Avos'

𝐩𝐮𝐤𝐞-𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐬

𝐃𝐎𝐔𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐔𝐏𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄!!

𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍'𝐓 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐔𝐒 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑, 𝐆𝐎 𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊

"ARE YOU GOING TO SAY ANYTHING OR..."

"You're the one that invited me here."

"Yeah but not to just stand in the corner like a zombie."

"You didn't mention that."

Tommy snorts when Grissy scowls at him, her lips curling up like a threatening puppy at his not-so-funny excuse. He means what he said. She's the one that rang him to come over, insisting that she needed help getting together her new nursery, so here he is.

The room is dusty, the furniture covered with sheets, and the walls bare. She's detailed her entire plan, from the furniture placement to the new color they'll paint the walls today. He told her this is work for Shayna or some other hired help, but she's set on doing it herself.

He smiles when he looks at the covered dresser in the corner, just adjacent to where the crib will be. The top is lined with pictures: all the Shelby family, Johnny Dogs, Curly, Uncle Charlie, and some of Alfie's men with their mums. He chuckles under his breath when he sees that she's got at least five of him, some with her and some with Charlie. What makes him take a step back is that, tucked in the left corner next to a picture of Charlie, is Oksana.

It's her in one of her newer dresses with Charlie on her lap and the twins on either side of her. She's got a brilliant smile on her face and it looks like Charlie was caught in the middle of jumping off her lap. He can't quite pinpoint when this photo was taken, and he can't fathom why Grissy feels the need to display it in the baby's nursery.

He realizes he's been staring at the picture too long and takes a step back. He has to rub his hands on his thighs to cool the trembling of his fingers and lets out a deep breath, repeating in his mind the mantra he's carried with him all week.

Don't think about her. Don't think about her. Don't think about her.

Because if he thinks about her, the potential loss of his sanity will follow.

"I saw Arthur's car out front," he says, directing his thoughts away from Oksana as he lights a cigarette.

"No, Alfie doesn't want me smoking with the baby," she says, shooing his hand away when he tries to hand her the cigarette. "Arthur and John are helping Finny build a guest house."

He raises his eyebrows in question. "Don't you have Benji for that?"

"Yeah, but when Finny asked Alfie for the money to pay him, Alfie wouldn't give it to him. Told Finny he needed to build it on his own. Get some hair on your fucking chest, lad," she says through a laugh, perfectly imitating Alfie's condescension and timber. "Naturally, when Arthur and John heard about that, they just had to join in. So, they're out there, shirts off, swinging their dicks around as they argue over who has the correct dimensions for the foundation."

"Of course," he snorts, knowing his brothers and how huge their egos can be. "Know who's right?"

She rolls her bottom lip in her mouth with the feigned innocence he can spot a field away. "I asked Benji, and he said none of them."