𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟐

"Call yourself a Shelby? Fucking hit him Finn," Marsden scoffed, "hit him." He added. Maeve leaned over the side of the ring and clapped her hands together, "go on, Siah!" She said, watching as he threw another punch into Finn's stomach.

"That's right- alright Isiah you're turn. Finn, call yourself a Shelby? Fucking hit him for fucks sake. Bloody Maeve could do better than you!"

"Yeah fucking come on Finn, you can do better than that you wimp!" Maeve teased, hitting her fists on the wood.

Suddenly the shouts of Arthur rang out and everyone turned, watching as he threw his fist into a already unconscious young boys face. "Get him out of there!"

"Fucking hell- Dad!" Maeve rushed inside, shoving past people and trying her best to pull him back by his shoulders.

"For fucks sake get him out of there!"

Maeve pulled him back, finally moving him with the help of two other lads. Finn joined them and stared down at the boys bloody face. Maeve felt sick, her face pale, "what've you done?"

Isiah pulled Maeve back by her arm when he realised she was completely frozen, focused on the boy who was definitely dead. "Maeve come on," he said, ensuring he was gentle as he pulled her away.

"He's killed him..he's fucking killed him.."

-

"Tommys not gonna be happy," Finn muttered as the three of them sat in Tommy's office. "Finn, shut up!" Maeve snapped, automatically looking at the floor when the door opened.

"Right what happened?" Tommy asked after staring at them for a few moments.

Isiah and Maeve shared a glance, her leg bouncing up and down, her fingers tapping on the chair. "It was a fair fight.." Finn spoke up.

"Yeah..Arthur just hit him with a gooden." Isiah agreed, finally looking at Tommy. Maeve kept her eyes on the floor as Tommy pushed himself off the wall. "I saw the body, don't fucking lie to me, I saw the body. What fucking happened?"

"I'm not family, i'm saying nothing." Isiah said, causing Maeve to punch him in the leg.

"Arthur, he's blowing a few times lately- six..seven. It's like he's not there in the head. He can't even hear-" Finn started. "Finn shut up," Maeve cut him off harshly.

Tommy raised his eyebrows at the girl and nodded at Finn to carry on. "He can't even hear stop, or his own name. And then he cries.." Finn continued.

Maeve threw her head back in annoyance. "Right listen to me, that was two fucking stories. Your brother, your dad," he pointed at Maeve, "killed a boy. There were witnesses, there will be questions. Get your stories straight, it was an accident. Fuck off."

The three stood and Finn was the first to leave, Isiah waiting at the side of the door to let Maeve out first. "Thanks," she huffed, kicking Finn in the back of the knee as she past, not waiting to watch him fall on the floor.

But she knew he did because she heard the loud thud as she did so and the sniggers of Isiah.

She quickly made her way over to Arthur's house, her hands shoved into her pockets despite the scolding she'd given her uncle earlier that day for walking the same way. "Dad, you here?" Maeve questioned as she closed the door behind her.

All she heard was a grunt. As she stepped into the living room, Arthur was sat in the chair beside the fire, staring at the table with tears in his eyes.

"Are you okay.." she asked, unsure if she wanted an answer. And he didn't answer. "Go away, Maeve."

"What?" Maeve frowned. "I said fuck off." Arthur said coldly, "fuck off!" He shouted, not looking away from the table. Maeve looked at him with eyes full of anger and upset. But luckily before she could say anything, Tommy had entered.

She leaned against the wooden drawers behind her and bit the inside of her cheek.

"I spoke to the doctor, said the kid had a weak heart. We will look after his mother, we'll be fine." Tommy stood in front of the window.

"Polly said i should've stuck with the medicine, i said that you know best." Arthur muttered. Maeve rolled her eyes, "when does he ever know best, dad?"

"It's like a fucking boat, Tommy. Full of heavy cargo like coal or iron." Arthur began. Tommy turned away from him. "Sometimes it slips to one end..and the boat tips, i can feel it slipping and i can feel the boat tipping. And there ain't nothing i can do about it."

Arthur's voice was shaking. "It's like me fucking head is like this fucking..black fucking barge and it just fucking drifts in and out in and out-" he held his head.

"Well we're home a long time now, Arthur." Tommy cut him off. "Home a long time. I thought you were alright,"

Maeve took a deep breath.

"Yeah..well i- i don't think I am." He stuttered, reaching for the gun in his holster. "Take this fucking thing away from me," he threw it to the table.

