Chapter Six: Magnus

I'm so absorbed in my phone that I don't even hear the sound of footsteps approaching until it's too late. By the time I realize what's happening, I'm already tangled up in another pair of legs.

The legs of an extremely attractive young woman.

"I'm so sorry," the girl gushes, yanking her earphones out and scrambling to her feet. "I'm just so used to being here alone that I wasn't paying any attention to the path."

"No big deal," I say, holding my fingernails up to her face. "Not even a chip. All is well."

She laughs and holds up her own hand, which happens to be adorned with the exact same nail polish.

"Great taste," I say with a wink. After a closer look, I feel like I recognize this girl. "What's your name? Sorry to be rude, but you look kind of familiar." I wonder for the briefest second if maybe we've slept together; the thought brings on a strange feeling of repugnance. I have no idea why – this girl is gorgeous, has a rocking body, and just by looking at what she wears while jogging, I can tell she has impeccable taste – but the thought of sleeping with her makes me feel a little…off. Maybe Kelly served me some bad hummus at lunch – I wouldn't put it past her, considering I caught her spitting in my coffee one day last week.

"Isabelle Lightwood," she says, holding out her hand.

So that's why I know her. She's an up-and-comer in the fashion world. While not a household name yet, I can see that she definitely has the potential. Anyone who can manage to look graceful while collapsing in a heap has to be destined to do great things.

"I knew I recognized you," I say, bringing her hand to my lips. "You're even more beautiful in person. I'm –"

"Magnus Bane," she fills in, a grin lighting up her face again. "You helped one of my friends with a…predicament last winter. She said you were amazing."

"That is the word around the block." Again, flirting with this girl makes me feel a little uncomfortable. What the hell is going on? The feeling has me so flustered that I can't even think of anything else to say.

"Uh, I should get going," Isabelle says, saving me from looking like a total ass. "Before my brother decides that I've been gone too long, and comes looking for blood. It was nice clobbering you to the ground."

Brother? Wait just a minute. I would really like to meet a guy who shares the same genes as Isabelle Lightwood. "Wait," I say as she starts putting her earphones back in. "How about you and your brother come to my party this weekend?" I fish an invitation out of my bag and hand it to her. "It's the least I can do."

She looks uncertain. Strange, I would have guessed that she would be totally down for a party. "I would love to go," she bites her lip and looks behind her, as if expecting someone. "But my brother isn't a big party guy, and he just got home. I don't want to go out and leave him alone all night."

"Don't worry," I assure her. "My parties aren't like any you've ever been to before. I guarantee that your brother will have an excellent time." I will make sure of it personally, if he's interested and looks anything like I'm imagining.

"I'll see what I can do," she says, before dropping her very own glittery wink back at me. Man, I like this girl. I like her, but I can't bring myself to look at her ass as she jogs away. I hold my hand up to my forehead, sure that there must be a medical explanation for this. I guess I'll blame it on the nerves.

I wait about a half an hour to make sure that Isabelle or her brother aren't going to show up before I hunch beneath my favorite tree and dial my mother's number.

It feels like a hundred rings go through before she picks up, but in reality it's only three or four.

"Maggie?" she says through the static, her voice full of hope. My cell is untraceable and without caller id, but I guess mothers can just tell.

I bite my lip to keep my composure. This is why I only call twice a year. "Happy Birthday, mom," I whisper, not wanting to hear the crackling in my own voice. "How's it going?"

"Oh Magnus," she sighs. "The better question is how are you doing? Joshie tells me that you haven't changed much, always working and never taking the time to get to know anyone."

Translation: Josh has been sending my mother emails, telling her I've been sleeping around. "Trust me, mom, not many of the people here are worth knowing."

"That's not true Maggie, and you know it. You just won't give people a chance. Josh is worried about you, he tells me all the time."

"Yeah, well maybe Josh should keep his mouth shut," I hiss into the phone. That dweeb is going to get it next time I see him.

"Don't even think about bringing this up with him," my mom warns. Even thousands of miles away she knows exactly what I'm thinking. "He's right to be worried, you know. You need to open up to people, baby. Let someone take care of you for a change."

Minutes ago, all I wanted was to see my mother; to have her back here in New York, where I wouldn't have to worry about her every minute of every day. Now I have to work to stop from hanging up the phone mid-conversation.

"And how's that working out for you, mom? How's Rick these days?" I spit out his name as if it could burn right through my tongue.

"Now Magnus." My mom's voice is sharper now; we're edging into forbidden territory. "I know Rick isn't your favorite person, but you don't know him like I do."

The fuck I don't. Rick, number twelve on a long list of men my mother has trusted to 'take care of her' takes first place in the Most Likely to be the Dumbest Fucking Person on Earth contest. A good for nothing drunk who spends more money on hookers than my mother's food (or so say his credit card statements), he's the reason she's off in the middle of nowhere. He wanted her as far away from me as possible. "I'll bet," I mutter away from the phone. "So, I guess he's back to work now?" I know full well he hasn't been to work in almost two years.

"Soon," she mumbles. Shit, now I've hurt her feelings. Torn between rage and shame, I whisper the words that are always there, under the surface.

"You could come home you know." The back of my throat burns with the effort of holding back tears.

"Oh Magnus, -"

"Forget about it," I spit out before she can continue. Before she can say out loud that she would rather stay in a rundown shack where she's surrounded by filth and mistreated than come back here with me. "I have a meeting with Josh I have to get to. Your birthday present is in the account I set up for you. I love you."

As soon as I hang up, I log into my account and transfer twenty-five thousand dollars to the trust I set up for my mother a few years ago. I already know it'll be gone within a month, that I'll be lucky if she spends two percent of it on herself, but it doesn't matter.

With trembling fingers, I grab a slip of paper out of the bottom of my bag and punch in a new number. This person picks up after half a ring.

"Hey. This is Magnus Bane. You were at my party a few weeks ago, do you remember the address? Perfect, meet me there in twenty minutes. If you're late, don't bother ringing, because I'll probably already be busy."