𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟒𝟎

Arthur sat on a chair on Charlie's Yard and placed a cloth over a small table. John looked around.

"Arthur for fucks sake what is it?" He asked. "Nope, we wait for Tommy." Arthur refused, placing things onto the table.

"I've got a stolen statue back there with its dick hanging out..waiting to be melted down. Tell us, tell Tommy later." Charlie said in frustration. "Yeah he's not here. He's not here, i'm going." John stood.

"Hold your horses, there he is." Arthur nodded.

"Alright, what is it?" Tommy asked, walking toward them. "He's fucking giving us all this shit." John said, trying to go past Tommy but he shook his head, "come on."

"Right." Arthur began trying to take the cork out of the bottle of champagne with his teeth.

John huffed. "Arthur you've got wire on the fucking cork. Give it here." John snatched the bottle and Arthur jumped up onto the chair. "Gentlemen!" He began. "Linda is up the swanny, i'm gonna be a fucking dad."

Tommy stared at him blankly and John laughed. "Fuck off."

"Yeah." Arthur smiled widely, stepping down off the chair and waiting for Tommy to say something."Arthur i knew you had it in ya, i knew." Charlie pulled him into a hug.

"Yeah, September she reckons. Her tits feel different already." He told them.

"That ain't the only thing that's gonna be different." John teased. "You're fucked now man. Absolutely fucked."

"No, nothings gonna change John."

"Goodbye Arthur," Tommy spoke, "i've a meeting i have to go to." He pulled Arthur into a hug. "Yeah of course you do. Yeah you go to your meeting." Arthur mumbled. "Congratulations, i'm proud of you." Tommy nodded.

And with that he walked off. John was about to but then he stopped and turned around. "Er..Arthur." He began, "what about Maeve?"

"What about her?"

"Does she know? Have you told her?" He asked, pulling his cap onto his head. Arthur looked down and cleared his throat. "No. No i've not told her, not yet."

"Well you need to fucking tell her. She needs to know."

"Yeah ill tell her when the time is right." Arthur sniffed, taking the bottle of champagne and drinking it from the bottle.

"When the fucking time is right." John scoffed, "she'll kill you, Artha. She bloody will."

-

Maeve got out of the car, thanking the driver and closing the door. It had been a while since she was last in Small Heath. "Aunt Pol, you home?" She asked, opening the front door to the woman's home.

"In here, love." She responded from the den where Finn sat working with Isiah. Maeve mumbled a few things to herself but knew she couldn't leave now. "Hi Finn," she greeted, ignoring Isiah and walking through to John's office to get a pack of cigarettes.

"What're you doing in there?" Polly called out from the phone. "Nothing." Maeve responded, taking three cigarettes and shoving them into her pockets.

"Who you on the phone to?" Maeve asked once Polly had ended the call. "Your father." Polly said plainly, walking around the table and placing a book in front of Isiah, "don't just sit there. Work." She scolded.

Maeve grinned slightly and pulled a chair next to Finn. "What's up, Finny?"

Finn stared blankly at the page and grew angry with himself. "I don't fucking know what any of this says." He said in embarrassment. Maeve moved the book toward her and scanned the page, taking the pencil from his hand.

He watched as she easily completed the equations he had spent so long trying to complete. "Are you still in school, Finn?"

Finn nodded and she frowned, knowing his lack of counting and reading wasn't something he like taking about. "Stay in school, trust me." She said.

Finn nodded and took the pencil again. "How do you know so much if you dropped out?"

"I don't know actually." Maeve raised an eyebrow, actually wondering how she knew so much considering her lack of time in school.

Isiah kept his eyes glued onto the book in front of him. Which made it extremely clear he was trying to ignore the Shelby girl. She rolled her eyes and tapped the table. "Does Cameron Montgomery still live about here?" She asked.

This made Isiah look up. Finn hummed in response, "sure does. Goes about with Kian quite a lot though." He said, referring to the boy from Liverpool.

