"Clary…" I was so focused, I barely heard Jace come home. I didn't even look up. "Clary… I brought you a present."

"Shhhhhhhh…" I held up my hand to silence him while I finished the last page of the chapter. Then I looked up at him with wide, excited eyes. I practically shouted at him, "What did you bring me?"

Jace grinned and revealed a familiar looking coffee cup with the Java Jones logo on the front. I smiled remembering the last drink he brought me home to try. "That better be one of those hot chocolate/coffee things! The last one was delicious!"

"That was a mocha" He often enjoyed making me try new things. "And no, this here is my own personal spin on our famous vanilla latte."

I took a sip and my entire mouth filled with warmth. It wasn't chocolaty like the mocha, but it was sweet and warm in its own way. I could taste a hint of vanilla, but the drink was overwhelmed with another flavor. I thought for a moment, trying to figure out what this mystery flavor was. The closest guess I got was, "It reminds me of… Thanksgiving?"

"Yes!" Jace's eyes lit up. "That's the pumpkin!"

Did I hear him right? "Pumpkin?"

"It's a vanilla/pumpkin latte!"

Before Jace, I never knew that coffee could be anything more than coffee. Now I knew there were a million different coffee drinks you could make. And Jace could make them all. There were expressos and cappuchinos and lattes and mochas. You could order them hot or cold or blended or with extra flavors added. Coffee has quickly become one of my favorite things about the world. I never used to drink it at home because I didn't like the bitter taste, but Jace could make me a coffee drink that tasted sweet or even salty, like hot chocolate or a milkshake. "It's delicious, thank you."

As I took a second sip, I remembered the books Luke had given me from the store that afternoon. "Have you heard of these books?" I asked, frantically pointing at the front cover. "They are fantastic!"

He looked at the cover to see what I was reading and chuckled, "Harry Potter?"

"What's so funny?" I crinkled up my eyebrows the way I always did when I felt like I didn't know something simple about the world.

"Nothing," He laughed as he took the seat next to me on the couch. "Its just that everyone knows about Harry Potter. It's like the most popular series ever written. There is a billion dollar franchise of books, movies, and merchandise for the world of Harry Potter, even theme parks. I'm surprised you didn't know about it."

This disappointed me. Not the fact that Harry Potter was so famous, but because I had missed out on it all for so long. So many books, movies, places, things I never knew existed until a few months ago. I was almost embarrassed to tell him, "We only had the books and movies that my parents had, you know, before. So everything was older than I was, at least."

"Well then…" he smiled at me, typical Jace trying to cheer me up, always succeeding. "That just means it's my job to get you all caught up on the world."

"Thank you, Jace, for being me friend," I said, trying to be as sincere as possible.

He seemed slightly confused, at a loss for what to say. This was uncharacteristic for Jace who always seemed to know exactly what to say and how to say it.

"I'm serious," I continued, needing to take up the silent space. "I don't know what would've happened to me if you hadn't saved me from that farmhouse."

"It was my pleasure to introduce you to the world." He paused. "And I want you to know… I would do it all over again. If… If I could go back, I would still marry you, if only to show you the world."

We had been inching closer and closer together, and the apartment was darker now, as the sun started to set. It cast a pinkish glow on the floor. A new feeling was taking me over, filling me with a new confidence that I didn't know I had. I felt pulled to Jace like a magnet, until, without even realizing what I was doing, I kissed him. It was me this time. I was the one to kiss him. This kiss was entirely different than the last one. I didn't know that was possible. I had always assumed that a kiss was a kiss. This kiss was only a fraction of our first, lasting only a few seconds. It was a simple, soft, singular kiss, yet it seemed to last an eternity.

The kiss seemed to go on even after we parted. We hovered there, inches apart, breathing each other in. Somehow, that little kiss left us both short of breath. I breathed in and out to match the rise and fall of Jace's chest. There was something overwhelmingly calm about it that I couldn't quite place. After what seemed like an eternity, we shifted so we were no longer facing each other but were instead lounging on the couch, side by side, my head resting on his shoulder. We sat like that while Jace read aloud the last three chapters of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

At some point, we must have fallen asleep, because, hours later, I was jolted awake by the sound of my cell phone ringing. I quickly took in my surroundings. The sun had set completely, and now the moon shone in through the window, casting shadows on the floor. The Harry Potter Book, which we had finished earlier, was lying closed on the coffee table. My head was still resting on Jace's shoulder, but his head now rested on top of mine, and his right arm was wrapped loosely around my shoulders. I contemplated how to reach for my phone without waking him up. I didn't find a suitable solution before it stopped ringing. My phone screen blinked, and I could see a string of missed calls from Luke. A strange feeling erupted in my gut, a strange feeling that something was terribly wrong. I was suddenly worried that Luke was hurt, or maybe Simon or Isabelle. But surely if it were Simon or Isabelle, Jace's phone would be lighting up too. It was sitting right there next to mine on the coffee table, but the screen was dark. And just as I thought it, Jace's phone started lighting up and vibrating. Without thinking, I leaned forward to pick it up myself, waking Jace up in the process.

