A/N: Not sure if ending it here and making the wedding in a sequel or continuing.
35: Alec
I don't think I've ever hated Jace this much before. He had no right to upset Magnus or to possibly ruin our relationship.
"I don't want to hold you back, Alec. You're smart. You have a great future ahead of you. And I don't want you to waste that because of me," Magnus tells me.
"I'm not wasting anything. Magnus, you've made my life a hundred times better. If you're not happy being with me, fine. Go. But don't do it because Jace is an idiot," I reply.
"Can we take a break? If we miss each other too much, we can go back together."
"I love you, even though you're breaking my heart."
"I love you too, but I don't want you to make a mistake. I'm gonna get my stuff."
He leaves before Jonathan comes to tell me to go on break.
"Can I skip it?" I ask.
"Are you okay? You never skip breaks," he replies.
"Magnus broke up with me."
"Oh. You can take break in my office if you want."
I nod quietly. My joints pop when I stand so Khalil can take over.
"Why'd he dump you? I thought you were talking marriage," Jonathan says, opening the office door for me.
"Jace told him he's not good enough for me and Mags believed him. We were," I reply, sitting in one of the leather chairs.
"I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do? I know of a hybrid brothel if you wanna get your mind off him."
"No. I just want Magnus."
I know I'm gonna start crying if I'm not careful. I don't really care.
"If you change your mind, let me know and I'll hook you up."
If I were like Jace or Izzy. it'd be easy for me to do. But I'm not. I want it to mean something.
Jace is gone when I get home. Izzy's sitting on the couch, texting.
"I heard. Are you okay?" she says, coming over to me.
"No, I'm not. Where's Jace?" I reply.
"Party."
"Great. He ruins my life and then goes out and parties."
"I've been trying to talk Magnus into coming back. I know you love him and he loves you."
"It's only supposed to be a break. I'm going for a run."
Running helps me clear my head a little, but it does nothing for my heart.
He'll come home. We'll get back together. Really, I tell myself.
Tomorrow, I bring Max home. Raphael finally surrendered him.
"Where's Magnus?" he asks.
"We broke up," I reply, putting him in his booster seat.
Instead of saying anything, Max hugs me. This is the first time he's been affectionate with me. He purrs when I rub his bony back.
"Do you wanna get some toys?" I ask.
"I've never had toys," he replies.
He loves the toy store. I love watching how his blue eyes widen in excitement at all the different toys. I get him quite a few toys before we leave.
He backs into me when he sees Izzy. His ears flatten fearfully.
"Izzy, this is Max. Max, this is my sister Izzy. She's really nice. She'll pet you and cuddle you," I say.
Max doesn't relax.
"Did Jace hurt you?" I ask.
"I'm not supposeed to tell," Max murmurs nervously.
"I won't get mad."
Max follows me everywhere, just like Magnus did at first. It hurts enough I want to cry.
"Um, I don't have a cage to sleep in," Max says worriedly.
"You have a bed. Don't jump on it, okay? I don't want you hurting yourself," I reply, showing him his room.
He'll be staying in Jace's old room.
He plays by himself for a long time. I love watching him play.
"Are you ready for food?" I ask, stroking his hair gently.
He nods eagerly. I never noticed until now he's missing a front tooth. He's adorable.
"What're we having?" he asks, hopping up.
His stubby tail's twitching. At least his tail's supposed to be short.
"Mac and cheese with hot dogs," I reply.
He doesn't want to take a bath after supper. At all.
"Did Jace bad-touch you?" I ask gently.
Max just stares at me with wide eyes. He's trembling.
"Okay. You really need a bath so we can get more of the dye off, but I won't make you," I tell him.
He follows me to his room. I lay some pajamas out for him and step into the hall. He's old enough he can probably dress himself.
"Are you done?" I ask a few minutes later, rapping on the door.
"No. What are these things?" he replies.
"Are you wearing pants?"
"Yeah."
He's standing his jeans, holding up the pajamas in confusion. His thin torso is marked with scars from the dog attack and maybe from being whipped. The purple has lightened from dark violet to lavender.
"They're pajamas. You wear them while you sleep," I explain.
"Oh. I never wore them before," he replies.
"You can wear just the bottoms if you want."
He agrees to this.
Tonight isn't the first time I cry myself to sleep since Magnus left. I hope he's okay. I hope he's happy. A part of me hopes he misses me as much as I miss him.
I wake to Jonathan calling me. I know business has been down since after Thanksgiving. I didn't know I was going to lose my job because of it.
Sighing, I check on Max. He's sound asleep, which is surprising.
I leave Izzy a note before leaving for Catarina's. She's very surprised to see me alone.
