Reunited | Dally's Little Sister

twenty two

Chapter 22

Sage P.O.V.

It had been a week in Texas, and I knew we needed to get in touch with our brothers soon. As much as we both tried to hide it, we were getting antsy with the fear of the unknown. Angela was passed out on the bed we shared and part of me envied her for being able to sleep. I had managed to get a few hours of rest here and there, but the nightmares kept me awake most of the night.

I got out of bed and changed quietly, trying not to wake her up yet. She has been determined to make this runaway trip one to remember. After the rodeo, she made it her personal mission to hook up with as many guys as possible. I think she was on guy number eight, no nine. I had been laying low for the most part. It wasn't because I did find any of the guys appealing, none of them were Soda.

I slipped out of the room unnoticed and walked down the street to the nearest payphone. I had to be strategic about this phone call since I didn't know what was waiting in Tulsa for us. It was early morning and I knew Dally would be hungover or passed out somewhere. Buck wouldn't be up this early either. The Curtis house would alert the whole gang about my runaway stunt and draw too much attention to me. They had to know by now what happened, but that still didn't mean I wanted them hunting us down to bring us back. My only option left was Tim. I shook my head and dialed his number.

While I waited for someone to pick up, I looked at my surroundings to make sure no one was within earshot of this conversation. The street was mostly empty with the occasional car driving by. "Hello?" I heard Tim's scruffy voice.

I must have woken him up. "Tim?" I could hear him perk up some, "Sage?" My heart was pounding with how nervous this conversation made me. "Yeah it's me. What's going on up there?"

I could hear him moving around and yelled at Curly to get lost. "The feds have no idea who did it and they pulled us into the station for questioning. I didn't say much but Dally dropped a hint that it might have been someone in the Brumly boys' gang."

I nodded my head at that. "Do you think it's safe to come back soon?"

There was a pause, "You won't get any problems with the feds, but the soc have been worse than ever. I think there is going to be a rumble soon."

That didn't exactly answer my question, but I know he wants us to stay safe. "Hey umm, how's Dal?"

There was an audible sigh, "He's taken this hard, kid. The whole gang has been pretty messed up since you both left. Dally won't admit it, but he misses you. How's my kid sister doing?"

I couldn't help but chuckle, "Good. As bad as this sounds, she needed to get out of town for a while."

"And you?" I paused and thought about his question. I wasn't falling apart like I thought I would. As each day goes on, I feel myself getting a little more back to normal. "I'm fine, Tim. It's going to take a lot more than this to bring me down."

I heard him chuckle, "You both stay out of trouble until you get back here."

"A little late for that one I'm afraid." We both hung up after saying our goodbyes and I went back to the hotel to tell Angela about the conversation.

She was still asleep by the time I got back, and I woke her up by throwing a pillow at her. "The fuck is your problem Winston?"

I smirked at her and said, "Pack your things. We are going home." She sat up and asked who I talked to. "Your brother and I had a nice chat this morning. Feds have no idea it's us, so we are in the clear for now."

She gave me a rare, genuine smile, "Man I can't wait to get back."

Dally P.O.V

They had been gone a week and I was losing my damn mind. We hadn't heard from them and knowing the trouble they cause, I couldn't help but worry about them. I had to stop going around the Curtis house with how all of them were acting.

Soda was a lovesick puppy. The smile he normally had hadn't been there since the night Sage ran. Steve was beating himself up over the fact that he didn't stop them. I nearly laughed at that because there was no stopping Sage. Two-bit had been drinking more, like myself, and wanted to go and find them. Darry seemed like he was taking it hard. I know Sage had turned to him for family support and I think he feels like he failed her.

I just couldn't shake the fact that my kid sister stabbed someone. I can almost see Angela doing it because being raised by Tim can push someone to do some crazy shit.

I was sitting at the bar at Bucks, deciding to start drinking early today, when Tim walked in. I hadn't talked to him much this week and he didn't show up at Bucks, so I'm assuming he was dealing with everything in his own way. I gave him a weird look when he sat down and smirked at me. "Talked to Sage this morning."

I set my beer down and turned to him. "They okay? What did she say?"

He grabbed my beer and took a swig from it. "They are good. I don't know where they are at, but I think they are coming home soon. Told them the feds had no idea who killed them soc."

I nodded my head. "Hey man, umm how's Sage doing?"

Tim chuckled, "Damn you two are too much alike. She sounded the exact same when she asked about you." I tried to hide my smile that my sister actually wanted to know how I was. Maybe there was hope for us after all. "She seemed okay. But you know her."

I took my beer back and finished the rest of it. I did know her. She was too much like me and wasn't about to show people how fucked up she might actually be. Tim left a little after that conversation and I figured I would head to the Curtis house and let them know she is doing okay.

It was Sunday and everyone had off, meaning the house would be chaotic. I had to take a few deep breaths before I walked in, because I knew the second I told them Sage was okay, it would be nonstop questions.

I opened the door to find the house quieter than usual. Two-bit was glued to the TV, but everyone else was sitting around in silence. "Man, did someone die?"

They all turned to look at me and Soda asked if I had heard anything from Sage. Shit, maybe I should've kept coming around if they were all acting like this all week. "Yeah man. Tim talked to her this morning. Said they might be coming home soon."

It was like a switch had flipped. All of them had smiles on their faces and as hard as I tried to keep one off of mine, it didn't work. This girl has all the gang going soft and I don't think she even knew it.

Two-bit asked where she was. I shrugged my shoulders, "Don't know. Only things I know are what I just told you. Tim isn't one for heart to hearts."

Darry had walked into the kitchen and motioned for me to follow. Being alone with him makes me nervous at times because he could beat my head in at any moment. "Yeah man?"

Darry leaned against the counter and crossed his arms, "With Sage coming back you need to treat this like a second chance. I know you two are too stubborn to talk to each other, but she needs her brother. That night you left her here broke her to pieces. I know you both put up a front to act like nothing bothers you, but she cried herself to sleep thinking that you would rather her dead than look after her. And who knows how she is going to be after what happened with that soc. I don't care what you have to do to get through to her, but if you lose her again, she might not be coming back."

He was right. I fucked up with Sage and she didn't deserve that. I want her to have a good life and every wrong decision she has made since she's been here has been when I pushed her away. "I don't know how to be the caring brother. I've never been that person." I wasn't trying to make excuses and I think Darry knew that.

"She doesn't need caring, she just needs you to be there for her and not walk away when things get rough. She is a teenage girl who has been through more things that I would ever wish upon someone. Life is hard enough for us on this side of the tracks. Don't make it harder."

I don't know when Darry got this grown up, but I think I need to get with him more on what to do about my sister. I nodded my head at him and walked back into the living room where Soda and Steve were starting a new card game.

Soda looked up at me and asked if I wanted to play. "Why not? Got nothing better to do." Soda gave me one of his old smiles and I knew at that moment I needed to keep Sage here no matter what.