Sage was quiet a long moment, then he sighed, “What do we do? The lawyer says you need to be there—there’s shit that involves you, and he thinks some of dad’s old colleagues are going to have some questions.”
“Why? Because his teenage sons ran away from home and then abuse allegations surfaced from the single teacher who bothered to give a fuck?” Derek asked bitterly. He dragged a hand down his face. “I don’t want to care about any of this.”
“I know,” Sage said, his voice barely above a whisper. “I don’teither. I’m done with him, and done with people dying and I just…” He let out a ragged sigh. “Will you come with me?”
“Yeah. I already booked us a flight,” Derek admitted, because he had. It was the first thing he’d done after Basil said he was going to stay by his side. “Basil’s coming too.”
He half expected Sage to protest, but instead his brother just chuckled. “Thank god.”
“Seriously?” Derek asked.
“I’ve never seen you look at anyone the way you look at him. He’s…fuck’s sake, I signed up for sign class last week because I’m not about to exchange notes like a fucking middle schooler to talk to my eventual brother-in-law.”
Derek felt something warm explode in his chest, and it took a full thirty seconds before he could breathe again. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me,” Sage said, almost furious. “Don’t thank me for being the bare minimum of decent person. Just…pack your shit and let’s get this over with. I want to put that man in the past for good.”
“Me too,” Derek breathed out. “I’m done letting him make me into this mess.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“Hey, kiddo.”
Derek almost smacked his head, startled halfway under his desk as he gathered up a group of fallen pencils. Pushing back on his stool, he spun and glowered at Tony and Sam who were barely restraining a laugh. “Thanks, fuckers.”
Sam’s grin turned a little sad, and Derek felt a pang of irritation because the last thing he needed was more coddling from everyone. “We just wanted to catch you before you and Sage head out.” He pushed his chair a little closer and reached out his hand.
Derek was helpless against the offer of comfort, and let Sam take his arm. “We’re only going to be gone like four days, man. Trust me, I’m not eager to draw this out.”
“I know,” Sam said, and his gaze flickered back up to Tony who had Jasmine propped up on his shoulder, her face smushed against his shirt as she slept. “And I promise we’re not going to be assholes and baby you about this. We just want to remind you that this shit sucks, no matter what kind of scum he was, and if you need anything…”
“I’m good,” Derek told him, and gently pulled away from his grip. “I just want to move past this. It’ll…fuck,” he dragged his hand back through his hair, “it’ll be nice to just bury the fucker and not have to take those calls anymore.”
Except the strange thing was, knowing that weekly call wasn’t coming in felt strange. Not bad—he wasn’t going to miss listening to the old fuck slur into the receiver about what a disappointing homo he was, and how much he’d tried to beat the gay out of him, and some sinners just couldn’t be cured. But the fact that it was over, the fact that this part of his life was irrevocably changed unsettled him. And logically he knew it was because he depended on routine. That the good and the bad were what kept him functioning. Still, he wanted to be rid of that. He wanted the newness to feel normal, and he wanted it to hurry.
“Look, you know we can close up shop and do the whole funeral thing with you, Der,” Tony said, shifting Jasmine a little. “Our clients will understand, and those that don’t, well we don’t need their fuckin’ business anyway.”
Derek couldn’t help a twinge of gratitude as he pushed himself up to stand, clasping Tony’s shoulder. He gently rubbed his fingertips over Jasmine’s curls, smiling when she nuzzled her dad’s neck a bit in her sleep. “Thanks, man. Seriously, you have no idea how much I appreciate it, but we’re not making a big deal out of this. We’re the only family he had left, and we’ve already talked to the priest. It’s going to be quick and dirty, and then we get to head home.”
“Sage said you were bringing Basil with you,” Sam told him.
Derek nodded, shoving one hand into his pocket just to keep his hand from fidgeting. “Yeah. Yeah, he…I don’t even know how to feel about it, really. Like…shit. That’s never happened before—someone who gave that much of a shit about me.” When the pair of them looked a little affronted, he rolled his eyes. “I don’t mean family, asshats. I mean…other.”
“Right,” Sam said, waggling his brows.
Derek kicked at his wheel gently. “I expect to come home andfind all you fucks enrolled in the class Sage just signed up for, by the way. No more fucking excuses. For him, and for Jasmine. Enough bullshitting around it.”
Tony’s cheeks darkened a little, but his lip twitched into a half smile. “I’ll see to it.”
Derek nodded, then turned around to gather the supplies he wanted to bring on the plane. “I’ll uh…I’ll keep in touch,” he promised without turning back around. “And Sam, you call me if shit goes down. I haven’t given up on my promise to find you a lawyer, okay? We’re going to work this out.”
“Derek, right now,” Sam started, but Derek spun around and quieted him with a firm stare.
“No. Now is exactly the right time for it, Sam. In the midst of all this bullshit, if I can get something good out of it, I’ll feel like maybe I won’t totally lose my mind, okay? So, when you get home, you kiss May for me and tell her uncle DeDe loves her and that he’s going to help make this right.”
Sam swallowed thickly, then nodded. “Just be safe, asshole. And don’t be mad if you come back to me poaching all your clients. You know they can’t resist my charm.”
“Fuck off,” Derek said, grinning through the words. “I’ll be in touch.” He hugged them both, then headed back to Sage’s where he and Basil were waiting. Their flight was in a few hours, and the airport was going to be a huge pain. But it would be over. The ending was on the horizon, and Derek was more than looking forward to closing the book on that chapter of his life.
