Promises Not Kept

7

            Leah donned the same blue dress she'd worn the night before. She stepped out of Tommy's room and found the second floor was quiet. However, she could hear activity coming from downstairs. Men were talking and calling words that she couldn't quite make out.

Lizzie was in the parlor and heard Leah coming down the steps. The second she saw the unfamiliar woman, Lizzie could guess why Tommy gravitated her way. She had the same golden blonde hair his late wife had.

"Sorry, I was looking for Tommy," Leah explained.

"You're the girl he was with last night?" His assistant didn't give her an answer and sipped at the tea she'd made.

"Yes, I'm Leah." She wasn't sure who she was. But it was obvious the woman had a problem with her despite not meeting her before.

"Where d'you work?"

"The dress shop a few streets over." Leah became uneasy under Lizzie's harsh stare. It reminded her of how Teresa used to glare at her if a client chose Leah over her. Anger, jealousy, and a hint of threats.

"And before that?" Lizzie raised an eyebrow. Tommy didn't just go wandering into dress shops and sweeping the shop girl off her feet. She could tell Leah was new to Birmingham. Tommy had found her somewhere else and Lizzie had a sneaking suspicion of where.

Leah didn't look away. "If you'll just tell him I had a lovely time and that I can't wait to see him again. I would appreciate that." She slipped on her coat to leave. There was no use in divulging her past to a woman she just met, and one who was being so standoffish.

"You'd be wise to get out while you can," Lizzie warned before she made it to the door. "He's not a man you want to get involved with. You have to know he's dangerous and I'm guessing you don't care." She set her teacup down and crossed her arms over her chest. "But he'll break your heart and leave you for something better when it comes along. He's restless and never happy with what he has. He could have the world in the palm of his hand and he'd still want more."

Leah swallowed under her cold gaze. The words were haunting and made her second guess herself. There was nothing she could say in response so she left the home without a word. She burrowed her hands in her pockets and braced against the fall chill. She wondered if she should cry or not.

Those days, she wasn't sure which way was up anymore. The world turned around her and she merely stood there. She'd felt numb, practically a ghost drifting about the world for years. People walked right through her without a care in the world. There didn't seem to be any substance left to her. She used to be so sure who she was. Jonah and her family gave her a sense of purpose and identity.

Tommy didn't give her an identity. She still felt lost. But he filled her with feeling, emotions that she thought were unattainable after her loss of self. She could feel her heartbeat in her chest when he looked at her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tears pricked her eyes as she made her way down Watery Lane. Birmingham went about its morning, not noticing the young woman dabbing her tears away. It didn't feel her guilt and uncertainty. The city didn't care if she cried.

About a block away from her apartment, Leah could spot a few men. They were lingering inconspicuously around her front step. She paused, wary of their unnatural presence. One of the men turned and she instantly recognized the disfiguring scar over the left side of his face. His eye clouded over, blinded by shrapnel he'd caught in the war.