CHAPTER 27
Kyle
“Are you sure?” I question.
“Yes, I’m sure.” Savvy laughs. “Get your ass down here.” Then she hangs up.
I wipe my hands down my face and try to stifle a laugh and fail.
“What’s so funny Dad?” Gabe hops up on the stool next to me at the kitchen island.
“Nothing bud but I need to run out really quick. I’m gonna call one of your uncles to come over.”
“Can you call Uncle Josh? Uncle Jay just tries to teach me how to make farting noises with my arm. Why do I need to know how to fart with my arm when I can fart with my ass?”
He’s dead fucking serious. No hint of a smile on his face. “Uncle Josh it is. And don’t say ass.”
“Sorry, my patootie.” He replies.
“No, don’t say that either.” I laugh. “Your butt.”
I’m shaking my head when I walk out of the kitchen already dialing Josh’s number. He agrees and ten minutes later shows up and I’m out the door.
It takes me no time to get downtown and when I park I look to my right. The sign for Monkey Bars is shining bright for the early evening.
“Let’s get this shit show over with…” I say to myself and get out of my car. With my hat pulled down low, I walk through the doors of the bar and look around. You’d think this place was like a sanctuary for the Cage boys but it’s anything but. Everyone in town knows the ties to our family that run through this place and they try to get in and get a glimpse of one of us… well not Jay but don’t tell him that.
Where the hell is she? I look around some more before I see Savvy waving me over to the bar.
“What’s going on Sav? Where is she?”
She cringes and points to her feet. Now I’m confused and unsure of how to take that gesture.
“Get your ass over here will you?” She demands and I round the bar and stop in my tracks. And laugh. Lying asleep at Savvy’s feet is my girl. Passed out behind the bar. Once again, I wish I could document this moment but I’m sure it wouldn’t work out too well for me if I did.
“What the hell happened?” I ask bending down and brushing Sophie’s hair off her face.
“She came in hours ago saying she didn’t want to be by herself at home. She started taking shot after shot, then she passed out at my feet when she was crawling back here to get another drink because I shut her off.”
“You should have shut her off six shots ago from the looks of it.” I look down at my girl and can’t help but feel horrible. This is all my fault.
“I tried, the girl can be feisty when she wants a drink.” She laughs.
“Don’t I know it.” I try to figure out a plan because of my fucking cast. She needs to sleep it off, so with Savvy’s help I get her safely in my car. Sophie stirs a bit but then she nuzzles into my chest as I’m buckling her in before passing out again.
“Thanks for coming.”
“Don’t thank me. This is my fault.” I close the door and before I get around her to leave Savvy places her hand on my shoulder.
“You fucked up… bad. But there’s still hope. She still loves you.” I nod my head but inside I’m freaking out with excitement. Savvy wouldn’t say that unless she meant it.
The drive to my house is uneventful filled with silence and Sophie’s soft snores. There’s no way I’m dropping her off at her house with no one to watch over her and I’ll need to keep Gabe at my house tonight for obvious reasons.
As I struggle my way through the front door of my house cursing my cast once again, I realize I should have had Josh get Gabe out of there, or at least taken him outside.
“What’s wrong with Mom?” Gabe asks with worry lacing his voice.
“Nothing bud. She was so tired she just… fell asleep. I’m gonna go put her to bed.”
“Make sure to put her in your bed Daddy, it’s her favorite.”
“You got it bud.”
I walk up the stairs and down the hall to my bedroom. I’ll probably get my nuts ripped off later but I don’t care. She is going to know how much I love her one way or another. And I want to take care of her. I need to.
After tucking her in, I leave my room and shut the door.
I’m pretty sure when she wakes up I’m going to be dealing with another side of Sophie I’m all too used to but haven’t seen in years.
A completely pissed off woman.
Maybe I should put on a cup?
***
Boom… bang… boom
“The dragon lady’s awake.” Gabe whispers causing me to burst out laughing. But I quickly switch my expression to neutral because if Soph hears Gabe call her that I’ll really lose my balls.
“Don’t say that… it’s Mom. Got it?” I give him my best Dad glare causing him to smile at me and nod his head in understanding.
Sophie comes fumbling into the living room looking disheveled and disoriented. “Good morning buttercup.”
Sophie completely ignores me and walks to Gabe. She bends down and kisses his forehead then sits next to him on the couch.
“Whatcha playing kiddo?”
“Idiot Zombie.”
I raise my hands in surrender after she shoots me a mean mug. “Hey, he knows how to download games himself.”
“Child locks Kyle… passwords.” She grabs my coffee that’s on the table next to her and downs it. “Surely you know a parent can set boundaries on a tablet.”
“Dragon lady’s in a bad mood.” Gabe mutters under his breath.
“What did you call me?”
Gabe’s little head pops up with fear written all over his face. “Um… I… that’s what Dad called you last night!”
Son of a bitch! I need to have a little chat with my son about talking me up, not aiding in me losing my nut sack. I’ve heard of the birds and bees chat but what about your dicks as important as the breaths you take talk? Surely that’s a standard conversation I should be having with my boy. With the look Sophie’s sending me once again, I’m not sure I’ll live to see the day to have that conversation.
“Hey, I said it in a good way.”
