CHAPTER 3

"Did you know that Harry is back from America?" Matilda asked Finn, looking at him through her mirror. He looked up from the book he'd picked up from her mattress and shook his head.

"Forgot he went to be honest."

"Yeah, i bumped into him this morning when i was leaving Billy's house." Matilda said, practically ragging the red ribbon from her hair and searching through her drawers for a dark blue one.

"Why did he even go there anyway?" Finn asked, leaning against the headboard and getting comfortable.

"Something about that girl he was going out with. I think." She questioned herself, closing the drawer and straightening out the ribbon.

"Oh yeah," Finn lifted his head, remembering. "Didn't she get pregnant?"

"I doubt it, Harry isn't that stupid to get a girl pregnant without marrying her first. And even if that were to happen, i'm sure he'd marry her before she had the baby."

"God, you know a lot about him, don't you, are you shagging him?"

Her mouth fell open as she looked over his shoulder at him in disgust. "Finn Shelby, that is the most foul thing i've ever heard you say."

He raised his hands in defence, laughs leaving his mouth.

"But to answer your question, no, we aren't shagging. He's just a very close friend. Just like you I suppose."

He nodded slowly.

Suddenly she groaned in anger as her arms burned from how long she'd been trying to tie the ribbon in her hair. "Finn, do you know how to tie bows?" She asked, relaxing her arms into her lap.

He sat up. "I can try."

She handed him the ribbon and sat up straight.

He carefully moved all of her hair to her back, slowly trying to tie the ribbon into a bow. She almost laughed at the concentration on his face.

"I think i did it," he grinned, proud of himself.

Matilda grabbed the small hand-held mirror and held it behind her head so it reflected off the big mirror, making her able to see the back of her hair. "Well done, Finn. It's very neat." She said.

He raised his eyebrows. "What? Did you think i couldn't do it?"

Matilda laughed awkwardly. "No..it's not that i didn't think you could do it. I was just..skeptical."

"Wow, Tilly." He said in an insulted tone.

Matilda covered her mouth, allowing the laughs to escape. "I'm sorry," she apologised, struggling to wipe the smile off her face.

He jokingly shook his head, sitting back on her bed.

They both turned their head to her open bedroom door when they heard a knock downstairs. "Finn, go get the door, it's probably Isiah."

He groaned, pulling himself off the bed once more and running down the stairs.

Usually whenever the three were
going out, they'd meet at Matilda's house in hopes her mother wasn't home. And most of the time, she wasn't.

Soon enough, two pairs of footsteps heavily stomped up the stairs. "I'm here," Isiah walked in.

"Yeah, i heard," She scoffed, standing and running a hand over her dress.

Isiah smirked, leaning against the side of her door. His eyes landed on the red hair ribbon on the vanity. "Is that a red-"

"Don't ask," She raised a hand to stop him, not wanting to explain the story again.

He pursed his lips into a straight line and stopped talking. "Thought she didn't like red?" he whispered to Finn. "It's not here," Finn whispered back.

"I can hear you," she sighed, placing her earrings in and standing. "The pair of you are shit at whispering."

-

Matilda raised her eyebrows as Isiah drunkenly hugged her. "Er..Isiah," she mumbled.

He slurred words which neither her or Finn could make out. "Siah, i can't breath," she said, forcefully pushing him back to his seat.

He squinted at the bright lights and held his head. "Fuck." He whispered, leaning against the table. Finn and Matilda shared a glance. "Do you want to go home?" She asked him.

He waved her off, meaning he wanted to stay there.

"Oi, Finn." A familiar voice shouted from the pub's door. They all looked over and Matilda forced a smile when she saw her boyfriend heading toward them.

"What're you doing here?" She asked softly, standing up to give him a hug.

"Well, youse weren't in the Garrison so i assumed you'd be here." He said, wrapping a singular arm around her before taking a seat. "Where was my invite?"

"It was a last minute thing." She said quickly, sliding Finn's glass of whiskey too him.

Finn frowned but didn't say anything just cleared his throat.

Finn looked over his shoulder when he noticed Billy staring at someone. Victoria Riley. Finn bit his tongue, feeling annoyed for whatever reason.

"So, Billy..your brother, he's back." Finn caught his attention. "Yeah, came back earlier this week."

"How long was he away for?"

"Like three months?" Billy said, unsure. "What's up with Isiah?" He chuckled, looking down at the drunk boy who had his head placed on the table.

Isiah grunted and Matilda laughed slightly.

Throughout the night, Billy's eyes kept
wandering over to where Victoria Riley
stood. Finn noticed every time.
Victoria Riley was the one girl that Matilda and Finn hated more than anyone. She was pretty but she knew it, she made it her whole personality. When in reality she was a whore
who fucked anything that breathed.

It annoyed Finn that Billy's attention
was fixed on Victoria because in his eyes, Matilda had a lot more than the Riley girl.

