The Sun Will Rise | T Shelby

nineteen

It was the following Saturday and once again, Angelina was sat on her sofa waiting for her date to arrive.

"Another date, Lina?"

Lorenzo had arrived home a few days after Angelina returned from London, and she'd made him promise to not leave home again for a few weeks, she hates being without him. He agreed.

"Yes," Angelina nodded, "But not with Thomas this time."

"Oh?"

Angelina had chosen not to tell her brother who she was going on a date with on that Saturday afternoon. Whether he knew already and was just pretending to be none the wiser was none of Angelina's business, but she hoped he didn't actually know.

"Somebody else, maybe you'll meet him some time."

A knock at the door made Lorenzo smirk. He made his way over to the front door, only for Angelina to grab him by the arm and yank him away, stopping him from opening it.

"Upstairs, now!"

Lorenzo rolled his eyes and laughed, following his sisters orders and disappearing up the stairs.

Angelina took a deep breath and smoothed down her dress, taking a last glance at herself in the mirror and opened the front door.

"Angelina! You look absolutely stunning my darling."

She couldn't help but blush at Alfie's compliment, smiling as he kissed both of her cheeks.

The two of them left Angelina's house and took a cab into Birmingham. It was early afternoon and the streets were packed with people drinking and men on their way to watch the football.

They had light conversation on the way, mostly Alfie asking Angelina a long list of random questions. She didn't mind, though, it was nice that someone had taken such an interest in her.

They arrived at a rather expensive looking restaurant with stone Greek-esque pillars at the front, a golden sign baring the name hanging above with lanterns hung from the rafters.

Alfie jumped from the car and held his hand out to Angelina to help her down. She draped her arm over his and the two of them headed towards the entrance.

"Angelina, didn't expect-"

"No way! I didn't think I'd bump into you boys today."

Angelina's heart plummeted to the pit of her stomach when John, Arthur and Thomas all walked out of the restaurant together.

"Mr Solomons, always a pleasure."

She watched as Thomas held out his hand and Alfie gave it a firm shake, smiling at him knowingly. Angelina wasn't sure whether Alfie knew that there had once been a glimmer of something between her and Tommy, but the way Alfie held a smug smile hinted towards an answer.

"And Miss Santoro, don't she look beautiful ey?"

Thomas' eyes met Angelina's, making her stomach turn. He looked as though he'd been told the worst news possible deep in his eyes, but his facial expression didn't change.

"You look gorgeous Angelina, if I may say so."

If the pain of hearing Thomas say something kind to her for the first time in God knows how long wasn't enough for Angelina, the wave of grief that hit her when she looked at Arthur and saw how disappointed in her he looked certainly was.

Angelina didn't care about letting down Tommy. The games he'd played with her had caused her to reserve almost all feeling towards him, most of the time. But with Arthur, it was different. She cared deeply about him, and knowing that she had let him down broke her heart.

"Don't let us keep you anyway. Enjoy your afternoon."

John had noticed the awkwardness between the group and quickly ushered him and his brothers away. Angelina was thankful, sending him a small smile as he walked past.

"Miserable lot them, never crack a smile." Alfie murmured, shaking his head as they left, "Come on you, let's get a bottle of wine opened."

+

By the time Angelina and Alfie left the restaurant, the sun had set and the sky was a beautiful orange colour that reminded Angelina of the way the sun used to set over the Colosseum back home.

The pair had enjoyed a three course meal and several bottles of wine that Alfie had picked out, followed by some shots that again, Alfie picked from the menu.

After dinner they decided to talk a walk together, needing some fresh air to try and sober themselves up. They ended up wandering around a large park not too far away from where they'd eaten.

"I'll be honest with you Angelina, I don't normally wine and dine the women I sleep with, but there's something about you that makes me want to be a proper gentleman."

Angelina smiled at him, squeezing his arm tighter as they walked together.

"In fact, there's something about you full stop. I mean, I don't think I've ever come all the way up to Birmingham just to see a girl, or gone anywhere a mile away from my house for that matter."

"I thought you said you were here for business?" Angelina raised an eyebrow.

It was Alfie's turn to blush this time. His cheeks turned crimson and he tried to hide his smile, cowering his shoulders a little.

"I just said that as an excuse, I didn't want to come off too strong, scare you off or anything. Too much of a risk, losing you. But I couldn't wait to see you so I wanted to come as soon as I could."

"Oh, Alfie."

Angelina's heart was fluttering at the way he spoke about her. The way he didn't once seem ashamed or embarrassed to have feelings was incredibly attractive to her, making her want Alfie even more than she already did. It was as if God had placed the man that had everything she was looking for right in front of her.

"Don't laugh at me, look at you. You're a bloody angel, I've never seen or felt anybody like you, Angelina."

Alfie smiled, shaking his head as he looked Angelina up and down. They had stopped by the lake, with nobody around them and just the distant sound of Birmingham's Saturday night happening in the background.

"Tell me something?" He said, placing his hand on the side of Angelina's face and gently brushing his thumb across her cheek.

"Anything."

"Is there anybody else?"

Angelina's gut response wasn't a certain one. She thought about Thomas' face and the way his eyes melted down into a deep, darker blue when he saw her with Alfie. She thought about the way he'd made her feel when they lay in bed together and the way she made her heart skip a beat. All of that was enough to make Angelina consider telling Alfie yes, but when she thought about the way Tommy had treated her and the way he'd spoken to her, all of that was enough to give her a definite answer.

"No," Angelina smiled, wrapping her arms around Alfie's neck, "There's nobody else."

an;;
omg THANK U wtf this book is getting so many reads so quickly I'm amazed!!! pls let me know if you're enjoying it and if u still love/hate Tommy, i'd love to know your thoughts!!
-martials