chapter two.
OLIVIA SHELBY WASN'T MUCH OF A GIVER. Whenever a friend's birthday, or even one of her siblings' birthdays, rolled around she always had no clue what to give them. Even if they were her closest friends who she'd known since she'd worn nappies, or the brother who changed her nappies when everyone else refused, she still had no clue on what to get them.
Olivia had gone down every route you could think of for presents; the sentimental route, of trying to paint or draw something which she'd tear to shreds because she didn't like how it looked, the considerate route of buying them something from the shops because she thought it suited them or was something they needed, which would end up getting returned because Olivia had decided it wasn't the right present anymore. And the final route which was simply all she could give for people's birthdays: a hug.
Yes, the simple measure of a hug. (And a card)
So, it was safe to say she wasn't much of a giver.
And Olivia wasn't much better at being a receiver. And when I say that I don't mean in the stereotypical way that meant she criticized every present she'd ever received and turned her nose up at it with complaints spewing from her mouth. The Shelby wasn't much of a receiver because she never got presents, which was not due to the fact she was naughty or, perhaps, too mean to Finn, it was simply the fact that the Shelbys could not afford presents, or (before his departure) their 'father' could not be bothered to buy them.
Olivia said she didn't mind having no presents, claiming it was 'family' that was the best gift of all, not what came wrapped for her and tried to ignore the disappointed look on her friend's faces when all they received was a hug on their birthdays. But, maybe there was always something that itches within her to do better, to finally see her friend's faces light up in shock when Olivia Shelby delivers them the best present of all time. And maybe, just maybe, she'd get to undo the bow on a present and throw the wrapping at Finn.
But, neither Christmas nor her birthday were near. So, Olivia would settle for giving her longest friend, Charlotte Junia, the best present on earth. After all, it was the best gift Olivia could gift the girl for having been friends with her for so long.
Obviously Charlotte had no objection to be Olivia's friend considering they were babies and couldn't actually say 'no', but the girl wouldn't change her best friend for the world. No matter how many times the Shelby doesn't listen, or how many times she comes over in the dead of night to complain about something her family have done.
So, Olivia Shelby was not much of a giver but she would try her fucking best to give her friends the gifts they deserve.
Firstly, she'd have to successfully sneak out without anyone knowing. Which usually wouldn't be a struggle for Olivia but considering the flock of John's children were sleeping on mattresses on her bedroom floor, she sensed there would be a little difficulty.
Olivia would have to detach Katie's arm from around her waist before even making any attempts to go anywhere, which she first thought would be a breeze but quickly came to the realization that her niece had a strong grip. Perhaps Olivia should've been listening when John said his daughter tended to be a bit clingy...
Olivia huffed and stared at the ceiling of her bedroom when she started getting frustrated that Katie would just not budge! While she may have not been a giver of gifts, the Shelby was very gifted in getting frustrated easily at even the smallest things.
Olivia should've also listened to her brother when he said Katie was a light sleeper.
The little girl wrapped her arms tighter around her Aunt, "Stop moving, Livvie."
"Sorry, Katie, I've just remembered that I'd better do something for Tom."
Katie sighed dramatically and squeezed her aunt to the point it nearly hurt, "You can't go now, it's dark out."
"I know, I know, that's why Uncle Tom wants me to go, but you can't tell your dad, okay?"
Katie loosened her grip slightly to stare at Olivia, "Why not?"
"'Cause he'll get upset that I went out at night, but Uncle Tom really needs me to do this. So, can you keep this between us?" Olivia asked.
"Promise me you'll be back?"
"Before you know it." The two smiled at one another and Olivia swore on her pinky that she'd be back before sunrise.
Which was true, Olivia would have to be back before sunrise not only so that Katie doesn't snitch on her but also to avoid her early riser of an Aunt, who seemed to wake up before all Small Heath woke up.
And while the problem of Katie had been solved with the blow of a kiss, Olivia now had to make it past all the drunks in Small Heath on the way to Charlotte's house.
Nevermind the drunks, she had to make it out the window first. Wish her luck, because even the lightest amount of rain from earlier on the day could cause a catastrophic fall.
