Roots and Oxygen

Chapter 42 - Poise, Grace, a Vengeful Face

Sage stared at the papers for a long tense minute. He turned towards the bathroom and listened. Oxley was asleep on the floor. Even if he was awake, he would've been too drunk to notice anything. Sage's heart pounded as he dared to turn over the first page.

A picture of his uncle stared back, though it wasn't a portrait of him glaring menacingly into the camera like he always did in photos, Patrick was walking into a building with his coat collar turned up, a black hat covering most of his forehead, and a white package under his arm.

There was a note next to the photo in Oxley's handwriting. "Silver Vine is in the package," Sage read aloud. Oxley, what have you been up to?

Sage slammed the cupboard shut when his brother suddenly tumbled into the bedroom and fell flat on his face.

"Shit," Sage grumbled and peeled him off the floor. He dumped him on the bed and left him to sleep in his formal clothing. He stopped by the cupboard on the way to the door, staring at it with a burning impulse to take the folder and hide it in his room, so he could see what secrets lay in Oxley's cupboard.

His morals ground him to the floor. Sage clenched his hands to fists to fight the urge and left the room so abruptly, he stormed into Taro.

"Steady Sage," Taro said after stumbling back. "Do you need help? Is Oxley still being sick?"

"He's asleep in his bed." Without making eye contact, Sage marched the hallway and ordered for a guard to check on Oxley every hour until dawn.

Sage busied himself because his head was just as messy. "Everything alright?" Taro asked as Sage scooped all the documents from his desk and shoved them into a folder by the wall. He couldn't get Patrick's name out of his head.

With everything going on in his life, Sage had almost forgotten why he offered to look after the dying house plant in the first place. He had more time to dawdle in the garden all because of the suspicious way his uncle died.

"My uncle was murdered," he said, turning to face those bright green eyes. "But my parents say he was a traitor, so we stopped mourning him early. They won't tell me what happened yet. Mum says that I should ask my dad, but now I know that I should ask Oxley."

Taro was silent for a moment. His worried stare hardened into one of unease. "Are you allowed to tell me this?"

"Probably not, but I trust you." Sage thought back to all they've shared with each other. He knew Taro's secret, and Taro knew his secret. They were together for most of the day, he preferred Taro's company over his closest family members, and they were not just friends anymore. "I found a folder in Oxley's room about my uncle. There were photos inside like someone had taken them secretly." Sage wrung his hands around and around. "I should've taken it. I need to know what's in it."

"Can you just ask Oxley tomorrow?"

"No because then he'll think I was snooping."

"Were you?"

"No, I was looking for his pyjamas. He doesn't have a Valet, so his clothes were everywhere."

Taro raised a brow. "Just tell him that. Won't he understand?"

"It depends on what was in the folder, and what he's trying to keep a secret." Sage smoothed a hand over his curls. He closed his eyes, and the tiredness stung behind his lids. "Maybe I should tell my dad about what I found." Sage then shook his head. "No, I don't want to get Oxley into trouble."

Going to bed that night was like trying to sleep with a bright light in his face. Sage tossed and turned to hide from his thoughts, but every time he woke up, they were first on his mind, pestering him, filling him with doubt and anxious speculation.