The Queen Of Birmingham

15.

15. lead me out of the dark
'i'm lost, please help me find my place.
you're the only one, please lead me out of the dark.'
~

The following morning, Ivy woke up alone in an empty room. Her hand reached out for Tommy but was only met with the cold fabric of the dingy, old mattress she laid on. As she forced her eyes open and stretched out her sore muscles, she cast her mind back to the previous night, a small smile appearing on her face involuntarily.

Ivy was up just long enough to get dressed, fix her hair and tidy around the room a bit before movement could be heard in the room bellow her.

"Ah, I hoped you'd be up." Tommy smiled as he walked in on her making the bed.

"Can't stay in bed all day can I?

"If it was up to me we both would. But it's not so come on, you can help me face them." Ivy couldn't help but frown as she recalled how the Shelbys refused to believe it wasn't Tommy who gave up Freddie.

"They'll believe you eventually. They're yet to see sense."

"For the sake of us all, I hope you're right. I have a plan anyway to prove she's no good." Tommy stepped forward, leaning slightly over the woman in front of him. He dipped his head, placing a gentle kiss on her lips before turning to leave.

~

As the couple entered Polly's home, voices filled their ears in heated discussion.  The chatter seemed to come to an immediate stop as the door slammed behind them. Ivy slowed her pace as she properly looked around Polly's home for the first time in years. She was loosely following in Tommy's footsteps as he led her through to where the voices were coming from. Her lack of concentration meant that when he stopped suddenly, she walked straight into him.

"How are you son?" An unfamiliar voice called out to Tommy.

"Get out." He barked. As Ivy came to her senses, she stepped out from behind Tommy, although she wished she hadn't.

"Iviana Thorne." The way Arthur Shelby Sr rolled her name off his tongue made her feel nauseous. Ivy's face went pale and her hands began to shake as the wretched man smirked at her.

"Ivy, darling." Polly approached her with concern upon noticing how the girl had reacted. With her instincts kicking in, she bolted for the door, Tommy following close behind calling her name in confusion.

Her run slowed to a jog as she got further away from the house, allowing Tommy to finally catch up with her.

"Ivy, what the fuck was that?" His voice was laced with confusion and concern. Reaching Tommy's front door, she finally stopped completely. It was only then that she realised she had tears streaming down her face.

"Hey." He whispered soothingly upon noticing how upset she was. He reached up and cupped her face, wiping the tears away with his thumbs. "Come on." He opened the door, helping her inside.

Once she was sat on the sofa with a whisky in her hand, she felt more at ease despite Tommy pacing up and down in front of her.

"It was him." Tommy thought aloud. Ivy didn't respond, swigging her whisky instead. "He's the reason you left." Tommy clarified. He could tell by her face that she didn't want to talk about it but he had waited far too long and everything was just starting to make sense. "Ivy, what did he do?"

"It was a year before the end of the war." She accepted defeat knowing she couldn't escape it now. "He started just making a comment here and there, standing way closer than he needed to." Anger began rising in Thomas, anticipating what was coming. He pinched the bridge of his nose, not wanting to hear what came next but also needing to finally get closure. "It went on for months with him constantly testing me, seeing how close he could get before I snapped. He'd complain he was bored of all the whores and started saying that he wanted something different."

"So he raped you?" Tommy barked, unintentionally sounding far more aggressive than he ever wanted to towards Ivy.

"No." Tommy breathed a sigh of relief. "But he fucking tried. It was awful, I had to fight him off kicking and screaming." Ivy put her head in her hands. She didn't want to even think about Tommy's reaction let alone see it.

To both of their surprise, he didn't storm out, he didn't shoot the wall and he didn't yell. He held her. Now he knew and not only that but he understood. For the first time since the end of the war, he had the answers he craved, the assurance it was nothing he had done. At this moment, that clouded the pure hatred he felt towards his father for what he had done to her.

"I couldn't stay here." Ivy whispered into his neck.

"Shh. You don't need to explain yourself. I understand, Ivy. I will make sure he is out of both of our lives for good. He's never going to hurt you again, I promise." Tommy moved so that her face was in his hands. "I will protect you until my last breath and I will do everything in my power to make you happy again." He leaned in and kissed her with all the passion and love he could muster. "But first, we need to win a little war. Together."