HUMBLE BEGINNINGS || T. SHELBY (1)

SEVEN (EDITED)

Well I had a lover
I don't think I'll risk another these days
These days
These days I seem to be afraid
To live the life that I have made in song
But it's just that I have been losing
For so long

These days I sit on cornerstones
Count the time in quarter tones 'till ten
My friend
And now I believe I've come
To see myself again

These days I sit on cornerstones
Count the time in quarter tones 'till ten
My friend
Please don't confront me with my failure
I'm aware of it

Once Tabitha finished, the crowd of usuals clapped and cheered. She got off the chair and quickly curtailed before looking at Thomas as he stared at her. Their stores were interrupted when Harry walked up to Thomas with a smile on Harry's face.

"We haven't had singing in here since the war," Harry commented.

Thomas slowly moved his eyes off Tabitha and glanced at the bartender.

"And why do you think that is, Harry?" Thomas asked, and the room was silent.

"Well, not only is my sister in-law a sight for sore eyes..." John started, walking towards Tabitha. "Her voice is music to the ears."

John wrapped his arm around Tabitha's shoulders as she chuckled from the compliment. Tabitha then joined Thomas by his side as they entered the private sing of the Garrison. Only Shelby family members were allowed to use the snug, their own room to smoke and drink together. Tabitha and Thomas didn't say a word to each other, but continued to gaze at each other as Arthur and John were getting themselves drunk.

After a couple more drinks, Tabitha and the Shelby brothers headed home on Watery Lane. It was a cold night in Small Heath, and when Thomas noticed Tabitha was cold, he pulled off his black coat and gave it to her. She pulled it on and clung to her small body, faintly giving Thomas a thank you. The coat smelled like him, like cigarettes and whiskey, two intoxicating scents she loved.

Arthur and John were behind them, slow and holding onto each other so they didn't stumble and fall. John then went home to his four children, and Thomas helped his drunk brother Arthur into the Shelby home/betting shop. Polly sent the eldest Shelby to bed seeing his state and went to bed herself after her and Thomas exchanged looks again.

Tabitha didn't have chamomile tea that, already tired from her time down at the Garrison. Her and Thomas went to their bedroom and got changed for bed, turning away from each other to get undressed. Sometimes, when Tabitha was faced away, Thomas only glanced at her bare arms and back, seeing the human bite marks on her upper arms.

The marks were from Tabitha, which she inflicted on herself. When the sound of gunshots and dying men filled her ears and it became too much, she bit down on her arms until she calmed down. Of course, that was only when Thomas and the others weren't around to catch her.

"So is it true? What Harry said," Tabitha asked, slipping into her nightgown. "That there hasn't been any singing since the war."

"The Peaky Blinders don't allow singing at the Garrison," was Thomas' only reply.

He was silent for a couple more seconds as they turned around, clothed for bed. Then he parted his lips and mumbled

"You sounded good, back at the Garrison," was what he mumbled.

A soft blush crept on Tabitha's cheeks from the compliment. Thomas rarely have anyone a compliment, so she was quite surprised to hear one come from his lips.