Tommy looked over his shoulder. "Just fuck off, Arthur." he sighed. "Thomas." Maeve warned.

"You know what, i've had enough. Fucking had enough, just fuck off." Tommy leaned in close to Arthur. Arthur frowned, "what.."

"Supposed to treat you like a fucking kid again, eh? Keep you away from guns and fucking rope, it that it? You think i haven't got enough on?" He shouted.

"Stop it Tommy." Arthur begged.

"Arthur, you think I haven't got enough on?" He shouted again, "the war is done, shut the door on it."

"Thomas that's enough, stop." Maeve warned again, not attempting to step forward and pull him back. He ignored her. "Shut the door on it like i did, eh?"

"Fuck you." Arthur whispered.

"Can you do that, shut the fucking door." Tommy taunted. Arthur snapped, grabbing Tommy by his shirt and pushing him up against the wall. Maeve, once again stood still. She'd had enough of interfering, maybe this time Tommy would get the message.

"I'm not fucking you, eh. I'm not fucking you! Everyone fucking knows it." A sob left her dads mouth as he held Tommy against the wall.

Tommy grabbed Arthur's face and shoved it so he could see himself in the mirror, "look at yourself, eh. Look at yourself. Take a long, hard fucking look at yourself."

"Thomas you're hurting him," She finally said, grabbing her blade from her pocket and quickly placing it against Tommy's cheek, "let go."

Tommy sighed and shoved Arthur down in his seat, moving around Maeve and heading for the door. It was only seconds until he entered again, grabbing the gun and emptying the bullets before throwing a bottle into the fire.

"Bastard, Tommy Shelby fuck off!" Maeve shouted, ignoring Arthur as he pushed over a chair and fell to his knees, holding his head.

"Dad it's alright," she finally took notice, leaning down and grabbing him, pulling him to his feet. "It's alright, stop this bullshit, yeah!? Stop it!"

"I need help, my girl."

"You and me both, dad. We both need help. But we can't fucking get it cause we're Shelby's. Shelby's don't need help. We make it on our own, just like Polly used to say."

Arthur stared at her, the look in his eyes making her whole body go cold. He was there but nobody was home.

"Look, it's the grand re-opening of the Garrison tonight, your fucking Garrison. You need to show people you're still the cock of the walk, dad. Show them who the fuck Arthur Shelby is!"

Arthur sniffed and ran a hand through his head, "yeah..yeah my fucking Garrison."

"Who gives a fuck about Thomas Shelby, cause I don't. One day i'll hurt him just as much as he's hurt you. And he won't even see it coming." She whispered. "Do not let a man like Tommy, do something like this to you. He's not worth it."

-

"Right, i've got someplace to be, a job i need to do before i go over to the Garrison. I'll be back later and please for the love of god change your mind about coming, dad." Maeve said as she fixed her hair.

"Yeah, whatever fuck off." He said, pouring another glass of whiskey. Maeve shook her head and opened the door, almost colliding with Finn as she did so. "Oh..hello."

"Yeah hi, Maeve, get out my way. Need to talk with Artha,"

"Evening to you too, weirdo." Maeve scoffed, closing the door and walking down toward the back way of the Garrison where she hoped Tommy would soon arrive at.

It only took ten minutes but when he did, he was alone just like she'd hoped. As he turned the corner, she held out her blade the same way she did earlier.

Tommy froze and looked down. "The fuck you doing, eh?"

"Showing you that people can hold just as much power as you, they don't need the money. Thomas, i'm showing you that things like that can happen when you least expect it, with the people you least expect."

"What's your point Maeve, i have to be in there," he nodded, missing the edge of her blade by half a centimetre.

"My point is that i'm sick of you treating my dad as if he's dog shit on your shoe. One of these days all this bad karma is going to come back and bite you on the arse, and you'll have wished you listened to me."

Tommy laughed, "welcome to the real world, Maeve. It's how things work."

"Oh..so killing people is how things work? Using money to cover up your bad actions is how things work? You repulse me. I hate calling you my uncle,"

"And i hate calling you my niece." He retorted.

"Only because you know i'm the only person who's willing to question you. I'm the only person who will always be willing to go that one step further."

"Exactly, Maeve, you're spot on. Now fuck off and let me go inside."

She stepped aside and lowered her blade. "Oh and Maeve, the next time you pull something like that, I won't hesitate to pull a gun on you."

"You think i'm scared of you but i'm not, i'm probably one of the only people in Small Heath who think you're pathetic, you thrive off of fear. And it's ridiculous."

