So I just found out my dad is letting me stay home from school tomorrow, and I'm on a sugar high from eating a bunch of cookie dough, and I'm about to update and I don't have my Musical until 9 PM, and life is good. So therefore, I hope that you all review and like this chapter. It is pretty short, but I wanted it to stop right where it ended, and so everything before then was kinda improvised and not a scene I imagined and kind of came out of nowhere. tha's , though. I like where it's taken me. So I hope you enjoy! Love ya guys!
-Lau
There was awkward tension in the room once Jace had invited Sebastian back in the suite. Awkward, because no one seemed to have anything else to say once Jace got off the phone, telling Hodge to get over to the room as soon as possible, and tensions rising, because Sebastian seemed to throw daggers at Jace at any chance he could get. It didn't bother Jace that much, but it definitely was more difficult to spark a conversation if the other looked like they wanted to stab you repeatedly.
Jace would've preferred to have just Clarissa present, but there was no other point in keeping Sebastian outside once the interrogation was finished, and Jace had described his next plan of action to her. Jace averted his gaze to Clarissa, hiding (hopefully) the awe of her actually sitting in front of him. Was it really less than 24 hours since he'd seen her in the flesh? Alive?
With her arrival she brought many answers-Jace wasn't sure which ones were true or false- and dug up more questions. Clarissa was alive, Aline was the real victim, Sebastian and Aline had been sleeping together, Clarissa actually made it to the country house, but where was the murder weapon, who was the one to interrupt Sebastian and Aline, and did Clarissa ever leave her house?
And that was just skimming the surface. Some questions, of course, didn't pertain to the case at all. Such as: does Clarissa still love Sebastian, why couldn't she see reason around him, and did she actually know Jace's name?
It's odd to know so much about someone else, and they don't have a clue about you. Jace looked at Clarissa and could remember so many stories, all the details in the letters, the memories in her journal, and saw the portrait, her painted image smiling at him. Even if it at times the smiled varied to one from innocence, to sultry, to mysterious, and then smugness, Jace knew that that woman in the painting, was the girl he fell in love with. And the unknown person sitting across from him didn't feel or act like the woman he'd imagined.
The Clarissa in front of him was unknown and unpredictable. She'd made more mistakes than correct since her arrival, and she still continued to lie. Plus, the Clarissa in front of him didn't love him. She didn't know him, granted, but that had been the key thing in his mind. If he had managed to fall in love with her, then it wasn't too hard for Clarissa to, either.
"So you don't plan on telling Hodge the truth?" Clarissa broke the silence, her eyebrows raised at Jace in a professional and poised position. "You didn't tell him I'm still alive?"
"No," Jace replied, "the whole point of this . . . exercise . . . is the reactions. I would've done the same thing to Sebastian, but as the circumstances are a bit different, I'll just have to guess what he'd have looked like."
"I'm sure it would have been as anyone would assume." Sebastian sniffed.
"Why does his reaction mean so much?" Clarissa ignored Sebastian's comment, stopping Jace from replying something snarky.
"Well, there are all sorts of things it could mean. For example, if he were to cry, he'd be relieved, happy, etc. But if it was delayed surprise, then it might mean he already knew that your demise wasn't actually real, like Mr. Verlac here. He wasn't exactly good at showing remorse when you were gone."
"Is there anything else you can imagine Hodge doing when he sees me? Other than crying."
Jace shrugged. "Knowing his character, I don't think there's anything he else he can do."
"There I think you're wrong." Clarissa said, "I can't imagine him crying, because Hodge never has shed a tear in front of me."
"We'll see then, won't we?" Jace challenged, raising an eyebrow.
The break in which Clarissa studied Jace, made him realize Sebastian was again glaring daggers at him. Really, could he be more obvious? All the angry looks from Sebastian only spurred Jace further to bother him in any way possible.
"When Hodge does arrive," Jace glanced at Sebastian for a moment, "Do not mention to him what you've told me. I don't want him to know that you knew Clarissa is alive."
She frowned. "Why can't Hodge know?"
"Suspects aren't supposed to know everything that happens within the case. That would kind of ruin the idea of having a suspect. You don't tell possible killers where you live, where your kids go to school at, and what new information is leading to someone's arrest. It just doesn't happen that way . . . And for a good reason too. There's a reason why a suspect is a suspect."
"Because their suspicious." Sebastian added, smiling at his own wit.
Jace couldn't stop his eyes from rolling. "An amazing play on words, Sebastian. Your knowledge never ceases to amaze me." Jace drawled dryly.
Clarissa tried to hold back a laugh, a hand to her mouth, but the snort was still heard by everyone in the room. Sebastian's cheeks inflamed, mortified that even his fiancé couldn't refrain from making fun of him. "Perhaps it is time for me to leave, since you two can hardly control yourselves." Sebastian spat, rising from the loveseat.
"No, wait Sebastian . . . It was just a joke."
"It was actually just rude." Sebastian was grabbing his coat, with Clarissa hovering behind him, pleading him to stay. "I'll see you tonight?"
Clarissa bit her lip as Sebastian stared at her seriously, shoving his hat onto his head. "Don't leave, Sebastian. "
"Yes please don't leave!" Jace called from where he sat. "It's a whole lot more fun when you're around. If you leave, you'll be taking away our entertainment!"
Sebastian sneered at him, storming furiously toward the door before turning around, telling Clarissa: "I'll come back when he isn't here." he stabbed another glare at Jace before slamming the door shut behind him.
"Really! When do you stop!" Clarissa turned immediately toward him, furious, her eyes ablaze.
"Well, I've succeeded in making him leave, so I believe my work is done." Jace grinned lazily, stretching his arms behind him.
"What do you have against Sebastian? Really? He isn't all bad-"
"I can't stand him, that's all." Jace cut in. "I hate him for so many reasons. But I don't think I'll share all of them with you."
There was a pause in her yelling at him, which gave her a chance to regain her composure. Clarissa licked her lips, biting down on the lower. She sat next to him, her bloodshot eyes pleading to him. "Tell me them. All of them."
"I don't think . . ." Jace's eyebrows furrowed, the ends of his lip creasing down. This was an unexpected turn in events.
"I need a reminder. Tell me. . . " she said slowly, pausing mid-sentence, making Jace feel like he was suspended in air. Her dark eyes searched his face, and Jace felt himself wanting to tell her exactly why he hated Sebastian, above anyone else. "Tell me . . . so I can have a reason to hate him, too."
"Wha-"
Before Jace could express shock beyond a dumbfounded look, the door opened, Hodge nearly yelling in a panicky voice, "What's happening? What did you want to-"
Upon one look of her, Hodge's eyes bugged out. His already pale complexion turned to the shade of milk. And Jace knew, a split second before it would happen.
Hodge collapsed onto the floor, slamming his head against a chair.
I don't think either of us was expecting that.
Another cliffie sorry but not sorry. Updates won't take an entire month now because I just finished my musical on Saturday. It was pretty awesome, and our closing night was given a standing ovation immediately. So everything has taken a relaxing turn in my life, so I can write a WHOLE lot more. I've almost had a withdrawal from it, if you may.
Anyways, what do you think of Hodge's reaction? Clarissa and Jace's conversation? Why do you think Clarissa wants to hate Sebastian? So many questions that need answering I wonder how I'm going to do it . . .
-Lau