The morning sun cast a golden glow through the kitchen window. The usually bustling Shelby household appeared empty, no sound or movement coming from any room aside from a faint tapping that could be heard in the kitchen, where Elizabeth currently sat at the family's kitchen table. The eldest Shelby sister had her head in her left hand as she stared intently down at the kitchen table, the same position she'd been in every day since the incident. She didn't look up when Thomas entered the kitchen, continuing to stare in silence at her right hand as she traced some patterns in the woodwork, her right arm tied tightly to her front by the sling he'd made earlier that morning. It would have been a completely normal scene for Thomas to walk into, the only item out of place being the remains of a smashed teacup that decorated the area around the sink.
He tucked his hat into his pocket, debating whether to say anything before deciding against it, understanding his sisters' frustration. After the incident a few days ago, none of the family had been acting normally around either of them, any responses being short and clipped, everyone believing they'd set Freddie up, had planned it from the start, laid a trap. And, frustratingly, they couldn't blame the family for believing that as both of the twins knew it wouldn't have been unlike them to scheme behind the families back.
Both of the twins were admittedly annoyed with the reaction, by the lack of trust, but Elizabeth had taken it worse than Thomas. After Polly had dumped her in the Garrison, Arthur and John had made the mistake of asking her what she'd done. Thomas had had to grab his twin as she'd twists to scream at them, had had to hold her back when she'd grabbed two glasses and thrown them across the room. Their brothers had thankfully had enough sense to leave, and he'd ordered Grace out, only for Elizabeth to near enough collapse in on herself. They'd sat on the floor of the Garrison as she'd explained what had happened.
Elizabeth was a strong woman, she could punch nearly as hard as her brothers, plot and scheme just as well as Tommy, but she was never able to cope when the family were angry with her. Thomas could see it over her face now, as it had been for the past few days, the anger, guilt and sadness. He could tell she was back to not sleeping, her mind wasn't as focused and she was paler than she had been, and he knew why, it kept him up too.
Neither of them knew who had tipped the coppers off about Freddie.
It made them both nervous, wondering who was keeping tabs on them. They knew it wasn't either of them, but it was becoming harder to investigate, harder to get jobs done as the whole family blamed them. No one would help as willingly as they believed the culprits were right in front of them. They thought they had broken their word and hurt Ada deeply in the process. It was back to just Thomas and Elizabeth against the world.
"Tom." Elizabeth sighed, breaking him out his thoughts, sensing him getting caught up in his own mind. He shook his head and turned to look at her, her head not having moved from looking down at the table.
"How'd you know," Thomas started only for Elizabeth to let out a dry chuckle.
"No one has stood in this kitchen with me for longer than two minutes beside you Tom." She reminded him, lifting her gaze to meet his, "what you need?"
"Just," Thomas started, moving to lean against the sideboard before both of the twins froze, hearing the front door slam. Elizabeth tensed when she heard the footsteps, her gaze falling back to the table just as their aunt appeared in the door, a wicker basket over her arms filled with rotting food. Thomas glanced over at Elizabeth, sighing as he saw her retreating into herself, knowing she was trying to reduce the chances of an argument. Polly ignored the pair, slamming the basket down purposely in front of Elizabeth who looked over at it, scanning the basket for any signs Ada had taken anything.
"Did you speak to her?" Tommy asked, deciding to take the brunt, knowing Elizabeth had been the one dealing with most of Polly's harsh remarks with him leaving the house as often as he could.
"She didn't speak back." Polly bit out, as she moved around the room, filling up a pot with water.
"Did you tell her?" Tommy asked, Elizabeth lifting her head up slightly with a tilt, not having realised he'd talked to their aunt.
"I'll only tell her what I know to be true." Polly argued, casting Elizabeth a glare. Tommy rolled his eyes at his aunt.
"It's the last time I'm going to say this. It wasn't me or Lil who shopped Freddie Thorne." Tommy snapped back at their aunt, making the older woman twist around to glare at her second oldest nephew.
"Tommy, I'd ask you to swear on the Bible, but you can't swear on that, can you? Nothing you hold sacred." Polly finished, castings the twins another look of disappointment before turning and marching out the door. Elizabeth let out a sigh when the front door slammed, returning her gaze to the table.
