Sorry for the delay, here is another chapter!
Chapter 10- Welcome back.
We are on our way back from the trip, entering New York City. Another 20 minutes until we reach our school. Jace has his head tipped back, mouth gaping open. He has been sleeping since we left the camp place. I look out the window, happy to be back. The teachers had us working constantly the last few days and on top of that I was forced into drinking at night. That left me little to no sleep. I had attempted to sleep like Jace did, but I couldn't find sleep.
We finally arrive at the school after an exhausting and restless bus ride. He looks so peaceful, but he's got to wake up. I kiss him softly, looking for his reaction. He stirs slightly, his eyes shooting open. He blinks a few times, looking around. He strectches out before landing his eyes on me. "Hi." He says groggily.
"Hey, did you sleep well?" He shakes his head. He cracks his neck, complaining about being uncomfortable while sleeping. I offered him my pillow before we left but he politely declined.
I check my phone and see it's quite late in the evening. We quickly grab our bags and stow them in the car. Simon continues his nap on Izzy's shoulder, loudly snoring. Jace leans over and slaps him quite loudly on the leg. He jumps from the car seat, screaming.
"Stop snoring will you. You sound like a truck driver." He complains. I snicker. I was used to Simon's loud unconscious noises. Whenever he used to sleep over he would keep me up at night, but I've long been used to it.
We first drop Simon of at his house, who no doubt would go straight to bed. He doesn't do well with no sleep, often sneering at people who bothered him.
They stop in front of my place. Jace immediately jumps out to help me with my bags. I smile; he's such a gentleman. I grab my little bag as he grabs my other one. I fumble for my house keys in my bag, hoping I hadn't lost them on the trip. Thankfully I find them in a side pocket. I turn to Jace, taking my bag from him. "Thanks." I smile gratefully. I lean up and give him a chaste kiss. "I'll see you tommorow." I whisper. As I'm about to walk in he pulls me back forcefully, causing me to fall in his arms. He dips down crashing his lips to mine, hungrily. With one hand on my lower back and the other on my cheek, he deepens the kiss. I hear a cough from behind him.
"Get a room." Izzy shouts out. She's hanging out the window, grinning. I shake my head and turn for the door. "Bye." I mouth to him. He smiles back, looking after me as I walk inside.
My Mom is coming back tommorow. She cut her trip short, seeing as she no longer needs to be there. She has sold most of her art work, apart from a few pieces. I offered to stay home from school to meet her at home as she arrives during the school day, but she is making me go to school anyway.
I sort my clothes, throwing the dirty ones in the hamper. I make myself a decent meal, better than I've had all week. The meals weren't very healthy or nutritional, much to my dislike. I throw a pasta together with the ingredients that are left. The house looks like a mess, I can't let my mom come home to this.
I decide to stay home to clean the whole house, and to go shopping for some food. There's a little supermarket around the corner, big enough to stock up.
I've changed into my comfortable pajamas, with a bowl of pasta in my hand I'm opening up my old friend. Netflix.
I absentmindedly scroll through the choices, hoping to find something I hadn't watched already. Many things come up but none attract my attention. I settle on watching something again, a serie Simon and I used to watch.
After nearly falling asleep on the couch I turn off the TV and head up to my bed. After brushing my teeth I settle down in my comfy bed, falling asleep quickly.
I wake with a jolt. Crap, I forgot to take of my alarm. I scramble for my phone, turning off the incessant alarm. I flop back down on my pillow. I was having such a good dream. Now trying to think about it I forget it, disappearing in seconds.
I try to fall back asleep, but to no avail. I jump out of bed, shoving my feet in my house slippers. I reach for the robe on my bathroom door, quickly wrapping it around against the cold. I grab my phone from the nightstand and I head down to make some cereal.
I hurriedly make myself ready to go to the store. I grab my black purse and pull on my converse. I'm walking down the street when I hear a ping from my phone. I pull my phone out. Jace. Crap I forgot to text him.
*Are you okay? I thought you were coming today* I quickly text him back.
*Yeah I'm fine, I stayed home because the house is a mess and we need some food. My mom is coming home today, all fine x*
I stow my phone back into my pocket as I'm entering the supermarket. I wave to the lady behind the check out. She waves back and smiles warmly. I grab a basket and quickly fill it up. I hurry as my mom is coming home in two hours, and I still have to clean the house.
I'm cleaning the last dirty spot of the house, having everything else done. I hear the keys jangling in the lock. Crap she's here. I throw the rag in the hamper without too much noise and sprint to my mom. I hug her tightly, trapping her arms beneath mine.
"Oh Clary!" She says surprised. "Hi mom." She smiles. She pulls me in for another hug, holding me tightly against her.
