Near To You
Disclaimer: I do not own TMI or any of its characters.
"Just two more blocks," Jace assured, with his arm looped around Alec's shoulders and Alec's weight almost entirely on him.
"Okay . . . alright. Can I take a break here?" Alec asked through gritted teeth. Before Jace even had the time to answer he leaned against a nearby bench.
The bench was made of rotted wood and was soaked from the rain. He recognized it as the bench that an old homeless man used to sleep on. He never knew the man's name but he did remember one cold night, two years ago when the man gave him and Isabelle the only spare change he had. He said it looked like they needed it more than he did. He was right, as the three Lightwood siblings were all working odd jobs to make ends meet and Alec was the only one over eighteen at the time so Jace and Izzy's job opportunities were much more limited. It helped them just barely get through that month and for that Alec was eternally grateful.
They never saw the man again after that and Alec tried not to think of what that could mean as he righted himself and began to walk again. Jace was silent but his eyes spoke of his concern.
They made it to their rundown apartment soon but not soon enough and Alec collapsed onto the couch as soon as he hobbled over there. In his pain, he didn't account for the lump on the couch which immediately moved as he collapsed on top of it, tossing him off of the sofa and adding to the already excruciating pain in his ribs.
"What the hell Alec?" Isabelle shouted as she came to, her anger igniting like a fire.
That fire, however, was immediately snuffed out upon seeing her brother on the floor clutching his side, with Jace kneeling down beside him and sending Isabelle a dark look.
"What happened?" She asked, at Alec's side in a minute and ignoring Jace's glare.
"You threw him off the couch, what does it look like Iz?" Jace snapped, doing his best to calm Alec and get him to stop squirming.
Isabelle looked up at her adopted brother with a hard look of her own.
"I meant before that. He's obvious not acting like this because of a tumble off the couch."
"There was a runner," Jace explained as he looked back down at Alec who had calmed down a bit and was just breathing slowly. "I chased him down and this idiot," he gestured down to Alec who could only glare, "decided to follow. We chased him across a street and a car ran a red light."
"You were hit by a car?" Isabelle shrieked, shooting Alec an accusing look.
"If you'd let me finish," Jace growled. "You'd know that I tackled him out of the way. He landed wrong,"
"Or you tackled me wrong," Alec grumbled, still in obvious pain. Jace ignored him.
"And hurt his side." Jace finished as if he hadn't been interrupted.
"You need to get to a doctor," said Isabelle, her nurturing side out in full force.
Alec shook his head, gripping the side of the sofa and pulling himself onto it with much more effort than would normally be required.
"No, I'm fine Iz. Besides do you really think we could afford that?"
Isabelle sighed but did not argue. The three siblings had been on their own since they were in their early teens. Each had had to drop out of school in order to make ends meet and therefore could hardly find a steady job in the unsteady economy. They were barely scraping by, but they got by nonetheless, but doctor visits were a luxury they could hardly afford unless there was an emergency which Alec didn't consider this to be.
Jace stared at his brother, who despite his attempts to argue, was still in obvious pain.
"I'll call Jocelyn," Jace determined in a low voice, looking to the ground.
Isabelle and Alec both snapped their heads up at that (though Alec did so with a hiss).
"Jace really, I'm fine. It's bruised at the most. I'll sleep it off."
Jace shook his head and made to stand, taking the one cellphone the three shared out of his pocket and pressing it to his ear- the Fray's number on speed dial.
Alec and Isabelle shared a look, and Alec's blue eyes were clouded with pain and guilt. Jocelyn and Clary Fray lived two floors down. Clary and Jace had taken to one another immediately when the Lightwood siblings moved in just two years ago. Jocelyn, the overprotective mother that she was, had only recently started to become okay with the relationship, though that likely had more to do with Clary turning eighteen two months ago. Jace was constantly seeking her approval and stunts like this did nothing to do that, as one of the major reasons for Jocelyn's disapproval was Jace's dangerous and unstable line of work (as the work he most often did was security).
In Isabelle's opinion, Jocelyn had no room to talk and she had voiced that opinion many times to both of her brothers. Jocelyn had once been the wife of infamous psychopath Valentine Morgenstern. She quickly discovered just how crazy her husband truly was and left him the moment she found out she was pregnant with Clary.
However Jocelyn was aware just how crazy her now ex-husband was so now both her and Clary were unable to get any steady line of work as well, as they feared he would find them. They both barely got by selling their artworks and, like the Lightwood siblings, taking part in odd jobs. Thus Isabelle's reasoning for Jocelyn Fray to be the ultimate hypocrite, though she definitely wouldn't voice that opinion now. For as hypocritical as the woman may be, she was once on her way to becoming a nurse before her abusive husband made her quit nursing school, and she would certainly be of help to Alec right now.
