Chapter 7

Sunlight streamed through my bedroom curtains, lying on my face warming my body. I opened my eyes and looked around the room, Jace or Jonathan must have moved me to my bedroom. I rolled over to my night stand where my phone was lying. I grabbed it off the table and clicked it on, 5:30 am; I groaned and rolled off my bed. I got up and walked to my closet, I pulled out my bleached skinny jeans that had holes in the knees, and my one of my painting paint shirts. I grabbed my moccasins and pulled my knotty hair into a messy bun.

I walked into the bathroom, to brush my teeth when my phone started to ring.

"Hello?" I answered

"Clare, its Maia. Can you come to the gallery and finish you piece, we're trying to figure out where its gonna go." Maia my gallery manager said into the phone.

"Yeah I'll be there in 20." I said and hung up the phone. I kicked off my moccasins and pulled on my combat boots, and pulled on my leather jacket. I walked out of my room and down the stairs where I heard snoring coming from the living room. I stood in the door way of the living room, looking at a sleeping Jace, face down in the couch. I laughed to myself and walked past the couch and into the kitchen, where my keys were.

I grabbed a sticky note, and wrote down that I'll be back later. Grabbed my keys and headed out the garage door. I pushed the garage door button, and walked over to my Harley.

I slid the keys in the ignition, and throttled the engine making it roar, pretty positive it would wake everyone up inside. I sat down and hit the gas, and sped down the drive way and onto the street.

When I got to the gallery, Maia was standing outside waiting for me. I shut off the engine and put the keys and my pocket; I swung my leg off the bike and walked over to the brunette.

"Hey babe, how you holding up?" She asked and pulled me into a hug.

"I'm fine, how about you?" I asked as I held the door open for us. I pulled my jacket off and hung it up on the coat hanger, and kicked off my boots.

"I'm good, a little anxious for the opening next week." She smiled and handed me a coffee. I smiled at her and nodded.

"Yeah, me too I'm probably going to have my brother and his band mates with me at it." I said and she cocked her eye brow at me.

"Mhmm… I kind of figured that when the news caught you making out with the lead singer yesterday." She said and winked at me, making me roll my eyes.

"He's really nice, sweet, and hot. I like him, a lot." I said making her giggle.

"By the looks of the picture he likes you a lot to." She started to burst out laughing and showed me her phone that had our picture on it from yesterday. I put my hands over my eyes and shook my head.

"I'm gonna go paint, Ill resurface in a few hours. " I winked at her and walked down the hallway, and up to my work room. I shut the door and locked it behind me, I pressed play on the stereo and music started to blare from my speakers that were lying all around the room.

I walked over to my work bench where my painting was lying; I looked at it for several minutes trying to figure out what I was going to do to it. I shook my head and picked up the painting and chucked it across the room. I shook my head and picked up a brand new canvas, laid it on the easel and grabbed my paints.

I crack my neck and stretched out my wrists, I turned the music up even louder. I closed my eyes trying to picture what I wanted to draw, nothing came. I dipped the paint brush in the black oil paint and started painting.

After my playlist went through itself 5 times, and my wrists were so cramped I could barely roll them. I placed down my paint brushed and stepped back and closed my eyes. I rolled my neck and took a few deep breaths. I opened my eyes and looked at my painting…

It was a picture of a man holding his daughter in his arms, in a bedroom. They were sitting on the floor, he held her as she cried. I looked at it again realizing that I painted my dad and I when my mom left, my breath got caught in my throat, I felt my face go pale. I pressed paused on the music, and walked out the door to leave.

Maia was standing out in the lobby when I ran over to grab my coat and shoes.

"Hey what's wrong?" She asked rushing over to me, not realizing that I was crying.

"Nothing, I have to get home." I said and walked past her and walked out the door.

I ran out to my bike and slid the key into the ignition, and pressed hard on the gas. Speeding away down the street, I couldn't concentrate my mind was speeding, I shook my head trying to get my dad out of my head, but I couldn't shake him. I slowed down the bike when I came onto my street, I drove the bike up the drive way and parked it in front of the garage. I closed my eyes and placed my head down on the handle bars.

'Why did I paint that?' the question kept running through my mind, but I couldn't answer it. I pulled out my phone and looked at the time, 9:45. I sighed and swung my leg off the bike, and walked to the front door.

I opened the front door, and the smell of burnt pancakes filled my nose. I cringed my nose and headed towards the kitchen, where smoke was forming. I stood in the door frame starring at Isabelle trying to flip a pancake, and Jonathan trying to help her.

"You guys realize that I do have a cook right." I said and pointed at the button on the wall that said 'Henry'. Isabelle jumped and accidentally dropped the pan on the floor; she cursed and looked at me.

"Shit you scarred me." She said and picked up the pan and placed it in the sink. I walked over to the button and hit the button, I minute later Henry showed up.

"Yes ma'am." He said smiling at me, then looking over at Isabelle who had pancake mix in her hair.

