Nothing Will Change

Chapter 58

It was the morning of the Epson race and Rose was growing inpatient cooped up in Alfie's home. It had only been two days since he brought her back there, but in that time no trust had been made and she had not grown comfortable in the space at all. Alfie wasn't expecting her to warm up to him after the first night, so made sure to be gone in the early morning without even a goodbye and back when Rose had already retired to bed. And so she hardly saw him, she saw more of his dog and the woman who came to clean the house, Patty.

At first Patty thought she had to have been Alfie's lover, which almost made Rose sick just thinking about it. She'd ask every question under the sun as if Rose knew her, and Rose didn't offer anything because by the way the woman spoke she really believed him to be a baker. Or she told herself he was to deal with the fact she was cleaning a criminal's house. Rose tried to argue with herself that it was good to have the company of another person to take her mind off being hostage, but truly she wanted all the questions to stop and be allowed to hide in his guest room.

Sitting by his front window like she would in her actual room, there wasn't much for her to do except read and watch his men out the window. They were so different from any blinder, she almost missed the terrible haircuts. All that was certain was the mellowing pit in her stomach. After the first day she didn't feel so devastated, just alone. All the emotions she felt initially had faded, and she just felt nothing. Not loss or worry or anything that would make her heartbeat pick up. She just sat there, staring out the window, wondering what Tommy was doing.

As the morning of the Epson race came, Alfie actually made himself known. He knocked on her door at around 7am, waiting for her to open. It didn't make sense for him to be kind, though she didn't have any energy to care or question him. He brought her a dress, stating he was making a deal with Tommy that morning and she was to go with him. Originally she thought he got her the dress for the handover, for seeing Tommy today. But it was race day, so then she thought how much him and Tommy had spoken.

The dress itself was a light green with yellow lace. It fell down her torso with the lack of a waistline, ending just below her knees. Rose didn't have any makeup with her, or anything to put in her hair, so she was incredibly bare, just a bleached view of her fields. Did Alfie pick it? And was that why it was green and not blue like she normally chose? What Tommy normally chose. Or did he just head off to find whatever dress he could and didn't have a clue on the significance of colour to Rose. If she picked green it would be deep like a tree, not pale. But it was the races so she supposed she should allow pastels. To finish the outfit she tucked her hair behind her ears out of her face, so contrastingly long.

Sitting in Alfie's office again was strange. She had cried there, argued, and had a gun leveled at her eyes. There were very few other places she feared more. But Alfie assured her that if she pleased, it would be the last time she'd sit there. And she would make that certain, she'd make it so she'd never have to see him again. She wouldn't even step into his territory, she'd avoid it completely. Even if she enjoyed his club or the restaurants in his area, the parks, it wouldn't be worth even being near the smell of rum. In fact she'd never drink a bottle of it ever again. It would be whiskey or nothing. Anything they had shared between them would be ridden as soon as Tommy got her out of there. It wouldn't be missed. None of it.

Rose inhaled when Tommy did walk through the door. Buried in his newspaper, Alfie didn't care when Rose shot up to hug him. Tommy had squeezed her tight, wanting to never let go of her again. He decided in that moment, if she'd be in any danger again it would have to be by his side, she'd have to be ripped from him before he ever let her go. Lowering his glasses, Alfie waited as they both sat down, rubbing a smirk off his face with the back of his hand.

As the phone rang, Alfie indicated that it would be for Tommy, his feet resting on his desk. Tommy picked it up, answering to Arthur on the other line, Rose's face lighting up. He had a plan, and one that was already working. He was in control, she didn't have to worry, even with the pit in her stomach. Arthur was out, out of prison, they were breaking through the black fog.