The Fall

Chapter 30

Kade

Something's wrong with Sage. I can't put my finger on it, but she seems distant today and during therapy, she made every effort to avoid touching me. Anyone else who's not avid at observing Sage Henderson like I am, wouldn't pick up on the way she tries to hide herself. Dr. Lawrence, it seems is aware of this change in Sage as well, but she doesn't bring it up.

"Is it okay if we don't do dinner? I'm not feeling that great and I didn't sleep well last night," she explained and drops her gaze to the floor. Kendall frowns and pressed her hand to Sage's forehead. "You don't have a fever, but you're probably stressed and anxious and that can be taxing on the body." She glances back at her son and ex-husband, before turning back to her daughter. "Get some rest and we'll see you in the morning before we head back, okay?"

"Thanks, mom," Sage murmurs, sighing as her mom hugs her tightly and kisses her temple. I spot the tears before she could wipe them away and frown. Stealing a glance at Kyle tells me he sees them too. Something or someone upset Sage and I'm gonna find out...starting with that asshole Holden Townsend. "You guys don't have to keep coming up here. I'll be out of here by Christmas."

If that doesn't raise my hackles, then the wall Sage has rebuilt around herself has. This girl's been through enough pain and now that she's getting help, something else is happening to her. I clenched my hands at my sides, my body radiating tension and Sage's baby blue widened before she looks away. We say our goodbyes and head back to the rental.

"Okay, tell me I'm not the only one who thought that was weird?" Kyle blurts out over dinner. The roads weren't necessarily safe for take out and Kendall ended up cooking for us and while it's not the spread Rosie usually lays out, shit is good.

Kingsley sighs and drags his hand down his face, worry heavy in his light blue eyes. The same eyes his children share, though his are maybe slightly darker if you really look at him. Kyle's the spitting image of his Dad, minus the dark brown hair he inherited from Kendall, who's dyed hers to a more milk chocolate shade. Sage, on the other hand, has her mother's looks, but her father's hair and eyes. Eyes that this morning were hiding some serious pain. A stark contrast to the bright eyed and happy Sage we left last night.

"I don't want to push her too far too fast," he pinches his nose and glances at his ex-wife, whose expression matches his own. "Sage is in the best facility in the country and they are equipped to help her with whatever she's going through." Bullshit. Sage is notorious for shoving her feelings deep down and if what I saw today was any indicator of the fact that she's in trouble, I don't know what the fuck is.

"Dad, you know as well as I do that when Sage spirals, it's a complete and utter disaster. What's worse is she's in a rehabilitation center where they treat this sort of thing!" Kyle slams his hand on the table.

His mother gasps and curls her hand on his shoulder, "Ken, they're right. I don't want to make the same mistakes we made because that's how we ended up here." Her gray-blue eyes implore her ex-husband to see everyone's point and he sighs again. "I'll call Dr. Lawrence and voice our concerns."

"Way to sound like a fucking businessman, Dad!" Kyle shouts, shoving his chair back with enough force that it falls back on the floor as he stomps up the stairs. I rubbed my temples, my stuffed chicken suddenly unappealing. "Kade, would you mind talking to him?" Kingsley asks, pushing his own plate away and standing, "I've got a conference call with the LA office."

Internally, I rolled my eyes because as the years go by, I've fallen into the roll of babysitter and therapist to the Henderson kids. Don't get me wrong, I owe Kingsley and Kendall for taking me in when my parents died at the age of seventeen. Kingsley guided me through my finances when I began receiving my trust at eighteen and Kendall said I was more than welcome to stay with them. But sometimes it's exhausting constantly having to referee the ongoing fights and the nights I've spent talking Kyle off the ledge when he can't handle whatever bullshit Sage got herself into.