So when the knocking on the door turned out to be Jocelyn Fray, medical kit in hand, Isabelle answered it with a smile.
"He's over there," Isabelle said gesturing to where Alec lay sprawled on the couch, not bothering with a greeting.
Jocelyn understood though and made her way to him.
"I'm going to need you lift up your shirt," Jocelyn said, in a soft motherly voice.
With a grimace and a hiss, Alec complied with this request. At Jocelyn's intake of breath, Alec looked down at his torso as well, frowning at what he saw. Isabelle had to look away, while Jace, who was leaning against a faraway wall to stay out of Jocelyn's way, stared at him with a blank look on his face.
Alec groaned in pain as Jocelyn poked and prodded at and in-between his ribs.
The door swung open to admit Clary, who had long ago stopped bothering to knock before letting herself in. Upon seeing Alec she gasped and covered her mouth. She went to stand next to Jace, greeting him with a kiss and quietly asking what the hell happened.
"Alec! Oh my God!"
Alec's torso was badly bruised and swollen, the sight looked even worse against his pale as milk skin. There were a few reddened cuts and scrapes as well but those caused little concern compared to the rest of his side.
Sensing Alec's embarrassment, Jocelyn let him drop his shirt and stood up.
"They're just bruised," Jocelyn explained, opening up the dingy medical kit she had brought with her and handing Alec a half empty bottle of Tylenol.
"Take a few of these and ice your ribs. You shouldn't do anything too physical for the next few days. So no more security jobs," Jocelyn warned, shooting Jace an inconspicuous glance as well.
Alec nodded; he hadn't planned on doing any more security work for at least another two weeks anyways. With a small smile, and an attempt at tenderness by putting her hand on his, Jocelyn turned to leave, but not before asking her daughter if she should be expecting her tonight. Clary told her no but said she'd be there in the morning. With one last glare at Jace, but no attempt at convincing Clary to go with her, Jocelyn left.
"Well that was pleasant," Jace muttered sarcastically as he walked to take a seat next to Alec.
Isabelle, who had gone to the kitchen and was stuffing a Ziploc bag full of ice, snorted. Clary smiled at her boyfriend and sat in his lap, pecking him on the lips while Alec did his best not to throw up at their PDA.
"Honestly you two," Isabelle teased as she handed Alec the icepack, "hasn't Alec suffered enough today?"
Jace smirked and Clary blushed, sliding out of Jace's lap and into the seat in-between Jace and Alec.
"Sorry Alec," Clary said sincerely.
"Thanks," Alec said in a pained sort of voice that made it obvious that he was in no mood for idle chatter.
"I think I'm going to bed," Alec said as he stood up, grunting in pain and still holding the icepack against his ribs.
"Do you need anything?" Isabelle asked as he brushed past her.
He shook his head, "Set the alarm for eight Jace, I have a double tomorrow at Taki's."
"You're working tomorrow? I thought you had the day off!"
"No, that's me," Jace explained, pulling out the phone and setting the alarm.
"Well can you get tomorrow off then? You're hurt Alec."
Alec rolled his eyes as he stood in front of the bedroom door. It was a two bedroom place and most often the one sibling (if there was one) who was not working that day slept on the couch. It had been over a month since Alec had to sleep there and he was most often found in the bedroom with dark blue blankets and sheets, the ones that had been there since he was eighteen. It definitely wasn't the most hygienic thing but they did laundry as often as they could.
"I'll be fine Iz, it's just waiting tables. That's not a lot of physical exertion."
"But still"
"But nothing, we need the money," Alec said and that was final as he entered the bedroom and shut the door behind him, in no mood for an argument.
Even with an aching side and head, the exhausted Alec immediately fell asleep.
To say the day at Taki's was slow would have been an understatement. The place was absolutely dead, which frustrated Alec to no end because one, he was in pain and two, he needed the money.
Thankfully for him, most of the other wait staff wasn't nearly as desperate (tonight at least) so Alec was given the opportunity to take most of their tables. Unfortunately for him, by the end of the night he didn't have nearly as much money as he needed for the rent which was due in just two days.
He should have known this though. Taki's food was cheap and so were its customers, Alec usually made around five dollars a table and with such a slow day, even with taking on extra customers, it still was not enough.
His last table was a pair of two young men, who looked to be in their early twenties. One was extremely tall and skinny who looked to be at least partially Asian. He was dressed in bright clothing and wore glittery make up and was definitely the friendlier of the two as every time Alec went over to their table he at least acknowledged his existence with a polite nod or 'thanks'.
