When Cora and Tommy were younger—when their relationship was just beginning to bloom—they were constantly at each others throats. More often than not, Tommy would storm into Cora's house, a cold fire burning in his eyes. What could have started out as a calm disagreement rapidly transformed into screams of anger and Cora could still vividly remember the dull burn that always seemed to reside in her throat. It was always a foolish argument; Tommy would think that some boy had been cozying up to Cora at The Garrison (where she worked before she opened up her bakery during the war).
However, Cora had loathed when Tommy purposely put herself in dangerous situations. At first, she couldn't understand why he was fine with coming home, covered in bruises. She remembered the fire she felt the spark in her veins when he seemed to brush off her concerns and how he wouldn't speak of what was wrong. Those arguments were much quieter but extremely passive-aggressive. Maybe she would over-salt his food by accident, or spill a drink on him as she walked by, but she would always brush it off with a half-heartfelt apology.
Glancing at the clock, Cora couldn't stop the frown that seemed to possess her lips. The book in her lap had been doing a horrible job at distracting her; in fact, she was quite sure that the dull ache in her chest seemed to grow with each sentence she read. Cora rested her head in the palm in her hand and stared at the box that rested on her vanity. She wanted to read the letters in it, to remember the good times when she knew that their love was still strong, but she knew that it would hurt her more than it would help.
It wasn't unknown that she and Tommy both had terrible tempers, but they were both so opposite in how they handled them. Tommy raged and didn't both to hide how he felt. He would destroy personal objects, get into fights, verbally abuse anyone who looked at him the 'wrong way', and refuse to apologize. Cora was much more… childish in her way of handling her anger. She was passive-aggressive, make snide comments under her breath, purposely pretend that she didn't hear Tommy, and refuse to apologize. While Tommy's anger ranged to all who dared to cross his path, Cora's only focused on the person who made her upset—who hurt her.
But, no matter how bad the fight was, they always had some sort of communication… some sort of understanding. If they happened to brush past each other on the street, something that Cora tried her hardest to avoid when she was frustrated, they would give each other a sharp nod. It was barely noticeable, especially if Cora was upset, but it was there. Or, if Cora was working in The Garrison and he walked in, they would make eye contact before continuing on as if nothing had happened. And, after they had both cooled off, they would be back together acting as if the fight had never happened.
One week, four days, and fifteen minutes.
Cora tapped her fingers against the tea-stained pages as she stared at the vanity table. Their fights had never lasted this long before, but then again, Tommy had never fucked up this badly. There was no source of communication between the two. In fact, Cora hadn't seen Tommy's face since their last encounter at the explosion. Even at the John and Esme's wedding, Tommy had refused to look at her. Squeezing her eyes shut, she scratched her forehead and let out a sigh.
"Oh, Tommy," Cora muttered as she closed the book and put it on her bedside table, "If only you didn't have the emotions of a teenage girl."
She stared at the lamp for a moment, wondering if she should try to sleep or just start making the batch of shortbread for tomorrow. Cora knew that she needed to sleep, but she found that it had been rather hard the past week. Every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was Kimber's harsh eyes staring into hers and all she could feel was his rough hands pulling at her dress—pulling at her waist, pulling her closer and closer and closer-
Cora yanked her hand away from the lamp, deciding that she could stay up a little later tonight and start the dough. It wouldn't hurt to work her body to exhaustion. That way, she wouldn't have to worry about her dreams or nightmares. Throwing the covers off her body, Cora slid out of her bed and shuffled over to her wardrobe. She froze, though, when her eye caught her reflection in the mirror.
She looked horrible.
The once shiny, dirty blonde hair hung in ragged, straw-colored clumps that reminded her of the unkempt horse's manes she saw as a child. Cora winced and brought her hand up to her cheek, slowly brushing it against the sunken, pale skin. Her eyes looked so tired... tiredness that she couldn't seem to feel.
For a moment, she understood why Tommy would want Grace.
Cora sighed, pulling on the wool robe that was littered in hundreds of small green, blue, and pink flowers. She wasted no time in sliding on her slippers and heading down the stairs, her heart stopping in her chest when a sharp knock on the front door rang out. Nobody should be here, it was almost midnight and everyone knew the shop closed at nine-thirty.
Cora cautiously headed down the rest of the stairs, her heart racing as she got closer to the door. She feared that Kimber was going to be standing on the other side of the door, ready to finish what he started. Ready to hurt her in a way that would make Tommy gloat in his death and make Cora feel like she was… shameful.
She already felt shameful… and disgusting.
The metal of the doorknob felt frigid under her hand and Cora took a deep breath, preparing herself for whatever rested outside the door. Without a second chance to back out, Cora pulled the door open, the crack only big enough for her to see who was on the other side. When her eyes met ice blue ones, she felt her heart drop. She opened the door a smidge more and glided out, closing the door behind her quietly.
Either Tommy was drunk or incredibly foolish for knocking on her door at this time, especially with the threat of Campbell and Kimber.
"What do you want, Tommy?" Cora questioned, resting her back on the door frame and crossing her arms defensively. She watched his eyes roam over her body and she could see the obvious disdain in the fact that she had opened the door in her nightwear. But what did he expect? It was almost midnight and her nightwear was much more comfortable than her daywear.
"We need to talk."
