Moving in

"And now here is my secret, deep down in my heart, I will always kiss you"
                                           -Alexandra Visiliu

Alfie's POV

"He's getting married?" I asked stunned
We were stood in the waiting room, trying to make sense of Arthur's incessant rambling until he blurted out that apparently Tommy was getting married!

Since when was Tommy even bothering an unfortunate lass let alone marrying one
"I knew that bitch would get her claws in somehow... is he even sure it's his?" Polly asked, earning a quick nod from Arthur.

"Right. Okay, you can't tell Mar, no one can, not yet" she said matter of factly
"Why?" I asked confused, Nala seemed adamant that Mar only had feelings for me.

"He's the reason she was left bleeding in the hay... he hasn't come to see her-"
"Because you wouldn't let him" Arthur interjected, earning a scowl from Polly
"I know... but she doesn't know that, as far as she's concerned he hasn't come to see her. Yes she's pissed but Tommy and her are close.
Fighting or not you're there for family" she explained.

I suppose she was right.
She was still recovering. She didn't need to know that Tommy was getting married, or about the man in the hallway yet.
"Well where do we go from here?" I asked
"The doctors said she can come home in a few days, she can stay with me" Polly said, her tone leaving no room for debate.

"She needs to be in London. She can stay with me" I said, but she immediately shook her head
"No. She can't be thinking about work right now" she said, walking off back into the hospital room
I followed after her and saw Mar sat up in bed, trying to take the wires and tubes off her.

"Mari please stop" Nala asked frantically
"I'm fine Princess, I just need some rest, not the fucking hospital" she mumbled
"Dove I don't think that's a good idea" I tried, walking closer to her.

"Don't Alfie. I'm fine, I just need some rest, I need my own bed" she explained, swinging her legs over the bed and hissing at the pain in her abdomen.

"Mar... you need rest, get back in bed-"
"Shut up Pol, if I say I'm fine then I'm fucking fine, so either get me some clothes or back off" she snapped.
"Hey... hey it's alright, I'll get some clothes" Nala said calmly, disappearing out of the room.

"Are you sure you're okay? There's no point leaving if your body's gonna shut down immediately after" Polly tried again
"I'm. Fine. Alfie, can you drive me home please?" She asked, trying to breathe properly as she sat on the edge of the bed
I nodded immediately.

Tommy's POV

"You're getting married?" Polly shouted at me from across the table
The betting den occupied by only me, her and Arthur as she ranted continuously
"Yep" I said blankly.

"Why?" She shouted
"How is she?" I asked
"I asked you a question" she seethed
I just looked up at her, my face blank to let her know I wasn't moving on this
She sighed
"She's discharged herself, off back to London with Alfie" she explained, making my grip on the lighter in my pocket clench.

"Now why are you marrying that bitch?" She asked sternly
"What am I supposed to do Pol? I'm getting older I need to settle down, plus... she's pregnant what was I supposed to do with her?" I asked.

"Give her a few hundred and tell her to raise it as his. She's a fucking traitor Thomas.
As well as already married I might add, how the fuck could you possibly even consider the idea of marrying that Irish whore?" She asked angrily.

I stood up abruptly, matching her height as she stared me down
"BECAUSE..." I shouted, my chest heaving
"Because... it's all I can do now" I said simply.

Alfie's POV

Once Nala had brought her some clothes and Mar had argued with the doctors for half an hour about leaving, we were finally in my car on our way back to London.

We'd been driving for around 20 minutes and nothing had been said, so I decided to ask the question I'd been burning to since she announced she was leaving hospital
"Who's going to look after ya?" I asked, eyes ahead as I focused on driving.

The sky was pitch black now, and she was resting her head sleepily against the window.
My hand was resting lazily on her bare thigh, her body only clad in a summer dress Nala had that would fit her and my coat wrapped around her shoulders.

"Evelyn's there" she shrugged
"And Evelyn can fight off anyone trying to kill ya eh?... little Evelyn can fight off Sabini?" I asked sarcastically
She rolled her eyes and yawned
"Then I'll ask Louis to come and live with me for a while" she said sleepily.