"Luke!" I practically screamed. "Is something wrong?"

Luke seemed surprised to hear my voice answering Jace's phone. "Clary… Is Jace there?"

"Yes, Luke, he right here." At this point Jace was listening eagerly to my side of the conversation with questioning eyes. "Is something wrong? Are you hurt?"

"No, Clary. I am fine." He seemed to hesitate. "Listen, can I speak with Jace?"

I didn't try to hide my disappointment as I handed Jace his cell phone. Luke had called me too, hadn't he? Something was going on, and I was once again out of the loop. I didn't want to be ignorant anymore. I watched Jace's face closely as he reacted to whatever Luke was telling him. I could hear Luke's voice, but no what he was saying. I couldn't read Jace's face, but I could tell it was not good news.

"Luke?

Pause.

Yes

Pause.

No, we've been asleep

Pause.

What happened?

Pause.

When?

Pause.

Did they figure out what caused it?"

Pause.

Jace paused and looked at me, eyes full of sympathy. Then he reached for the remote and turned on the TV.

"I'm turning it on now

Pause.

No, she needs to see for herself

Pause.

What channel, Luke?

Pause.

Thank you

Pause.

No we'll be fine

Pause.

Yeah, I'll call if we need anything."

He hung up the phone and looked to me, not saying anything, thumb resting on the number 5 button of the remote. For a moment he just looked at me, trying to find the right words. But no words could've made what he said next any less painful. "Clary, I'm so sorry. Its your house."

"My house?" I asked in disbelief.

He sighed as he changed the channel, and a blare of sound erupted, signaling the beginning of a news broadcast. The camera zoomed in on the serious-looking female reporter at the desk. She was very pretty but seemed to be hiding her beauty to appear more serious. I forgot all about her as soon as she began speaking. Then, all I could focus on were the words coming out of her mouth.

Breaking News: Authorities have located wanted criminal and suspected terrorist Valentine Morgenstern after a driver reported a fire off of the highway. The blaze led authorities to the farmhouse where Morgenstern and his family seemed to have been living. After warrants were issued for his arrest more than 18 years ago, Morgenstern and his wife and infant son allegedly went into hiding and have not been heard from since. He is currently still wanted for illegal arms dealing, gang violence, assault, murder, and treason against the U.S. Government. Now over to Alan Rogers in the field for more information.

The scene changed from the bright lights of the studio to the dark and hilly country. Even in the cloudy darkness, even with everything consumed by flame, I recognized my home immediately. It was the only place I ever knew, the familiar landscape featured in at least half of my paintings. There was my front porch, where mom and I would sit in big rockers and watch the sun go down while drinking sweet tea, now charred and broken, the roof hanging halfway down in front of the front door. There was my bedroom window, blasted out from the flames, charred green curtains the only hint left of my décor. Jace reached for my hand as the reporter began to speak.

Thanks Karrin. Why was he so cheerful? Can't he see the tragedy behind him? That is my home! Or it was…

As you can see, firefighters are still fighting the flames in the back of the house. As of now it is unclear whether anyone else was inside the home when the fire started.

He walked around the side of my house to reveal an entire chuck of it that was simply missing, as if it were torn away in a volcano instead of disintegrated.

As you can see, the entire side of the house burned down completely before emergency vehicles could arrive. You can see into what would have been the family room. This is where our team found scraps of family photos, indicating the family had been hiding here for years. The body was found…

I froze at the word body, aware that I was squeezing Jace's hand harder every second. At this point I don't know if I was forming words or simply crying, but I kept whimpering, "No…. Mom…. Jon…. Mom…. My mom…. No…."

The reporter talked on in the background, though I could barely hear it. I could barely hear anything. It was as if my world had gone silent. If I didn't hear what he said, whose body they found, it was almost as if it didn't happen. Jace's hand was enough anymore. I crawled into his lap, like I would my mom's when I had a nightmare as a child, and I sobbed into his chest. I kept repeating it, "no… no… no…", like it would make a difference, bring back my home and my family.

I thought about all the irreplaceable items that had been lost: Mom's vintage cookbooks, Jon collection of vinyl records, and boxes filled to the brim with my artwork. It was all gone now. Everything was gone. My family was gone. Why was I still here? What was left for m in this world?

"Shh…. Shhh… Clary, its alright." Jace. Jace was still here. And Luke and Simon and the Lightwoods. "I'm so sorry, Clary. I'm so sorry."

After some time, I was too tired to sob any more. I calmed myself down and took three deep breaths. Jace had turned the TV off, but he was still holding me tight. I didn't want to hear the answer, but I needed to know. "Who was it? Who did they find?"

Jace took a ragged deep breath. He sounded like he was on the brink of tears himself. "I'm so sorry, Clary. It was your father. He's dead."

I broke down again, despite my efforts to stop myself, to think about all the terrible things he had done and all the ways he had hurt me and mom and Jon. But he was still my father. I squeezed my eyes tight and wished with everything I had that this was all a dream.

"But Clary," he continued. I paused and looked up into his odd yet beautiful golden eyes. "They didn't find anyone else. They didn't find your mother or Jon. They could be safe."