The Price Of Love

Chapter 3

Jay's POV

I read over the file again, but yet again, I'm unable to take in a word of it.

I toss it on my desk, sighing as I rub my eyes. Glancing at my watch, I see it's just past one am.

Deciding I'll study the work file tomorrow, I stand up from my desk chair and walk to my bed.

The second I sit down, my door bursts open.

I glance at the door, seeing Leo and Alex closing the door behind them.

"You need to at least knock," I remind them, but they ignore me. "Sage is still avoiding us" Alex mutters. "And he still won't talk!" Leo scowls.

"He just keeps shaking his head. Or he just stares at us" Alex mumbles, glaring at the ground.

"What the fuck is happening? Is he taking some religious vow of silence or some shit?" Leo asks, and I roll my eyes.

It's been exactly eighteen days since Sage decided to stop talking completely.

I am no closer to figuring out what the fuck is happening, and Leo and Alex are getting more agitated by the hour.

"I don't know what's happening. He won't tell me" I say, again. These meetings have become a daily thing.

They complain about the same things, and I say the same stuff to assure them, we meet back here twenty-four hours later to do it all again. I don't point it out, however. If they need to complain, I'll gladly be the person they talk to.

Leo frowns. "But when will he start talking again?" Alex asks, and I sigh. "Guys...I don't know. He's-..he's keeping a lot of stuff to himself and I can't force him to talk to me" I say gently and Leo scowls.

"This is such bullshit!" He scoffs. "We're his brothers. We've always been in this shit together. So why's he keeping it all to himself all of a sudden?" Alex mutters.

"Try talking to him. Calmly" I shoot them both a pointed look. "No telling him he's an idiot" I warn them.

"He's more than an idiot" Alex mumbles, crossing his arms over his chest as he continues to glare at the ground.

"He won't even talk to Clayton and Charlotte. Not even mam" Leo mutters. "I don't know what to tell you" I sigh, because it's the truth. There's nothing else I can do at this point, other than be a set of ears they can rant to.

"I saw we tie him to a chair and keep him there till he talks" Alex suggests, and I scoff. "Great idea!" Leo nods, and I roll my eyes. "Bad idea. You're not doing that" I tell them, and they both groan.

***

I gently knock on Sage's door, before pushing it open.

He's sitting on his bed, watching something on his phone. His curtains are closed and his lights are off, apart from a lamp beside him that does a pretty good job of lighting up the room.

"Can I sit?" I ask, and he nods his head. Closing the door behind me, I walk over and sit beside him.

"What are you up to?" I ask, and he shoves me his phone screen. It's the Netflix home page.

"What are going to watch?" I ask, and he puts his phone down and shoots me a look.

Roughly translated to, get to the fucking point.

I sigh. "Leo and Alex are worried about you," I tell him, and he rolls his eyes. "They're not wrong to. Not only have you completely stopped talking, but you've stopped hanging out with them. And you won't tell anyone what's going on" I begin to list, and Sage huffs beside me.

"If you're not going to talk, at least hang out with them," I tell him quietly. "They're not angry with you Sage. They just miss you" I say, giving him a small nudge with my elbow.

He sighs and leans his head against my shoulder. I wrap my arm around his shoulders, and we fall into a comfortable silence.

I lean my head back against the headboard as I look around his room, trying to spot anything that might tell me what's happening.

I don't know what I expected to find. Maybe a magic mirror that told me all the answers. I still feel disappointed when I don't spot anything.

I then spot a bottle of pills on his bedside table.

"What are they?" I frown, reaching for them.

Sage looks, and not even a second later he's diving for them. But I'm quicker, and I grab the bottle and stand up before he can grab them off me.

I read the label.

Sleeping pills.

I look at him, seeing his still sitting on his bed, looking a bit nervous. "You're taking these?" I ask, and he sits up a bit straighter, staring back at me.

I raise my eyebrows, and he winces a bit, dropping his gaze to his lap and nodding slowly.

"You're having trouble sleeping?"  I ask, and he nods again.

I'll admit, the conversation I had with Leo where he told me he didn't think Sage was sleeping did get forgotten until this moment. But in my defence, a lot happened.

"Nightmare? Or are you just having trouble falling asleep?" I ask him, and he looks to be thinking before he nods his head.

I stare at him confused. "Which is it?" I ask, and he nods his head again. "Both?" I ask, and he nods.

I sigh, reminding myself to try to stick to yes or no questions.

"How many hours of sleep are you getting? Six?" I question. He stares at me.

"Five?" He continues to stare.

"Four?" Still staring.

"Three?" I mumble, and he nods, looking away. Jesus Christ, it's worse than I thought.

"Why didn't you tell me, Sage? These are the type of things you tell me" I sigh, and he shrugs his shoulders.

"Well, do you think they've been working?" I ask, and he sighs, shaking his head.

"How long have you been taking them?" He holds up two fingers. "Two weeks?" I repeat. He shakes his head. "Two months". He nods his head.

As you may have noticed, conversations with Sage consist of alot of head movements.

"I'll look into it okay? Find you something better" I tell him, and he stares at me.

I shoot him a small smile, taking a seat at the edge of his bed. "Promise me you won't take any more medication without showing me first?" I ask, and slowly, he nods his head. I smile, extending a hand and ruffling his hair.

"You'll be okay Sage, don't worry," I tell him gently, and he sighs, staring down at his hands in his lap again.

I glance at the time, seeing it's nearly two am. I should let him sleep.

"Anything else you want to tell me before I leave?" I ask, just in case he decides to open up and tell me what the fuck has been doing on. Although I doubt I'll be that lucky.

Sage glances at me before he suddenly wraps his arms around my neck and hugs me.

I smile softly, hugging him back.

"You want me to stay till you fall asleep?" I ask him quietly. He has trouble falling asleep.

Sage shakes his head, and I nod, kissing his head before standing up.

"Night Sage," I tell him, and he nods, shooting me a small smile. It's tiny, forced and looks like it pains him, but it's a smile.

It's always nice to see them smiling.