The other man, however, was not so friendly and had only spoken when he ordered. He had a rather large build though he was much shorter than the man across from him and had wild hair that stuck up at the sides to resemble horns, he was also rather pale and the poor Taki's lighting gave his skin a greenish tint.
Alec determined he was going to get a decent tip from them at best and resigned himself to cleaning the remaining empty tables as they were the only two left in the restaurant besides himself and a few of the staff who worked in the back. Alec was the only waiter left, though he had been there the earliest.
"You look like shit."
Alec looked up to see Maia Roberts staring down at him, a cleaning rag in hand. She was the girlfriend of Taki's dishwasher, Jordan Kyle and though she didn't work at Taki's there were nights when she'd come in to help in order to get Jordan out earlier as he always had to be the last to leave.
"Thanks," Alec responded dryly as he finished wiping down a table.
Maia snorted, "Seriously though, are you alright?"
"Long day," Alec answered, his side still in pain as he bent down over another table.
"Is that table giving you trouble?" Maia asked in a low voice as she leaned in.
He looked up and gave her a strange look.
"Not really," Alec responded with a shrug of indifference. Maia looked relieved.
"Good," she said with a sigh. "Aline was here a second ago and said that guy," she gestured over to the table, "was a complete ass."
Alec furrowed his brow in confusion. It looked as if she had pointed to the glittery man instead of the goat looking one.
"You mean the one with the green skin?" Alec asked, tossing the dirty rag over his shoulder.
Maia laughed and shook her head. "I knew there was a reason you were my favorite Lightwood."
Not that that was much of a compliment as she despised Jace and had at frienemy type relationship with Isabelle.
"Uh, thanks I guess."
Maia snorted again. "Anyways, it wasn't the one with the green skin. It was the sparkly fella. Apparently he was a bit of a condescending bastard."
Alec looked confused. "He's been the nice one."
For a moment, Maia was confused as well as she looked back and forth between Alec and the table with the two men. She had heard from two other waiters that the glitter covered man was rather rude to them as well and as Alec was her friend and he had seemed to be in pain, she had wanted to come to his rescue. Realization quickly dawned on her as she noted the inconspicuous glances the man kept making at them.
"What?" Alec asked nervously, making note of the smirk on her face.
She shook her head, and then knowing what she had just discovered would likely just make him nervous as hell, Maia decided to withhold her discovery.
"Nothing Alec, you'll be fine."
With another smile and a comforting pat on the shoulder, Maia walked away to the kitchen, presumably to make out with Jordan or whatever it was they did. Alec shuddered at the thought.
For the millionth time in his life, Alec was glad to be gay. Girls were confusing as hell. After washing his hands, Alec moved to his last table to deliver their check, hoping they wouldn't order anything else as he was beyond tired.
"Here you go sirs," Alec said in the most polite tone he could in his exhausted state. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"
"As a matter of fact" the sparkly man began.
"Shut up Magnus," the bulkier of the two grumbled, and then looked up at Alec.
"That will be all, thank you," he said he pulled out a twenty at placed it on top of the check. "Keep the change," he added.
Alec nodded and thanked him, taking the money and receipt, which hadn't properly looked at, and took it to the register. Once he had look at the receipt, Alec gripped the counter in anger, as if he had to hold himself back from stomping over to table, where the two men were just now getting up to leave, and giving them a piece of his mind. Maia had been right, they were complete assholes or whatever it was she had said.
The check was for $19.64. The man had given him a twenty. That meant a $00.36 tip. Alec was livid.
"Alec?" Maia asked, seeing his pale face redden with anger. "Are you okay? You look like you want to kill someone."
Taking a calming breath and holding his still aching side, Alec nodded.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Alec answered in a voice that said he most surely was not.
Maia left it at that however, as the two men exited the restaurant, the bell on the door making a 'ting' sound at their exit and Alec stormed over to the table. The table, Maia figured, had been the root of his anger. Maybe she had been wrong and the sparkly tall one hadn't been looking at Alec like he wished he was on the menu instead of just food.
She gave Alec a sorrowful look, knowing just how much his family needed this money. Alec's face, however, made it seem as if he didn't need her pity, as he was now wearing a rather dimply and rarely seen smile.
Curiosity getting the best of her, Maia walked over to see the cause of said smile and her mouth gaped open.
In Alec's hand was a $100 dollar bill. Alec looked up, still smiling and blushing.
"So, they weren't assholes?" Maia teased.
Alec shook his head. "No. One of them wasn't."
In his hand was a crumpled up piece of paper, which he shielded from Maia's view, with a name a number and the words 'Call Me' written in sparkly purple ink.