And Olivia wouldn't be able to live with herself if Charlotte Junia does not receive the best present of her life today.
❋
If Charlotte did not have the biggest smile of shock on her face by the end of this evening, Olivia would class this as a fail. Olivia was not risking her life for a mediocre present, or a mediocre reaction and Olivia had actually risked her life considering she had gripped onto the drain on the side of the house for her life.
Before knocking on her door, Olivia made sure to smooth out her dress and wipe any mud onto the brick of the house. As far as the Shelby knew, Charlotte's family quite liked her - which was quite a rare feeling for the Shelby - so, she did not want to ruin that by dragging mud into the house.
Charlotte's father's eyebrows furrowed when he saw Olivia on his doorstep, but it quickly turned into a smile when he saw the mud on her cheek, "Not even a grounding can keep you away, can it?"
"Absolutely not, sir!" She mocked a salute to the man as she stepped over the threshold. She couldn't remember how that had started but it had always been something Olivia did with Charlotte's dad.
Charles rolled his eyes, ruffling Olivia's hair as she walked past, "What have I told you? We're not in the army, Olivia, call me Charles."
"Okay, Charles." She drawled the sentence out, as if she was testing how it sounded, and the grimace that followed showed how she felt. "Nope, I think I'll stick to sir."
"Alright, alright, Lottie's in the kitchen with Eleanora, they were waiting for you."
Olivia couldn't help but smile, "Even after Lottie told me not to come over?"
"She knew you'd never listen." He smiled as the two parted and went to two separate rooms. The adults in the living room, where Charles threw himself onto the sofa next to his wife, and the children in the kitchen, where Olivia had made a semi-dramatic entrance.
And by semi-dramatic I mean she attempted to make trumpet sounds with her mouth but failed, quite, dramatically.
Eleanora and Charlotte rolled their eyes with a smile, "Look who finally turned up!"
"The life of the party."
This time, Olivia's best friends just rolled their eyes with any evidence of a smile suddenly having vanished.
"My Uncle turned up two hours ago, Liv." Charlotte deadpanned, stabbing her fork into her slice of cake - in an attempt to distract herself from the mean glare on Olivia's face.
"Moving on." Olivia said, eyeing up the cake before her, "Are we ready to begin?"
The three girls had some sort of ritual - and it wasn't as creepy as it sounded. Whenever it was one of their birthdays there had to be a birthday cake, and neither of the girls could eat the cake until the others were ready. Which usually didn't have any waiting time considering Charlotte and Eleanora were always good with time and on time. Olivia however...
In her defense, she usually wouldn't have to sneak out of her window and would be on time!
The, supposed, ritual had begun just over three years ago. A few weeks prior to Charlotte's birthday that year the mood within Small Heath had been low to say the least. Many men from the city had died within a short span of time, leaving many women without husbands and many children without dads.
Eleanora had been one of those children. Her dad was a name added to the growing list of men who had lost their lives on the frontline.
Before he had died, Eleanora had come from a very wealthy family, a large house that had lots of land and a farm! She was educated in what could be considered a private school in Worcester and definitely had a posher accent than anyone in Small Heath.
But then her dad died. And in came her uncle she couldn't stand, who convinced her grieving mum to sell the farm - their family source of income - and move in with him, in Small Heath, in his much smaller house so that he could keep an eye on them. Not only was there a problem that now Eleanora's family income rested on her uncle's low paying job, but also the teenage girl had to share a bedroom with her five year old brother.
Who did not sleep very well.
And another problem was also spawned by the fact her uncle was a raging dickhead.
Which was why Eleanora spent as many nights as she could at Charlotte's or Olivia's. Neither of their families minded, considering they knew her uncle was a major piece of work. And both families felt better in the knowledge that Eleanora could get a good, and safe, nights sleep under their roofs.
Polly had attempted to convince the girl's mother to remain on the farm and that she would always be a helping hand, but it seemed her Uncle had gotten the better of the grieving widow.
Both Polly and Olivia wished they could get both of the children and the widow out of the house, but with the uncle in the way they stood no chance.
So, for now, Olivia would settle for the fact today marked three years of this cake ritual and that Eleanora was safe tonight.
