𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥'𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫 ᵖᵉᵃᵏʸ ᵇˡⁱⁿᵈᵉʳˢ

𝟔𝟕

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟔𝟕

Arthur sat at the dinner table in his old home on Watery Lane, Maeve's old teddy bear clutched in his hand. He held it tightly and just stared at the wall.

Lillian appeared at the door. "Arthur," she spoke softly, "it's late."

Arthur grunted in response and Lillian just let out a light sigh. It was then that there was a knock on the door. Lillian looked between the front door and Arthur before going to see who was there.

Upon opening the door, she was met with the face of Tommy. "Is Arthur in?" He let himself inside, taking his cap from his head. "Well— yeah he's in there." Lillian said when realising that he was going to go in there anyway.

"Brother," Tommy greeted. Arthur didn't move. "Arthur." Tommy spoke up, stopping at the end of the table.

"I'm not takin' visitors." Arthur said bluntly, his eyes still fixated on the wall. Tommy shook his head and pulled the chair closest to Arthur and sat in it. "Look at me—" Tommy took a breath, "eh, look at me." He practically demanded.

Slowly, Arthur moved his gaze to his younger brother.

Tommy looked at the door. "Lillian— would you, er, give us a moment?" He asked. Lillian frowned but nodded and closed the door over. "What's this about, Tom. Cause if you're tellin' me you can tell her too." He said.

Tommy grabbed Arthur's chin, forcing him to look at him again. "Maeve's alive."

Those words made Arthur's blood run cold. Time stopped for a moment and his mouth parted whilst he tried to say something. "She's— no.. no she ain't." Arthur shook his head.

"Arthur, listen to me, yeah? She's alive."

Arthur pulled away from Tommy's grip and shook his head again. "Don't lie to me, brother. Don't lie to me 'cause I swear i'll kill ya." He threatened.

Tommy took a breath in attempts to stay patient. "She's alive and she's living in a house not too far from where John and Esme used to live. She's fine. She told me that I was to tell you and Finn specifically about what had happened. Nobody else." He said. "Do you understand me, Arthur? Nobody else is to know."

Arthur furrowed his brows together and tried to understand it all. "But she fucking—"

"She had a seizure in the hospital, Arthur. It was her body's reaction to the drugs. But you just so happened to be asleep when she woke again so I was the one to go inside the hospital room. I proposed the idea of— i don't know.. faking her death if you will. Just till things calmed down. I also proposed withdrawing her position. But to that she refused."

Arthur nodded along, starting to understand. "Can I see her?"

"I don't know, Arthur." Tommy lowered his voice. "She's in charge now." He admitted. "And something inside her has changed. I can bloody see it in her eyes." Tommy said when leaning back in his chair.

"What d'ya mean she's in charge?" Arthur scoffed. "You'd never let anybody but yourself—"

Tommy leaned forward and grabbed Arthur's shoulder. "She makes the decisions— what we do next, it's up to her. Arthur the Maeve that I spoke to tonight is not the same Maeve we saw before the party at my home."

"You're scaring me, Tom."

"Right.. just— don't tell anybody she's still alive."

"How come it's you who keeps taking my daughter away from me?" Arthur asked as he stood. Tommy stopped and stared at the door. "It was you who convinced her to go to America and it's you who has convinced her to fake her bloody death. What is it that you want from me— because you know what it does to me every time."