"I've told her that every morning she's come in." She reminded her brother, "Don't know why you'd thought this morning would be different."
"Shut up Lil." Thomas breathed, rubbing a hand over his face. Elizabeth let out another chuckle, shaking her head.
"From King of the Hill to bottom of the pile in one night, we sure are efficient." She smirked, before letting out a sigh and pushing herself to her feet, "I um, talked, to the neighbours. No one's owning up." Tommy eyed her.
"I said I'd take care of it." Elizabeth nodded, looking a tad guilty as she shrugged her left shoulder.
"I know Tom but, you're not here all the time, I can see John and Arthur staring at me through the shop door, I have Polly breathing down my neck, I just needed to do something." Tommy nodded in understanding, pushing himself off the sideboard, and pulling back on his cap before coming over to Elizabeth and pulling her into a half hug, both understanding the pain of being family enemy number one and two. Elizabeth sighed, closing her eyes for a moment as she allowed herself to enjoy the hug, before pulling away, offering her twin a half smile, "Thanks Tom."
"I'll see you later." He promised, moving past her. Elizabeth nodded, turning to watch him go, lifting her untied hand to offer a half wave. Once the front door closed once again, she let out a breath, her eyes flickering around the room as she looked for something to do before settling on the basket.
Guilt immediately flooded her as she took a step towards the basket, clearly able to see that none of the contents had been touched. The thought of Ada hiding away with her nephew in a dark, dingy basement, not eating and not with her family celebrating the birth haunted her slightly. While Elizabeth knew she hadn't been the one that called the coppers or tipped them off, she still felt she could have done more, should have done more. Even though she still disliked Freddie, still didn't trust him or think him good enough for her sister, she wasn't completely cold hearted. She hated that her sister got hurt, her nephew got hurt, and it was partly her fault. She'd been the only one there with any type of experience to protect them.
Elizabeth picked up the basket and took it across to the sink, setting the basket down heavily, wincing slightly at the sound of China cracking and letting out a small sigh. Frustration had gotten the better of her after Arthur and John had left that morning, the accusing looks and silent treatment pushing her over the edge. Elizabeth did regret blowing up so heavily at her brothers while in the Garrision that night but in her mind at the time, they had deserved it. After everything she and Tommy had done for the family, they'd accused them and even after they'd pleaded their innocence, not believed them. It hurt to know her brothers didn't trust her. Of course, she had realised now her reaction might not have furthered her and Tommys case, but she'd just tried to prevent her sister's husband from being arrested and taken two huge blows in the process, to be accused of causing it, hurt.
Elizabeth pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind, able to feel her dark feelings returning that had led her to visiting the neighbours in the first place. It had been in a dark moment when she'd decided to take matters into her own hands, wanting someone to blame and wanting to gain favour back, but it had proved fruitless. Since then, she'd almost accepted her fate, had been doing better for it and she had told herself she had to stop finding people to direct the anger at. Elizabeth shook her head, walking over to the side and picked up a small brush, getting to work cleaning up her teacup remains before emptying out the basket of rotten goods, getting the basket ready again for Polly to pick up later as had become the routine for the past few days.
Once Elizabeth had completed her somewhat minor chores, she took a seat in her armchair, pulling out a book she'd gotten from Tommy for Christmas. She'd taken it downstairs a couple nights ago and thrown down the side of the chair, ready for any free time she got, having finally managed to finish Tarzan a few days ago. It was taking her longer and longer to finish books, business meetings with Tommy filling her nights while she tended to spend time with her family during the day. However, the past few days of silence from the family had allowed her to get further in her books than normal, she was closing in on the last five chapters of the Wizard of Oz. She had managed to read two of her remaining chapters when she paused, the sound of the front door opening and a pile of footsteps following capturing her attention. A frown quickly came over her face, not having expected anyone to be home for a few more hours.
"Thank you, son." A voice called from the front door. Elizabeth gasped as she recognised the voice, and scrambled to her feet, her eyes wide as she felt a flash of fear go through her followed by a deep sense of dread. Her eyes flashed around the room as she looked for an exit, knowing she wouldn't be able to run through the shop since John had the key for the door.