"I've missed you." I murmur. "Oh I missed you too. How are you? How have you been holding up?" She nudges me back, looking around the house. Good thing I cleaned up.
"Everything has been good." She pulls her baggage in the house, depositing it by the stairs. "Do you want some tea?" I ask her.
"Yes please, thank you honey." I scurry off to the kitchen, boiling the water and grabbing the tea bags. She always likes the Earl Grey stuff, while I'm more of a mint person.
I stare at the white wall in front of me. No doubt she's going to want to hear about James, and Jace. I don't know which one is worse. She's approached me on boyfriends and sex before, but both are embarrassing subjects.
I place the cups in front of us on the table and sit down next to her. "How was Europe?" I always love hearing her traveling stories. She pulls out her phone and clicks on the photos app.
"It's so beautiful there. Though I only saw Italy but I remember Spain was equally as beautiful." She beams. She shows me the pictures. Everything is so green and bright. Unlike here where most things are gray. She showed me the hotel she stayed in, the ice cream and dinners she's had.
"Weren't you lonely?" She coughs. "Ahh uh not really." She sounds awfully suspicious.
"Was someone there with you?" Her face falls. Bingo. I start laughing, she's acting like the child and I'm acting like the parent. "Mom who was it?"
"Luke, he came over for 2 weeks." Luke is her long time friend, though why would she be lying about it? I always thought they were secretly shacking up somewhere, though they had no need to be so secretive about it. I grab both her hands in mine, scooting closer to her.
"I'm okay with whatever you and Luke are doing, you don't have to be so secretive about it." She smiles. She pulls one hand from mine and cups my cheek.
"Thanks darling. Now about you, who is this Jace?" The heat instantly rushes to my cheeks. She laughs.
She continues. "Is he your boyfriend? I'd love to meet him." I clear my throat loudly. "Yeah he is, I can ask if he wants to come over."
A ping then comes in. I check my phone. "Speaking about the devil." She chuckles she sips her tea tentatively.
*Hey baby, is it okay if I come over? History is cancelled.* I stand and dial his number. I walk to the kitchen so my mom can't hear.
"Hey." His soothing voice comes through. "Hi, my mom is here already." I hear the excited shouts from the students on the other end. He excuses himself to get to a quiet spot.
"Sorry, okay. Uh I don't mind, I'll meet her?" He says without doubt. "Okay, well come over then, I'll see you soon. Bye."
He hangs up after saying bye. This is the first time I'll be really introducing a boyfriend to my mom. I never really introduced James to my mom, before I could the whole debacle happened and she had no interest in meeting him except beat the shit out of him.
I make my way back to the living room where she is waiting for me. "He's coming over soon, his class got canceled. He's excited to meet you." She reaches for me, pulling me back on the couch.
"I can't wait to meet him either. You two seem pretty serious already. Are you two being safe?" Oh god she's started it. I was dreading this conversation. "Mom!" I throw my hands up to cover my face.
"I'm just making sure Clary, are you still taking your pill every night?" I assure her I do, hoping to stop her soon. "We haven't even... Had sex yet." She lets out a breath I didn't know she was holding. She hugs me, trapping me awkwardly. I push back looking up at her face when I see a tear escaping her eye.
"Why are you crying?" I immediately hover over her, thinking something is wrong. "It's just... My baby girl is growing up."
"Oh mom." I hug her tightly, letting a few tears escape my eyes as well.
We talk about school and the school trip. I told her it was pretty exhausting, but very fun. She tells me more about Europe, and the places she visited with Luke. I'm happy to hear they are finally together now. They have been for a while but they just hadn't told me yet. I love Luke, he was the father I never had. He often took me on trips, teaching me things. He usually stayed for dinner quite often, even stayed over at night.
The door bell rings. I tell my mom to stay put, saying I'll get it. I open the door revealing the golden God in front of me. It's drizzling, causing tiny droplets of water to stick to his hair. I motion him to quickly come in. "Hey baby." He picks me up, pressing his lips to mine. Oh I missed this. I quickly became used to having him by my side constantly last week. Now we are back to reality. I throw my arms around him, running my hands through his hair at the nape of his neck. His hair has grown a bit since the first day, flopping over his forehead quite a lot. Like he promised he kept his stubble, making him look even more yummy. He finally breaks away after quite some time, though not releasing me. He pushes a strand behind my ear that had escaped from my pony tail.
"I missed you." I murmur. He presses his forehead to mine. "I missed you too." I smile widely, looking down. I break out of his embrace, grabbing his hand. I lead him into the living room where my mom stands up when we enter.
He stretches his hand out for her to shake. She takes it surprised. "Hi Ms. Fray, it's nice to finally meet you. I'm Jace." He smiles warmly. He's so good at comforting people. "Oh please, call me Jocelyn. Please sit down." She motions her hand to the couch. She seats herself in the chair that's adjacent to it instead of the couch. He pulls me down next to him, pulling me close. I see my mom eyeing the closeness between us. She smiles as she meets my gaze.
