The Price Of Love

Chapter 2

Jay's POV

I close the front door behind me, absolutely exhausted.

I've been up since six am when Dad decided to send me on a job in fucking Oklahoma, which is nearly a four-hour flight from here.

I'm almost certain it was some kind of punishment. Or maybe he was just bored and decided to make my day hell because of it.

It doesn't matter now. I'm home, that's all I care about.

Stepping further into the house, I spot Mam asleep with Owen in her arms and Charlotte leaning against her side.

It's only nine pm, but Mam is usually exhausted after taking care of Owen and Charlotte on her own. I try to help as much as possible, and so do the triplets, but we already have enough on our plate.

I grab a blanket off the back of the couch and put it over them, just so they don't get cold.

I make my way upstairs and knock on Alex's door. I gently push it open, seeing the room is dark, and hearing the sound of quiet snores.

Guess I'm not the only one exhausted.

Walking over quietly, I gently shake him awake. "Alex" I whisper, and he groans, slapping my hand away. "What?" He mutters, not sounding happy at all.

"You okay?" I ask, like usual. It's uncommon for them all to not get injured in training. Usually one of them ends up with a wound of some kind. I make it a routine to ask them. They're used to it by now.

"Fine. Leo needs stitches though" He whispers, and I sigh, nodding my head. "Night Alex," I say, before leaving him to get his rest.

When I walk into Leo's room, he groans. "Alex is such a snitch" He scowls, already knowing just by the look on my face.

"Right. How dare he make sure you're okay" I say bluntly, and Leo rolls his eyes, tossing his phone to the side and standing up.

He walks passed me, and I follow him down the hall as we walk towards the med room.

"Why didn't you want me to know?" I ask. "Because I didn't want to get up" He sighs. I roll my eyes. "Lazy fucker" I mutter, while he shoots me a grin I can't help but smile at.

***

Leo lies on his stomach, shirtless on the little hospital bed we have in our small medical room.

His arms are folded, and he rests his head on them while I stitch up a gash he has in his upper back.

He explained already how Alex bandaged it up as best he can, but neither of them knew how to do stitches, so they had to wait for me to come home.

It's been on my to-do list to teach these two how to apply stitches. Simply because it would be good for them to know. I haven't made it a priority since Sage usually does it for them if I'm not here too.

"Sage is pretty good at this," I say, finishing up with the last stitch. He asked me to teach him when he was thirteen. The other two weren't interested. I probably should have forced them to, but then I'd have to listen to them complain the whole time about how bored they were.

"Yeah..he said he'd stitch it up but then he disappeared afterwards. Alex knocked on his door but he didn't answer. We just left him" Leo mumbles, and I nod, a bit confused why Sage disappeared.

"Do you know what's wrong with him?" Leo asks quietly. "You're more likely to know than I am," I say, finally finished.

"He talks to you more than he does to us" Leo mutters, looking angry at that fact. "He's all grumpy and quiet lately" He scoffs, sitting up while I hum, pulling off the gloves I was wearing.