"I don't know what happened," Isabelle said over coffee the next morning. She and Alec were both early risers, though she had only become one in her mid-twenties, and Alec had always been one. They were sitting on a bench in the park near Alec and Magnus' apartment, coffee in hand, at 7:30am. "I woke up last week to him going through his closet. I asked him what he was doing, but he didn't answer. He pretended I wasn't even there. After a minute or two, he just left."

Alec didn't know what to tell her. It didn't sound like the Simon he had known for more than 15 years, to just up and leave like that. "You haven't heard from him since? At all?" he asked after a moment of silence.

She shook her head. "Not a single word," she said and took a sip the coffee in her to-go cup. "I'm getting worried. He's never done anything like this. I've tried calling him and texting him, even emailing him, but I never hear anything back. It's so unlike him." Her hair was moving in the wind, some of it briefly getting stuck in her lipgloss. She reached up to remove it, and at the same time brushed away a tear, thinking Alec hadn't seen it. He had, though. She was such a beautiful woman, and there was something so sad about seeing her like this. He didn't like it.

Alec nodded. It really was unlike him. "Have you tried calling anyone else who might know where he's gone?"

"I tried calling all his friends," she said. "Everyone. In a moment of panic, I even called the hospital to hear if he was there, but no luck."

Alec nodded again. "I guess we're just gonna have to wait for him to turn up somewhere." He didn't know what else to tell her.

Later that day, Alec was sitting in the living room alone with Lewis. He hadn't been alone with Lewis much since he came back, not other than when he actively sought it out himself, and the few times he had; Lewis had been quiet, avoiding eye contact, tense. As if they were strangers to each other – as far from father and son as you could be.

At the moment, Lewis was watching some show Alec had never heard of on TV. While that was a normal situation not to have eye contact and be quiet in, he was still more tense than he had been if Magnus had been with them. Alec was reading a book, but he wasn't paying attention to it at all.

"So," Alec said, looking up, and he could see Lewis tensing up as soon as he heard it. "What are you watching?"

"Just a show," Lewis said.

"You used to love telling me about the shows you watched," Alec said, looking at him.

"I guess," Lewis said.

"I remember this one time-" Alec started, but Lewis interrupted him.

"Can I please just watch it?" Lewis asked, still not looking at Alec, still tense.

Alec stayed quiet for a moment, just watching Lewis. He wasn't relaxing one bit. "We're gonna have to talk eventually, Lewis," he said. "I'm your dad; you can't really get around it."

Lewis sighed, holding up the remote control and pausing the show. Then he looked over at Alec, making eye contact for one of the first times since Alec came back. "You just don't get it, do you?"

Alec took a moment without saying anything, surprised by the edge to Lewis' tone. Surprised by how angry he sounded. "What do you mean?" he said when he finally regained his composure.

"You died. You were gone for three years. I had to do without one of my parents for three years. A simple 'I want us to be a family again' isn't going to change that," Lewis said. He stood up, still looking at Alec. "You come back here, and you expect everything to be the same. Dad might not have showed you how much he's changed, but you broke him. You broke us. I'm not the same. He's not the same. Life isn't the same as when you left, and it won't ever be. We were a broken family for three years, and you coming back isn't going to change that, so stop pretending it will." He left the living room then, walking into his own bedroom and slamming the door behind him.

Alec was left there sitting alone. He didn't know what to do, if he was supposed to go say something to him or just let him go. He didn't know.

Alec and Lewis didn't say a word to each other for the rest of the day, and they avoided each other as best they could. Magnus noticed, though Alec had tried not to let it show too much, but he didn't say anything until they were in bed that night, Alec with a book, and Magnus just sitting and looking at him for a bit. Alec hadn't said much to him, either, and when he had, he'd kept it short and cold.

"What's going on?" Magnus asked. "You've been acting weird today."

"What do you mean?" Alec asked, then, without looking up from his book. "Nothing's going on."

Magnus sighed. "Alexander," he said. "You've barely spoken to me today. Or Lewis, for that matter. What's wrong?"

Alec was quiet for a moment before he answered, and when he did, it was with the tiniest voice Magnus had ever heard him use. "I broke you," he said.

"What are you talking about, baby?" Magnus asked, sitting up a bit more. He didn't like when Alec used that tone, he decided. He didn't like it one bit. "You didn't break anyone."

"Funny, 'cause Lewis said I did," Alec said, then, his tone suddenly sharp and he looked up at Magnus. "He said that you might not show it, but I broke you. Both of you. I ripped this family apart, and I can't change that. That's what he said."

"Alexander, he's just-"

"No, don't. Don't even try," Alec said. "He's right, however little you want to admit it. I broke everyone. I broke you, Lewis, Izzy, Jace- Jace even had a complete break down! Jace of all people!" He was yelling now, still keeping eye contact with Magnus.

Magnus didn't say anything. He just stared at Alec, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Because he really couldn't. When he finally tried speaking, Alec interrupted him almost immediately. "It's not-"

"It's not my fault? I know it's not my fault that I went into a coma," Alec said. "But that doesn't change the fact that I was the one to tear this family apart. It's my fault that this happened. You can't say it's not." He stood up, then, taking his pillow and the blanket hanging over one of the chairs. "I'm sleeping in my office tonight." Then he walked towards the door.

"Please don't do anything to yourself," Magnus said quietly. Alec stopped dead in his tracks.

He turned around to face Magnus, who was looking down at the bed. "Is this what it's gonna be like now? You saying that whenever I leave?"

"I just…" Magnus said, unable to continue the sentence.

Alec turned around and left the room without another word.

AN:

11th chapter. Sorry for the wait. Sorry it's not happy. Sorry it's short. All those things. Just... sorry.

Review if you like.

Lea