Chelsea awoke to the phone ringing in the hotel room. Tommy answered it immediately and Chelsea looked over to the second bed and saw it completely untouched. He hadn't slept.
"You need to sleep." Chelsea groaned.
"Yes, I'll accept the call." Tommy said, pressing the phone against his ear, looking over at Chelsea as she got up and walked over to pour herself a jug of water, "Hello, Lizzie."
Chelsea walked over and sat opposite her dad, seeing the paperwork and his glasses rested on top, if this man didn't sleep Chelsea would be sure he'd become a zombie.
"Thats all right, Lizzie, don't worry, you just there for now and get her better." Tommy said.
Chelsea looked up and furrowed her brows, "Who?"
"Ruby." Tommy replied, "Lizzie, can I speak to her. . .okay, let her sleep. Me and Chelsea have a bit more business to do here. Look, you just book a new passage when Ruby's feeling better. Doesn't matter if you don't get here for Christmas, just as long as you get here. Have you told Isaiah and the kids? Okay. We'll get this business done, you get here with the children, Isaiah and my grandkids and then no more. And then it'll just be us and the clean air out in the West."
Chelsea knew that Lizzie was smiling over the phone, every time Tommy seemed remotely relaxed she loved it because ever since Polly died, Tommy had been a completely different man.
"How long has she been coughing?" Tommy asked, "It's just cold. I'll get this business done in Boston then it'll be the end of it. Then I just want to. . .I just want to pick Ruby up and hold her in my arms, you know?"
Now it was Chelsea's turn to smile, all she wanted was for her sister to know the man that Chelsea knew, and Tommy made sure that it was happening.
"Teaching her to rob and steal, more like." Tommy chuckled.
Suddenly, Tommy's face dropped and he stood up, "Lizzie-what-what did you say? What did Ruby say? . . .Did she say any other words that you didn't understand?. . no, Lizzie, did she say any other words in Romany? Fucking listen to me! Just 'Tickner Maura' and 'O Beng'?"
Chelsea jumped up and shook her head. She didn't speak fluent Romani, but she knew what this meant. 'Tickner' meant child, 'Maura' meant kill and 'O Beng' meant the devil.
"What the fuck did you just say?" Chelsea whispered, snatching the phone from her father's hand and pressing it to her own ear, "Lizzie, did she see anything when she was burning up? Lizzie! Please just answer the fucking question!"
"She said could see a man." Lizzie sighed, "A man with green eyes. But she was delirious, she was burning up. What the fuck is the matter?"
"Dad, we have to go home."
Tommy nodded and took the phone, he saw the fear in Chelsea's eyes and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, she hid her face in his chest and tried to calm herself down, "All right, listen, Lizzie, me and Chelsea are coming home. . . .we're coming home on the next steamer back. You keep her out of school, and you keep her away from-keep her away from the river! Don't let her ride a horse or go near a horse. Tell Johnny Dogs and his wives the words that Ruby has been saying. Tell Johnny's eldest wife to put a Black Madonna around her neck. You listen to Esmeralda the same way you listen to a doctor. You hear me-Yes, it is Gypsy fucking stuff, Lizzie! Yes, it fucking is! And you get Curly there! Tell him to stay in the stable with Ruby's horses. And you do everything that Johnny Dogs and his wives fucking tell you."
Chelsea covered her face with her hands and Tommy tightened his grip on her, "I'm sorry, Lizzie, do you understand? All right, we're coming home."
Tommy walked forward and placed the phone on the table.
"Chelsea," Tommy said, cupping her face, "listen, Princess, pack your stuff, okay? Call Isaiah and tell him that you're coming home. I'll go to Micheal in prison but you stay here, when I get back we'll leave and get back to her?"
Chelsea nodded, "Okay. Okay-I have to get my stuff-"
"Chelsea." Tommy said again, "Don't panic, please, I don't need you to panic. I just need you to be okay and believe that it's going to be okay because then I'll believe."
Chelsea wiped her eyes, "I know. It just scared me."
Tommy kissed her on the forehead but Chelsea quickly turned around and ran into the bathroom.
She slid down the wall and almost immediately, she was gagging over the toilet, emptying the condiments of her stomach and only stopping when she had emptied everything.
She leaned against the wall and blinked, the next thing she knew, Polly was sat in front of her.
"Pol." Chelsea whispered, "Pol, I need your help. Protect her. Please, Polly. Nanny, please."
