"Calm down," Jace said immediately. "Please don't kill me."
I threw my hands up in the air. "I wasn't going to, Jace, I'm not you!"
"Was that really necessary?" He winced.
"Absolutely!"
Jace was silent. "What do you want to know?"
Now it was my turn to be silent. Did I really want to know? It seemed like knowing would only make the situation worse. But could I really go on thinking I'd been thrown off a building for nothing.
"There were demons there, weren't there?" I asked him.
Jace furrowed his eyebrows. "How'd you know?"
"I started having flashes of memory. Then I dreamt about it. That's why I showed up at two a.m.," I said.
Jace nodded. "Yeah. It was demons. They came bursting through the doors and just started killing people. It was horrible. I had to get you out."
Those last words pinched at my heart. Yeah, you cared about me enough to get me away from the demons, only so you could be the one to nearly kill me? But I didn't say that. Instead, I said, "Why?"
After a few moments of tense silence, Jace simply shook his head. He wasn't going to tell me.
"No. No, Jace. You can't just say no," I was about to start blowing up at him. "I want the whole story."
More silence. The only sound was the wind rushing in and out and between the skyscrapers around us. "Fine. But be prepared. It's rough, Clary."
0.o.O.o.0
Jace P.O.V.
I could not let him have her.
My adopted father was a tyrant. He was a bully. He was a villain. I would do anything to get away from him. But because of Clary, I couldn't. I had to stay with her, because if he didn't have me, he'd want her. So I stayed.
Every few nights, I'd take a beating. But it was nothing because there was always iratzes and if I had Clary it didn't matter. I grew strong. But…as much as I hated it, Clary wasn't. I'd do anything to get away from my "father," but I'd do everything for her.
I had the feeling something would go wrong as soon as I asked Clary to the party. But I couldn't back out now. When the hideous demons came crashing through the doors, though, I wished I had. I had been on the other side of the house, and I wasn't exactly sure how, but I was by Clary's side in seconds. I took her hand and, thankfully, she let me pull her up, up, up…
As soon as the door slammed behind me, I knew there was no choice. I had to do it. But still, I ran my hands through my hair trying to find another choice as if there is one.
"What's happening?"
It took me a few moments of contemplation, but eventually I just shook my head.
I took her hand and pulled her somewhat reluctantly toward the edge. Clary tensed and took a step back. That's when I knew there was no way to do this but the hard way.
"Come on," I coaxed her, still trying to avoid the unavoidable. "You have to jump, Clary."
"No," She said, frantically shaking her head. "No, I don't want to. I'm scared."
"You'll be fine."
"But what about you?" The switch flipped. There was no going back now. I hated what I was about to do I almost cried. I almost jumped with her.
"If you survive the fall, fantastic," I said, nearly cringing as I said it. But I couldn't. I trained my face into solitude, but I could tell Clary knew me enough to tell how my voice was shaking and how the façade was plainly visible. "If not, sucks for you."
"What?" Her voice came out weak, though I could tell how hard she was trying to keep it strong.
I took a deep breath. "I don't care if you live or die, Clary. Nobody does. In fact, most people have just wanted you to "disappear" the moment you were born. Nobody cares about you, Clary. Not even me. I do not care about you. Now jump," The words came out like they were venomous. I couldn't believe I'd just done that.
I pushed her. It wasn't even that bad. Just a little. But it was enough. With a petrified yelp, Clary's legs shot upward and over the ledge. And then she fell.
I guess she never heard it. The shock wouldn't have let her. But the way I yelled her name was more utterly painful then the sound of her tiny body hitting the ground. She looked so…dead.
I slumped to the ground and leaned against the ledge. I cried for at least two hours.
0.o.O.o.0
Clary P.O.V.
I don't think Jace knew, but when Jace had finished with his story, he was crying. He wasn't sobbing, but a few pained tears had escaped him. He didn't bother to brush them away.
I didn't want to ask it. But… "And…what about the note?"
Jace scrunched up his face, finally wiping away his tears. "What? What note?"
I laughed, but it was humorless. "Don't play dumb, Jace. The note. What was it for, extra reassurance to make sure I never wanted to see you again? Because it worked."
"What do you mean, I-," Jae cut himself off. "W-what did it say, Clary? What did the note say?" Jace was suddenly panicked.
"Oh, just literally a list of every single thing you hated about me," I snapped.
"What? Okay, one: I do not hate anything about you, ever. Ev-er. And two? I have no godly idea what you're talking about."
I'll admit it. I kind of wanted to smile. Okay. I really, really wanted to smile. What can I say? Jace could be sweet and charming when he wanted to be.
"What does that mean?"
"It means I think my father did this."
I was confused. "Did what?"
"Everything. I think the demons were under his control and I think he took your father."
Okay, okay, I know this was pretty short. But I left you on a pretty bad cliffhanger so I decided to get this out to you sooner. Hope you enjoyed!