The Shelby girl was waiting for the right night to convince Tommy to cut up the girls wretched uncle and keep the family safe but she obviously couldn't do that while grounded.
"Three years of this cake eating, and the cake gets better every time." Olivia spoke with the majority of her cake remaining unchewed in her mouth.
Charlotte swallowed her piece of cake, "Pig."
"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were raised
on the farm, not me."
It was ironic Charlotte had caused Olivia a pig, which had caused the Shelby girl to smirk as she swallowed the large chunk of cake she had all but shoved in her mouth.
"Oh no," Eleanora's eyebrows furrowed, "She's smirking, Lottie, that doesn't mean anything good."
Charlotte lowered her fork, "What've you got up your sleeves, Liv?"
"My arms?" She rolled her eyes as she ate another chunk of cake.
The girls couldn't help but exchange a look between each other before bursting out into laughter, laughter that could be heard in the other room. Laughter so light, and - possibly - so loving it brought a smile to all the adult's faces. As they could, undoubtedly, remember a time they had been so young, sitting around the kitchen table and laughing with their friends.
When her laughter died down, Charlotte did what she usually did and pointed at Olivia, "That wasn't funny."
"Then why'd you laugh?" Olivia taunted, a lopsided grin on her face.
"I didn't."
Eleanora raised her eyebrows, "Are you sure about that, Lottie? I'm sure I heard something that resembled a dog's bark." Another running joke would be that Charlotte's laughter was often quite loud and could be compared to a dog's loud bark. The girls knew it was a joke, and would never take it too far and would stop if Charlotte was to voice her distaste for the joke.
"I'm the dog? Have you seen how fast Olivia is scoffing up that cake?"
Said girl paused in eating her cake, icing surrounding her mouth, "I didn't have tea. Was too busy looking after John's football army."
"He's not got eleven yet." Eleanora informed the Shelby, "He's still got a few to go. And what did we tell you? If the kids are eating, you should be too."
"It's not my fault I had to change nappies." Olivia pulled a face at her chocolate cake, "It was off-putting earlier and much more off-putting now."
"Really?" Eleanora all but exclaimed, the sound of her fork clashing with her plate. "You had to bring up your nappy mess while we were still eating,"
"How can you not stomach this? You changed your brother's nappies didn't you?"
Eleanora's face contorted into shock, mixed with disgust, "Oh! Absolutely not. I love him but that is too far for me."
"I didn't even like Finn and I had to change his." Olivia huffed as she crossed her arms across her chest.
Charlotte watched her friend do so, "Weren't you four...?"
"Yes?"
"When I was four I could barely hold a pencil, and you were changing nappies."
"And teaching him how to walk. And then throwing things at him so that he fell." Olivia smiled, remembering all the things she'd thrown at her brother and all the times she'd go shouted at for doing so.
"So, you're to blame for why Finn is the way he is." Eleanora concluded.
Olivia shrugged, "I'm not going to take the complete blame. I like to think I was 25% of the reasoning as to why he's the way he is, the other 75 is just 'cause he's Finn."
"Is it not 85%?" Charlotte queried, concentration etched on her face as she tried to figure it out, "Wait, no, never-mind. You're right, Liv."
Olivia reached over the table and high-fived the birthday girl. "I told you all those lessons with me would pay off!"
It was no secret that Olivia was the most intelligent around the table, which no-one could really explain but would most likely narrow it down to the fact she had learnt everything she knew from Tommy. Whenever Charlotte or Eleanora didn't understand something at school they'd head straight to Olivia after lesson, not those teachers who couldn't teach it to them correctly in the first place. (Which is what the two always said when in reality it was just because they couldn't stop talking)
Whenever they had a test, Eleanora and Charlotte could spend hours preparing and would often get a grade they were happy with or believe they'd preformed a little under par. But, Olivia could just waltz in, ace it and go home and never revisit the subject again if it didn't interest her, or her future careers.
It was honestly quite annoying.
But, Olivia never made her friends feel as though they were inferior or anything like that, she always wanted to help them achieve the best grade they could get, or certainly one they'd be happy with. Which led to the girls having many nights spent together going over lessons - and these lessons would actually be taken seriously as they all just wanted to help one another.