Polly's ghost of a smile etched onto her face and she nodded, "I'll do my best, love. I'll do my best."
★
It was around one o'clock when she was driven into the gates of Arrows House, Tommy's car was a far distant in front of her. Chelsea didn't tell the driver to hurry up because as much as she wanted to hold her sister, it was Tommy's daughter and she knew he would want to get there first.
When she finally parked up at the driveway, Charles and Ruby were both clung to Tommy's hip, Lizzie standing behind them, all of them smiling at Chelsea's car.
She opened the car door and ran out, Ruby ran towards her as well.
"Chi!" Ruby cheered.
She had grown up a lot, but still called her Chi. A black ribbon was tied into her hair and the black Madonna hanging around her neck.
She was beautiful.
"Oh, Rupert." Chelsea smiled, falling to her knees and Ruby collided into her, her arms wrapping around her neck, "Are you okay, sweetheart?"
"Yeah!" Ruby laughed, "Do you like my ribbon? I did it myself!"
"I love it!" Chelsea said, pushing all the worry down, "You look beautiful."
"Chi!" Charles called, leaving his father's side and also colliding into his sister's arms, "I missed you!"
"I missed you, too." Chelsea said, kissing him on the cheek, "I missed you both so much."
"Mama!"
Chelsea stood up, holding hands with her siblings and saw her son running towards her, Isaiah walking behind him holding their daughter.
Chelsea let go of her siblings and ran forward, pulling John up into her arms and kissing him repeatedly.
"JD wouldn't stop talking about you last night." Isaiah laughed as Chelsea took Polly from his arms and held her children.
"You're getting a bit heavy, John." Chelsea said, placing John back on the floor and kissing his head.
"You alright?" Isaiah asked, after kissing Chelsea softly on the lips, "Lizzie explained it to me."
"Just a bit shaken." Chelsea nodded, "She'll be alright, I know she will."
"Mummy." Polly said, placing her hand on her mother's cheek, "Can we go to fields?"
"Of course, baby." Chelsea smiled, "Charlie! Ruby! Do you want to come to the fields?"
"Yeah!" Ruby and Charles cheered, running over to their sister.
★
Ruby had been told that her results were clear, and although Chelsea was beyond thankful, she couldn't stop her head from worrying.
She had stopped sleeping. Polly and John were in their room that was connected by a door to their parents room, but Chelsea couldn't sleep, she had the overwhelming fear that something bad was going to happen to one of her children or Ruby.
Isaiah was fast asleep next to her, his arm wrapped around her waist as his chest rose and fell slowly.
As long as he was alright, Chelsea was okay. As long as her children and Isaiah could sleep, then Chelsea would live.
However, Isaiah was dragged out of his sleep when the sound of a glass shattering woke him up. He jumped out of bed and saw Chelsea do the same.
"Go to the kids." Chelsea said, grabbing a gun from her top drawer, "I'll go check."
Isaiah wasted no time in running to the door that connected their bedroom to their children's. He and Chelsea had spoken about this, if anything ever happened then their children were their first priority.
Chelsea ran out of her bedroom door, and froze on the landing. The bathroom door was ajar and Chelsea could see a small smudge of blood on the floor.
She ran in, her gun pointed ahead of her but it instantly dropped when she saw who the blood was coming from.
The bath was overflowing, Tommy was laying on the floor completely naked, his whole body was jolting, his eyes rolling to the back of his head and a glass shattered down beside him, small shards stuck into his arm.
Chelsea grabbed a towel from the side, sprinted forward and placed it on his waist before pulling his head into her lap.
"Dad!" Chelsea shouted, grabbing his head to stop him from injuring himself further, "Dad! It's Chelsea! You're okay! You're home! You're safe, okay? Dad, PLEASE! YOU'RE SCARING ME!"
Tommy's body stopped jolting and his eyes stared back up at Chelsea's.
His breaths were short and rapid, and his eyes were wide with fear. Chelsea could tell he was clearly disoriented, as if he was no longer in the safety of his house, but reliving a traumatic event from his past.
"Ch-Chelsea." Tommy said, every few seconds his body still twitched.
"LIZZIE!" Chelsea screamed, "LIZZIE!"
Five seconds later, Lizzie came running in, after viewing the scene she fell beside Chelsea and pulled Tommy's head onto her own lap, cradling him.
Chelsea stared at her dad, the fear in his eyes, how helpless and unprotected he was.
A memory kicked into her head from 1919.