"Where's Magnus? And Max?" she asks.
"Magnus and I broke up. Max is still asleep. I lost my job," I reply.
"What happened? I need a receptionist or a tech if you're interested. Max can come with you."
"Jace happened. He's now living with his girlfriend. Magnus won't answer my texts. Or my calls. That would be perfect."
"You can fill out the paperwork today if you want. Techs make more money, but it can be a little hard on your stomach."
"How many techs do you have? When can I start? What would I be doing?"
"None. You'll be speaking to the owners in the exam room. If it's a case of abuse, you'll need to get me so I can call the police. You'll be taking care of the patients after surgery or if they need to stay. I have someone who cleans the exam rooms, so you don't have to worry about that. You won't be assisting me in surgery. You'll start at $16.50 an hour, but you only work six hours. On Saturday and Sunday, I take care of the patients in the rooms."
"I can do that. When do I come in?"
"Two. You'll leave at eight. How's Max doing?"
"He's doing good. He was more used to Magnus than me."
I fill out the papers before going home to Max. Izzy's already left. Max pads out of his room when I close the door.
"Did you sleep okay? Did Izzy feed you?" I ask.
"Y-yeah. No, she didn't," he replies.
"I'll make you some breakfast. What would you like?"
"I've never had breakfast before."
He pads after me to the kitchen.
"Want me to make you some peanut butter and jelly toast?"
"Okay. You're not like Master."
"I'm glad I'm not. I had been planning on reading to you last night and forgot. I'm sorry."
"It's okay."
Max plays quietly while I do my homework. He's being such a little angel.
"Alec, can I have something to drink?" he asks around noon.
"Of course. What would you like? Are you hungry? Do you wanna go to the park after while?"
"Milk? Uh-huh. I've never been to the park."
He loves the park. I hate keeping him on a leash, but I can't afford another Emancipation paper right now.
He agrees to take a bath tonight. I can tell he's very uncomfortable with me being there to wash his hair.
"Do you know how to wash your hair?" I ask.
"No. Can you go?" he replies.
"After your hair's washed, I will. I promise."
"No. Now."
"Max, honey, your hair needs washed or it will get really greasy and yucky."
"No!"
He turns to glare at me with furious blue eyes. His ears are pinned flat against his skull. His tail's whipping back and forth angrily. He's growling at me. I've never seen such an angry six-year-old.
No sign of rape. That doesn't mean they didn't do other things. Did they? He doesn't trust me enough to talk about it, I think, backing away from him.
"Okay. I'll let you take a shower, and then I'll read to you if you want," I tell him, stepping out.
Max comes out fifteen minutes later. He doesn't look very happy.
"I'm sorry I growled at you," he mumbles, crawling into his bed.
"Why did it upset you so much? I'm not mad at you," I reply.
"Master. And J-Jace."
"Can you tell me what they did? I won't get mad at you. I promise."
He shakes his head slowly.
"Okay. What would you like me to read to you?" I say.
"Harry Potter. That's what Magnus read to me," he replies.
He starts getting sleepy after two chapters. By the third, he can barely keep his eyes open.
"Good night, Max. I'll see you in the morning," I murmur, leaning down to kiss his forehead.
He sighs sleepily and rolls onto his side.
Tonight, I don't cry myself to sleep. I'm going to get through this.
I don't see or hear from Magnus until three months later while I'm at work. He looks horrible. He's lost a lot of weight. He's bruised. And he's holding his left arm at an odd angle. He's got his bags with him. Chairman Meow is on a harness and leash next to him.
"Magnus? What happened to you?" I ask, rushing towards him.
Max's little feet patter behind me on the tile floor.
"I'm sorry," Magnus murmurs.
"Who did this?" I ask.
"I-I decided to try living with Camille."
"She did this?"
"Yeah. Do you hate me? You still wear the ring?"
"If I hated you, I wouldn't be talking to you. I was hoping you'd come back to me. I've missed you every day since you left. I didn't date anyone."
"Camille and I weren't dating. I lived there and we had sex sometimes and she beat me. I didn't love her. Ever."
"I still love you."
He offers me a sad smile.
"I never stopped. I thought maybe if we took a break we'd find out what we really wanted," he tells me quietly.
"I know what I want. Do you?" I reply.
"I want you. Not because I'm clinging to the only person who treats me nice. I want you because it feels like I'm gonna die without you. I'm sorry I broke up with you."
"Do you want to try again? I've missed you. Everywhere I looked, all I really saw was you weren't there."
He leans in and kisses me hesitantly.
"Does that answer your question? You're my always, and I was an idiot for not seeing it," he replies.