"Shit." Elizabeth breathed, wiping her left hand down the front of her skirt, looking down and looking over her shirt before moving to lean against the sideboard, trying to keep out the way.
"In here Dad." Arthur offered, pushing open the door to the kitchen, letting the man into the room. Elizabeth stood tensely at the side; her mouth firmly closed but set in a small frown.
"Ahh! Elizabeth! How lovely to see you." Her dad greeted as he entered the kitchen, Arthur, John and Finn following him in. Her brothers watched as she stood tensely, saying nothing in response as their father came over to offer her a hug, he pulled back squeezing the top of her arms when she didn't reciprocate, watching her wince slightly with a dangerous smile "What? Nothing to say to your ol' Da'"
"Hello Dad." She offered, trying to keep the biting tone out but unable to hide her unhappiness. Arthur looked over at her for the first time in a few days and offered a small look of apology, both him and John knowing Elizabeth had never liked their father. John moved to stand on her left, leaning against the sideboard with her. Elizabeth immediately leant forward to grab Finn, pulling him back to stand between herself and John, as far away from the man as they could get in the small room.
"Good good, now I'm starved." Arthur Senior continued, walking around the table to sit at the head, Elizabeth unsure if he didn't care or hadn't seen the silent apology, "Any chance of something to eat?" He raised an eyebrow as Elizabeth seemed to refuse to move. Arthur glanced between the two before stepping forward.
"I'll get it dad." He nodded, heading to the side. While he was upset with Elizabeth and her choices, he wouldn't make the mistake of angering her into pushing their dad away. Elizabeth nodded her thanks to Arthur before letting out a breath, heading towards the door in the hallway, keen to escape, when their father coughed, making her pause in the doorway.
"How have you been Elizabeth?" Arthur Senior called, a warning tone in his voice, having seen his eldest daughter trying to escape the room as she often had as a child. Elizabeth didn't turn around, her eyes gaze flickering to the cupboard under the stairs as another flash of fear went through her.
"I'm fine dad." Elizabeth answered quickly, turning her head slightly to look down at her younger brother, the boy enthralled by the fact their absent father was once again home. Unable to help it she cast Finn a look of warning, not wanting her youngest brother to get his hopes up and not wanting him anywhere near the man if she could help it.
"Elizabeth." Arthur Senior called louder, unhappy with his daughter's lack of conversation. Elizabeth blinked a couple times as she mentally prepared herself for the next few moments, praying Tommy would be coming home soon before turning back around, unable to bring even a fake smile on her face. None of her brothers said anything as they watched the exchange, the eldest two knowing it would just get worse for their sister if they got involved.
"How are you dad?" Elizabeth replied tensely, taking a step back to lean beside John on the sideboard, still close to the door.
"Never better, never better." Their father responded, a smile back on his face as he got a response. Arthur turned back from where he was in the kitchen.
"Lil, where's the bread knife?"
"In the top drawer, just washed it." She answered easily, having put it away after breakfast. Arthur nodded his head and went back to making their dad a sandwich as Arthur Senior raised an eyebrow.
"Lil? I thought it was Bessy."
"Don't call me that." Elizabeth snapped on instinct, unable to help it at hearing her father use the nickname Lil. Bessy had been a name for teasing her when she was younger, she hated it, so it suited her fine if her father wanted to call her that, she hated him. Lil, however, that was her siblings name for her. The only people she allowed to call her that were her siblings. To everyone else she was El or Lizzie or Elizabeth or Ellie, truly she didn't care, but no one was allowed to call her Lil other than her mother and siblings.
"I'll call you whatever I want, Lil." Their dad bit back, glaring unhappily at Elizabeth for daring to snap at him in such a way. Elizabeth opened her mouth to respond only to get elbowed by John who gave her a pointed look, knowing she would only get in more trouble. She closed her mouth, more for her brother's sake than her own, and glanced back down at the floor, ignoring the smirking devil at the dining table. There was an awkward pause that filled the air, Elizabeth unwilling to fill the gap and John and Finn not knowing what to say as their eldest brother continued to make their dad a sandwich.
"Have you moved some things around?" Arthur senior asked as he got up to look around, his gaze flickering around the kitchen in a way that made Elizabeth feel uneasy, feeling he was pricing up every item they owned as he looked for something.
