Reunited | Dally's Little Sister

fifty

Ch 50

Sage P.O.V.

I wish I could say I had some sort of self-control when it came to certain situations. But here we were, blood dripping down my face, dreading knocking on the door in front of me.

It was three in the morning, and I knew Tim was going to be beyond pissed when I woke him up for this. His door wasn't an open-door policy like the Curtis house, and I found that out the hard way last week when he had a heater in his hand, ready to shoot whoever was that walked in. After a swift slap to the back of the head, I knew to never do that again. Which is why I was standing here trying to get the courage to knock.

Another drop of blood landed on the ground, and I figured it was either now or never. Last thing I needed was to make it look like Tim killed someone on his front porch. A couple knocks and a few seconds of silence later, Tim opened the door looking like he just woke up. The scowl on his face didn't lighten up when he saw me standing there, but he did look me over to see how badly I was hurt. "Bathroom. Now."

Two simple words that had me nearly running through his house. No amount of time would ever have me fell 100% comfortable around the oldest Shepard. While I trusted him with my life at this point, I also knew he could make it a living hell.

When I got to the bathroom, I sat down on the closed toilet lid, waiting for Tim to tell me what to do next. He silently moved about grabbing the first aid kit and an old towel, not looking at me once. I knew it was late at night, but normally he would've at least asked what had happened by now. Thinking about all the reasons why he would be giving me the silent treatment, I nearly slapped myself when I realized what it was.

Angela and I ran into some Soc's a week before she died, and this same scenario happened. We walked in and Tim told us to get to the bathroom so he could fix us up. Dallas was fetched by Curly, and the two of us sat there getting ripped apart by our older brothers about how stupid we were. That was the last time Tim spent that much time with her and me being here had to open old wounds.

"Gosh, Tim. I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking about where I was going only that I needed to at least get somewhere. I can go." I went to stand up and he put a hand on my shoulder.

"Sit your ass down." I did as he said and waited for him to say something. "How did this happen?" He still hadn't looked at me and I knew this story wasn't going to help.

"I was working a shift at Buck's and this one guy wouldn't leave me alone all night. I told him off a few times, but Buck ended up kicking him out because he didn't stop. I didn't think much of it when I was taking the trash out, but that guy was hanging around. The second he saw me shit went south and we got into it. The only reason why he let up was because I pulled a blade on him. After that I went in to grab my stuff and came here." I was playing with my hands, trying to figure out what else to say, but a sigh from him had me look up.

The look on his face seemed like a mixture of anger and something else. Grief? "Why didn't you go to the Curtis house?"

That was a damn good question. It had been a week since my talk with Darry and I hadn't stepped foot in there since. No one's fault, really. Things were just busy. I had worked nearly every night at Buck's and spent the days getting through this schoolwork. Sometimes I was here, but mostly I stayed in the empty room above the bar. No word on my brother yet, which I took as he was still breathing.

But it almost felt like I didn't have a place anymore. The gang loved Dallas in their own way, and he has been in their lives longer than I have. Between mourning the death of Johnny and getting through watching their friend almost kill himself, it felt like I needed to walk on eggshells around them. Dallas was Tim's best friend, and I was his sister's, which made me think that the sight of me brings back all the unwanted memories.

Suddenly, I felt like an outsider to them.

"Sage." His voice broke my train of thought, and I shrugged my shoulders. "This was closer."

Tim stopped what he was doing and looked at me. The change in my tone gave me away and I knew he wasn't going to let it go. "What's the real reason?"

I shook my head, "It doesn't matter. I just need to close this cut and then I'll go."

He leaned against the wall behind him and crossed his arms. "Go where?"

I could feel my temper starting to flare up and tried my hardest to keep it in check. "I don't know. Back to Buck's I guess."

Tim knew the buttons he was pressing when he said, "Back to the place where you got jumped?"

I threw my hands up in exacerbation, "I don't know what you want from me, Tim! Do I go back to my brothers' gang? Back to the bar where we both used to live at? Or to my dead best friend's brother's house?" I watched him flinch at the last question and knew I was getting close to crossing the line. "I have nowhere to fucking go and I don't know what to do anymore."

I angrily wiped away the few tears that managed to fall and stood up to leave. Tim pushed off the wall and blocked the doorway, so I couldn't get out. "I'm only going to say this once so listen closely. You always have a place here if you need it. Hell, I'd rather you be here so I can keep an eye on you. But just because Angela isn't here anymore doesn't mean I stop caring. I meant it when I said you were like family to me, Sage. And I know you haven't had the best luck when it comes to family, but I am not going to let you go like your brother did. I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't lose you like I did Ange. So cut the 'I feel bad for myself' shit because there are people who still care about you even though others are gone."

I was stunned into silence by what he just said. All I could do was nod my head and sit back down as I processed everything. The feeling of something cold on my face made me jump, but a hand kept me in place. "Keep still."

I knew I had a decent cut on the top of my eyebrow, but damn I didn't think it would hurt this bad. Tim worked quickly, wiping the blood off my face, and putting something over the cut to stop it from bleeding. The two of us were silent during the exchange, not really knowing what to say. It wasn't often Tim was open with people, which made it that more shocking to hear. He was right though. I needed to stop feeling sorry for myself and move on.

"I don't like you working at the bar this often, but I understand it. Keep the blade on you and I'll try to keep a guy there when you get off." He stepped back and ran a hand through his hair, making me nervous for what he was about to say. "I need to clean out Angela's room soon. You can have hers if you want."

I had to look down at that statement. With Dallas and I on the outs and being I a weird spot with the gang, I didn't have many options. "Can I think about it?"

Tim gave me a hum in response. "Just promise me you will at least come here if you don't have anywhere to go." I gave him a head nod and he finally backed away from the exit, allowing me to exhale. Something about being trapped in the bathroom with him had me on edge the entire time.

I headed back out to the living room, but Tim's voice stopped me. "You can have my room tonight."

"The couch is fine, Tim. I feel bad stealing your bed every time I'm here."

I almost missed the smirk with how fast it came and went. "Kid, if I wanted my bed your ass would be out here. Don't think I'm doing you any favors."

I couldn't help the playful smile, "Wouldn't want everyone else to know you've gone soft." I ducked out of the room with a laugh before he could throw something at me. No one would believe me anyway.

As I got into bed, I let out a deep breath thinking about the last few hours. Tim may be a rough hood, but he cared fiercely for his own. In that moment I felt like things might be okay.

Little did I know Pony snuck out the same night.