"it will crumble around you, everything you and your family have built will fall, and when it does fall, I hope it hits your father first."
The boy had been right. The bricks of their empire were falling and they were hitting Tommy faster than anyone could've expected.
Chelsea stood up and left the bathroom, running down the stairs and pouring herself a glass of whiskey, downing it in one sip before pouring another one.
"I thought you said you weren't going to drink around your dad." said Isaiah, appearing at the door way.
"He's upstairs." Chelsea said, her palms resting against the rest as she ducked her head, "He won't even know."
"Talk to me, baby." Isaiah said, taking a few steps forward and stopping behind Chelsea, "I'm here. Talk to me."
Chelsea turned around and shook her head, "I'm scared, Isaiah. I haven't been scared in years! Because that's not who I am anymore! But I'm scared, alright? I'm scared for you, I'm scared for my dad, i'm scared for Ruby and I'm scared for my children!"
Isaiah cupped her face, "There isn't anything to be scared of. Your dad is going to be fine, the doctor has cleared Ruby and our children are perfectly fine."
Chelsea pulled away from Isaiah and grabbed her drink, taking a seat on the sofa, "No. My dad isn't going to be fine. Ever since the war he hasn't been fine but now? Ever since Polly left, he doesn't know what to do! He is lost! And when my father's lost, I'm lost! It runs in the fucking family!"
"Chelsea, you aren't lost." Isaiah said, kneeling down in front of her and placing his hands on her knees, "You've got a family."
"Have you seen what i've brought them into?" Chelsea scoffed, "I don't want to feel like this anymore, Isaiah. I want to be happy. I want Ruby to be well."
"Ruby is well."
"No she's not!" Chelsea screamed, tears pouring down her cheeks, "she isn't! Neither is my dad! My dad isn't well, and I'm scared for both of them!"
"mummy?"
Chelsea turned around and saw Polly standing there, her thumb in her mouth and tilting her head slightly in confusion.
"Why is mummy crying?" Polly whispered.
"Mummy's fine." Isaiah said, walking over to his daughter, "Go back to bed. How did you get out? The door was locked."
"I used a clip." Polly said, but she stared at her mothers back, waiting to talk to her, "Mummy, you haven't sang-"
"Get back to bed." Chelsea whispered, lighting a cigarette and then leaning back, throwing her head against the back of the sofa.
"Come on, darling." Isaiah said, turning Polly around and pointing towards the stairs, "Daddy will be up in a second to tuck you in."
Chelsea heard her daughter's feet run up the stairs and then the shutting of her daughter's bedroom door.
"What was that?" Isaiah asked, "You just completly sent our daughter away without even saying anything."
"I did say something." Chelsea shrugged, "I told her to go to bed."
"You know what, Chelsea?" Isaiah said, shaking his head, "You can fuck off! I have been here for you throughout everything and I am not leaving, but don't shut our children out! You love them, just be there mum."
Chelsea didn't say anything and Isaiah left, leaving Chelsea staring up at the small photograph of Grace that sat on the fireplace.
"Oh, mum." Chelsea scoffed, rubbing her hands down her face, "You have no idea how much I need some advice right now. I don't know what to do. You would. You always made people feel better."
Two hours later, Chelsea had drunk three and a half glasses of whiskey, leaving the bottles on the floor as she stumbled up the stairs.
She made her way into her bedroom and slowly pushed open the other door, walking into her children's bedroom.
"Po-polly." Chelsea slurred.
Polly sat up and looked at her mom, hunched over, her eyes blinking slowly, "John."
John stood up and walked over to his mom, Polly standing up and walking behind her brother, holding onto his hand.
"My baby's." Chelsea said, falling to her knees and cupping John and Polly's face, "I didn't sing to you."
"You smell like Arthur." John said, staring at his mom in worry, "Mummy-what's wrong?"
"She's mean." Polly said, pulling away from Chelsea and hiding behind her brother, "She was mean to me."
"No. No. No." Chelsea said, shaking her head, "I wasn't. I'd never be mean to you, baby. I love you. . .I love you both so much."
"You're scaring me." John said, taking a few steps back, "Daddy!"
Isaiah came running into the room and John and Polly ran into his arms, "I'm here. What's wrong?"
"Mummy's mean." Polly said, hiding her face in Isaiah's torso.
"Chelsea, how much have you had to drink?" Isaiah asked.
"Just a little bit." Chelsea said, clinging onto the drawers to help herself back to her feet, "I came to say goodnight to my children."
