Firecracker- John Shelby

-thirteen-

"Shirley!" I heard from downstairs.
I sat up quickly as I heard loud footsteps coming up.
I held my breath as the footsteps came closer to my door. I picked my my gun from my nightstand as the door handle turned.
In walked polly with a stern look on her face.
I let out a breath.
"Oh put your gun down" she said
"What are you doing here" I said
"Getting you out of bed" she said as if it was obvious
"Why" I asked
"Big day at the shop, plus johns called a meeting" she said
"Polly I don't feel well" I said
"I told Thomas not to let you go to the races. You are a woman,not a soldier!" she said feeling my head and making a fuss. I grabbed her hand gently and moved it away from my face, she looked down at my wrist.
"Shirley Lovell...how did that happen?" she said, I looked at my wrist too and saw a huge hand sized bruise forming.
"Got grabbed by one of the lees" I shrugged
"Damn Thomas!" She spat
"I asked to go poll!" I said
"And he shouldn't have let you!" She said
"I'm fine poll, honestly" I said reassuringly
"He needs to learn your not Arthur or John. He forgets you are still a woman" she said
"It was just this once polly"I said
She looked unconvinced but stood up silently.
"Get dressed" she said before walking out.
I quickly changed and walked downstairs to see she had left.

"All right John there's only one man guarding the house. What's troubling you" tommy asked
"Polly,you know what it's been like, since Martha died." John started
"God takes the best first" she sad reaching for his hand.
"Truth is-my-" John stumbled, he looked down at my wrist and saw the bruise, I noticed and hid my hand under the table. Polly followed johns eyes to my wrist. She looked between us rapidly. I avoided hers and johns gaze.
"We haven't got all day" tommy said
"Yeah-sorry- my uh kids having been running bloody rings around me. Running barefoot with the dogs until all hours" John said
"Pol, give him ten Bob for some new shoes. Is that it, John?" Tommy said
"Tommy, it would be better to do this without you." Polly said
"Now what's your point" polly said
"What the kids need is a mother. So that's why I'm getting married" John said
"Does this poor girl know your going to marry her, or are you just going to spring it on her all of a sudden" polly asked
" I already proposed and she said yes" John said.
Something about this made me uneasy, angry even. I never properly returned feelings for John, so I felt selfish for being mad. But I was.
"I think there's a shell about to land and go bang" I said
"Its er... it's Lizzie stark"John said
As everyone was laughing something strange happened, I felt the urge to puke. I stood up and rushed out of the room. I heard Polly mumble something about talking later.
"Shirley!" She shouted after me
"Hm" I said trying to steady my voice
"Is this about John" she asked
"No, I feel really ill pol" I said
"Ill? You never get ill" she said worried
"Unless something bads about to happen" I say seriously
"Shirley you gypsy bastard" she said laughing and clapping me on the back, worry washing away.
"Polly!" I said annoyed she wasn't taking me seriously
"I mean I'm one for superstitions but..." she said still howling
"Polly, it's true, remember how sick I was before mum died"I said
"Come back in Shirley" she said more seriously.
We walked into the back room to find John pleading with Tommy.
"Listen, tommy, welcome her to the family, as someone who's had a hard life. All right, because I need someone. The kids need someone"John said
I felt a strong wave of sickness and tried my best not to vomit. Only causing my stomach to feel like it was on fire.
Then the door opened and Finn ran in.
"Tommy! We've been done over!"
"What?" Arthur said alarmed
"Oh my bloody god she was right!" Polly said pulling me to stand as we rushed out.

When we got back to the betting shop the place had been turned over.
My stomach was getting more and more painful by the minute.
"What the bloody hell happened here" Arthur asked
"The lees, all of them. Cousins, nephews, even their bastards..."
"They've taken anything they can lay their hands on" polly said
"Four cash boxes"
"They left these" tommy said holding up wire cutters. My stomach turned violently.
"Wire cutters. Why would they leave that?" Polly asked
I cried out in pain from my stomach.
"What's going on with her" John asked
"Call it her sixth sense" polly said looking at me alarmed.
"Nobody move" Arthur said
"I think our friends are playing the game" tommy said
"What game" polly asked
"Aunt pol. Don't touch anything" John said urgently.
"Erasmus lee was in France." Tommy said simply
"Shit..."
"Whenever we gave up ground to the Germans, we'd leave behind booby traps, set up with wires. We'd leave wire cutters as part of the joke" tommy said
"Somewhere in here there's a hand grenade" John said
I started to move slightly, noticing it didn't make me feel any more sick, there couldn't be a grenade in here. I'd be hunched over in agony.
"Holy Jesus" Polly said
"Not in here" I said barely being able to form words.
"What do you mean" polly said
"She's right, if it was in here it would of blown by now. It was my name on that bullet Erasmus sent. He's set up a trap all right. But he's set it up just for me" tommy said as he turned around and walked out of the shop.
This time I did vomit, I fell to my knees in agony. The pain in my stomach was unbearable.
Polly ran towards me.
"Gypsies and their bloody instincts" she said unbelievable
Then we heard a loud bang, after that I blacked out.

I woke up on the couch to everyone around me. I looked around and counted to make sure everyone was there, scared someone had been hurt. I didn't see anyone missing.
"Bloody el Shirley, what are you some gypsy psychic now" he said
I sat and and looked around.
"Let me speak to her" tommy said.
Once everyone had left tommy turned to me.
"We've got to go and see the lees"