Charlotte had thought that getting her best grade this half-term would be the best gift Olivia could give her this year, but it seemed the Shelby had other ideas.
Olivia clapped her hands together, "C'mon, we've got places to be."
"It's dark outside." Eleanor reminded the Shelby, who was putting her coat on and checking for all of her accessories (razor blade and pocket knife)
"I can see that, Ellie." Olivia mused, buttoning her coat up, "But, I've got a present I want to give to Lottie."
Charlotte stood up from her seat, her arms already out and ready to embrace Olivia in a hug.
Olivia scoffed, jokingly, "No hugs this year, Charlotte. I've upgraded."
"Oh, goodness." Charlotte muttered, putting on her own coat.
Eleanora laughed at birthday girl's nerves, "This is going to be good."
And right she was.
Olivia was leading the girls down to her Uncle's yard, as they wrapped their coats tightly around themselves and blew the hot air from their mouths between their hands in a hope to warm up. It was not working, so the girls decided on holding each other's hands and shoving them in a pocket of their coat.
Which helped, sort of. Originally, the idea had been instigated to calm Charlotte's nerves of being out in the dark out night where anyone could attack them.
"Could you not have brought your peaky hat?" Charlotte hissed as they rushed past the drunken men in the streets.
Olivia sighed, "It got taken off me, it's a term in my grounding."
Eleanora snorted, "Maybe you should stop taking the blame for what Finn does."
"He didn't mean to nearly shoot Ada's tits off." Olivia tried to reason with them, but knew that her friends weren't being totally serious. Charlotte and Eleanora knew that even if Olivia claimed she hated Finn most of the time that his older sister was always going to bail him out of trouble.
Eleanora just hoped she wouldn't have to do the same when her brother grows up.
"Think how much scarier we'd be if you had your hat on." Charlotte said, fairly persistent in the idea that this peaked cap brought her some sense of security.
"I've got my razor, anyway," Olivia told them, trying to calm her friend's nerves, "I'll cut them a smile if they try anything."
Charlotte shivered, from the cold and Olivia's words. "I hate when you say things like that."
"Try hangin' around John, he says much worse. And Arthur, always bloody talking about sex, guns and blood." Olivia shook her head, scolding them as if they were there.
"Young ears, Liv!" Charlotte scolded, covering her ear with one hand.
"You're fourteen now, Lottie. Not so young." Eleanora teased the girl.
"I am very much young! Not a wrinkle on this head, no memory loss, or the shakes. I'm perfectly youthful."
Eleanora snickered, "Is that a wrinkle above your eyebrow? It must be all that frowning you do."
Charlotte gasped and stared at Olivia wide eyed, "She's not being serious is she?"
"Obviously not, Lottie." Olivia smiled as they passed by many man who stumbled on home, and even a boy sat under a lamppost before they finally made their way to Charlie's yard.
The girl would be in luck tonight, she wasn't quite sure where her uncle would be, all she knew is that he and Curly wouldn't be here. Or, so she bloody hoped not because if either of them were she'd be grounded for the rest of her life - and that's not just because she broke her grounding.
Olivia untangled herself from her friend's and stood before the gate, "Now, I want you guys to promise me when we get to the present you aren't going to freak out or anything like that."
"I'm going to find that pretty difficult considering how ominous you're being." Eleanora said, shoving her hands back into her pocket.
"That's a big word." Charlotte teased, smiling when Nora rolled her eyes.
"This is serious guys. We don't want to scare him, or her. I didn't get quite close enough to tell."
Eleanora and Charlotte's eyes widened in fear, "You kidnapped someone!?"
"Oh! We've talked about this, Liv!"
"Hey!" She exclaimed over their murmuring, "First of all, the Irishman I stole told me he was a leprechaun and quite happily followed me to your house, Lottie. And, Nora, why would I kidnap someone? It's not as if Lottie's into that."
"Who is?!" Charlotte asked in disbelief, wholeheartedly believing that her friend had kidnapped someone, again.
Olivia rolled her eyes and opened the gate behind her, "Will you just follow me and stop blaming me for crimes I haven't committed?"
"Have you committed a crime to get me a present?" Charlotte asked, as the two friends followed her blindly.