"Do you want something to drink, eat?" I offer. "A water would be great, thanks Clary."
I scurry to the kitchen, refilling my tea cup and grabbing a water for Jace. I palace it in front of him along with a glass. He pulls me close again unconsciously. I smile inwardly. They are talking about Jace's family. Apparently my mom used to be in the same class as their mom, Maryse.
"I haven't seen her in a long time, I had no idea she moved back here." Jace affirms she did. Apparently they moved back when they just had Alec.
"We both moved away for college, we lost touch eventually. I'd love to see her again. Where is she now then?" Jace explains their work, how they travel around the country for it. He says they'll be back in two weeks.
I find myself not joining in on the conversation, they talk about her days in college, and where he would love to go to college. I get a message on my phone from Izzy.
*Hey Clary, is Jace with you?* I quickly text back.
*Yeah he is, why?*
*Bastard left me here in school. I was supposed to take a ride with him. Gotta walk back in this rain now wish me luck xoxo*
I show Jace the texts. He bursts out laughing. "Oops I forgot about that. Serves her right. I'm not her taxi driver." Poor Izzy. I look out the window and notice it's raining harder than before. I quickly text her back saying good luck.
I clear my throat. "Jace, shall we go up?" I pull on his arm, dragging him off the couch. My mom laughs. "Keep the door open Clary." I roll my eyes.
"We were alone for 3 weeks!" I shout while running up the stairs. I push Jace into my room, making sure my door is shut. I push my back to my door, watching Jace sit on my bed.
"Your mom is nice." He states awkwardly. I nod. "Yeah she's a great mom." I reach behind me and lock the door. I saunter over the him, slowly straddling him. He places his hands on my waist as I snake my arms around his neck.
"How was school today?" He sighs while chuckling. "It was boring to be honest. I missed having you around. Got you some history notes if you're interested." He leans forward intending to kiss me but I quickly put my hand on his puckering lips.
I grin mischievously. "Have you seen Sophie?" He laughs. "Why the sudden interest in my school day? No I haven't seen her. No need to be jealous, she's old news." This time he aims for my neck, successfully. I tilt my head the other way involuntarily, giving him better access.
"What about-." I get cut off by his hand covering my mouth. He looks deep into my eyes. "Shh, don't you worry no girls came on to me if that's what your jealous little nose is worrying about." He taps my nose before crashing his lips to mine. He reaches under my thighs flipping us over. He hovers over me, effectively trapping me between his limbs. He keeps his head above mine, gazing at me.
"What is it?" I ask. I run my hand through the hair flopping over his forehead. He shakes his head as if to rid something. "Nothing." He smiles at me but I don't buy it. I crawl from under his body, placing myself on my side next to him.
"You can tell me." I cup his cheek, stroking his cheekbone with my thumb. He looks down to his hands. "It's the day that my dad died." My heart constricts.
"Oh Jace." I grab his head, hugging it close to my chest. I feel him sobbing, but all I can think of is to hold him to me. He lies limp in my arms for minutes. I no longer feel him sobbing, but I continue to hold him until he is ready.
"Clary I'm going to make dinner now! Does Jace want to stay for dinner?" I hear my mom shouting from down stairs. He pushes himself off me, wiping his face. "I uh, better go home."
I grab his arm. "No stay, you can stay for dinner if you want." He finally looks at me. His eyes are bloodshot, his face is blotchy.
"Are you sure?" I nod, biting my lip. "Let me run down." I put my hand on his, reassuring him. I smile, hoping to lift the mood a bit. Unlocking the door, I quickly run down the stairs towards my mom.
"Hi, he's staying if that's okay." My mom turns to me. "Okay." She eyes my t-shirt. I look down following her gaze. Crap my t-shirt is wet.
"Uh..." She shakes her head. "Kinda hard to explain, well it isn't, but I don't think I'm allowed to tell." She tilts her head questioningly.
"Okay you don't have to tell. We're having shepherd's pie, is that okay?" I nod, leaning up and peck her cheek. "Thanks mom."
I walk back up, opening the door slightly. The room is empty. I step inside completely, hearing sounds come from the bathroom. I knock softly on the bathroom door. "Are you okay?" The door creaks open, revealing his much more composed face now. He walks up to me with open arms which I gladly walk into. "Thank you Clary." He kisses the top of my head.
I tilt my head up, looking straight at him. Leaning up to his mouth I kiss him softly. "Anytime." I smile. His pocket vibrates. He sighs, breaking us apart and reaches for his phone.
"The most annoying person on earth." He sighs annoyed. I'm guessing it's Izzy, I chuckle. He quickly texts back. "What did she want?"