"Can you please make, some blueberry pancakes and a strawberry smoothie." I smiled at him and he nodded his head.

"Of course ma'am anything else." He asked walking over to Isabelle and handing her a towel.

"Please make sure the smoke detectors are up to date." I said and made him laugh.

"Of course ma'am, and also Mr. Jordan called earlier this morning. He said he'll be over for lunch." He said picking up a clean pan, and pulling out ingredients. "Oh and he is bringing Mr. Lewis with him."

"Simon? Simon is coming with him." I asked him and he stopped and looked at me.

"Yes ma'am." He smiled and continued to work.

I froze for a second deep in thought about the information that was just given to me. Jonathan walked over to me and stood in front of me he grabbed my arms and looked at me with concern.

"Clarissa are you ok?" he asked pulling me out of my deep thought. I shook my head and looked up at him.

"Oh yes, it's just I haven't seen Simon in a while." I said and gave him a reassured smile. "I think I'm going to go get a shower, I'll be back down when breakfast is done." I smiled and turned around; I headed out of the kitchen and walked through the living room.

"Hey." I heard behind me, I turned around to see Jace standing shirtless and in jeans that hung loss around his waist.

"Hey." I answered at smiled at him. He walked up to me and wrapped his arms around me.

"Where did you go this morning?" He asks and pressed his forehead to mine.

"I went to the gallery; I had something I had to finish for next week." I said and wiggled my nose against his.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked and cupped my chin.

"Yeah, just got some wind burn from the ride there and home. I gotta get a shower." I whispered back to him. He shook his head and leaned down and kissed me gently and tenderly.

He pulled back and rubbed my back; I rested my head on his chest and listened to his heart beat. I closed my eyes and stood there for a little bit, this is where I wanted to be. I felt all my worries, and fears disappear in his arms. I sighed and looked back up at him; he pressed a kiss to my forehead and released me.

"Breakfast is being made." I said and leaned up on my tip toes and kissed his cheek, and wandered up stairs.

Jace POV

I watched Clarissa walk up the stairs, something was wrong. The way she looked at me wasn't like normal, her face a pale and her skin was cold. I wandered into the kitchen to see Jonathan and Isabelle talking to some guy who was cooking pancakes.

"He hasn't been back since then." The man said and flipped a pancake onto a plate and handed it to Isabelle.

"Who hasn't been back?" I asked and sat down besides Isabelle.

"Miss. Clarissa's friend Mr. Lewis." The man cooking said and handed me a pancake cake.

"Why?" I asked starting to eat my pancake.

"Mr. Morgenstern would leave for business on some weekends, and when Miss. Clarissa first opened her gallery, she met Mr. Lewis. Her and him went on a few dates together, and then after awhile Mr. Lewis moved in." he paused and sighed and placed the pan in the sink. He looked at all of us and closed his eyes.

"Miss. Clarissa was in love with him, and he her. But one night Mr. Simon and Miss. Clarissa had a fight about wanting to get married, and Miss. Clarissa left for a few hours. When she came back she went up to Mr. Lewis's room, and found Mr. Lewis with another woman." The man said and looked at us. He looked disappointed as he told us the story.

"Miss. Clarissa was heartbroken, she didn't leave her room for a week. When Mr. Morgenstern returned from his business trip he was so furious that Mr. Simon broke her heart. He told Mr. Simon to never come back to the house, and till this day Mr. Lewis hasn't returned once." He said and began cleaning up the kitchen counter.

"Oh poor Clarissa. How old was she when this happened?" Isabelle asked finishing her pancake.

"Miss. Clarissa was 17, after Mr. Simon she began to model and started painting pieces for her gallery. She has change very much since she was 17, Mr. Morgenstern was very proud of her." He said and started to wash the dishes.

"Oh Clarissa, I wonder why she never told us about this." Jonathan said

"Perhaps she was embarrassed." Isabelle said.

"Yes it was very embarrassing I thought he loved me, but apparently I was wrong." Clarissa said standing in the door frame. Everyone stopped and looked at her, the man cleaning the dishes dropped the plate into the sink.

"I'm sorry Miss. Clarissa they asked and it didn't feel right to lie to them miss." He said and looked at her with fear.

"It's okay Henry, the truth was going to come out sooner or later." She said smiling at him and places a hand on his arm reassuring him.

"Ma'am will Mr. Lewis and Mr. Jordan join you for dinner?" He asked and began cleaning the dishes again.

"I'm not quite sure, I will tell you when I find out." She said and walked over to the fridge and grabs a bottle of water.

We all starred at her with sadness, she looked at all of us with question.

"Why are you all starring at me like that? It was a very long time ago; I'm not the same naïve girl, which I was when I met him." She said and walked over to cabinet. When she reached up to get a cup, her crop top raised showing her rib tattoos.

She pulled down a glass and poured the water into the glass. We all continue eating in silence, until there was a knock at the door. Clarissa froze; she looked at all of us and gave us a fake smile, and left the room.

