The Queen Of Birmingham

10.

10. time bomb
'if I had to pull you out of the wreckage,
you know I'm never gonna let you go.'
~

A couple of mornings after the races, Ivy found herself in bed past nine o'clock for the first time in years. She laid peaceful beneath the sunlight glaring through the window, buried in her own little world. Her watch read 9:04 when the shrill scream of the phone in the hall ended her bliss.

Ain't no rest for the wicked.

Pulling herself up out of bed, she dragged herself out of the room and to the hallway, finally silencing the phone.

"Hello."

"Iviana?" Her father's voice sounded on the other end of the phone.

"Yeah, what's wrong?"

"We've been done over."

"What?" She bellowed, anger rising in her face.

"Iviana, who have you angered?" The fucking Lees.

"I'll be there soon." Slamming the phone down, she angrily got dressed and left the house in a hurry.

Everyone on the streets that morning spared a glance to the woman with the unreadable face. Her expression conveyed no emotion but her eyes held multiple, fear and anger dominating.

The Garrison was quiet as all the men were out working. Grace stood behind the bar cleaning glasses. She sent Ivy a small smile upon seeing her.

"Thank you."

"For what?" Ivy leaned on the bar, her hands rubbing into her temples.

"I was told by the Lees to thank you for saving me from Kimber."

"It doesn't mean I like you, it just means I'm not a complete arsehole. Have you seen Thomas?"

"Him and the boys are in the private room."

Pushing herself up off the bar, Ivy entered the private room to see the boys and Polly sat around looking rather happy with themselves.

"Ivy? Is everything okay?" Tommy moved towards her, a worried expression written on his face.

"My shop's been done over."

"What?" John bellowed, standing as though he was ready for battle.

"I think it was the Lees. Tommy, can I borrow your car? I need to go see it for myself."

"Of course you can. Will you be coming back?"

"I don't know." The room fell silent, Tommy's expression shifting to now appearing more annoyed. He threw Ivy the keys to his car which she catches, whispering a 'thanks' as she left the pub again.

Once outside, Ivy lit a cigarette, thinking over her recent encounter. There was no business for her here anymore and the man whose house she was staying in would be returning in the next few days. It made sense for her to leave.

~

Within half an hour, Ivy had packed up all traces of her from the house she had been inhabiting. Gripping the two large bags beneath her arms, she struggled to lock the door, posting her set of the keys through the letter box once she eventually managed

It was a short walk from there to Tommy's garage where his car sat. It was an obnoxious thing to have lying around among the working men who could barely afford food. No wonder Freddie was trying to change things.

Loud footsteps seemed to grow closer as she set the bags down and went to open the door of the car. Within a second of her doing so, she was shoved to the ground. Looking back up in disgust, she saw Tommy. He grabbed something from the car, throwing it at a wall.

"Clear!" He yelled as the object exploded against the building. Ivy's hands had grazed and were stinging at the gravel which had embedded itself in the cuts. Tommy turned to her with ragged breaths.

"Shit I'm so sorry."

"For what? Saving my life?" He held his hand out which Ivy grabbed, wincing slightly as he put pressure on her injuries.

"Shit, we better get you cleaned up."

"It's only a graze Tommy, I'm fine." She lent against the car behind her, pulling out a cigarette before offering one to Tommy. He lent his hand beside her on the car as she lit them both.

"The Lees got us too."

"Shit." She whispered.

"What do we do?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"Because you always know what to do." His icy blue eyes never left hers, watching as she took a long drag from her cigarette, thinking intently.

"For now we do nothing. There aren't any races for a while so no need for retaliation. Let's sort ourselves out and then discuss a plan."

"Does that mean you're still going back?"

"For now. With Freddie on the run, they need me." She pushed herself off the car, leaning down to throw her bags in, although Tommy did the bigger of the two before Ivy even had chance.

"What about your hands?" Ivy wiped them on her skirt in response, showing them to him.

"They're still pretty bad."

"Did you respond this way during the war Tom? When all those men were getting shot?" He bowed his head defeated. "It's a graze, relax I'm fine." Throwing her cigarette to the floor, she opened the car door once more.

"Ivy." Tommy called out before she could get in. The dim lighting of the garage only lit up half of her face, perfectly outlining it. Tommy couldn't help but reach up and cup it in his hand, running his thumb along her cheek.

Ivy closed her eyes, melting under his touch. It reminded her of a time before all this shit. She had almost died today. She reached up to grip his arm, holding it in place.

Tommy took advantage of the fact her eyes were closed, dipping his head down and gently placing his lips over hers, softly at first to gage her response. The tenderness reminded Ivy of a time before the war, when they were both soft and unaware of the shit in the world. She leaned in slightly, applying more pressure. Taking this as a sign to continue, Tommy pressed his body lightly against Ivy, forcing her to lean fully against the vehicle. Their lips were interlocked in a tender kiss until Tommy felt a salty taste enter his mouth.

Pulling away and looking back down, Ivy had faced into the darkness so that Tommy wouldn't be able to see that she was crying.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He whispered, still pressed against her.

"I have to go Tommy." He nodded in response, understanding that it was as hard for her to leave as it was for him to let her.

"Okay. I'll see you soon."

"Yeah." She nodded, wiping her tears away. "Soon." Leaning in, she kissed him one more time, leaning her head on his for a quick second before turning around and getting in Tommy's car.

He stood in the garage, watching her drive off, away from him. Despite the happiness brewing in his stomach knowing she still shared feelings for him, their encounter made him question everything even more. Above everything, he wanted to find out why she left in the first place.