Ghosts

"Poor little girl, still waiting for her happy ending"

• Nala •

"Will he be okay?" I asked, watching Pol come out of the emergency room
"He'll be fine Nala, just a scratch" she said
"A scratch? He got shot in the chest!" I said annoyed.

How could she downplay this?
"I told you, he'll be fine, you should go and see Mariana now she's awake" she said
"Not until I see Finn" I said
I was worried for a Mariana, she was my sister after all
But I had already been given the all clear that she'd be okay

And she was older, wiser. She could look after herself
Finn couldn't
He didn't like hospitals
Neither did I.

Pol sighed
"Fine, go in, but he's on medication, you'll barely get a coherent sentence out of him" she said
I made my way into his room.

"Finn?" I said curiously, pushing the door shut behind me
"Nala?" He called out, sat up in his bed
"Oh thank god" I breathed out, sitting down beside his bed.

"Nal..." he mumbled, slowly passing out
I sighed
"You're okay" I mumbled to myself, daring a hand up to stroke his hair softly
"Mm" he hummed, rolling over towards me, it made me smile
Seeing him... safe.

"Finn?" John called out, before he appeared in the room, with Arthur by his side
"Hey" I said
"How's he doing?" Arthur asked, sitting opposite me

"He's okay, he's just out of it" I said
They nodded
"Strong bones that one" Arthur said
"Strong organs more like. Drinking, smoking and cocaine..." John chuckled
"They should have took him out way before a bullet. He's a Shelby. He's fine" John said confidently

"Have you seen that sister of yours?" Arthur asked
I nodded
"Yeah, she's okay, she's got Alfie" I shrugged
"Mm" he grunted
"Alfie Solomons ain't exactly Florence fucking nightingale is he?" He grumbled

"No" I laughed
"I guess he's not" I said, glancing back over at Finn, sleeping peacefully
With his mouth hanging open.

• Unknown •

I knocked on the door, I heard she goes by Cortéz now
Still living with the god forsaken Shelby's
No one answered though
So I knocked again. And again.

But nothing
I sighed, wandering over to the betting den
Still standing I see
I made my way in, but there wasn't a Shelby in sight
Just a tall woman with short brown hair

"Afternoon, Lucky or Sparky?" She asked
"What?"
She looked up at me, smiling
"Lucy or Sparky?" She asked, pointing her pen in the direction of the board
"Oh no, I'm not betting, there a Shelby around anywhere? Polly perhaps?" I asked, looking round.

"No, they're away today" she said simply, looking back down at her books
Fuck sake
"Do you know when they'll be back?" I asked
"Why?"
"Because I'm looking for someone" I said

"Everyone's looking for a Shelby. Doesn't mean you'll get near" she said
"I'm not looking for a Shelby, I'm looking for Nala Cortéz" I said.

• Nala •

"Hey sleepyhead" I smiled
"Mm, hey, how long have I been out for?" Finn asked, rousing awake
"About an hour, Arthur's gone to check on Tommy, John's just getting some tea" I said

"How is Tommy?" He asked strained
"Shut himself away. Refusing to talk to anyone" I said
He thought for a moment
"And you?" He asked
"Me?"

"How are you?" He asked
"Well..." I breathed out
"I was okay. Until you started ignoring me. Then I was sad. Then I was distraught because you got shot. And now... now I'm just worried" I said honestly.

What if this was it for us? He just kept... pushing me away
"About what?" He asked
"You. Whether you'll be alright. Us..." I mumbled
"Us?" He questioned, sitting up with a groan

"Yeah. You haven't exactly spoken to me the past few days Finn. Not since..." I cut myself off
I felt embarrassed to say it
'You ran out on me when we were about to have sex'

"I'm... sorry... about that" he mumbled awkwardly
"Are you... are you breaking up with me? Because if so I'd rather you just told me becau-"
"What? No! I'm not breaking up with you" he said in a panicked voice.

"Then what did I do wrong?" I asked
"Nothing!... nothing" he said
"I just... wasn't ready" he mumbled under his breath
"Not ready? For... us?" I asked

"No. For... you know" he said
"Sex?" I asked bluntly
"Yeah" he sighed, looking away from me
I think he also felt embarrassed
"Finn, you could have just told me that" I said
"You didn't need to run away" I added.

"I know, I shouldn't have I just had a... fight or flight instinct I guess" he explained
"So you... don't want to finish with me?" I asked
"No, not at all" he said
"Great, you love him, he loves you, happy fucking days, can I come in now?" I heard John say from outside the door.

"Yeah" I said, watching him appear in the doorway with two cups of tea
"How long have you been there?" Finn asked
"Like 5 minutes. Thought I'd give you two some space but these mugs are fucking hot" he explained, setting them down on the table across Finn's bed.

"Thank you" I said, taking the mug
"So, you two good?" He asked, sitting down, perching his feet on the end of the bed
"Watch it" Finn groaned, moving his own
"Yeah, we are" I said, looking to Finn
"Aren't we always?" He smiled, I nodded, leaning forward and landing a small kiss to his cheek.

"Hey, I don't want to be around the drama but I don't mind leaving if you two wanna..." John trailed off, featuring between the two of us
"Uh, no... thanks John. We're fine" I chuckled.

Just because him and Esmé had shagged everywhere imaginable, doesn't mean everyone else wanted to
And it was fine that Finn wasn't ready
I didn't expect us to be intimate so soon anyway, I was just... caught up in the moment.

•

"10 minutes" John said
"I know I know, or you'll leave without me. I got it" I said, hopping out of the car
I just needed to get Finn some clothes, how long did he really think I would take
I jogged across the road to the door, letting myself in and rushing upstairs.

I packed some clothes and essentials for Finn, before I nipped into the kitchen to steal him a bit of cake
Hospitals fed him such shit.
"Hello stranger" I turned around, Lizzie was stood in the doorway.

She was like a mouse. So damn quiet
"Lizzie, I didn't know you were working today" I said
"Yeah, Polly wants everything open. She said 'just because Tommy's MIA doesn't mean the business has to fail... he'll need something to come back to'" she said, mocking her voice.

"She's not wrong. When Tommy does come back, he'll distract himself with work. He'll drown himself in it. He always does, only reason he ever gets personal is for the woman in his life" I shrugged.

"Like your sister?" She said, raising an eyebrow
"My sister, is happy with Solomons" I said
"Mm, well... a man came in earlier, looking for you" she said casually
"Me?"
Who on earth could possibly be looking for me? I didn't know anyone that didn't have a number for me.

"Some old guy, looked scruffy, gypsy like. Said he was looking for Nala Cortéz" she said simply
"This guy... brown hair?" I asked
She nodded
"Lion ring?" I asked
"I don't know, his hands were covered in them, and tattoos" she said.

"Did he have a tattoo on the side of his neck? A name?" I asked
"Yeah, Catherine, awful writing but it was pretty big" she said idly
"Where is he?" I asked immediately
"He went to the pub, said he'd wait for you all to get back" she said.

I had dropped Finn's bag before she even finished her sentence. And I found myself walking out the door and down the path
My head was blank, and yet also racing
He was here. He was back.

Why was he back? What did he want this time?
Mariana was going to go mental. She hated him
So did Finn.
I hated him. Most of the time.
He was a liar. A scammer. A cheater.

He was...

"Dad" I said simply, staring at his laughing figure at the bar
He lowered his glass and looked over his shoulder, his laughter dying down
"Alright darlin, have you missed me?" He smiled.

Kinney Murphy

Vote and Comment
Thoughts???

•