Chapter 23
Sage P.O.V.
The second we stepped off the bus was when all of the emotions came flooding back. On the ride back I had been convincing myself that I was fine, and this was where I turned a new leaf. No more stupid decisions on my part and I was going to turn my life around.
One of the things I really had to come to terms with is getting the Winston chip off my shoulder. Walking away from a life full of attitude and trouble was going to be tough, but if I wanted to stay out of the cooler and make something of myself, I needed to make some major changes. I thought about distancing myself from those who brought out the worst in me. But that would mean losing my best friend and brother in the process.
Angela was like a drug that made you feel way too damn good while on it but manages to fuck up your life in the process. She made me feel invincible and like nothing in this god forsaken world could ever bring me down. But then again, we committed a double murder together, and ditched this town to not get caught. Don't get me wrong, having a mini vacation while hiding from the cops was thrilling and boy was that a story I would tell my kids later on. But the voices in my head only got louder as time moved on and the blood on my hands would never go away. So, like I said, she was a damn drug.
Dal was a different story though. He wasn't the brother I needed and always seemed to push me away when shit hits the fan. Darry has been there more for me than Dal, but something about my hot-headed brother always made me come running back to him no matter how much his words had cut through me. At the end of the day, trouble always seems to follow me, and I need to figure out how to escape it if I wanted to live past my 18th birthday.
Angela and I had started walking down the street, both of us caught up in our thoughts to say anything. It didn't take us long to reach her street and we saw Tim standing outside of their house yelling at Curly for god knows what. He did a double take when he saw us standing there and made his way towards us.
I saw Angela tense up and I knew she had been stressing over this mini reunion. I had no idea how it would be between my brother and I, so I couldn't judge her hesitancy at all. Tim looked both of us over, making sure we were in one piece, before he pulled Angela into a quick hug. She let out a small yelp, thinking she was going to be hit instead of arms wrapping around her.
I gave a small smile at the two of them, knowing Dally would do nothing like this. The rest of the guys would, but their actions didn't get to me like my brothers did. After all the years of abuse and abandonment by my own family, the only thing I wanted was a little bit of affection. It might seem childish to want such a tiny thing, but Winston's were known to be cold hearted and I was over keeping up that act.
Tim let go of his sister and looked at me, "You doin okay kid?" I nodded my head and shoved my hands in my pockets. He seemed to know I wasn't but didn't push me on the matter. Taking a step back, he pointed a finger at the two of us, "If the two of you ever pull a stunt like that again I will skin you myself. You got me?" He was trying to scold us, but his tone told me he was just happy we were back.
We both nodded our heads to him, and I started walking towards the Curtis house. "You want me to walk you back? The Soc have been all over this side of town ever since their friends died." I froze at Tim's words almost forgetting for a second that we were cold blooded killers. It was a short walk, and nothing was supposed to happen between here and there, but the way Tim had said what he did made me question walking another ten feet by myself. "I should be fine."
He shook his head and told Angela to go back to the house and came walking towards me. "Your brother would kill me if something happened to you the second you came back." I rolled my eyes at him and we headed to the Curtis house. Tim wasn't one for talking and honestly, I was fine with it right now.
I was still trying to figure out what I was going to do when I saw the gang. Yeah, they were going to be excited I am back, but once the excitement calms down, I had no idea what kind of talk was waiting for me. As we got closer the nerves were starting to show. I was fiddling with the hem of my shirt and Tim noticed. "They just want you back. Don't think too much into it."
I shrugged my shoulder and thought back to how I left them. My brother had stormed out without me giving him an explanation and Steve covered for me when we snuck out. Soda and I were in a good place before I decided to kill someone and skip town. Lord knows he won't want to be with a murderer. What will Darry think? God I was worse than my own brother at this point and I have a feeling everyone knew that too.
A hand on my shoulder brought me back to reality. I looked up and saw we were standing outside the Curtis house and based of the noise that was coming from inside, I knew the whole gang was there. Tim gave me a supportive squeeze on my shoulder and then turned to walk back to his house. I knew he wouldn't stay but part of me was hoping he would at least walk me in.
What am I saying? I've known these guys for most of my life and clearly, I need to get over myself. What's the worst that could happen? They want me gone? I've felt rejection from my own brother many times, what's adding a few more people to that list? I shook my head to get rid of these thoughts as I opened the gate and walked up the steps. Taking one last deep breath, I opened the door and saw seven pairs of eyes turn to look at me.
My hands were shaking as I stood in the doorway and dropped my bag on the ground, waiting for one of them to say something. Maybe this was a bad decision. Maybe I could've made a life back in Dallas and started fresh. I started to turn around and walk back out the door when Two-bit hopped over the couch and picked me up into a bear hug. "Sage Winston! Glory have we missed you!" He put me down and I couldn't help but smile back at his goofy grin.
Pony and Johnny were next, wrapping both of their arms around me and squeezing tight. Pony started asking a million questions like where I was, what I did, who I met. He didn't stop until Johnny hit his shoulder. "Calm down man. Give her a minute." I gave Johnny a thankful smile and he blushed as he turned his head from me. Man, these two boys were something else.
Steve pushed them aside and wrapped his arms around me. He whispered in my ear so only I could hear, "I will never in my life ever let you walk away like that again." He pulled away and I looked down. "Sorry." He kissed my forehead and told me it was my one freebee. I gave him a smirk and saw Soda walk towards me.
My heart seemed like it was in my throat as I was trying to calm myself down. He had tears in his eyes, which only made me feel worse. "Soda I-" He cut me off as his lips came crashing down on mine. I was caught off guard of the sudden movement, but quickly kissed him back. I never in my life thought that he would give me another chance, and this was one of those moments I never wanted to end.
A voice caused us to jump back, "I'm trying real hard right now to not beat your head in for kissin' my sister." Soda gave me his famous grin and I bit my lip, trying not to smile like a crazy person. It took me a second to realize that the voice had belonged to my brother.
I broke my gaze from Soda and looked to see my brother leaning against the wall, arms crossed like he didn't have a care in the world. The room seemed to stop as the two of us stared each other down. Just like Angela did, I tensed up as he started walking towards me. Soda seemed to notice and only stood a few steps away from me in case he needed to intervene. Dally was standing directly in front of me as everyone in the room froze, worried about how the two Winston's were going to act with each other.
He put a hand on my shoulder, and I flinched, thinking it was going to connect with my face like it had before. He saw how I reacted, and I swear on my life I saw his eyes soften at me. "I can't lose you again, Sage. You are all I have left." And then pulled me into a bone crushing hug.
This was the love and affection I was longing for. The one thing I thought my cold-hearted brother was never capable of and it was something I was going to hold on to as long as I could.
I looked over my brother's shoulder to see Darry giving us a heartwarming smile. He had this proud look on his face, and I knew he had something to do with this. I mouthed a "thank you" to him and was met with a wink.
In this moment, my life was nothing short of perfect and I never thought in a million years I would ever get to feel as safe as I do now.
Hi everyone! Thank you so much for all of the reads and those of you who have left comments! It honestly makes me so happy that even just one person is enjoying this story as much as I am writing it. With that being said, I have more to offer but only if you all want it. Part of me is okay ending the story in the next few chapters. Sage has hit a high moment in her life and has the option to find her happy ending. But another part has so much more to offer with Sage and her rollercoaster life. Please let me know what you all think I should do! Again, thank you so much for making it this far in the story!! Stay gold.
-C