"You're off your face." Isaiah said, "You stink of whiskey and you're scaring the kids."
"They aren't scared of me!" Chelsea shouted, she looked down to her kids, "Right? You aren't scared of mommy?"
"Daddy." John whispered, "She's not acting like mommy."
"Get out, Chelsea." Isaiah said, "Go downstairs and wait till you've sobered up. You're scaring our children!"
Chelsea shook her head and quickly stumbled out of her room.
The tears fell from her eyes as soon as she shut the door behind her. Chelsea's heart sank as she heard the words. Her children had been scared of her. The conversation replayed in her mind as she made her way into the hallway and slid down to the floor.
The house was quiet now; Lizzie was caring for Tommy, Isaiah was tucking in the children. Chelsea stared blankly at the wall, feeling a wave of guilt wash over her.. She could still see the fear in their eyes as they scrambled to hide behind Isaiah.
A painful realization hit her like a punch to the gut. She was becoming her mother. Growing up, Chelsea's mother had been known for her sharp tongue, quick temper and drunken habits. Chelsea had always sworn she would never be like her, but now it seemed she was on the same path.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she thought about how her mother had made her feel as a child—afraid, anxious, and never quite good enough.
And now, her children had begun to feel those things towards her and Chelsea had no idea how to fix it.
"Dad." Chelsea whispered, slowly sliding to her feet and running across the hallway to her father's room, tears gushing down her face, "Dad. Dad, please help."
Chelsea opened the door and saw Tommy stood at his window, smoking a cigarette without a top, Chelsea saw the small line of stitches on his back from the shattered glass. Lizzie lay asleep in the bed.
"Daddy." Chelsea whispered, hugging herself, "I need your help."
Tommy turned around and hurried across the room, pulling his daughter in as her cries amplified, "It's alright, Princess. Come on, let's go talk, okay?"
Tommy sat across from his daughter, Chelsea, at the kitchen table. The room was quiet, the only sound coming from the maids hurrying out of the room after Tommy told them to leave. He could see the distress etched across Chelsea's face as she fidgeted with a piece of paper, her gaze distant.
Tommy had seen Chelsea struggle before, but this time she seemed especially troubled.
"Tell me what's going on, Princess," Tommy said gently, reaching across the table to place a comforting hand on Chelsea's.
Chelsea took a deep breath, her voice shaking slightly as she spoke. "Dad, my kids are scared of me. Earlier, after I found you in the bathroom, I came downstairs. Isaiah came down afterwards, tried to calm me down but it made me worse. A-and then Polly came down, and I told her to go. Isaiah left, I drank more whiskey, emptied three bottles and then went upstairs. The kids knew something was wrong, they were scared of me, they looked at me how I used to look at Annie. I feel like I'm becoming her, and it's terrifying."
Tommy's expression softened as he listened to his daughter's worries. He understood the weight of her fears; he had seen the impact Chelsea's mother's temper had on her growing up. He sighed, knowing this conversation was important.
"First of all, Chelsea, you're not your mother," Tommy said firmly, his voice filled with reassurance. "You might have moments where you lose your temper, but you can recognize it and work on it. That's the first step to breaking the cycle."
Chelsea nodded, her eyes glistening with tears. Tommy continued, his tone warm and supportive.
"Parenting is tough, and nobody gets it right all the time. What matters is that you're aware of the problem and willing to make changes. Talk to your kids, apologize for scaring them, and let them know you're working on yourself. They'll appreciate your honesty and effort."
Chelsea nodded again, her expression showing a mix of relief and determination.
"Don't be too hard on yourself," Tommy added. "It takes time to unlearn old patterns, but you're stronger than you think. And remember, I'm here for you. You don't have to go through this alone."
Chelsea managed a faint smile, grateful for her father's words. Tommy's support gave her hope that she could break free from her mother's shadow and become the loving, patient parent she wanted to be.
"Dad, you scared me back there." Chelsea said, abandoning the old conversation and starting a new one, "You need to see a doctor."
"I'm fine, Chelsea." Tommy said, "I have work to do."
"Fuck the work." Chelsea scoffed, "I can go up and finish the business in Boston and you can finally rest. After I've finished up the business, it will all be done."
"I can't let you handle this on your own." Tommy said, shaking his head, "One day, you will do this on your own, but not whilst i'm still here. You are correct, when we have finished the Boston business, we can rest. Both of us. For once in our life, we just stop and rest."
Chelsea smiled and nodded, "I like the sound of that."