god is a woman (arthur shelby.)

seventeen.

☾

Watery Lane was completely and utterly silent first thing in the morning. Although the sun was up, there was no one on the streets except for one singular milkman. It was so quiet, anyone awake could almost hear their own heartbeat thumping in their rib cage.

Rowan was wide awake and gazing out of the window onto the dead street below. She was the poor soul that couldn't hear her own heartbeat, as the loud sound of John and Mariah having wild sex in the bedroom next door had woken her just ten minutes ago. The noise was enough to drive her to murder, but she lived the couple far too much to ever lose them. Knowing there was no chance of them stopping soon enough for her to go back to sleep, she'd quickly got dressed and applied some soft makeup ready for the day.

Gazing out of the window, she saw a figure kicking a rock below her. He was hidden by his flat cap, but she could tell it was Arthur. Despite him only living down the road, she felt so deeply separated from him.

"Oi!" She screeched out of the window.

Arthur immediately stared up at her and stopped his hat from falling from his head. His grin grew as he saw Rowan waving madly at him.

"Good morning to you too." He chuckled.

Tommy pulled up in front of Arthur in his sparkling clean brand new motor car. He still hadn't got a handle on how the car worked, and calamitously made his way along the road before screeching to a stop and yanking the hand brake up.

Tommy shouted for John to come down, but Rowan heard the sound of sex continuing.

"Get John for us will you love?" Arthur asked as he watched Tommy pour away his medication before throwing the bottle into the gutter.

"Where are you going? You better not be leaving me in here like your pet fucking greyhound." She shouted down below.

"On holiday. London." Tommy revealed.

Mariah burst through the bedroom door, tousling her hair and perching on the window ledge next to Rowan.

"I'm against this." She whispered to Rowan.

"Why? It's just a holiday." Rowan innocently shrugged. "Can I come boys?"

Tommy and Arthur, who had now been joined by a disheveled John, began to converse as they wondered whether to take her on board.

"It's London Ro, it's dangerous." Riah tried to illustrate her point, resting her hand on Rowan's leg.

"It can't be that bad, I'm sure." Rowan dismissed her. "Look, I'll make sure John doesn't cheat on you whilst we're there."

Riah rolled her eyes at Rowan's suggestion.

"Fine. Be careful, stay safe." Mariah pulled Rowan into a tight hug, rocking them back and forth. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"So I've got carte blanche then?" Rowan teased her best friend, garnering a slap on the arm.

The men contemplated whether or not it would be a good idea to take Rowan on board with them. The trip was for business purposes, and Arthur didn't want her involved with business at any cost. On the contrary, Arthur also argued that Rowan kept him sane and sharp, just as Tommy wanted him.