"If I was planning on coming home anytime soon. She wants some alcohol. I told her to ask Alec." He throws his phone on my nightstand, diverting all his attention to me.
"What's for dinner?" He grins. "Shepherd's pie. Hope you like that." He assures me that he does. I sit on the bed with my back leaning against the pillows. I grab my phone checking my social media. He flops down next to me, his attention on my phone. I check my snapchat, seeing I got a snap from Izzy. She's inviting me to the club this Friday.
"I don't get you all with this snapchat stuff." He complains making me chuckle. "Why not? You take a picture and you send a message with it."
He sighs. "Why not just send a text." I pull him up next to me. I quickly snap a shot of both of us. "It shows emotions, plus you can post this for everyone to see on your friends list. You can't do that with texting." I put an emoji on the picture and post it to my story.
"You know we don't have any pictures together." I pout. He doesn't like taking pictures as I've noticed. He grabs my phone out of my hand and heads to the camera app. He holds it out above us and snaps a picture of him kissing me on the cheek.
"There." He grins. He moves to straddle me, aiming the phone at me. The chime for the video is heard and he starts tickling me. "JACE!" I thrash around attempting to make him stop, to no avail. I beg for him to stop, but he doesn't. He's laughing behind my phone, clearly enjoying it. He stops videoing and throw the phone on the bed. He grabs both of my hands in one of his holding them prisoner above my head. He crashes his lips to mine, the mood changing from playful to sexual in milliseconds.
He trails down my neck and up again, nudging my mouth open. In the back of my mind this reminds me slightly of Fifty Shades of Grey, turning me on even more. He deepens the kiss abysmally, relentlessly. He breaks away to catch his breath.
"You beguile me." He breathes, the warm breath feathering my neck. "You got that the wrong way around." He chuckles against my skin, throwing himself next to me.
I cuddle into his body, tucking my head under his chin. I fit perfectly in his embrace.
I feel the warm breath tickling my ear. "Clary..." I stir, looking for the source of the sound. I open my eyes to see Jace in front of me. "Dinner is ready." He smiles, rubbing my bare back under my t-shirt. I must have fallen asleep. I stretch out my arms above me, ridding them of any stiffness.
We walk down to the dining room where the mouth watering smell invades my nose. She puts the dish on the middle of the table quite proudly. "Looks good mom." She smiles proudly.
Jace sits next to me and a sit opposite of my mom. She cuts a piece out for Jace, then for me and lastly for herself. We eat in silence, thoroughly enjoying the meal. We finish quickly, having a strawberry yogurt for dessert.
We take the dishes from the table, placing them in the dishwasher. My mom has excused herself to accept a call from someone leaving me and Jace by ourselves.
"So do you want to go out to the club on Friday?" He asks while loading the dishes in. "Eh sure, what club is it?"
"It's Pandemonium, it's downtown. You don't have to go if you don't want to." He moves closer to me pushing a strand behind my ear. I look up into his eyes.
"I do want to go. I just haven't been out to clubs much." He chuckles. He plants a kiss on my forehead while cupping my cheeks. "You'll be fine, I'll be there to watch over you." He smiles reassuringly.
I manually wash the things that cannot go in the dishwasher while he dries them. He's starting to know where the things are in my house. I smile inwardly. I lean against the worktop watching as he carefully dries them. There's a hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth.
I continue watch him as he finishes drying. He hangs the damp towel back before sauntering over to me. He places his hands next to me, caging me in between him and the worktop.
He's careful not to touch me anywhere, making me yearn for his touch even more. Whenever he touches me, my whole body ignites yet at the same time it calms down. I know without even looking by just his touch that it's him.
He strokes my arm causing the hairs to stand on end. He smiles mischievously, hovering over me closely. I reach out for him but he steps back immediately. He clicks with his tongue disapprovingly. His phone goes off. He reaches in his pocket and looks at the caller ID. His brow furrows together in confusion. He excuses himself to pick it up by holding one finger up and walks out of he room. I sigh deeply.
He comes back after a while, tense and cold. Yet there is a hint of worry. "I uh, I gotta go. I'll see you tommorow." He kisses me on my forehead. "Tell your mom sorry for suddenly leaving, bye." I say goodbye to him quickly, confused. I wonder what the call was about but before I can ask he's out the door. The sound of his tires screeching is heard throughout the neighborhood.
My mom comes running in. "Are you okay? Did you guys have a fight?" I shake my head. "No, he got a call and then left instantly. He looked worried." She looks at me caring. She wraps her arms around me and kisses the top of my head.
"It'll be okay, don't worry Clary." I reciprocate the hug tightly, pressing my head to her chest. "I love you mom."
"Oh Clary, I love you too."