Matilda began finishing her sentence when she'd realised Billy was no longer listening. She curiously looked behind her at whatever had caught his attention. A lump gathered in her throat when she looked at Victoria.

"Oh.." she whispered, digging her nails into her palms. "Is that the time?" She finally spoke up, "I best get going," she forced a laugh.

"Here, i'll walk you home." Billy offered.

"No it's okay, Finn already said he would." She shook her head.

Finn looked up at the mention of his name. Matilda stood with pleading eyes. "Oh..er..yeah." He cleared his throat.

Billy didn't get a chance to say anymore because Matilda had dragged Finn away from the pub, desperate to leave. "Fucking Victoria Riley," she hissed, hugging her arms to her body as the cold stung her skin. "Always Victoria fucking Riley."

"Yeah.." he said, his hands in his pocket, "he's been staring all night. Sorry Til,"

She shook her head. "Don't apologise."

He took off his suit jacket and handed it to her. She looked at his hands and hesitated before taking the jacket. "Thanks," she grunted, slipping her arms into it.

"Is your mum home?" He asked as they got closer to her home. "Maybe I could stay for a bit?"

"I doubt she'll be in, usually goes out on Saturdays." Matilda's said, slowly unlocking the front door to the house. Finn waited patiently and stepped inside after her.

"It's freezing down here," she winced, "i'll light the fire in my bedroom." Tilly told him, quickly going upstairs to light it.

He looked around the hallway at the family pictures that had been turned face down onto the wood.

Janice hated seeing the photos. She hated the reminders of her late husband. And she knew that making the pictures unnoticeable would annoy her daughter, so every day, she'd make sure each and every one was either face down or turned to the wall.

Finn eventually joined her upstairs. "You don't think that the ribbon you found was..Victorias?" He said sheepishly.

She snapped her head toward him. "No, why would you suggest such a thing?"

"I don't know..it's just, if it's not yours and it's not his mums, who else's would it be?"

"I don't want to talk about this anymore." Matilda said, swallowing the lump in her throat.

Of course Matilda had considered
the ribbon being Victoria's and she knew there was a good
chance that it was. She just didn't want to believe it. There was also a good chance that the accusation
her mother had made nights before
was also true, and that girl Billy was sneaking around with was probably Victoria.

"Take that fucking thing off." Matilda said, snatching the peaky cap off Finns head and throwing it to the floor. "Hate them hats." She hissed.

Finn raised an eyebrow, suddenly feeling nervous at how close she was stood. He looked down at her. "What?" she mumbled.

He shook his head. "Nothing."

She hadn't realised how close she'd stood. Finn's heart pounded against his chest. His mouth went dry and without thinking, he moved his hand forward, allowing his fingers to touch the back of her hand.

Matilda had frozen.

Shivers climbed up her spine as she looked down, watching Finn's fingers linger against her skin. He blink a few times, his eyes switching between her own and her lips.

She could feel his breath against her skin as she leaned forward slightly.

There was a part of her that
enjoyed the warmth that washed over her as Finn's fingers grazed her skin. Matilda was unsure of what was happening but was unable to do anything but stare at him.

Just before any of them could lean any closer, a guilty feeling washed over Matilda and she stepped back, her fingers still intertwined with the Shelby boy's.

"I'm sorry," she apologised, looking down, embarrassed and confused.

He awkwardly retracted his hand, balling it into a fist. "No, it's okay, I should probably go home anyway, Pol will be wondering where i am."

She nodded quickly and stepped aside, allowing him to leave her bedroom.

The second she heard the front door closed, she slammed her bedroom door, placing her back against it and letting out a breath. What the fuck just happened?

Her heart was still pounding as she used her hand to push her hair away from her face. She felt guilty for making Finn embarrassed. Although it wasn't hard to fluster the boy due to his  lack of confidence. She scrambled to the window, pulling the curtain back and watching as he walked down Watery Lane.

Matilda looked at his suit jacket that remained on her bed.

"Fuck.." She whispered, throwing herself on the mattress and squeezing her eyes closed.

Matilda was severely confused as to what had just happened. She was confused at the feeling that had washed over her. Something she'd never felt before.

Finn mumbled to himself as he headed back to the small Shelby house. He felt ashamed. If she hadn't had stepped away, he thought he was going to have kissed her.

He eventually reached the house and opened the door, closing it with a sigh.

"Why are you back so late?" Tommy asked, smoking a cigarette.

"I was out with Matilda and Isiah." He said, thankful that the room was dimly lit, dark enough so his brother could not see the emotions on his face.

"Well, John said Tilly didn't finish the count, so she'll need to be in early tomorrow."

Finn shook his head, "I'll do it,"

"You can't read..or write?"

"Then i'll call Isiah in tomorrow morning. Matilda had issues today, it's not her fault. She did try, i swear." Finn said quickly.

Tommy frowned at Finn's sudden determination to convince Tommy.

"All i said was that she hadn't finished it, Finn. That's all."

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