Chapter Eight
"Why the fuck weren't you there?!"

Tommy Shelby burst through the doors of the mortuary, the sudden noise startling his brothers, whilst causing Arabella to practically jump out of her skin.

Arthur straightened up quickly, turning to face him. "Where the bloody hell have you been?"

"Is it true?" Tommy asked, glancing at the three of them in turn.

John cast a wary look over at Arabella, whose entire body had stiffened at the sound of Tommy's voice. "Bells," John warned quietly, reaching for her hand, but she smacked him away, pulling herself up from the steps.

"Yeah," Arabella responded bitterly. "It's fucking true." Tommy started to move down the stairs, but came to a stop when Arabella began to storm up them, straight towards him. "Morrow came for my brother, he killed the men watching him, then he cornered him, and fucking shot him!" she snapped, her voice elevating with every word. "He fucking killed him!" Arabella reached for Tommy, shoving him backwards. "And where were you, huh?!" A cry hitched in the back of her throat, and her voice rose in pitch. "Where the fuck were you, Tommy?!"

"Arabella–" He began calmly.

"Why weren't you fucking there?!" She pounded a fist weakly against his chest, her bottom lip quivering as tears brimmed in her eyes. "Why the fuck weren't you there?" She whispered, falling against the wall defeatedly.

"I'm sorry," Tommy spoke solemnly. He knew of the pain Arabella had been through, losing her father to this business, and now her brother. Though Peter Morrow wasn't his fault, he'd made promises to both Newell siblings that it would be sorted. Even more so, he promised their father he'd keep them safe.

"Morrow didn't get far," Arthur informed Tommy, who snapped his head up, having been lost in thought. "We got the bastard."

"That's good," Tommy said, placing a hand on Arthur's shoulder. "That means Arabella is safe to go home."

Arabella glanced over at him through watery vision. She kept a trembling hand on the wall, steadying herself. Whether she was still in shock, or it was simply just freezing in the mortuary, Arabella hadn't been able to stop shaking since they'd been down there.

"What fucking home?" She asked him. "My home–" she pointed a hand in the direction of her brother's body. "–My home is right fucking there, and now he's gone!" She took a deep breath, her voice beginning to shake. "I've got nothing, Tommy. I've got nothing to fucking go back to."

"You won't be alone," he told her, and Arabella shook her head, instantly dismissing his words. "You won't," he assured her. "I made a promise–"

"Well then maybe you should stop making promises that you can't fucking keep!"

Her sharp tone cut through the air like a knife, the words pummelling against the chests of the Shelby boys.

The four of them stood in silence for a long while. Arabella's heart thumped loudly in her chest, and she took a deep breath, moving to sit down on the steps again.

Arthur felt a wave of sadness overcome him as he watched the girl sit down, her body still trembling from the shock of the day. He looked up at Tommy, who had become lost in thought, a sense of grief overcoming him as Mason Newell's death finally seemed to register in his mind. Tommy had seen so much death, felt so much death in his lifetime, but it never seemed to get any easier.

John remained sat on the steps, his elbows resting on his thighs, and his head in his hands. He had also suffered a lot of loss in his life, but the death of his close friend was one of the hardest things he was having to come to terms with.

"Can I see him?" Tommy eventually asked Arabella. She glanced up at him, deliberating for a moment before eventually nodding her head in assurance.

Tommy quietly walked down the stairs, the eyes of the others all following him. He slowed a little when he caught sight of Mason's lifeless and deathly white body lay on the table. Tommy stopped a short distance away, lowering his head. "In the bleak midwinter."

There was a light knock on the door, then a pause for a few seconds, before it creaked open. Mallory Harmon stepped inside cautiously, her eyes rounding slightly in surprise to see Arthur Shelby right in front of her, though her gaze soon softened when Arabella turned around.

"I just heard," she said gently, moving down the steps towards her best friend. Arabella stood up just as Mallory flung her arms tightly around her. "I'm so sorry," she whispered against Arabella's shoulder, tears dropping lightly onto the girl's dress.

Arabella gripped Mallory tightly, unable to even think, let alone speak. The whole thing still didn't quite feel real to her.