"There's really nothing to talk about," Cora dryly stated, and she congratulated herself when she saw his lips pinch together at her attitude, "Your actions spoke loud and clear, and I don't want to hear a singl-"
"God-fucking-damnit, Cora." Cora's heart leapt in her chest and she shrunk back as Tommy's fist collided with the wooden door frame next to her, his eyes blazing with a wave of unspoken anger as his chest heaved. She knew that he would never hurt her, Tommy wasn't that type of man; but recently, she noticed that she seemed to be anxious about any man that crossed her path, "If I had known his intentions, I would have never left you there."
"Oh, cut the bullshit, Thomas." Cora snarled as she felt the familiar fire course through her veins. She watched as Tommy faltered at the sound of his first name, knowing that she had never called him that with such malice before… knowing that she had never been this angry before.
Cora-1, Tommy-0
"You know Kimber, you know what he's like and what he does to women. So, don't come to me, telling me that you didn't know what he had planned."
"We made a deal," Tommy said, and Cora almost shivered from how cold and emotionless his voice had become, his eyes searching hers for any sign of emotion. But, Cora refused to show any. She wasn't going to allow her to see how she felt and if his words were working; she wanted his apology to be true, "Before you and Grace got there, we made a deal. I didn't think he'd go back on it. Not with you."
Cora knew he was reaching for her hand, she could see his pale skin almost glow in the street light, and she allowed him to hold it for a moment. His hand was incredibly warm and reminded her of how her hands felt when she grabbed her pastries out of the oven. It was comforting, relaxing, soothing. It was everything she wanted to feel, but it wasn't what she wanted right now.
Slowly, she tried to pull her hand out of Tommy's grip, faltering when he wouldn't relent. She wasn't going to make a big deal on the street, not when there was so much at stake, but she wasn't going to show any affection back to him, "Do you really think I'd believe that? Kimber's been after me for as long as I can remember. What do you think he would do if he got me alone in a room with him? Bake cookies? Talk about the weather?"
Cora-2, Tommy-0
"I swore to never put you in harm's way," Cora's eyes widened at Tommy's words and she felt her stomach churn. Whether it was with nausea or butterflies, she couldn't tell. The burn behind her eyes, the one that she had seemed to have grown so familiar with over the past few days, began to creep back up, but she refused to let them fall, "And if I do, I swear that I will come and save you from the mess I created, because you are the one thing in my life I refuse to hurt."
Cora stuttered, her chest ached and she felt as though the wind had been knocked out of her. It had been so long since she had heard those words, since she had seen the sincerity of the meaning in Tommy's eyes. Her mind was racing, her chest aching, and she wished he would go away. She hated him. She loathed him. She wished he would die. She wanted to him to leave her alone, to go far, far away.
But she didn't.
Cora-2, Tommy-1
"You know I could never hate you," Cora tried to swallow the ever-growing lump in her throat and she gently pulled her hand out of his, opening the door behind her—trying to escape into the comfort and safety of her own home, "But you also know that I could never forgive you for breaking our vow."
Cora tried her best to give him a soft smile as she went to close the door, but she knew it looked more like a grimace. She was confused. On one hand, her heart ached and she wanted to run away. To leave this mess behind her and start a family that wouldn't constantly be in danger. But, on the other hand, she knew that Tommy understood that he messed up and that he wouldn't have done this unless he was truly sorry.
She loved him? Yes, that was true.
Did she care about him? More than anything.
But she wanted a chance to start her own life, and Tommy just seemed to think that she was just a pawn in his game.
"I think we both need some time… time to think some things over and figure out what we need to-"
Cora gasped as she was shoved against the wall of the bakery, the sound of the door slamming ringing through the room. Hot, harsh—but gentle—lips were soon on hers, molding to them as a pair of warm hands pulled her body close to his. Cora's mind went blank.
What the fuck was going on?
"What are you doing?" Cora shouted, finally snapping out of her daze and shoving Tommy's breathless form off her body, pulling her robe tighter around her, "Do you know who could be outside right now? Are you really that idiotic to enter my house in the middle of the night when you know that Campbell is basically up your fucking ass-"
"Do you ever shut up?" Tommy deadpanned before enveloping her lips into another searing kiss. This time, Cora didn't object, returning the kiss with the same amount of vigor. She almost whined when Tommy pulled away. How long had it been since they last kissed? How long had it been since they had any physical contact?
"Even when you're furious at me, you still worry about me." Tommy muttered, his lips brushing teasingly over hers and she reached forward to connect them, frowning when Tommy pulled away, "I'm sorry, Cordelia."
Cora pulled away, staring up at him with wide, baby blue eyes. Tommy had apologized and he had actually meant it. Somebody better stop the fucking presses. Lunging forward, Cora grabbed the back of Tommy's neck and pulled his lips to hers, not caring about the tight grasp he had on her waist or the fact that there were going to be bruises there tomorrow.
For the first time in five years, Tommy actually acknowledged his mistake and Cora… Cora decided that she could forgive him for now. Cora would never forget what he did; no, it wasn't the Shelby way to forget. But, Cora had dirt on Tommy and, if she ever needed to, she was ready to use it.
Thank you so much for patiently waiting. The update schedule should be back to normal. Either once a week or two updates every other week. It really depends on my job and etc.
Thank you so much for your reviews! They mean so much!
I hope you like the chapter and Cora's response.
Thank you for reading and please review !
Thank you,
Ana