"Yep, it's ridiculous," he said sarcastically, entering the back door of the Garrison and leaving her outside. "Thinks he owns the fucking world.." she shook her head, shoving the blade back into her pocket before following him inside.

Arthur stood behind the bar of the newly decorated pub, handing out bottles of liquor to people.

"Here you are, take that. Here are Lizzie, let me get you a light- there you go my darling. Jeremiah, i'll be with you in a second!" He pointed, turning to Tommy. "Look at the place!" He stepped forward, grabbing the sides of Tommy's face.

"You alright?" Tommy asked.

"The busier we are, faster time passes." Arthur shouted. Tommy raised his eyebrows, "yeah? Arthur, Tokyo. It's fuel for horses. You've seen a doped horse after a race. Grand openings and Race days only brother. All right?"

"All right then Tommy!" He laughed as Tommy walked back to the centre of the pub.

It was busy, really busy. "Finn!" He shouted angrily, catching his youngest brother with a glass of whiskey in his hand, "give me that." He instructed, taking it from him.

John sniggered. "Keep him off the whiskey John." He pointed, walking off and looking back at the group that had gathered before walking out into the back room that was quiet.

Maeve grinned and took her own glass of whiskey from underneath the table and sipped it. Finn threw his arms in the air dramatically, "how is that fair?"

"You can get away with anything if you don't get caught,"

"Yeah, easy for you to say." Finn scowled, leaning back in his seat. John threw an arm around Maeve's shoulder and chuckled, "come on you two, don't be arguing."

"Oh shush," Maeve couldn't help but smile in her uncles presence. She felt somewhat normal around then, as if she didn't have to fight to make herself heard.

Especially not around John. He always heard her, always saw her.

"Look who it is," John said, excitement lacing his voice as Ada stood talking with Polly. Maeve rushed over to her, wrapping her arms around the brunette girl, "oh, hello trouble." Ada laughed, hugging her back.

"Ada, didn't know you were coming." Maeve said, smiling widely. Ada touched her face and grinned, "well, what's the point of a surprise if you know about it?"

"Oi Shelby," Isiah called from a table beside the door. Maeve approached him, "what?" She asked bluntly. Isiah placed his cigarette in an ashtray and cleared his throat.

"I'm getting drinks, you want one?" He offered. She thought for a moment, "if you're offering."

"If i wasn't offering why would i ask?" He said plainly, poking a finger into her side and walking off. "Prick." She whispered, taking a seat in the corner.

When he returned, he looked around and pulled out a small bottle of powder. "What's that?" Maeve questioned. Isiah spoke quietly, "Tokyo," he grinned.

"You mean Snow?"

"We call it whatever the customer calls it." He shrugged, holding it under the table. "You want? I won't charge you."

"Isiah..i don't know, i've never done it before." She winced, unsure if she wanted to take part in such activities. "I'll look after ya, promise. But i won't force you to do anything, its up to you." He assured her.

She took a deep breath and scanned the room, ensuring that no Shelby member was near to catch her. "Go on then..promise you won't let me die?" She held out her pinky finger.

"Promise," he shook his head, trying not to laugh at her dramatics and wrapping his pinky finger around hers.

He took her hand and placed a small amount of the powder on the back of it. "So do i just..sniff it?"

Isiah nodded and let go of her hand, allowing her to snort the substance. She began coughing and aggressively rubbed her nose. "Oh my god.."

Isiah laughed and leaned forward, using his thumb to wipe to small amount that sat on the tip of her nose. Her pupils automatically changed in size and she blinked quickly.

"Isiah what the fuck," Maeve tried her best to let her eyes adjust to the light.

"You're alright, i've got ya, swear." He reassured her, unable to wipe the smile off his face. "You can't tell anyone," she said quickly, "like not even Finn or John, my dad will kill me." She panicked.

Isiah placed two hands on her shoulders, "you need to relax. I'm not telling anyone, you can trust me."

Maeve took a deep breath and nodded, "i can trust you, yeah- are you not gonna do some?"

"Not whilst it's your first time having it, want to be able to keep an eye out until it passes." Isiah told her. Maeve hummed and leaned her head against the window.

"How come ya boyfriend ain't here tonight?" Isiah asked, referring to Max.

"He's not my boyfriend," she corrected, "just a boy who is a friend. Who i may kiss from time to time." She admitted, the truth rolling off her tongue way easier than she'd liked it to.

Isiah hummed in amusement. "Personally i'm not a fan, he seems a bit weird."