"No." Olivia gulped.
Eleanora smiled but it was wiped as soon as the birthday girl glared at her, "How could you!" She falsely scolded the Shelby.
Charlotte slapped the girl on her arm, "That's not going to teach her!"
"Lottie, I hate to tell you this, but Olivia does not listen. Especially not when we tell her to stop breaking laws." Eleanora pointed out, a smile forming on her face at the smell of manure that reminded her of a past life on the farm - one she wished she could return to for her own mother's and brother's safety.
"She's right!" Olivia sung as they headed towards one of the horse pens, except when Olivia rounded the corner and opened the gate they were not met with a horse but rather a pig.
A pretty, pink, pig.
Charlotte stood still outside the door to the pen, "No. Return it."
Eleanora, however, smiled widely, "Aren't you pretty?"
"I can't just return it, Lottie. They aren't a piece of meat." Olivia frowned at her choice of words, "Okay, they aren't a piece of meat yet. And they aren't allowed to be because this is your new pet!"
"Pet!?" Charlotte shouted, and quietly spoke after she received a glare from Olivia, "Pet? You got me a pet pig? Where am I supposed to put it? Hide it in my bed and when my parents ask just say it's a friend?"
"Pigs are friends, Lottie." Eleanora said, and laughed quietly to herself as she approached the pig.
"What are we going to name it?" Olivia asked, moving away from the pig to pet one of Tommy's horse on the other side of the pen.
"We aren't going to name it anything, it's going back to where it came from! And surely, the cross contamination of horses and pigs is not a good idea." Charlotte looked between the two animals.
Olivia rolled her eyes, "It's not as if the horse and the pig are going to start shagging."
"Plus, the pig has feelings, Lottie. And is quite offended at your rude words. Isn't that right, Oinks?"
Olivia shook her head at the test name, "Can't be Oinks, I've already got a pig called Oinks." When she heard Charlotte open her mouth, Olivia spoke again, "No, not a real pig, my teddy."
Eleanor nodded her head, "How could I forget about Oinks, Sir Oinks a lot?"
"Oo! I like that one!"
Charlotte huffed and sighed loudly, "Hello! We are not naming or keeping this pig!"
"Yes, we are, Lottie!" Olivia persisted, "If it makes you feel better I did actually pay for the pig."
Charlotte stepped forward and out of the way of the pen doors, "With whose money?"
Olivia blinked, "Tommy's. But, he doesn't have to know!"
"And when he comes to visit his horse and sees this very ugly pig, what do you think he's going to say!"
Eleanora gasped and stood up from the pig, leaving the gate open to the pig pen and standing by her friends, "Charlotte, it may be your birthday but Sir Oinks a lot still has feelings and he would like you to apologize."
"He's a pig. He won't understand."
"He also may be a she!" Olivia pointed out with a finger stuck in the air, the trio became so engrossed in about an argument between keeping the pig and who would actually check the pig's gender that they missed the pig trotting out of its pen.
Eleanora huffed, "Okay!" She shouted, ceasing Olivia's and Charlotte's bickering, "Let's just all apologize to Sir Oinks a lot and check their down below."
"You just called it a sir though." Charlotte pointed out and turned around, her mouth hung open.
Eleanora rolled her eyes but her jaw hit the floor when she saw the empty pen. "Oh no."
"What—?" Olivia's question was interrupted as her two friends sprinted out the pen in hopes of catching the pig that had seamlessly escaped when they were too busy arguing. "Oh, shit."
Olivia quickly ran after them, the three of them running in the streets like mad men as they attempted to find and chase this pig back into its enclosure in Charlie's yard.
Eleanora spotted it heading straight towards a group of drunken men, "Look out! Pig incoming!" Wow, had she missed saying that.
"You heard her! Pig incoming!" Charlotte shouted, just as the men stepped aside with their pints in hand.
Two of them, whispered among themselves that one of them was the Shelby girl as Olivia rolled her eyes and tried to focus on the pig and not her reputation.
Olivia looked ahead of Eleanora and spotted the boy from earlier, sat underneath the lamppost, "Hey! Kid under the lamppost!"