"Just removed some bad memories." Elizabeth answered, knowing what he'd been looking for. There had been a few photos of them with their father on the fireplace when he'd last been here. When it had become clear to her and Tommy the man wasn't coming back and was a poor excuse for a father, they'd burned most of them, two she'd kept for Arthur's sake and they lived in the cupboard under the stairs, as far away from her as possible. She tensed as their dad got to the old armchair she'd claimed as her own, watching as he picked up the book she was currently reading and looked over the cover. "Don't! Don't touch that." Elizabeth half ordered as their dad moved to sit in the armchair, making the man pause with a frown before smirking and shaking his head, setting himself into the armchair, making Elizabeth glare.
"Your mother's armchair!" Their dad nodded, leaning back as he continued to look over the book, ignoring the glare from his daughter, "Very comfortable, she used to love sitting here when you were children, reading you stories." Arthur senior reminisced before sighing and throwing the book into the fire, Elizabeth's eyes widening as she gasped lightly, watching the book catch instantly.
Arthur took that moment to come back over and set the sandwich for their father down on the armrest of the armchair, moving back to take a seat at the table, directly opposite the man. Their dad picked up the plate and took it across to the table, Elizabeth not paying the man any attention as she watched the book burn.
"Thank you. You're a good boy." Their father smiled at his eldest child, before folding his hands in front of him, "Bless the father for these bounties we're about to receive..."
"Fuck you." Elizabeth breathed, surprising all three of her brothers. John and Arthur exchanged a look, knowing whatever happened next wouldn't be pretty.
"Lil." John cut in, trying to calm her down but Elizabeth cast him a glare.
"Please, woman. Let me be." Arthur senior smirked over at Elizabeth, a sick amusement over his face as he watched the anger get the better of her.
"For Arthur's sake, and his alone, you can finish your sandwich and then you can get the fuck out!" Elizabeth ordered, upset and angry with her father just turning up out the blue and manipulating his sons, her brother, to bring him back to the house, her house just to mess with her.
"Elizabeth! I'm a guest of the head of this family!" Their dad declared, glaring at his daughter openly and waving the knife Arthur had brought him around as he spoke, pointing it at Elizabeth somewhat threateningly.
"The head of the family ain't here." Elizabeth snapped back. Finn and John looked over at her in shock at her tone while Arthur looked down at the table, embarrassed. Arthur Senior glanced at his daughter, an angry glare over his face at her outburst before he fixed his gaze over to his eldest son, looking for an explanation.
"Tommy, Uh. Sometimes helps me with, uh, with business." Arthur stuttered out in explanation. Elizabeth rolled her eyes, her frustration building.
"Help, runs, it's all the same isn't it." She muttered under her breath, both Arthur and their dad hearing and turning to glare at her. Feeling brave, she refocused her gaze on her father, walking over and picking up the sandwich, "You need to leave."
"I will not have you speak to me like this!" Arthur Shelby senior yelled as he pushed himself to his feet, "You are my daughter! You will listen to me!" Elizabeth froze as he grabbed onto her left arm and lifted his other hand, slapping her across the face. Elizabeth winced, tears sprinting to her eyes as memories of her childhood flashing before her. Arthur and John said nothing and quickly looked away as Finn watched on, confused and concerned as Elizabeth stood still waiting for another hit. Elizabeth winced in pain as her dad moved to grip the hair at the base of her skull and turn her head back to face him.
"You listen to me." Arthur Senior hissed at her, his empty hand pointing at her before dropping his grip altogether. He sat back down at the table as he pulled the plate back from her, placing a smile over his face as Elizabeth remained standing, silently raising her left hand to touch her cheek. Arthur Senior turned his gaze back to his eldest son, "Tell me more son, Thomas is helping," Before he could finish the door opened and slammed closed, Tommy having returned home, "Aye, well, speak of the devil. How are you, son?" Arthur Senior asked getting to his feet to greet his second eldest.
