Magnus' heart pounded in his chest, and he couldn't breathe, because Alec was on the ledge, and he couldn't move.
It all happened in slow motion, Alec's eyes closed, his arms outstretched, and that lost, agonized look crossing his face before his feet slipped. And he fell. Magnus screamed, he did his best to raise his arms and save him, but his body wouldn't move.
Alec was gone. He lost him.
Magnus' heart was like glass in his chest, and when it broke, he bled; the pieces falling into his lungs and stabbing him over and over till the pain consumed him.
Magnus woke with a scream, his sorrow clawing its way up his throat to tear apart the midnight air. His hands flew to his chest, to lay against his pounding heart, before they reached across the mattress to find his love.
But Alec wasn't there. He'd left. Magnus had pushed him away in order to protect his people.
His bed had never felt colder than that moment, and he would have done anything to have his angel back in his arms. He still loved him, how could he not, and it had been so hard to leave him standing in that hallway. The way he'd begged him to stay, the way his eyes had shone with tears, the way he said his name.
Magnus couldn't take the silence of the apartment. His shaking hands quickly found his phone and hesitated over Alec's name before tapping the screen and finding another.
Jace answered with a gruff voice, word hushed. "What."
Magnus didn't know what to say, or how to explain why he'd called.
"Jace, I'm sorry I just...How's Alexander?"
There was a pause and a sigh before he answered. "You told him you loved him and then you broke up with him. How do you think he is."
The warlock closed his eyes and ran a hand over his face. Jace spoke again, words coming as a whisper.
"It took him ages to fall asleep, Izzy too, after what happened with Max. We're all sleeping in the same room tonight while Mum and Dad stay with Max."
Magnus held the phone closer, hopeful. "Alexander is there?"
Jace shifted in the bed, his siblings asleep beside him. "Yeah, he's asleep. He's snoring." He said it softly, like he knew what it meant to the other man.
Magnus pressed his lips together, trying to hold back his tears. He missed him so much already. His fingers trailed over their...his sheets, over the space Alec used to sleep.
He didn't know how to ask, but Jace sighed, not needing him to. The line went quiet, and then Magnus could hear him. Those quiet puffs of breath, those little snores that Magnus pretended to be annoyed by but secretly loved so much.
Alec was alive, he was safe, he was...not Magnus' anymore. Tears fell down his cheeks and his heart clenched painfully in his chest.
Jace's voice came again, quiet and resigned. He wasn't angry.
"Goodnight Magnus."
He hung up and Magnus was left holding his phone to his chest, as tears fell down his face. It was for his people. He'd had no choice. He wanted him back.