In Bleak Midwinter

Chapter Four

The Shelby brothers, alongside Emily and Mary, all stumbled outside their local club at the early hours of Friday morning.

"Alright boys, and lovely Emily" John slurred, "Mary and I are going back to my house".
Mary giggled and hugged John drunkenly whilst Arthur glared cheekily.
"But Mary you can't just-" Emily chucked before being interrupted.
"It's alright Em, she's safe with me" John reassured as the couple stumbled their way home in the opposite direction.
"I'll follow them and make sure they get back safely" Arthur grumbled and shot off after them.
"Right, let's get you home then Em" Tommy smiled as he took her arm.

———

Tommy poured two whiskeys and passed one of them to Emily who was sat comfortably on the chaise lounge placed in front of her bed. Tommy perched himself next to her; by this point, he has made himself at home, now sporting just his shirt and trousers. He lit himself a cigarette seductively and gazed in awe at the woman next to him.

Emily, also now sober again like Tommy, sipped the whisky eagerly, hoping it would relieve her panic of the Sabini situation. She wanted to tell Tommy with all her heart, but she feared what would happen should he know. She didn't even have a weapon to protect her from potentially walking into a trap; she knew how vulnerable she was from her last encounter. As Tommy made conversation, she realised he always carried a gun wherever he went. This meant that weapon was somewhere in her house. She didn't want to steal from him - but she eventually concluded it to be more as borrowing, should the worst occur...

"There wasn't a day that passed that I didn't think of you when I was in France" He confessed as he perfectly inhaled the smoke pouring off his cigarette.
Emily went quiet, trying not to get upset by what he said.
Before she could respond, Tommy changed the subject. "When where you going to tell me about your father arranging your marriage?".
"I was secretly hoping I would never have to tell you" Emily said, looking down sadly at her empty whiskey glass.
"Who is he?" Tommy questioned.
"Lord White" She responded.
Tommy scoffed and shook his head, leaning back into the chair and finishing the last of his cigarette.
Emily got up and poured herself another whiskey and took it in one shot.
"Do you love him?" He sighed.
Emily shot Tommy a serious look.
"Of course not" she said sitting closer to him.
Tommy followed her movements as she sat down. The tension between the two rose every second that passed.
"Don't marry him" Tommy quickly blurted.
"What?"

Before she could wait for him to say another word, Tommy leaned in and kissed her. Though a little shocked, Emily didn't hesitate to kiss back for a moment before pulling away.
"Tommy" she whispered, "I can't..."
Tommy gazed into her eyes, briefly sharing a look of heartbreak.
"Emily" he whispered, cupping her face with his palms, "I will always protect you, care for you-"
"I know" Emily interrupted, nodding carefully, "I can't put you through this though". It pained Emily to say this knowing all she wanted to tell him was she had dreamed of this moment, that she loved him and that all she wanted to do was spend the rest of her life with him. But she couldn't do that. She couldn't let him believe that society would allow her to have her own way. She didn't want to hurt him.

She also knew the danger it would put him in, especially knowing what would happen tomorrow.

"I want to. You know I do" she admitted seeing the emotion build inside him. She hadn't seen him this vulnerable emotionally since before the war.
"Em, I need you to be safe" Tommy insisted without context.

Without second thought, Emily lent in and kissed him again, this time with no intention of going back. It was passionate; this was a moment the two had dreamt of secretly since the day they understood the meaning of loving one another.
The two moved over onto the bed as the fire blazed endlessly throughout the night....

———

The low rise of an early morning sun shone brightly through the half drawn curtains in the bedroom. The fire, still burning small embers, gently warmed the room where Tommy and Emily lay together.

The lingering light woke Emily gently. As she opened her eyes, she saw Tommy peacefully asleep, his arm still cradling her body close to his chest. She smiled at the thought of his serenity and lay calmly for a moment, admiring how perfect he remained even whilst sleeping.

But that peace was a fleeting memory.

Emily gently crawled out from beneath Tommys protection and stumbled across the room to find his clothes in a heap by the side of the bed. She stood above them for a moment, questioning her morality and debated the thought of stealing something from someone so dear.
It's not stealing, it's borrowing.
Tommy would want me to be protected... right?
Emily reassured herself of these thoughts over and over again until she finally plucked up the courage to scavenge around for a weapon. Stumbling across the gun which Tommy inevitably had in his possession, Emily quickly hid it in her bedside drawer for safe keeping. She quickly clambered back into Tommy's arms and dozed off back to sleep as if nothing had changed.