It took Tommy one minute from hearing the dreaded voice to survey the room, knowing this could never be good. His gaze first fell on his two younger brothers who leaned against the sideboard, John looking away from the main group as he appeared lost, clearly reliving old memories of childhood while Finn simply frowned, clearly confused. Tommys eyes danced over to their elder brother, who was sat in at the kitchen table, looking down at the tabletop as Elizabeth had been earlier, seeming a mixture of annoyed and regretful. He then moved to survey the room, noting something burning on the fire and the position of the armchair before he finally looked to his twin. Elizabeth was standing in the centre of the room, closer to their father than he knew she would ever want to be, her shoulders tense and a few tears in her eyes as she held a hand on her face.
"Get out." Tommy ordered, able to tell from the atmosphere in the room what had happened. He cast Elizabeth a look of concern as her eyes flickered over to him, pleading for him to get rid of the man.
"Come on, son. I'm a changed man." Arthur senior pleaded slightly, not seeing the twins making silent conversation, Tommy let out a scoff.
"This family needed you 10 years ago. And you walked out on us. Not now. Get out of this house." Tommy countered not letting the man get a foot in, knowing his word would be taken more seriously than Elizabeth even if she ran the house.
"Tommy, he's different." Arthur tried to argue for their father, feeling Tommy had just walked in at the wrong time. Elizabeth had always said the wrong thing, always got in trouble for it at some point.
"Shut up." Tommy ordered, unamused with Arthur standing up for their father, again, especially after he'd already hit Elizabeth.
"It's all right, son. Arthur Shelby... never stays where he's not welcome. Quite something you've become." Arthur Senior offered to Tommy who remained stoned faced as he watched the man, his gaze turning more dangerous as their father pushed Elizabeth slightly to get her to move out his way. At the contact Elizabeth winced, blinking a few times before taking a few steps back closer to Tommy as their father went over to pat Finn on the head "Bye, son."
Eventually the front door slammed closed once more, filling the room with an uncomfortable silence. Elizabeth sniffed lightly, blinking a few more times as she rubbed her cheek with her left hand, trying to shake off all the memories that had surfaced. Tommy cast her another look of concern, to which she nodded the ok, trying to push the memories back. Her attention moved from her twin to the fireplace, staring at the remains of the book her twin had bought her.
"He's our dad." Arthur reminded them, unhappy with the twins chasing yet another family member away. Elizabeth and Tommy both scoffed, unable to help themselves.
"He's a selfish bastard." Tommy answered for the two of them, Elizabeth and him having next to no good memories of the man unlike Arthur who seemed to actively choose to remember nothing but good times.
"You calling someone a selfish bastard? It's a bit rich, Tommy. I mean, thanks to you, we're already down a bloody sister." Arthur bit back, Tommy looked at his brother with annoyance, before he could open his mouth Elizabeth slammed her left hand down on the table, a glare coving her face as her anger got the better of her. Frustration at her eldest brother still not believing them and not standing up for her against their dad flooding her system.
"It wasn't fucking us." She hissed at her eldest brother, ignoring the fact John looked away, "I don't know how many times it'll take to get through your thick skull but, It. Wasn't. Fucking. Us." Arthur scoffed getting to his feet, his own anger building with his sister and her lies and her disrespect towards him as the eldest.
"And you wonder why Dad always disciplines you when he comes home." Arthur hissed at her. Elizabeth paused for a split second before her eyes narrowed to slits, as the memories of the discipline methods flooded her mind.
"You want to take a turn Arthur?" She hissed back, "Throw me in the cupboard like he used to? Want me to get the belt? Or the cane? Or you just gonna slap me too?"
SLAP.
It was a moment before anyone registered what had happened. Elizabeth wouldn't have believed it if it wasn't for her red cheek becoming a deeper shade of red, or Arthur's hand still outstretched. Her left hand moved from the table to her cheek, shock flooding through her system. Her gaze moved to Arthur who looked a mix of horrified and shocked, clearly surprised by his own actions. Elizabeth blinked a few times, unsure how to react, unsure what to do. She'd never been slapped by one of her brothers before. Tommy stepped closer to his twin, a hard look over his face as he eyes his elder brother, pointing towards the front door.
"You want to see him, Arthur? You want to see him? You go with him." Tommy ordered. Arthur took a moment, his horrified look transforming into a glare as he looked at Tommy. He opened his mouth as if to say something further before slamming it closed once again. Elizabeth watched with a heavy heart as her eldest brother said nothing and marched away.