Miss Gray

eight

She was paralysed as she watched Tommy follow the men out the room. It was only when she felt a hand on her back that she broke out of her daze. Looking up, she was met with familiar green eyes, full of concern.

"You okay?" Michael's eyebrows were screwed up, making Anna smile slightly.

"Yeah." She lied. "I'm going to get some fresh air."

"I'll come with you." The two left the hall with his hand still firmly resting on the small of her back. Exiting through a back door, the two were met with a vast field, dimly lit by the moon. Just outside of the back door was a small wooden bench with a plaque dedicating it to someone important. Taking a seat, the two silently lit up a cigarette each with the low music of the band still audible.

"What was your life like before?" Michael's voice tore through the silence.

"Before what?"

"Before you came here."

"It was nothing special. Working class family in a small village."

"I refuse to believe that you conformed to the whole 'working class family in a small village' life. Come on, tell me stories."

"I don't know that you want to hear."

"I want to hear about you. I want to hear about how the amazing Anna Gray came to be." Anna had always refrained from talking about her past life with the fear it would hurt Polly. Her and Michael rarely talked about either of their lives at all. In truth, Anna didn't know where to start.

"Well my mum was strict but dumb so sneaking out every night was easy."

"What did you do when you snuck out?"

"I met with... various people. Most kids in the village were too scared to sneak out so I had to work hard to find the few who would. When we did, we'd do all sorts. The village basically went to sleep after ten so it was ours all night. It was the only time I ever felt happy while I was there."

*

For what felt like hours, the two exchanged stories and experiences, learning a novel's worth of information about each other. Neither of them felt the need to be seducing or teasing, they were both just friendly. After learning all about Michael's family and upbringing around the Shelby boys, Anna finally plucked up the courage to ask a question she had been wanting to know the answer to for a while.

"Did you really hate me when we first met?" He looked at her as though he thought she was joking, studying her face before responding.

"Of course not. I felt threatened if anything. I don't have a blood relation tying me to the company and with what happened that day I was worried that-"

A gun shot.

The two froze, looking at each other as their faces both held the same reaction.

Rushing back into the hall, Anna's heart shattered as her eyes fell upon Thomas Shelby laid on the floor crying whilst cradling his near dead wife. Michael leaped into action, assisting the Shelby brothers in helping Grace while Anna stood still, unable to shake the thought from her head that father Hughes had something to do with this. Only bad things happen when he's around.

Approaching them, Anna's eyes never left Tommy. Grace's body was lifted off him and he attempted to stand to follow where she was being taken. Anna reached him just as his knees buckled again, collapsing onto her in a fit of tears. She was so overwhelmed by the emotion he was showing that she was unsure of what to do other than hold him as his blood-sodden hands gripped her.

*

The night of Grace's death was a blur for Anna. So quickly she had witnessed Tommy go from happy to completely broken. Tommy didn't let her leave his side all night, often leaning on her as he sobbed. Neither of them slept, Tommy was too busy drowning himself in cigarettes and whisky and Anna was too worried he would do something stupid to fall asleep. Eventually, the drink knocked him out and when Michael, John and Arthur visited the house the next day, they found the two curled up on opposite sofas in the main living room.