one
youth screams and fades
Polly didn't know what to do. She wasn't used to serving company that didn't drink whisky but of course, Anna wasn't eighteen yet.
Luckily for her, Anna was making an effort to create conversation which was one less thing for Polly to worry about as she searched the kitchen for something to feed the girl.
"What is it you do for work?" Polly had no answer.
"I work in the family business, I'm the treasurer." She smiled, making Anna some bread and cheese.
"The man who came to my house, is he in the family business?"
"Yes. We work with horses." Anna's face lit up. She admired horses and had loved to ride ever since her mother had told her not to.
"I love horses, I ride all the time."
"Well then it's in the blood." Polly visibly relaxed as the conversation began to flow much easier than it first had.
However, it wasn't long before they were interrupted as three men in black coats burst through the door pointing guns at each other. The youngest of the three was the first to notice the unfamiliar figure but it was the man Anna had already met who spoke first.
"Men, this is your cousin. This is Polly's daughter, Anna."
Anna waited for the men to speak but they remained frozen as though that may have made them invisible. Smiling ear to ear, she stepped forward with her hand out "Pleased to meet you." Her manners was the only thing she had held onto from her upbringing.
"We can show you what's what around here, don't worry about that." The older of the two men reassured her.
"Let's just let her get settled in first." Polly said with obvious caution present in her voice.
***
It was obvious to Anna that the man she had met before was now acting a lot different towards her than he had the first time they met. It was almost as if he was willing to give the offer but wasn't expecting her to take it.
Anna jumped when he offered to show her round, eager to fit in with her new family and learn about where she had spent her earliest years. She followed as the man, who she had now learned was called Tommy, led her through his pub to a room at the back, closing the door behind them.
"Call your mother." Was the first thing he had said to her since leaving Polly's house.
"What? You invited me to come meet my real mum and now you're telling me to leave her again?"
"I made a mistake. It's clear to me that Polly cares more about your safety than having you near her. And you are far safer in that village than you are on the streets of Birmingham."
"I can look after myself."
"No." Tommy growled. "No, that's where you're wrong. Because the toughest a person could possibly be living in that village would get killed by any child that's ever lived here. So you're going to call your mother and tell her you're on the next train home."
"No." Tommy was becoming visibly frustrated. It was him that brought her here and it would be him that was killed by Polly should anything happen to her. "Polly has told me what you do. I'm good with numbers, I can help with the races. My teachers in school told me I would be a good accountant."
"I already have an accountant. Name's Michael."
"A booming business like yours will need more than one accountant."
Anna couldn't tell whether Tommy was considering her offer or trying not to punch her. Without saying another word, he left the room. She considered it a small win, although she was sure it would not be the last of their confrontations.
***
The following days consisted of Anna and Polly getting to know each other in her home outside of Small Heath. It wasn't until five days after she had first arrived that they returned for a family meeting. Polly left Anna with strict instructions to stay outside the doors while the meeting was happening, although Anna couldn't see any reason why.
She couldn't help hearing what they were talking about as only a door stood between them. At the mention of a horse, Anna listened closer. Tommy mentioned an auction, something Anna was familiar with. Convinced she could be an asset to them, she burst in the room, attempting to sell herself to Tommy as an ideal candidate for a day at the auction.
As she surveyed the room for their reactions, her eyes fell upon a man who was already staring at her. Whenever she had caught men staring at her in the past, they would look away, but not him. Their gaze only broke when the boy heard Tommy saying his name.
"If Anna wants to come with us to the auction, Michael can come and keep an eye on her. I was planning on inviting him anyway. Besides, she is after his job after all."
"Fucking what." He yelled, returning his gaze which was now far less one of intrigue and more one of disgust.
Just like that, Anna had made her first enemy in Small Heath.
***
The day of the auction rolled around and Anna found herself to be extremely excited. She would attend auctions all the time with her uncle before he passed when she was sixteen. They never bought anything though which limited its excitement.
She sat between Arthur and Michael in the trailer while John and Tommy were in the car. There were two other men in the trailer who would make conversation with Arthur and Anna but Michael made it his mission to interact as little as possible with everyone else.
This frustrated Anna, bad manners were one of her pet peeves. However she didn't yet have the confidence to confront him about this, especially in front of the others.
Michael had essentially been sent to babysit Anna and yet they had barely said a word to each other.
The car had barely stopped before Arthur and the others had jumped out of the trailer onto the dirt path. Anna shuffled to the edge of the bench to ensure she was envolved in conversation.
"I reckon it'll be another half hour before we're there." Tommy stated as he walked to behind the trailer.
"As long as we don't miss her." Curly responded. He was a sweet man with a clear love for horses.
"Do you smoke Anna?" Arthur asked, holding a pack out to his cousin.
"I have before yes but not regularly." Anna took one from his pack, looking around for whoever had the matches.
"Are you sure your mother would approve of that?" Michael taunted as he leaned against the trailer with his own cigarette between his lips. There was something about the way he was presenting himself in that moment that made Anna's heart thump against her chest.
