Page 20 of Love Legacy

“Hey, asshat, you have two options. You can either leave of your own free will and stay the fuck away from my sister, or I can call the cops on you. Choice is yours,” I say, crossing my arms.

He glares at me, but once he notices I’m not backing down, he scoffs. “God, you’re such a bitch, Sage. Go to hell!” He retreats down the alley, presumably toward where he parked his car.

“I’ll meet you down there, fuckwit!” I shout after him, giving him a double middle finger to his back. A loud sniffle from behind me turns my attention back to Theia, and I turn to see her leaning against the brick exterior of the club, sobbing into her hands.

“The, are you okay? Did he hit you?” I ask, walking back over to her. She nods from behind her hands, unable to say the words. My heart shatters seeing how broken she looks. I pull her into my arms, wrapping my arms tight around her. “Theia, I’m so, so sorry. I should’ve stayed with you.” I hold onto her, rubbing soothing circles into her back, letting her cry it out.

Naomi, Maeve, and a couple sisters round the corner and stop in their tracks once they see us. Naomi steps toward us, concern etched on her face. “I’ve got her, you guys just head back in.”

“They actually just did an announcement for last call. We came to see if you guys wanted anything or if you were ready to leave.”

“If you guys are ready to leave, you can head back without us. We’re going to take Theia’s car back when she’s ready.”

“Are you sure?” Maeve asks. “We can wait for you guys and come back for her car in the morning.”

I nod. “I’m positive. I’ll text you guys when we make it back to Pinebrook,” I say, still rubbing Theia’s back.

Naomi gives me a small smile and gently squeezes my arm. “Let me know if you two need anything, Sage. I’m praying for Theia.”

“Thanks, Naomi,” I say softly as they all take off, heading toward the party bus.

After a bit, Theia’s sobs subside. The only sound coming from her now is a soft sniffle. “Come on, Theia, let’s get you some water and ice.”

We head back into the club to find a lot of people clearing out. Perfect. I walk Theia over to the bar, taking a seat on one of the stools.

“Sage, you know we’re closing. You missed last call,” one of the bartenders says to me. Thankfully, I know him. Dominic graduated from Pinebrook two years ago, the year after Theia. He was actually my orientation leader when I was a freshman, and we stayed in touch through the years. He was the one to introduce me to this bar since they threw a lot of queer-friendly events.

“Dom, we’re not trying to buy drinks. Theia’s been through it tonight. We just need waters. And maybe a clean towel with ice in it?” I ask him, giving my best puppy dog eyes.

“Jeez, what happened?” he asks, eyeing Theia as he pours some water for us and grabs a clean towel from one of the cupboards behind the bar.

“Something that never should have happened,” I murmur, turning to my sister and lifting her chin so I could get a good look at her face. Her cheek was extremely red, already beginning to swell a bit. She averts her gaze, chewing on her bottom lip.

“Shit.” I take the makeshift ice pack from Dom and gently press it to Theia’s cheek, holding it in place. She takes the ice pack from me, holding it herself and looking down at the bar. She couldn’t even look me in the eye.

“Theia,” I say softly, “we need to talk about what happened.”

She shakes her head.

“Yes, we do. Has he done this before? Hit you, I mean?” I ask, keeping my voice low.

Theia shakes her head again.

“How long have things been this bad? With the shouting matches, I mean? How did he even find you here?”

“He tagged my car,” she says in a small voice, barely above a whisper.

“He what?”

“Last time he visited. We got into a big fight about me staying at Pinebrook. Before he left, he put a Tile tracker under the mat in the backseat of my car.”

“He’s been stalking your location?”

“Apparently, for a couple weeks now.”

“Theia… That’s not healthy or safe for you if tonight’s any indication.”

“I–I don’t know what happened. This isn’t like him. The screaming matches, raising a hand to me, driving drunk? That’s not Aaron. I think the stress of the new job is getting to him.”

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