Nothing Will Change

Chapter 34

Rose sat in the expensive bathtub in the expensive hotel they were staying in and flexed her toes under the water. As it approached two in the morning, Rose and Tommy left Arthur and John behind, but they were never drinking much to begin with. Under the silky water, Rose sighed a breath of peacefulness, finally away from Tommy's brothers drinking games. Though even with the taunts of his brothers the two of them hardly drank, mostly stealing the odd comment in between Arthur's stories. And so to unwind Rose relaxed her head against the wall of the tub, the golden metal situating her in the middle of the room with only marble surfaces to surround her.

She had never been in a place so decadent. Sure, she had been to the houses of her old friends, though she was mostly restricted in what she was allowed to see. Tommy was smug as he directed her to the building, helping off her coat to show her the room in which they would clearly be sharing. She lightly scoffed when she saw it, as she was not sure she deemed it enough time to get back into bed with him, but Tommy knows what he wants. It was all amber walls and amber decor, the sun entrapped in the brick hotel that overlooked the city, and Rose was the crystal rainfall entering. He hadn't even kissed her yet, though she could feel his intentions radiating like a potent aura, and she would chuckle at his attempts.

Hearing the door to the bathroom click, Rose brought her knees up to her chest to maybe shade what little could be seen, even if he had already seen her completely. Tommy entered the room with two whiskeys, his face wanting so desperately to break its shell when he saw her, but wouldn't. Setting down the glass on the table next to her, Tommy dragged over a small padded stool, not even beginning to question what it was he was doing.

"Don't I get some privacy?"

"Privacy is for people who don't know one another," Tommy said and brought the whiskey to his lips.

Sinking back down, Rose pushed her hair from her face and turned to him, "in the hours we spent together today, I still don't know how you've grown in the time we've been apart."

"I've become a stronger man. I can see things in people they may not believe is possible," he replied.

"Couldn't you do that before?"

He smiled, "I see what people have pushed away."

Rose's relaxed state dropped and she let her hands brush the edges of the tub. Leisurely leaning forward in his chair, Tommy stared deeply into her eyes, the candle lights making his eyes so incredibly blue. He saw right into her like she was a glass lantern, his little light he had to reach through broken shards. Two years passed and yet Tommy Shelby still could understand her the same way she did for him.

"Your mother has told my brothers you haven't been sketching like you used to," he said, placing his glass on the table.

"I haven't had the time," Rose peered away.

"730 days and no time to even design a scarf?"

"It's not that simple Tommy."

"Explain it then."

Turning back to face him, she huffed, "I get inspired by what's around me, by the people around me. How can you expect me to sketch when my inspiration was gone?"

"You mean your father?"

Rose not so suddenly wanted to get out of the tub and out of the room, though there was little she could do not to be exposed by him. Glancing at the robe left for her, she pictured words in her mind to get him to leave. She tried polite and she tried rude but at the back of her mind she knew Tommy would not back down once he had his mind set.

"Why are you interrogating me?" She didn't look at him, not allowing him to see her nervous appearance. But he didn't need to, he knew everything he needed without even having to speak to her. And in turn it made him angrier that her father's killer was out there, as it interrupted her life so much. If only he could find the man and give what he deserves, but the fear at the back of his mind of who it could be was too much.