I felt my hand unconsciously tighten on her thigh, making her raise her head and look at me
"Who's that?" I asked, my jaw clenched slightly
Who the fuck was he?
She's never mentioned him before.

"Calm down. He's one of my guys, for protection" she explained
"Yeah well... I'll stay with ya... if ya want" I mumbled, continuing to look at the road.

"I can't ask that of you Alfie, I've got Sabini on my ass and Tommy's nowhere to be seen.
I've gotta sort my shit out and I can't drag you into that. It's selfish" she explained
I glanced over at her, her lip swollen, both eyes practically black and cuts and bruises all over her skin.

"Wasn't really a request" I muttered
She scoffed
"So what... you're gonna force yourself into the house?" She laughed
"If I have to" I said, she needed proper care, not some young fucker who fancied himself as a 'guard'

"Whatever" she mumbled yawning again, her eyes drooping shut as she leaned her head against the window, I continued driving, the rain starting to pour down outside as I entered London.

Mariana's POV

I woke up in bed, face down, the soft sheets around me feeling and smelling familiar.
I groaned lightly, turning over to survey my surroundings.
I was in my bedroom, the sun shining through the balcony windows.

"The fuck?" I grumbled, sitting up in the bed, I was in my nightgown, my hair hanging over my face
I got out of bed, softly making my way down the stairs to the kitchen, to see Evelyn leaning against the counter, drinking tea.

"You should be in bed" She said worriedly
"And how exactly did I get in bed?" I asked, looking around the messy kitchen
"Alfie carried you in last night... don't worry though, I changed you" she smiled, continuing to drink.

"Where is he?" I asked, rubbing the sleep from my eyes, Harley came trotting in, snuggling up to my leg, I let my arm fall down to absentmindedly stroke her fur
"Work. He said he'd be back tonight with some of his stuff" she mumbled against her tea cup
"Why?" I asked, my brain still trying to catch up with me.

"He said he'd be staying for a while, I assumed you knew" she said warily
I nodded slowly, waving her words off.

"So why is the kitchen a fucking bomb site?" I laughed, moving to sit at the table
Evelyn giggled as she looked around
"That would also be Alfie, I came down and he said he was making you breakfast, I was just about to clean up actually" she explained, taking a plate from the oven and setting it down in front of me.

"Pancakes?" I asked with a small chuckle
He made all this mess over pancakes?
"Yeah" she laughed
"He asked what your favourite was" she said, moving over to grab a rag as she began cleaning the countertops.

I dug into them, they actually tasted really nice. I was done in no time and once I was, Evelyn was quick to usher me upstairs
"I'm fine Eve" I groaned, she just shook her head
"Alfie gave me strict instructions that you were to stay in bed" she said sternly.

I got back in bed with a huff, spending most of the day reading and drinking a thousand cups of tea
When night time finally rolled around, Alfie still wasn't back so I decided to take a bath.

I eased into the water slowly, the hot water slightly stinging my wound and cuts as I let my body completely submerge
When I sat back up my hair slicked down my back, the water dripping from my eyelashes onto my cheeks as I closed my eyes, trying to mull over the past few days.

"Peaceful?"
I jumped at the sound of Alfie's voice, the water swishing around me slightly as I brought my knees closer to my chest, to conceal my body
"When did you get back?" I asked quietly
He dropped his bag by the bed and moved over to me, sitting on a small stool next to the tub.

He leaned down slightly and ran his hand under my jaw and into my hair, caressing my skin as I leant my cheek against his palm
"A few minutes ago, sorry I was late, had to stop by mine and get some things. Sort Cyril out for a few days" he apologised, his voice a lot more gentle than usual.

I offered a small smile
"You been okay today?" He asked
"Not dead yet" I chuckled softly, he didn't seem to find it very funny though
He hummed, picking up the small sponge from the side and soaking it in water
He ran it over my neck, moving down my back and washing over me.