When Clarissa returned she had two men following her, a tall brown haired boy was behind her, and then a curly brown hair man with glasses was behind him.

"Jordan, Simon. This is Jonathan, Isabelle and Jace." Clarissa said pointing at all of us, the man with the glasses rushed over to Jonathan and shook his hand.

"Simon Lewis, huge fan of your band. When did you realize you wanted to form a band?" He asked shaking Jonathans hand nervously.

"When I was 18." Jonathan said coldly.

Clarissa rolled her eyes, and looked back a Jordan who was apologizing to her. She shook her head and smiled, she walked over to me and wrapped her arms around me, I bent down and placed a kiss on her forehead.

Jordan was standing there smiling at Clarissa, while Simon stood frozen in place crossing his arms over his chest and rolling his eyes. We all sat down around the table, and tried to start a conversation.

"So Jace you are the lead singer of the band?" Jordan asked trying to make small talk. I smiled at him and nodded my head. "I've been singing since I was 7."

"That's cool; wait isn't there another member of the band?" Jordan asked looking at Isabelle.

"Yeah, our brother Alec. He doesn't like to travel by airplane, so he decided to stay home with his boyfriend." She said looking at Jace.

"So Jordan how do you know my sister?" Jonathan asked looking at Jordan with interest.

"Oh Clarissa works with my fiancée at her gallery. Maia introduced us at Clarissa first show. Which reminds me, did you finish the last piece, Maia was freaking out saying that you left in a rush." He said looking at Clarissa with concern. Her face paled, and looked at him wide eyes. She covered her face up with a smile.

"Yes I finished it before I left." She said taking my hand.

"Oh good, Maia will be happy when she gets home tonight." He said and started to laugh. "Yeah if she's not freaking out about the wedding, she's freaking out about work."

Clarissa started to laugh and shook her head. "That sounds like Maia, wait when are guys you getting married?" she asked

"June, hopefully." Jordan said with a proud smile.

"Best of luck." Clarissa said to Jordan who just smiled.

"Some people have the best luck, huh Clarissa?" Simon said sitting at the end of the table with his arms crossed over his chest, giving Clarissa a glare. Her face turned red, and she stood up abruptly.

"Simon may I have a word?" she said looking at him before walking out of the kitchen with him hot at her tail.

Jordan sighed and put his head in his hands. He raked his fingers through his hair, then looking up at all of us. "That's a long story right there." He said and point towards the door.

"We know." All three of us said in unison.

He cocked his eyebrow up in curiosity. "I just want you to know, I didn't want to bring him."

Clarissa and Simon returned and both sat down quietly in their seats, I looked down at Clarissa with concern. She leaned forward and placed a kiss on my lips. She smiled and sat quietly in her chair starring off in the distance.

"When do you all go on tour?" Jordan asked Jace.
"Next month, we start in Los Angeles." I said

"Clarissa are you going with them?" Simon asked

"Um not sure yet, my gallery opens next week." She said not even looking at him.

"Hmph." He made a sound in his throat.

"So when do you guys go back to New York?" Simon asked looking at Jonathan.

"Well, after our father's funeral of course." Jonathan answered coldly looking down at his phone.

"What funeral?" Clarissa piped out looking at Jonathan.

"Dad's funeral." He said looking at her with confusion.

"Dad's not having a funeral; I'm going to spread his ashes on his new skyscraper building sight." Clarissa said and Jonathan looked at her like she just slapped him across the face.

"What? Cremated. He needs to be buried in a Baptist cemetery." He said raising his voice a little.

"A Baptist cemetery? He wasn't a Baptist, he's already been cremated." She said glaring at him.

"WHAT! Of course he was a Baptist; we all went to church together when we were littler." He answered back

"Jonathan, mom is a Baptist she made us go to church, not dad he was Jewish." Clarissa said standing up crossing her arms over her chest.

"How did you know, that he wanted to be cremated?" he said standing up.

"Because I was there when he wrote his will. I know what he wanted." She yelled at him.

He stood frozen in his place and starred at her with concern.

"After you and mom left, we went to the lawyer's office the next day. He wanted remove mom from his will, and to do that he had to rewrite the whole thing. I sat there and listened to the lawyer read the will out loud. You never saw him cry did you? It was so depressing, he always told me after that. "Never cry for me when I'm gone.'" Clarissa said and walked out of the room.

Jonathan went to go after to her when Isabelle placed a hand on his shoulder. "Let her calm down." She said and we all sat back down.

"When I first met Clarissa, she was an innocent little girl; she would cry all the time, and then one day she stopped. I haven't seen her cry in 5 years, the little you once knew Jonathan Is gone." Jordan said standing up motioning for Simon to stand up as well. "I think we should be going now, it was really a pleasure to meet all of you." Jordan said and walked through the kitchen door.

When Jordan and Simon left, we all sat there in silence. Jonathan sighed and closed his eyes, "I don't understand, what happened to her." Jonathan stated.

"She grew up." I stated and got up to go find Clarissa.