She watched him point to himself, and his eyes widened as he saw the pig headed in his direction, "Catch our bloody pig will ya!"
"He's not ours!" Charlotte sneered as they watch the boy attempt to catch the pig.
But his attempt turned into the pig running straight into him, and the boy falling to the floor as the pig stood over him.
The trio of girls came to a stop right beside him, all the three with their hands on their hips, trying to catch their breaths. "Fuckin' hell. We aren't ever doing this again, you hear me Charlotte? Rein your fuckin' pig in."
"My pig? Yes, because I was the idiot who decided to get their friend a pig, yes me!" Charlotte pointed at herself and exclaimed, while Eleanora settled for rubbing between the pig's ears while the poor boy had no choice but to listen and watch them argue amongst themselves.
"I am not an idiot!" Olivia said, "And let's not act like you weren't dropping hints to the fact you wanted a pet pig." The Shelby tried to justify her actions.
But, it seemed Charlotte had a response, "When I was older. When I lived on my farm and you two, twats, were my neighbors! Not when I'm fourteen and still living with my parents."
Olivia paused, that did make sense. And the Shelby couldn't help but let a little laughter escape from her lips, "Oh, I'm an idiot aren't I?"
"Yeah, you are." Charlotte smiled, "Doesn't make me love you any less, and the thought was there. Maybe later in life though?"
"Yeah, when we've got our own farms," Olivia smiled, only a little falsely. She didn't want to ruin the dream of the farm life where all three of them would be. Because, that's all it would be. A dream. Olivia would be conformed to her legacy at the Shelby company that was set to boom any time soon, and her friends would live in the countryside with their farms.
Olivia didn't want to ruin their dreams.
"Guess we'll send him away then, eh?"
"Guess so." Charlotte frowned, "He were quite cute weren't he?"
"I think his snout was quite unique." Eleanora shrugged, admiring the pig one last time before smacking its behind to send it squealing and running down the street.
The trio watched on, almost admiring the run of the pig, until a throat cleared and their attention was diverted to the boy the forgot was on the floor.
"Oh!" Olivia exclaimed as her and Charlotte helped him up, "Sorry, we forgot about you."
He rubbed his dirty hands along the material of his shorts. Shorts in this weather! "It's alright."
The three girls' furrowed their eyebrows at his accent, "Huh?"
"What'd you say?"
"Are you from another planet?"
He rolled his eyes, "I'm not an alien."
Eleanora stared at him in shock, "Well you could fucking be! Speakin' in another tongue. They'll hang you in the pub if you're not careful."
"Why's he talkin' funny?" Olivia asked, looking between her friends and trying to decide if she'd heard anyone speak like him before. "He's like... weird, isn't he?"
"Sorry, I'm just trynna understand what he said before. Think I'm just in shock." Charlotte said, staring at the boy, completely perplexed.
"What's your name? I ain't seen you before." Olivia clutched the razor blade in her pocket, it was bad enough she couldn't recognize him but she was sure she wouldn't be able to understand him either.
"KIAN CORMAC, got 'ere yesterday. All the way from Ireland."
Olivia threw her hands in the air, "Well that bloody explains, don't it? If you'd said that earlier we wouldn't have had all that language barrier."
"He speaks our language." Eleanora reminded the Shelby.
"Yeah," Olivia rolled her eyes, "But he's Irish. How was I supposed to understand the wee fella?"
"That could actually be quite rude, but Kian is quite tall for an Irishman, plus the Irish aren't leprechauns, Liv. They're mythical." Charlotte said.
"Tell that to the one I brought to your house." Olivia smiled proudly, as if that kidnapping was an achievement.
"D'ya want some cake?" Olivia offered, holding onto her arms when both Charlotte and Eleanora slapped her. "Ow! He's not a serial killer, he's been sat under a lamppost all alone all night, he could do with some cake. Couldn't you Kian?"
He stumbled over his words, "Uh... yeah- sure."
"And if worst comes to worst, he can sit outside and we'll watch him through the kitchen window."