“How is calling me a dragon lady a good thing?”
“Oh, don’t worry Mom. He said that when you woke up you’d rip his dinky off and eat it for breakfast. He didn’t say anything bad about you. I’d love to be a dragon, dragons are cool Mom.”
“We’re leaving Gabe. Can you go grab your things so I can have a little talk with your father?”
“Busted…” He mumbles under his breath before doing as the dra… er… Sophie told him to.
She turns to me and closes her eyes. After a few deep breaths she reopens them back up and I see so much pain in her eyes. “Listen, about last night…”
“Don’t even mention it. And I know you’re pissed I brought you here but there was no way I was dropping you off alone at home. I still love you Soph, there was no way I was doing that.”
“I appreciate it but you could have called my Mom… or even one of the girls.”
“Savvy’s the one that called me. I found you passed out behind the bar on the floor. I’m not going to apologize for taking care of you.”
Her eyes begin to glisten before she shakes her head and gets up off the couch. She mutters a thank you before leaving the room and shouting for Gabe.
“Hey, why don’t you guys stay for breakfast? I can make pancakes?”
“We can’t.” She replies.
“Or won’t.”
“Kyle, I just… can’t.” She looks like she’s trying to make up her mind on whether to share more or keep it inside. There’s another beat of silence and she walks to the window looking out at my backyard.
“Don’t hold back Soph, I need to know how you’re feeling so I know how to fix this.” I place my hand on her shoulder and she shakes it off.
“It hurts too much to be around you.” She sniffles then turns around to face me with tears in her eyes. “You gave me happiness I’d dreamt about for years then took it away! I thought we were the real deal!” She’s shouting and I want nothing more than to comfort her but I know I can’t do that right now.
“We were… are the real deal. I fucked up, you just need to give me another chance!” I’m starting to raise my voice too. Hoping that if I get how I feel across she’ll take me back.
“I don’t know if I can…” She whispers. “It’s only ever been you. It’s always been just you. And now…”
“And now…”
“You fucked up.” She squares her shoulders and walks towards the hallway that leads to my front door.
“Soph!”
She turns around and looks at me and I know I need to say something. Do something.
“I’m not giving up.”
“I hope you don’t but I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to trust you again.” And with that she leaves. Gabe runs up and says goodbye to me and they’re just… gone.
I’ve never felt so alone in my entire life.
I grab my keys a short while later and make my way to my Mom’s house. If anyone can impart some wisdom on me, whip my ass into shape so to speak, it’ll be Judy Cage.
A few minutes after knocking, Billy opens the door and invites me inside. I still can’t believe my Moms remarrying again and I don’t mean that in a bratty way. I’m not one of those selfish kids that thinks even in my father’s death that she’s still married and should remain loyal to him. I’m sure some people do that and that’s perfectly fine but my Mom deserves to be happy and I’m glad she’s found someone else to share her life with. I know falling in love with someone can be rare sometimes but having two in a lifespan… that’s something right there.
“Hey Ky, what’s going on?” My Mom smiles as she enters the kitchen. I stand up and pull her into a bear hug when she gets close enough to me.
“Hey Mom.”
“That bad, huh?”
“You have no idea.”
“I think I do.” She laughs. “Relationships are a lot of work and to put it bluntly… you fucked up son.”
“Wow, my Mom just dropped the F-bomb.” I wipe my hands down my face. “Alright, give it to me straight. I need to get back in Sophie’s good graces. I need my family back.”
“You’ll get them back baby, you just need to give her time.”
“But…”
“No. You’ve always been horrible at waiting for anything. But this time I’m afraid you have to give Sophie some time to heal before she figures out if she can share a life with you. Think of someone besides yourself.”
“Ouch.” I sigh and look at the countertop.
“I mean that lovingly Ky.”
I laugh. “I know Mom. I’m a huge dick, a huge disappointment.”
“Never, you’ve never been a disappointment. Did you lose your way for a while? Yes, you did. But in the past few months since Sophie and that amazing boy came into your life… I can’t describe it. Yes, I can. You stopped being a douchebag and became the sweet boy I raised. The Kyle before he became Mr. MMA star.”
“Okay, I’ll do it. I’ll give her time. But not too much.”
My Mom laughs and places her hand on my cheek. “It’ll all be worth it when you’re all together again.”
“You think she’ll ever forgive me?”
“Of course, I do. And if she decides to be a pain in the ass after you give her space… I have an ace up my sleeve.” She takes a sip of her coffee and shoots me a wink.
“You’re not going to fill me in, are you?”
“If I tell you you’ll march down to her house right now. Time Ky, time.”
“Okay… so the weddings coming up huh?”
Excitement lights her face as she starts diving into her wedding plans. She gets married to Billy the last week of March and her pure happiness starts to rub off on me. The weddings in Barbados, right on the beach like my Mom envisioned. Billy’s a sucker and would give my Mom anything to make her happy. She’s getting her destination wedding which will a be fantastic bonus to get away if the winter lingers around here for an extra month.
“Oh, I’ve been meaning to ask you about Gabe. Is he coming to the wedding with you?”
“I’d hope it would be all three of us at that point.” I grumble. She places her hand on mine and gives it a squeeze.
“Time.”
Could she be anymore cryptic?