I hummed at the feeling
I really had no energy to move... or try and stretch to wash myself
The sponge came back round to my neck and down to my arms, he washed both before moving between the valley of my breasts.

His movements weren't sexual though, they were nothing but loving and caring.
Giving me a whole new admiration for the man beside me.
He wasn't some ruthless gangster, he was simply a man. A nice, loving man.

His other hand rested on my knees, slowly pushing them down, but I quickly moved them back towards me
My body was practically littered in bruises and scars and I didn't want Alfie to see that.

"Dove... I need to wash ya" he muttered, looking into my eyes, I slowly shook my head, looking back down at the water, only for him to grasp my face softly to make me look at him again.

"It's alright, I won't touch you anywhere you don't want me to, I just need to wash you darling" he mumbled
"It's not that" I whispered, hugging my knees to me
"Then what?" He asked, leaning his head against mine.

I hesitated for a moment, debating whether or not to tell him the truth.
I decided to open up, I'd been keeping my walls up for far too long and I wanted him to start opening up to me as well
"I'm broken Alfie" I whispered
"I- I'm bruised... battered... cut... I got more scars on my skin than most people" I said, my eyes glazing over as I thought of every time I'd been hit, cut, shot, degraded.

"Hey... hey..." he mumbled, dropping the sponge and softly grabbing my cheeks in his rough hands, forcing me to look up at him, my eyes tearing up even more
"You're fucking beautiful dove... you're the most gorgeous woman I've ever met" he muttered.

"Scars are just reminders of the shit we've been through, they don't make you any less beautiful baby, they just make you that much stronger" he mumbled, kissing my forehead.

He reached behind him and grabbed a towel, holding it up for me to step into
I did so, and he wrapped me up, settling his hands on my hips
"You don't have to show me anything you don't want to, but you're fucking perfect dove, in every single way" he mumbled against my hair.

I looked up at him, grabbing his face and smashing my lips on his
He was too good for me... for all the bastards that feared him, that spread rumours about him and looked down on him.
He deserved so much more than what this shitty life had gave him.

His lips felt so soft against mine, the faint taste of whiskey on his tongue as it caressed mine softly
I pulled away after a moment, my lips tingling and swollen as I looked at the man in front of me.

"Bed. Now" he said huskily
I wound my arms around his neck, leaning in again but he only pecked my lips before pulling away
"You need rest" he mumbled, sliding his hand underneath my legs and pulling me into his hold.

He placed me down on the bed gently, leaving me in a towel as he rifled through my drawers for a nightgown
He passed me a dark red one, I raised an eyebrow at him, receiving nothing but a shrug
"You look good in red" he grumbled, making his way around the bed to the door.

He planted a warm kiss on my forehead, his beard tickling my skin
"Night darling" he said, turning around
But I was quicker, I reached out for his hand, causing him to turn around in confusion.

"Stay" I said quietly, my eyes pleading with his
He was silent for a moment until he nodded, closing the door again and beginning to shed his clothes, he stood at the end of the bed, his back turned allowing me to change in private.

Once we were both situated I was immediately pulled into Alfie's hold, his arms softly but protectively around my waist, keeping me to him.

"Thank you... for everything" I mumbled sleepily
He pushed the damp hair out of my face and stroked my jaw with his thumb
"Stop thanking me" he said, his voice low
"Why? All you seem to be doing is looking after me nowadays... not exactly what you do for a business partner is it?" I chuckled.

He took a deep breath and pulled me closer
"You're so much more than business darlin" he mumbled softly
I hummed in response
It was silent for a while until Alfie's voice rang through the air again
"Did you eat properly? Stay in bed all day?... because I'm not having you collapse on me" He said sternly.

I laughed, my head resting against his chest
"And what if I didn't? What you gonna do? Spank me?" I chuckled sleepily, my eyes clouding in darkness
His voice came through again, just before I slipped into sleep
"Don't tempt me Dove"

Vote and Comment
Thoughts???

•