was unknown to Anna who was just cleaning the kitchen and when she finished she entered the hallway, stopping at the doorway to the large living room, noticing that John was on the phone.

The words that fell from his mouth to whoever was on the other side, who she was assuming was a family member, these words made her blood freeze.

Anna stood silently by the door as he put the phone down, Anna's heart began beating heavily in her chest.

"Did I just hear you correctly, John?" Ana questioned as she entered the room.

"Anna, leave it" John let out a sigh.

"No I won't fucking leave it" She snapped, snatching the letter away from John, rushing across the room as John hung behind her, his head bowed, there was no hiding it now.

Anna's heart rate dropped at the black hand printed on the card.

"John, why the, why the fuck have we had a black hand delivered to our bloody home? The mafia, John." Anna screamed, throwing the card down.

"They're coming for us all" John told her, accent thick and full of emotion.

"Us," She pointed between them both, "them," she pointed to the door which the kids were playing behind.

"We're the family, and nothing's safe for our family anymore John, the Shelby name is a fucking curse hanging over us and I refuse to let you or anybody I love end up in the fucking hospital, or worse, 10 feet under" Anna shouted.

"Look, Anna, I'll keep you safe. I'll keep you all safe, we can go back to Birmingham, stick together as a family"

"No, John, when we're with them we aren't safe. We need to leave, move far away from here because for fuck sake John, we'll all be dead if we don't" Anna breathed heavily as she began to panic, anxiety rising in her chest.

"We'll wait it out, I'll get out the guns, have Christmas here and then after Christmas we can decide, right?"

Anna glanced up at John, his hands making their way to her cheeks and she bit at her cheeks while nodding in response.

Throughout the rest of Christmas Eve, this weighed heavily on Anna's mind as John went to do who knows what.

It waa getting on quite late, with the kids all asleep and Anna sitting beside the lit fire with a whiskey bottle beside her and multiple different thoughts running through her mind.

John entered into the room, seeing his wife deep in thought, with her eyes hazey and a whiskey bottle clutched in her hand.

John placed down all rifles and all other types of guns and glanced over at her once more.

"Come here you, Merry fuckin' Christmas.." John held his arms out, Anna's head snapping to him and she stood from the chair, Johns arms wrapping around her waist as she clung to his neck, he placed gentle kisses down her jaw before catching her lips as she moved.

"I love you John Shelby" She murmered against his lips.

"I fuckin' love you" He whispered roughly as his hands cupped under her bum and she was around his waist, their lips locking and moving gentley and passionately against eachother.

Their lips never left eachothers skin as they both undressed on the same chair and found themselves in the early hours of Christmas morning, laying on the floor peacefully by the roaring fire entangled in eachother, clinging to eachother for safety and love, John's arm held protectively around her and a gun on the other side of him.

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No sexual content as I wanted the ending scene to be quite innocent. It shows how through just being away from Small Heath, they've became very reliant on eachother and their love has grown greater due to this.