“Don’t you fucking knock, asswipe?” I grab out the pans and set them on the stove. This idiot is just lucky that I’m in a good mood for once.

A few seconds later, Stone appears in the kitchen followed by Ash. My eyes linger on her for a moment as she gives me a worried look. There’s something about the look in her eyes that seems oddly familiar.

“Is Onyx with you? I haven’t heard from her since last night and I didn’t know who to ask,” she questions while looking around the kitchen. “I called Stone and he said she might be here. Is she?”

Pulling my eyes away, I rub my hands over my face really fast and point down the hall just as Onyx appears.

“Okay, I sent her a text . . .” She looks up to see us all standing in the kitchen and freezes. Her eyes linger over to Ash and she turns ghostly white, all the color draining from her face. “Ash! What are you doing here?”

Ash walks past me and over to Onyx. “What the hell? I was worried sick about you. I’m here to make sure that you’re okay.”

Onyx leans her head back before turning to face the other direction and breathing heavily. “Shit! I can’t do this anymore. I’m so sorry, guys. I’m so damn sorry.”

My chest aches from her words. I don’t understand why she’s so worried about Ash coming here and why the hell she’s apologizing to us. I walk towards the girls. “Talk, Onyx. What the hell is-”

I look up and my eyes meet the back of Ash’s neck. My whole fucking world comes crashing down in front of me. I have to turn the other way and clench my hands together to keep from breaking something. “Fuck!” I crouch down and grip my hair in anger. This can’t be happening. Please tell me Onyx has not been keeping this shit from me. “Onyx. What the fuck? You better start talking and now!”

She’s hesitant for a moment, the whole room in a thick silence.

“Ash. I have something to tell you,” she whispers. “I have something to tell both you and Hemy. ”

Taking a few deep breaths, I stand back up and turn around to face Onyx. I want to see her when she fucking crushes me and turns my world upside down. “Say it,” I growl out. “Fucking say it, dammit.”

She turns her head away as a tear rolls down her cheek. “God, this is so hard. I never meant to hurt anyone. I just wanted to keep you safe, Ash. Please understand that. I didn’t want you to get hurt like I did. I didn’t want to get your hopes up and then have your world crushed.” She pauses as Ash gives her a confused look. “Back when I met you in that coffee shop in Wisconsin and I saw that scar on the back of your neck . . . I had an idea of who you were.”

Ash’s eyes widen and her nostrils flare as she rubs a hand over the back of her neck. “What are you saying, Onyx? I don’t like where this is going . . .”

Onyx looks over to face the both of us, her face wet with fresh tears. I always hated that look. It fucking hurts. “As soon as you told me you were adopted, I knew you were Hemy’s sister. I knew you were Sage. I’m so damn sorry. You’re probably going to hate me forever but I did it for a good reason. It’s just too bad it’s going to hurt us all in the end. Shit,” she cries.

Ash lets out a soft breath before turning to face me. Her eyes look pained as she takes me in and shakes her head. My heart fucking hurts as I watch her; my baby sister and she’s standing right in front of me.

“That makes no sense. My brother’s name was Tyler. His name wasn’t Hemy.” She looks up at my hair. “And his hair was lighter.” She swallows and looks into my eyes. “Those eyes . . .” She turns away. “Why are you messing with me? Why are you trying to hurt me? Please stop this.”

Out of instinct, I step up beside Sage and touch her scar just like I used to when we were kids. Her bottom lip quivers just like in the past and she sucks in a burst of air. It’s taking everything in me right now not to break down into tears. I’ve searched for ten years; ten fucking years, and now here she is, but on top of it Onyx knew and kept it from me. How could she keep something like this from me? Fuck!

“It’s the truth, Sage. Shit, I can’t believe this is happening.” I pause to catch my breath and pull my hand away. “She’s telling the truth. You were too young to remember, but I went by my middle name when we were growing up. Dad hated mom for naming me Hemy so everyone started calling me Tyler. It’s the only thing you knew me by. That piece of shit. Fuck!” I turn around and punch the wall. “I couldn’t fucking find you. I’ve searched for ten years. I’m so sorry.” My voice cracks as I attempt to keep my composure. It’s proving to be harder than I thought and all I want to do is ruin my parents and then break down.

Sage lets out a strangled cry before falling down to her knees and covering her face. “This can’t be happening. I don’t . . .” She sucks in a breath. “I don’t know what to say. I’ve wondered about you my whole life.” She shakes her head and cries harder. “Tyler . . .”

Falling down on my knees next to her, I pull her into my arms and press her face into my shoulder as she cries. Holding her next to me makes me want to bawl like a baby, but I fight it. It’s so damn hard. I let a few tears fall as the anger and relief floods through me. I’m relieved to have Sage in my life, but angry as hell that Onyx would do this to me when she knows how badly I’ve been hurting.

I look up to the sound of Stone’s voice. “Holy shit. I’m going to go and give you all some time. I don’t need to be here for this. Sorry, man.”

I nod my head and pull Sage closer as she wraps her arms around me, her whole body in a shaking mess. “I’m never letting you out of my damn sight again.” She lets out something between a cry and a laugh and I can’t help but to smile. “I mean that, Sage. Not a day has gone by that I haven’t thought about you. I love you so damn much.”
Her grip on me tightens, but she doesn’t say a word. She doesn’t have to. It may take her a while to remember me as much as I remember her and that’s okay. I’ll give her as much time as she needs, but she’s not leaving Chicago. Her home is with me, like it should have been over ten years ago.

After what seems like a lifetime, Sage pulls away and looks at my face. She lets one last tear roll down her face before reaching for my hair. “This hair,” she says with a laugh. “I think my big brother needs a haircut.”