Worst did not have to come to worst. Luckily, Kian had gained himself a seat at the kitchen table and had, happily, ate two large slices of cake. And the four of them had spent the majority of the night discussing his life from before he moved, in Galway, how he used to live above a pub and knew how to pour a mean pint - Olivia would definitely use that to her advantage. That was really the only positive he had to say about Ireland, he had told the girls how he hoped Small Heath would offer him more happiness and friends.
Olivia couldn't help but smile as she could see herself giving the boy that happiness.
Even if they had to work through the slight language barrier. But, that could be saved for another day.
Olivia had to get home, she stood up from her seat, offering each friend a smile, "I'll see you tomorrow, for school," she rolled her eyes just at the thought of it, "You too, Kian. We usually stand by the gate, Lottie's normally there first, then Ellie, then me. And if you want any breakfast I'll have some in my pockets."
The boy smiled shyly, he knew he'd not have any breakfast at home and Olivia had made it very clear he didn't need to feel ashamed for asking her for some food.
Olivia gave Eleanora a hug first, kissing the girl on the cheek before shaking Kian's hand and giving him a fist bump.
She then moved towards the birthday girl and embraced her, finally, in a hug, "Happy birthday, Lottie."
Charlotte smiled as Olivia's lips brushed against her ear, "Thank you for the pig, I don't know how you're going to top it next year."
"I'll get you a cow."
Charlotte pulled away from the hug and glared at Olivia, "No, no, no you won't."
Olivia laughed quietly, thanking Charlotte's parents before trecking on home. And the whole way home the smile couldn't be wiped off her face. She'd finally given a present, while it may have been disastrous and not actually kept by Lottie, Olivia would remember this for years to come.
Maybe her title of being the worst giver in Small Heath could be taken away from her.
❋
Olivia had even had a smile on her face as she slept, even if Katie had been kicking her relentlessly since she had gotten back in the bed. The Shelby was far too happy with herself, and doubted this happiness would be taken away today.
That was what Olivia hoped.
But, when she made her way down the stairs and saw Tommy at the table, with the newspaper flat on the table and not reading it, Olivia felt as though she were in trouble - which, knowing her she probably was.
She took a deep breath before entering the kitchen and making herself breakfast, "Where's Pol?" She asked, trying to make lighthearted conversation before her, eventual, scolding came.
"Out."
Olivia rolled her eyes, "Where's Ada?"
"Out."
She shook her head, even if his back was turned to her, "Is Finn out by any chance?"
"No. Asleep."
"A man of few words, Tommy." She teased with a smile, which vanished immediately once she sat down at the table and received a harsh glare from him.
He looked down at the paper, and cleared his throat, "You wouldn't happen to know about this pig running around the place, eh?"
Olivia gasped quietly, "A pig? Runnin' round Small Heath, blimey." She instantly regretted the last word that could've completely gave her away. But, Olivia supposed it didn't matter what she said, Tommy would know.
Whenever it came to her, he'd always just known. He could read his littlest sister like an open book, when she was younger she'd liked it because she could talk to him about anything and he'd listen. Now... now it just made him a pain in Olivia's backside constantly getting her into trouble, or challenging her for the truth.
Which, she often didn't want to tell her brother now that he was back from the war. Olivia worried about all that her brothers had been through, she didn't want her feelings or what she was doing to add to the stress they were already experiencing.
Tommy hummed, "You sure? Says here the pig was caught down the street near Charlie's."
"Hmm. Odd." Olivia shrugged, "Haven't seen Charlie in a while, you know, with the grounding and all that." Lie. Olivia had visited him early yesterday morning before anyone had even woke up.
Tommy nodded his head, even though he didn't believe a word his sister was saying, "Right. The grounding."
She didn't like that tone.
Olivia cleared her throat and decided to leave her half eaten bowl of cereal on the table, "I think I'm gonna wake Katie, John'll be here soon, better start getting them dressed."
"You do that." Tommy said, watching as she hurriedly retreated up the stairs.
He picked up her bowl and ate the cereal, thinking about how he would tell his Aunt the way in which his sister had broken her grounding.
Tommy could handle Olivia's anger and frustration for the next few days, as long as he knew she was nowhere near the Inspector and the queries.
The last thing Thomas Shelby needed was his sister's incessant questioning.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
livvie 🤍🤍