After a while, Mallory pulled back, glancing around the rest of the room. Arthur and Tommy both watched her unsurely, having never met the young girl before, whilst John continued to sit with his head in his hands, so lost in thought that he didn't even know what was going on around him.

"Can I–" Mallory started, cutting off momentarily. "Is it okay if I–"

Arabella nodded, understanding what she was asking. Mallory squeezed her hand gently before moving down the stairs. As soon as she caught sight of Mason's body she stopped, a soft gasping slipping from her lips. She placed a hand over her mouth, tears springing to her eyes.

Tommy moved away, giving Mallory some time alone. The brunette girl slowly inched towards Mason's body, tentatively placing a hand against his. He was cold, so cold.

"Come on boys," Tommy said, tapping a hand on John's shoulder as he passed him. "We should leave them to it."

John sniffled quietly, not even having the strength to lift his head from his hands, let alone move.

"Come on, John boy," Arthur prompted.

John rubbed his red-rimmed eyes, slowly glancing up. He placed a hand against the wall to steady himself as he stood, turning to face his Arabella and his older brothers.

Arabella watched him silently, no words to say. John met her eyes, nodding his head slightly. He followed his older brother up the stairs, pausing as he reached the door. "If you need us–" he started, cutting off as his voice wavered.

Arabella stepped forwards, stopping in front of him. "Thank you," she said quietly. She wrapped her arms around him briefly, before moving back. John left with his brothers, the door closing on Arabella and Mallory.

"What happened?" Mallory asked as Arabella descended the stairs towards her. She swallowed thickly, still unable to get used to the sight of her brother like that.

"It was a vendetta," Arabella answered  truthfully.

"What?" Mallory's voice shook in disbelief.

"My father killed a gang leader, Hans Morrow. His brother came after Mason and I," Arabella explained. "We were both being protected, but Mason was cornered at the derby." She swallowed thickly, her mouth feeling dry. "He was shot, and all I could do was watch."

"Are they still out there?" Mallory questioned, worry growing for her friend. "Will they come after you?"

"They were dealt with," Arabella replied, and Mallory almost shivered at the icy cold chill in her voice, not wanting to question what that entailed.

She watched her best friend silently for a moment. Arabella was always full of strong emotion, it would swirl in her eyes like a hurricane, but when Mallory looked at her now, they were empty. There was nothing behind her wild eyes anymore, they were dull.

"I should go," Arabella eventually said. "I need to sort some things at home."

"I can help," Mallory offered, but Arabella shook her head dismissively.

"I need to be alone."

The two girls left the mortuary promptly, briefly stopping to oversee some details with the doctor about funeral arrangements. Mallory parted ways with Arabella with a hug once they reached her house, telling her to come by if she needed anything at all. Night had fallen, and she worried for her being alone, but Arabella promised she was just going to go straight to bed.

But she didn't.

Instead, Arabella headed straight to Tommy Shelby's office, ignoring Lizzie as she tried to stop her from bursting inside. The loud noise of the doors being flung open startled both Tommy and Michael, but they relaxed when they saw Arabella stood in the doorway.

"Arabella," Tommy begun, setting his glass of whiskey down on the table. "Everything okay?"

She stepped further inside the office, her eyes firmly set on his. "You offered me a job," she began. "I want in."

"Job's been filled," Tommy replied, sparing a glance at Michael. Arabella didn't follow his eyes, ignoring Michael's presence completely.

Michael had heard about her brother's death, and desperately wanted to give her his condolences, but wasn't entirely sure when it was the right time. He noticed that there was something different about her. Her eyes understandably didn't shine like they did before, she was undoubtedly broken hearted, but there was something haunting in her gaze. It was as if she had become completely and entirely numb.

"Arabella, I just wanted to say how sorry I am," Michael spoke up, prompting Arabella to look over at him for the first time.

"Thank you," she said simply, turning her attention back to Tommy.

"I can find you work, there will be lots of it," Tommy told Arabella as he began to pour her a glass of whiskey. She moved towards the desk, standing beside Michael. Tommy handed her the glass and she took a sip. "I've got some ideas, for the future of the company," Tommy continued, glancing between both Arabella and Michael in turn. "And also, I'm planning on getting married."

A/N

And that's the end of season 2!
Arabella has finally joined Shelby Company Limited and I'm excited to see where it takes her.