Until Sage (Until Him 2)

“Yes,” she answers immediately. Unhooking her belt, I pull her into my lap. I don’t want her to do this; it’s going against every instinct I have to let her. “After this, she doesn’t get anything else,” she assures, and I nod, pulling her face toward mine to kiss her. I then open my door and step out with her in my arms.

Letting her feet touch the ground, I study her in the dim streetlight for a moment before releasing her, taking her hand, and shutting my door. Walking through the parking lot toward the entrance, I can hear the murmur of voices and the sound of a woman crying. When we hit the edge of the building, Kim’s steps slow as we see everyone’s eyes come to us.

“Honey,” Pattie says, walking quickly toward us. “You guys shouldn’t be here.”

“It’s our rehearsal dinner. So yes, we should be here,” Kim corrects her mom before looking at Ginny, who is staring up at her with tears in her eyes. “You shouldn’t be here, though.”

“You’re my daughter,” Ginny replies as she puts her hands to the cement to heft herself up off the ground. Instantly, I pull Kim closer, but it’s not necessary. Talon, Bax, Jax, Evan, Wes, and Cobi all push forward, blocking the older woman from getting close.

“I’m not your daughter. You gave birth to me, but you’re not my mom. You never wanted to be my mom,” Kim says quietly, and anger flashes in Ginny’s eyes as she looks from Kim to the people gathered around her.

“You think you’re too good for me. Just like your sister, you think you’re too fucking good for me,” she hisses, and Kim’s body tenses at the mention of Kelly.

“I wish…” Kim closes her eyes then opens them back up, dropping her voice. “I wish Kelly had thought she was too good for you. I wish the second she had the chance that she would have left you and never looked back.”

“You bitch.” Ginny lunges, and I pull Kim behind me as Jax and Talon catch her by her arms. “Fuck you!” she screams.

“Why are you here? How did you even know about tonight?” I ask, and her eyes come to me.

“Her gay friend told me,” she hisses, and I look at Chris, who is standing with his boyfriend, looking completely freaked out as he takes in the scene.

“What?” Kim whispers, looking over at Chris, who is now pale.

“I… I called to her to ask for the ashes. I wanted to give them to you. I told her you were getting married and that… fuck….” He jerks his hand through his hair.

“Chris,” Kim whispers, and his eyes meet hers and fill with tears.

“I swear I didn’t know she’d do this. She was just supposed to come and meet me. I wanted you to have them.”

“It’s okay.”

“It’s not.” He shakes his head.

“You will never have any piece of her,” Ginny yells, and Kim’s body jolts. “You don’t deserve to have a piece of her, so fuck you.” She points at Kim then she swings her hand around, pointing at everyone else. “Fuck all of you.”

“Are the cops on the way?” Talon asks, looking at my dad, and I see him nod before watching Ginny’s eyes get wide.

“You called the cops on me?”

“You’re wasted. You drove here wasted. No fucking way am I gonna let you get behind the wheel of a car in the state you’re in,” Dad mutters, and she starts to fight, but with six giant dudes holding her, she is barely struggling when the cops pull in and put her in cuffs.

“Well, now that’s done, how about we go celebrate?” my mom suggests with a smile fifteen minutes later as the cops load a still screaming Ginny into the backseat of the squad car.

“Seriously, babe?” my dad scolds with a grin twitching his lips.

“What?” My mom frowns at him.

“Nothing,” he mutters, pulling her in to kiss the side of her head.

Leading Kim away from everyone, I wait until we’re out of earshot then tug her into my front and rest my hand around the side of her neck, dipping my face close to hers. “You okay?”

As she pulls in a breath, her head tips back and her hands move to rest against my chest. “I’m okay.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, I think I needed that. I used to wonder why Kelly cared about her so much and why she kept going back. I thought maybe I was missing something or that I was missing out on something,” she confesses, dropping her forehead to my chest. “I’m glad I know now there is nothing for me to mourn. She’s just a person. Yes, she gave birth to me, but she will never be a part of my life, and I will never be a part of hers.”