"Well nobody asked you, Siah. He probably doesn't like you either- actually he's made that quite clear." She chuckled, tapping the table with her fingers.

"You think i care about a Montgomery lad? They're both bastards, the pair of them." Isiah shook his head, "just want to make a name for themselves, it's pathetic."

"You're pathetic," she retorted, not even listening to what he'd been saying about the Montgomery lads.

"Thanks Maeve." He frowned, throwing back the rest of his whiskey and wincing as it slid down his throat. "Y'know, at first i thought you were a total cunt..but you're not that bad i suppose."

"Is this the alcohol talking or is it Maeve talking?"

She shrugged. "Probably both."

-

"Isiah i can't see," Maeve complained, a tight grip on the boys hand as he walked her up the stairs. "Thats not my bloody fault- this ain't my house so i don't know where the lights are!" He said, carefully getting her to the top.

"Alright go on," he said, a hand on her back as she opened her bedroom door. "You can stay for a bit if you want," she offered, letting go of his hand and taking her shoes off.

Isiah leaned against the doorframe, "what about your dad?"

"What about him? He won't be home for hours, you know what he's like." Maeve shrugged. Isiah thought for a moment before actually stepping into her room.

Maeve had drank, a lot. Like more than she'd ever drank before. And Isiah Jesus was the biggest fuck boy she knew. Put them two things together and..

"Do you want to fuck me, Isiah?"

Isiah almost choked on his own saliva, "i'm sorry- what?" He raised his eyebrows, genuinely shocked at her question. Well, not shocked at the question but shocked at who's mouth it was leaving.

"I said, do you want to fuck me Isiah?" Maeve asked again, amused at his shocked expression. He swallowed hard and looked anywhere but her eyes. "God, Siah. I thought you were confident, where's that front gone now?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Of course you do, don't be silly. You look like you're about to piss yourself. We have known each other for weeks- no years, it's just only these few weeks we have actually spoke. Usually you'd jump to the opportunity to get in a girls pants, what's changed?"

Isiah struggled to speak, unsure what to do as she stood in front of him. "Nobody is ever that up front with me- y'know it's usually the other way round." His accent grew thick.

Maeve shrugged, "maybe it's nice to have some change every once in a while."

Isiah stared at her and bit the inside of his lip, wondering if it was some sort of Shelby trap or something. "Isiah..please don't make me ask again." Maeve winced at the thought.

Isiah ran a hand over the top of his head before grabbing Maeve's face aggressively and smashing his lips onto hers. She was shocked but didn't pull away. She didn't expect him to actually do anything.

Isiah's hand gripped her side, the other at the side of her neck and pulling her face as close as possible. The ring's on his fingers were cold against her skin.

He walked her backward slightly, the back of her knees hitting the bed and causing them to topple down onto the mattress. Isiah had moved his hand, placing it onto her lower leg as he hovered over her.

"You're sure?" Isiah asked, pulling away for a moment. Maeve nodded quickly, her hands on his face. He wasted no time before removing his dress shirt, leaving only an under shirt.

Maeve was a virgin. Isiah was not. He didn't know she was a virgin. She didn't  realise she probably should have told him. Maeve Shelby, the girl who claimed she hates Isiah Jesus' cocky persona, was letting him take her virginity.

Isiah became less aggressive and more gentle, careful as he practically picked her up and moved her further up the bed, closer to the headboard. His hands were soft, warm.

A small gasp left Maeve's mouth and she dug her nails into his shoulders and closed her eyes. Isiah panicked slightly, "are you okay?"

She nodded quickly and kept her hand on the back of his neck. "Tell me to stop and i'll stop-"

"No, no it's alright." Maeve assured him, pulling him closer to her. Isiah placed a kiss on her shoulder and continued.

Never once did either of them imagine this. Maeve never once thought she'd be having sex with the preachers son. And Isiah never once thought he'd be having sex with a Shelby daughter. God only knows what they'd do to him if they found out.

But one thing they didn't know was that Max Montgomery had been stood across the road, being able to see their figures moving together in the dim light, perfectly in sync. He could hardly make them out of course, but he knew it was Maeve. And that was definitely Isiah. He couldn't see properly due to the lace curtain obstructing the view. But that didn't matter because the second they hit the bed, all he could see was Isiah.

╚══ஓ๑♡๑ஓ══╝

So that's just happened. If u think they moved quick, just take a look at Tommy. I'll not stand for Maeve slander!!