"Well, I suggest you call her down then." Tommy lit up a cigarette as he made final judgement.
Arthur shouted for Rowan to come down and join them, explaining that she could accompany them.
"Sweetheart, do you want to come with us?" He yelled.
Rowan gleefully accepted and kissed Riah goodbye before jogging down the steps and stealing a slice of bread on the way through the kitchen. She slammed the front door behind her, her mouth filled with bread and sauntered over to the men.
"Whatever we say, whatever we do, you are going to roll with it and not question it. Understand?" Tommy instructed.
Rowan modded furiously, her mouth still full, before shaking Tommy's hand in agreement.
"Good. Get in the back." He told her.
John and Rowan were on the backseat, whilst Tommy drove and Arthur rode shotgun.
"Right. The Peaky Blinders are going on fucking holiday!" Arthur bellowed to the entire street as he stood in his seat.
"Come here you mad bastard." John laughed as Rowan pulled him back into his seat.
The men talked for a while, as Rowan left herself out of the conversation to enjoy the scenery. Once they were out of the monotonous colour palette of the inner city, she was greeted with rolling green fields and sparkling rivers that glistened under the dashes of sunshine. It reminded her of her childhood in Ireland, she spent the first years of her life splashing in mud puddles in the middle of fields.
"You alright in the back there?" Tommy asked Rowan, who had been staring out into nowhere for forty five straight minutes.
"Yeah, don't worry about me." She soaked up the calming atmosphere.
John offered her a cigarette and lit it for her as she held it in her mouth, her long brown hair twisting around her head like a poison ivy plant. As it sparked up, she reclined in her seat and put her feet up on John's lap, much to his shock.
"So come on then Tom, is this really a holiday?" She asked.
"It is for you." He responded automatically.
Rowan realised she was out of line to be wondering, and took the opportunity to be quiet for once.
Tommy pulled up along the side of the road and all three men instantly jumped out to go to pee.
"That's a sight for sore eyes." Rowan mumbled as the three of them lined up with their backs to her.
"Think I'd like to live in the country one day." Arthur announced. "Keep chickens."
Tommy went back over to the car and pulled back the tarpaulin that was covering the boot. In the boot, Tommy revealed the dead body of a man with dried blood plastered up his face, slumped in half.
"Jesus Christ!" Rowan yelped and jumped into the front seat.
Tommy handed spades to the two other boys before explaining that me he needed to be buried.
"Who the fuck is that? And how long have you been storing him in the boot of your car?" Rowan asked in disbelief.
"It's Irish business. Thought it would be best if I dealt with it alone." Tommy revealed. "He's been there all the time you have."
"I think I'm going to vomit." Rowan whispered, white as a sheet, not able to peel her gaze away from the corpse.
"Don't do it in the car, it's just been upholstered." Tommy tried to joke. "Come on boys, we did thousands of these in France. John grab his head. Rowan, make sure to guard the car and that no one sees us."
"No chance of that Tommy, we're in the middle of bloody no where." She looked around to see if there was anyone near by. "So we're not really going to London then?" Rowan questioned as she watched the men get to work.
"Once we've buried him, then the holiday begins." Tommy wiped his face with the back of his hand before picking up a shovel.
Rowan watched as the boys dug a human sized hole in the ground. She'd been so stunned she hadn't even realised that her cigarette had burnt out and singed the skin between her index and middle fingers. She threw it aside and tended the wound, her mind still spilling over with questions.
"So, Rowan, where did you vanish off to for so long?" John asked as he strained whilst digging.
"Johnboy, shut it." Arthur threatened.
"I got kidnapped and shot by own father, you know, the usual." She rolled her eyes and leant her elbows on the edge of the car, resting her head in her hands.
"Ah, classic." John sighed. "He's back you know. Your father."
"What do you mean?" Rowan asked, her anxieties rising.
"Yeah, I saw him stalking round the city yesterday. Walks with a stick now, fucking cripple." John scoffed.
Rowan kept silent as she felt her stomach churn. What with seeing a dead and rotting body, and then the news of her father's return, her body was in turmoil. She leant out of the car and heaved, bringing up the slice of bread she had had for breakfast not long ago.
"Well done. You didn't get the upholstery." Tommy nodded at her in thanks.
"Prick." She wiped her mouth and slumped back in her seat in the back. "It was your girl who saved me. Grace."
Tommy stopped digging as he heard the woman's name again, feelings washing over him in waves.
"It's done." Arthur breathes heavily as the last shovel of earth landed atop of the makeshift grave.
"Right then gentlemen, it's holiday time."
☾
a/n: the love i got on the last chapter was so overwhelming, i can't thank you all enough!! x
seventeen.
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