THE OTHER WOMAN || P.B. [ON HOLD]

5

Chapter Five: It's Not Right

THOMAS HAD BEGUN to walk the eldest Cross girl home before there was a yelling that made the hair on his neck stand up straight. His blood froze.

"It's probably just a druggy." Anna Grace assured him. She felt disappointed when he pulled away from her, the arm that had been interlocked with his falling to her side.

"Go back to the Garrison, find my brothers. Go." Thomas pointed back in the direction of the Garrison. Rolling her eyes, Anna Grace complied. She started off in the direction they just came, huffing and puffing in annoyance.

Thomas started jogging towards the screams, until they stopped altogether. He looked down every alleyway, until he'd found the correct one. His hands found their way to his gun, sheathed away in his pocket. When his eyes adjusted to the dark, before he realized a small woman was almost fully stripped naked on the gravel ground. Immediately he checked for a pulse, and found she was still breathing.

"Josephine." He realized within in the next second. He lowered himself quickly to the ground, then his attention was taken by a gurgling sound a few feet away. A knife lurched into the man's stomach; he recognized it to be the man Josephine had been talking to at the pub. "It's Tommy, it's me. You're okay..."

He rubbed his face with his hands before taking the jacket off his shoulders. He grabbed her shoulders, trying to hoist up her almost lifeless body.

"Tommy?" The girl croaked. Her eyes slowly blinked. Sitting her against his chest, he wrapped his jacket around her to protect her dignity. He rocked slowly, back and forth. Finally, her eyes blinked open, trying their best to adjust. She started to breathe heavily, like she was starting to cry. It was almost instantaneous she knew whose arms were wrapped around her in a protective embrace, offering solace and a shelter from the harsh reality that befallen her and crept back into her head.

"Sh, sh, sh." He held her body against him, and the moon watched from the midnight sky. Her bronze skin looked dull in such light.

Josephine trembled in his arms as the sound of boots stomping against the ground came closer.

"Tommy!" Arthur yelled out. "Where are you?"

"Down here, mate." Tommy replied back, his jaw tightening. Arthur and John turned the corner, not being able to grasp at the scene in front of them. Their eyes softened. The sight of Josephine's lack of clothing torn up on the ground and her shaken state fueled their collective fury.

"Either one of yous, help me get her up. Then I need you both to get that body and—and get rid of it." He stuttered. He contemplated picking her up and carrying her. With a gentle but firm touch, Thomas spoke gently to Josephine trying to help her to her feet. John assisted in helping her stand. It felt like her legs were going to give out beneath her from the combination of her shock and the cold. Warm tears streaked down her face. Leaning against him for support, she held the coat together in the front with one hand while the other held onto Tommy for dear life. Her hair fell in front of her face that had been scratched and bruised up from the encounter. He led her out of the alleyway, guiding her towards safety. His coat shielded her body from the midnight air flowing through the muck of Small Heath. With every breath, a wheezing squeaking sound escaped from her throat.