"Was it worth it? Was she worth it? No... You should've said no."
-Taylor Swift, Should've Said No
Isabelle Lightwood, Post-City of Lost Souls*
She stared at him. He stared back. They were so opposite in some ways, similar in others. Her father was burly and strong; a bear of a man. She was tall and slender, more like a cat—but a tall cat. She got that from her mother—like most of her features. But there was something of her father in the shape of her face, in the set of her mouth. Both of them had stubborn fire in them, fire that Maryse had as well.
"You're unbelievable," she spat, trying to burn him up with the force of her glare, trying to make him physically react to the intensity of her anger.
"You are a child. Sit down, Isabelle, and don't speak to me that way. I don't understand what this is about, but I am your father and I deserve your respect." His tone was commanding, and Isabelle tried to resist the urge to put her head down and sit. He was her father, and she was used to taking orders from him. But this needed to be said.
"Do you? After what you did to Mom?" A wealth of emotions flickered across his face—comprehension, guilt, shock, grief, anger.
"Don't talk about things you don't understand, Isabelle. I meant it when I said I was back for good. I'm trying, damn it. You never knew Idris, and I will forever be guilty and I will forever pity you, because Idris is home and this is not home and you will never have it. You cannot understand the pain of losing it, and what I did to deal with the pain. You will never live in the Glass City because of the deplorable actions taken by," and he paused for a moment, giving Isabelle the impression that he had changed what he was about to say. "Valentine," he said. For a moment, Isabelle thought he would go on. Instead, he gave her a hard look, and she tried to keep her face an even mixture of boredom and impatience.
"So what? This is my home, and honestly, Idris wasn't that great. Besides, that's not an answer. How could you possibly do that? Aren't you supposed to be a role model for me? For Alec? Tell me something, Dad: was it worth it? Was she worth it? Was Annamarie Highsmith worth breaking mom's heart and screwing up my life and all the guilt I hope to God you feel?" Her words were like daggers, but Robert was used to daggers; he was a Shadowhunter.
"Don't you dare, Isabelle Sophie Lightwood! Don't you dare! I said I was home for good, and I am. Don't think to question me on the past, on what is done. Don't presume to understand how Maryse felt, how I feel!" His voice was raised, now, and Isabelle was leaning toward him angrily, blue eyes flashing.
"You should have said no. You should've said no, damnit! You should've stayed with us, because we were your family and you can't turn your back on your family! And I'll never, ever forgive you for it!" She whirled around and stalked away, head held high, refusing to let him see that she was close to crying. She never cried. Her father called after her, but she was done. She was done with him and with the whole damn situation. God, why hadn't he said 'no'?
A/N: *This didn't happen, it's not strictly canon, and I know that's how a bunch of my chapters are, but this one's actually taking liberties in such a way that would affect Heavenly Fire if it came out. But I wanted to write it anyway. ALSO EDIT EDIT EDIT: I changed the first paragraph, as my Guest reviewer informed me that it was not actually correct. So I just invented a different similarity which I hope hasn't also been refuted by the series. :)
Um, even though it's kind of not-believable. I just really wanted to get something out there for you guys, cause I know it's been a while. Thanks, as always, to my wonderful reviewers. I'd love to get new voices in my inbox, guys! But I love hearing from my regulars, as well. Sam, Mads-hatter-15, dewikaka, StarStruck99 (I'll try to find a song and add it to the queue), and SCawesome98 (glad you liked it, and thanks so much for reviewing my other stories, too!), you guys are the best and all deserve homemade cookies!
Also, not to make a shameless plug or anything (okay, this is a shameless plug), but if any of you guys are Hunger Games fans, you should check out my one-shots from last year. The March 2012 one, Drip, Drip, Drip actually won, and the April 2012 one didn't, but I'd love to get feedback on anything from any of you.
Reviews are SPRING BREAK!