"Well she does it. Besides, I'm old enough to make my own decisions." Slight chuckles could be heard from the other blinders but Michael remained silent, simply throwing his matches to Anna.
The rest of the journey was mainly silent, aside from the occasional joke from Arthur. Anna was fascinated by how much the men changed as they exited the vehicle and marched into the auction hall. They walked with a purpose, like they knew how important they were and they wanted everyone else to know it too. Anna stayed to the back of the group with Michael, who was making it very clear he wasn't enjoying being her babysitter.
Anna's eyes lit up as they entered the auction ring. This was nothing like the village auctions she had been to before. The room was filled with important people throwing ridiculous amounts of money at horses.
Michael found himself becoming more and more annoyed at Anna's child-like behaviour. He understood she had a closed upbringing but she was clearly making no effort to cover up the fact she was new to everything.
They weren't there for very long at all. They entered as the grey filly entered the ring, bought her and left soon after. Nevertheless, it was one of the most exciting ten minutes of Anna's life and her reaction was pushing Michael close to breaking point.
"How did you like that then Anna?" John asked as they waited in the hallway for Tommy to be done with the formalities of the purchase.
"I loved every second."
"Yeah?" Arthur asked. "You like horses?"
"Very much. My uncle used to keep two which I rode up until I was sixteen when he became too ill to care for them."
"Well we're a family of horsemen which shows you really are Polly's daughter." John smiled through the toothpick between his lips. Once again, Michael remained silent.
Anna was convinced he couldn't say anything because he was putting all his effort into hating her. In fact, this wasn't far from the truth. He was trying his best to maintain his hatred for her as he got to know her and realised she wasn't actually that bad.
"Well would you look at that." Arthur laughed, gesturing to the end of the hallway where Tommy stood talking to a woman. Anna remembered her from the auction as she recalled thinking she wanted to be as classy and beautiful as her one day.
The blinders yelled and ridiculed Tommy, making several rude comments which made Anna giggle. She could've sworn that for a second she even saw Michael crack a smile.
"Come on then, we better get the kid home." Tommy turned to the group as the woman walked away. The ridicule continued as they walked out into the ring where the horses had walked. Once again, Anna and Michael were walking towards the back.
"Thomas Shelby." An unfamiliar voice called out.
To Anna, the next minute felt as though it happened in seconds.
The blinders leaped into action as a gun was pulled on Tommy, Michael included. The moment he saw the gun, Michael's thoughts went to protecting Anna as Thomas had instructed.
Grabbing her, he forced her to walk backwards until her back hit the wall. Pinning her arms to her sides and her legs together, he leant on her in a way that shielded her the best he could. Bowing his head, he could feel her hot breath on his neck, making his hairs stand on end.
The innocence he had been annoyed by just minutes earlier, he now found very attractive. He was so used to confident women throwing themselves at him that he had never known a woman to need him. The lack of skin to skin contact didn't stop Michael from feeling as though this was the most intimacy he had felt with someone in a long time.
He relished the feeling of their panting chests moving in harmony. It wasn't until she spoke that he removed himself from the state she had put him in.
"Michael I think it's over." She whispered into his neck. Her voice was shaky and low, sending shivers up his spine.
Keeping his body pressed against hers, he turned his head to evaluate the situation. Arthur was currently on top of the man who had the gun before, still beating him despite him clearly being unconscious. The others were trying to pry him off the body while Tommy was waving a gun around to check there was no longer a threat.
As his body turned towards the couple, he nodded to Michael, "Good work." After hearing this, Michael pushed himself off Anna, walking back towards the others without even looking back at her.
Attempting to regulate her breathing, Anna rushed to keep up with them, choosing to walk alongside John rather than a Michael. She was embarrassed that she liked the feeling of him against her. She was embarrassed that for a split second she forgot he was there to protect her and wasn't doing it out of genuine concern for her wellbeing.
***
Anna planned to not speak to Michael unless she had to. She sat on the edge of the trailer all the way back so that Arthur was now between her and Michael. The last thing she was expecting was for him to walk her to the door as they pulled up outside Polly's house.
"Thank you." Anna said, her voice just above a whisper. "For today."
"I was just doing my job." Neither of them had anything else to say but they were both secretly hoping the other would say something. They stood in an awkward silence until John interrupted.
"Michael if you're gonna kiss her, just do it. Some of us want to get home at some point tonight." The others laughed and Michael turned away, beginning to walk back down the garden path without the suggested kiss.
"Goodnight Miss Gray." He didn't even turn back to look at her.
Anna barely had one foot in the door before Polly was stood in front of her asking questions.
"How was it? Did the boys behave themselves?"
"It was brilliant and yes."
"Good. Any cigarettes? Booze? Let me smell your breath." The cigarette she had hours ago was long gone, giving Polly the satisfaction that she had been well looked after. The smoke and the incident were two things Anna chose to leave out as she told Polly about her day. As she was wrapping up her story, her mind moved to a more pressing question she had for her mother.
"Mum?" Polly couldn't help but smile at Anna calling her that.
"Yes?"
"What's Michael's story?"