Calloway // Michael Gray x Reader - Peaky Blinders Fanfic

Chapter 30

Calloway

I wake up in a haze of agony. Each breath is a sharp stab, the pain so uncomfortable I can think of nothing else. I sleep without sleeping — still able to feel it.

Flashes of memories flood my mind. Men in thick coats. Mosley's gangster friends. Their fists raining down on me mercilessly, the sound of their laughter echoing in my ears. I remember their threats, their demands. I remember my own fear.

Then I feel Michael's touch again, and it's like a beacon of light in a stormy harbour. My chest seems to swell in size and expand as breathing becomes so much easier. I listen to him, focusing on his words to distract from my own pain.

"...where the fuck is Tommy? I called him hours ago."

"He'll be here."

Polly reapplies creams and balms all over me, and when her fingers gently brush across my collarbone or ribcage, I tense up in pain. She hushes me, and Michael strokes my forehead, but my teeth are clenched against the pain until she's finished.

"Cal?"

The haze of pain clears, and with it, a little of the weight pulling me under. The shock, while my body stabilises. I can force my lips to move. I can force my mind to think.

"Michael..."

"Fuck," he murmurs, and I feel his hands caressing my face. "Are you in pain?"

If I could, I would glare at him, my answer should be so obvious. "Yes." My eyes flutter open slowly. It hurts — the movement, the light. I can tolerate it only for moments at a time. But I see Michael, and I feel peace, even as I bristle with concern at the fact he looks as though he hasn't slept in more than a day. Dark circles ring beneath his eyes, and he's paler than I've ever seen him.

He breathes my name like it's a promise. "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I knew what you were going through. I shouldn't have left you unprotected, I—"

"Michael?" I manage.

"Yes, what it is, love?" He asks, leaning in and pulling a strand of hair from my cheek.

"Shut up." I hear a stifled laugh turned to a cough, and Polly's fingers momentarily cease at the same time. "This isn't your fault," I continue.

"You don't understand," he says darkly. "Mosley... He thinks we're trying to take him down. He thinks we've enlisted you to help, and you're directly responsible."

I instinctively go to push myself upright, and the pain that racks through me is so severe, it's a blinding white light as I fall back down again. Every part of me is swollen and larger than I'm used to. Every part of me throbs and aches and hurts.

"Easy," Michael murmurs, and I register it through the pain. "If Mum gives you any more opium, you might never bloody wake up again."

"The amount I gave wouldn't be enough to sedate a housefly," Polly retorts as she finishes packing up a small pack of salves and bandages. "I'm not slowing her breathing any further. Besides," she says, turning her knowing gaze onto me. "When Tommy arrives, he'll want you awake."

"Why?" I ask tremulously.

Michael says, "To find out what bloody happened."

My throat is dry as I try to swallow. I summon the words to my tongue, but cannot speak them, cannot push them any further.

"You're in no condition to talk now," Polly interjects, coming to my side and placing a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Save your strength, love. We'll deal with this together."

Michael's eyes never leave mine, and when his mum ducks out of the room, he takes my hand. His grip tightens and he strokes his thumb back and forth. "They're fucking dead," he says, his voice laced with barely-contained fury. "I don't care if there's thirty of them. I'll break their fucking necks."