Chapter 64: To Endings and New Beginnings
Okay, I know everyone's eager to get into the chapter. As normal, the English is in brackets after the French! Now... onto the chapter. I hope you like it!
Clary's POV
I wake up in the hospital with a pretty serious headache, but otherwise I feel fine. I can hear someone softly snoring next to me. I know that I asked Jace to stay, and he's usually pretty good with that sort of thing, but my heart still beats a little faster at the thought of him staying here all night just for me.
I slowly open my eyes and am shocked to see Simon sitting in the chair next to me, awkwardly curled up in the seat. Despite expecting to see Jace, my smile grows at seeing Simon in the chair. It's just like the time when I was eleven, and Simon accidentally pushed me out of the tree on Luke's farm. He felt so guilty that I broke my arm that he refused to leave the hospital until I could too.
I take my phone out of my bag while waiting for Simon to wake up - or more likely for someone to come and wake him up because we'll have to leave.
After going through a couple of emails and texts, I go onto the news app to see if anything has been written about my accident. It's not surprising to find that a bunch of articles have already been written, along with photos of the crash, and me being picked up by the ambulance.
After quickly reading through a couple of articles, I'm pleased to see that pretty much everyone is on my side, and is angry at the paparazzi for how dangerous they made the situation. Someone found one of the paparazzi involved in the chase, and they said that they were just trying to get photos of me and the mystery man in the car, and to see where we were going together. The photos they did manage to get of me in the car, clearly show that I'm with Diego though, and a lot of people have already spoken up about how normal it is for me to be in the car with my security guard.
I hear Simon waking up, so I quickly put my phone back in my bag.
When Simon sees that I'm already awake, he quickly sits up in the chair, pushes his hair out of his eyes (which makes it stick up at ungodly angles) and fixes his glasses.
"Clary - how are you? Do you need anything? Do you want me to get the doctor?" he asks, while looking over me to make sure I'm alright.
"I'm fine Simon, I don't need any doctors," I tell him, trying not to laugh at his urgency. He sits back in the chair a bit, comfortable that I'm okay. "Thanks for being here Simon - you didn't have to come."
"Well… I wanted to make sure you were alright. And I also wanted to see if you'd be okay to go on the bus, or if you just wanted to get a flight so you could leave later."
"I'm good going on the bus with you guys," and then try to ask as casually as possible; "hey, umm… do you know where Jace is?" I don't want Simon to think I'd rather have Jace here, but I know that Jace was here when I fell asleep.
"I don't know Clary, sorry. I didn't see him when I got here like an hour ago. Maybe he went back to his hotel? He seemed pretty shaken up about everything that happened last night."
"Okay, thank Si." I say, and grab my phone again to call Jace. I know it's early, but I just want to talk to him to make sure he's okay. He doesn't pick up the phone, however, and I don't have time to question Simon, because the doctor comes into the room then to check on everything to discharge me.
Once I'm discharged, I try to get a taxi, and when one finally stops for me, I quickly turn to Simon. "Hey, can you tell Magnus I might need to take him up on that flight offer. I need to go find Jace and sort everything out, and if he's not at his hotel… I promise I'll be there for the meet and greet, okay."
I see Simon reluctantly nod, and get in the cab before he can try to talk me out of going to find Jace.
Once I get to Jace's hotel, I go to the front desk and get a key for his room. I knock on the door first, but like I expected there is no answer. I swipe the key and slowly open the door, almost scared of what I'll see on the other side.
What I did not expect to see was a bunch of rose petals that led out to the balcony. I follow the path, and when I get outside, I see how beautifully everything is set up, with candles and lights and champagne. I think about the date: it wasn't our anniversary or anyone's birthday.
I go back inside, and this time notice the box and note on the bed that I was too distracted to see last time. I slowly walk over to the bed, and pick up the letter with shaking hands, ignoring the box for now. It's not hard to guess what's in there.
Clary,
I'm so sorry to have put you through everything, but I can't do this anymore. Know that it has nothing to do with you. It's because of how much I love you that I have to leave. You deserve better than me. I'm not sure anyone will ever deserve you, but you should have the opportunity to see if there is anyone out there who does.
I'm sorry if doing this hurts you, but I know it's the right thing to do and hope that you can see it too.
I'm sure we'll meet again someday, but until then, I hope you're happy, and go get everything you want.
Always yours, Jace.
I drop the note back onto the bed and pick up the box. Inside is one of the most beautiful rings I've ever seen, and when I look closer, I see that it has an engraving inside the band. I swear on us. I squeeze the box tighter and roll my eyes. Even now, right after he's broken my heart, Jace is the most romantic man I've ever met. I can remember the exact time he said that...
"Where could they be?" I mutter to myself, pulling everything out of my bag for the second time in pursuit of my drum sticks. Luke had given them to me before my first big concert, and I'd used them every single time I'd performed after that. I'd be dammed before going on stage without them. Someone must have hidden them - there was no other explanation for it.
I quickly look around the room and see Jace lounging on a couch, scrolling through his phone. I storm over to him.
"You hid them, didn't you?" I demand.
He puts down his phone and stands, grabbing me around both my shoulders. "Let's slow down for a minute," he tells me. "What are you accusing me of hiding?"
"My drum sticks - they were in my bag when I left, and now they're not," I tell him quickly.
"I didn't hide anything Clary," he tells me softly.
"Well someone did! Swear on God and the angles that you didn't hide them Jace Herondale," I say, poking him in the chest.
"I swear on God and the angles," he says slowly. "I swear on my living mothers future grave… Fuck all that - I swear on us."
"Why on us?" I ask quietly.
"Because there's nothing I believe in more," he says, so sure of himself.