"Might go pop him a visit. Not seen him in ages." Maeve said, locking eyes with Isiah and giving him a sarcastic smile. He stood quickly, "i'll come with." He offered, "wouldn't want your dad finding out i've let you walk somewhere by yourself. It's a cruel world." He said bluntly.

Maeve turned and rolled her eyes, digging her nails into her palms. "Fine." She huffed, walking to the door and not waiting for him before she slammed it behind her.

"Thanks for waiting, Shelby." Isiah scoffed, finally exiting the house. "You're so welcome." She said, walking ahead of him. "Did you really have to come?"

"It's my job, remember."

"Right. Of course it is." She sighed. "Can't you just leave me alone?" Maeve finally snapped, her words coming off harsher than she intended.

Isiah stopped walked, his hands in his pockets. "You really don't know when to stop, do you? You don't appreciate things, Maeve. Do you not think that after what's happened, if i wanted to leave you alone i would? You think i'm going out of my way to walk you to see Cameron Montgomery? No, i'm not. I'm doing it because it's my job."

"That's all? That's the only reason you're doing it?" She crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows.

"No-" he paused, looking away. "No, i'm doing it because i care. When i shouldn't because you clearly don't feel the same way as I do and- fuck." He stopped talking, dragging his hand across his face. "Just fucking go to Cameron's yeah? I'll go back to Polly's."

Maeve didn't know what to say. "Isiah." She said sternly.

"No, Maeve, just fuck off. You can't keep doing this to me." Isiah refused, shoving his hands into his pockets and walking away. Maeve swallowed hard, "doing what?" She shouted, her voice echoing.

Isiah stopped and turned slowly. "Being a prick and then wanting me to come back once you realise your actions have consequences."

Maeve didn't know what to say. He was right. She knew it. She just didn't want to admit it. "Isiah it's not that easy—"

"How? Maeve tell me how! It's perfectly easy for me." Isiah shouted, causing her to take a step back. Maeve clenched her fists and took a deep breath. "You're annoyed that i haven't said it back, aren't you?"

She watched his face drop. "You're annoyed i didn't tell you that I love you. It might be easy for you to say but it's not for me, Isiah. And you have to understand that. Please understand that for me because if it keeps becoming a problem, you'll just be pushing me away."

Isiah walked to her and looked down at her. "Do you know how long it took for me to finally admit it to you? And you just fucking shut me down as if it meant nothing."

"I didn't shut you down!" Maeve shouted, "I just didn't say it back. And you're just concerned about your ego and the fact you've embarrassed yourself. You haven't even asked me why." She said angrily.

Isiah bit his tongue. "Isiah, i've never experienced what love actually feels like. After the war, my dad stopped saying it. My mum was never around so i never got the same motherly love that you got! So fucking my bad for not being able to know what love feels like!" She snapped, her voice cracking as tears welled in her eyes. "Because trust me, if i knew what it was—" she paused.

"Maeve.."

"If i knew how it felt, i'd make sure i said it with every chance i got. Believe me." Maeve looked down, refusing to cry in front of him.

"Maeve if you'd have just told me," he began, gently holding her wrist to stop her walking away. "If you'd have just told me, i wouldn't have been so harsh!"

"Well it didn't cross my mind that Isiah Jesus would be telling me he loved me! This time last year, you were shagging a different girl every week." She reminded him, "so forgive me, Isiah. Forgive me for not realising i needed to explain myself." She said sarcastically, her harsh tone making him feel guilty.

Maeve snatched her wrist away from him and walked off, not walking to the Montgomery's but walking to the canal. This time Isiah didn't try and stop her. He let her go.

He let her go despite wanting to call her name again, get her to come back.

He wanted nothing more than to hug her and tell her that
he was sorry. But it was too late. If Isiah called her back now, he'd look silly. He would feel silly.

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