I look up at him, stunned to silence. I swear on us, because there is nothing I believe in more. I quickly pull him down and kiss him, trying to put everything I can't say into the kiss. Once he finally pulls back, he clears his throat before saying, "we'll find your drumsticks, Clary." But they had been long forgotten, replaced by consuming thoughts about this man who had chosen to love me.
I quickly shove the ring in its box in my pocket, before taking out my phone to ring Izzy. If I was going to do one thing today, it was find Jace Herondale.
"Hey Clary h-" Izzy begin but I quickly cut her off.
"Where is he Isabelle?" I ask bluntly. I don't have time to waste.
"Where's who? Simon? He said he was going to meet you at the hospital," she says, clearly trying to sound aloof.
"Where's Jace?" I clarify.
"Clary, I don't know where he is all the time…" she says softly.
"But you know where he is now," I say a little aggressively. "If I know Jace, and I like to think I do, he'd want to be getting out of Paris as quickly as possible. So is he driving, or getting a flight or a train?"
"Clary…" Izzy says, almost pleading with me to not make her say.
"Tell me Isabelle, otherwise I'm just going to have to fly everywhere myself looking for him. You can save us both a lot of time, and stop a massive mistake if you just tell me where he is now."
"Fine," she says, sounding defeated. "He's at the airport. He's on a 10.30 British Airways flight to London."
"What airport," I ask urgently, already heading out the door. I quickly check the time. It's already 9.45.
"Gaulle Airport," she answers, "but Clary, think before you go chasing-" I hang up the phone. I don't any warnings against what I'm about to do. I couldn't be more sure that it's the right thing.
I quickly hail a taxi, "Aéroport de Gaulle, le plus rapidement possible, merci." (Gaulle Airport, as quickly as possible, thank you.)
He fulfills my request, and I throw him a few 50 Euro notes and run into the airport, quickly buying a ticket and rushing through security. I look up on the board with all the flight. British Airways flight BAW44 to London Heathrow Airport, Gate 30… Final Boarding Call. Shit.
I sprint through the airport, getting to the gate as quickly as possible. I know people will be taking photos and videos of me, but I barely notice. I finally get to the gate, and see three people left in line, one with perfectly curled, golden hair, who is getting their ticket scanned.
"Jace," I yell. He quickly turns and sees me, and I can see how shocked he is. His face instantly goes pale and his eyebrows furrow as he tried to figure out how I tracked him down. I know I must look a mess; in my sweat suit with a massive parker over the top. With sneakers that aren't tied and my hair coming out of it's braids, but I don't care at all.
"Jace Herondale," I say, panting a little. "Don't you dare get on that plane."
He comes over to me, still clearly in shock. "Clary?" he asks. A massive group of people have gathered, all with their phones out. For possibly the first time in my adult life, I don't care. All I care about is Jace. Jace, however, looks around at all the people. "Come with me," he says.
He leads me out of the airport and into a taxi, and he tells the cabbie to drive into the car park, and then asks him to get out to give us some privacy, and hands him a bunch of notes.
Once we're alone, I pull the ring out of my pocket. He looks at the ring and then up at me.
"Where you really going to propose last night?" I ask.
"Of course I was. You saw the place, didn't you?" he says, almost angrily.
"Then how could you just leave? How do you go from wanting to spend the rest of life with someone to calling it quits without even talking to them? I thought you believed in us over everything else?" I say, thinking about the engraving inside the ring.
"Did you read the note?" he asks.
"I want to hear it from you. I want to hear it in person, now," I usually wouldn't be so forward, but I did just chase the man through an airport.
"Clary you deserve better," he says simply.
"That's crap. I get to decide what I deserve. So tell me the real reason. I've had people leave with no explanation before, and I don't need to go through that bullshit again. So if there's a real reason you're leaving, just tell me, and then I'll let you go." Then I won't have to spend the rest of my life wondering why I wasn't good enough for you, I think.
"You know me. When I start thinking I get carried away. I went to a dark place, and I can't drag you down there with me. And I was just so scared," he says, looking down at his hands. Confident Jace I knew how to handle; a Jace riddled with self doubt was something new.
"I get it. Trust me, I get it. Sometimes you think there's no way out of the darkness. But I can promise you there always is. You have me now, and I'll always be there to help guide you to the light. You may think I deserve better. You can think every single thing you do is wrong for me. But I know the truth. The truth is that I love you, so much. More than I ever thought possible. And I love the person you've helped me become. I'm happier than I've been in years. I healthier. And I'm finally looking forward to the future again. If I had gotten to your hotel last night, and if you asked me to marry you, I would have said yes. I would say yes if you asked me right now. Jace, nothing makes me happier than the thought of spending the rest of my life with you. And it's exactly what I want, and probably more than I deserve."
"That was some speech," Jace says, looking up to me and smirking. He grabs the ring box out of my hand. "Clary Fray, every minute I spend with you feels like a gift. You're like an angel God sent down to make me the man he knew I could be. Someone worth being loved by you. I can't promise to never fall down a dark hole again. I can't promise that I won't disappoint you. But I can promise to do everything in my power to make you happy, to make you feel loved. To give you everything you've ever wanted. Clary, marry me, and I'll spend the rest of my life fulfilling those promises. Marry me, and I'll spend the rest of my life trying to make you feel the way you make me feel. Clary Fray… will you marry me?"
I nod, and he quickly wipes away the tears that are falling. "Of course I'll marry you," I finally get out. He takes the ring out of the box, and slips it onto my finger.
So it's finally happened! I know there was a lot of lead up to this moment, but I'm happy with the way it turned out. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and the proposal :) If you have any comments, questions or suggestions feel free to leave a review and I'll answer in the best way possible. I hope you have a great week... see you at the next chapter!