Author's Note: While hello lovely's, I hope you are all doing well. Here is a little something that I came up with one night. It is just a one shot. Hope you enjoy, and if so leave a review. If you hate it then just move on.
With a cold chill rushing across my cheeks, I shake my red curls towards my face trying to cover it as I walk towards the diner. I try to carry myself with as much confidence as possible, which is nearly impossible when you are missing a shoe, and your ankle is a dark purple colour. Being confident was something vital to my parents, to the point where my life became a lie. My name used to be Clarissa Morgenstern the cute prom queen with her whole life ahead of her, but now I am Clary Fray, the drug-addicted abused wife.
Now, I bet you are now wondering how I went from queen to addict, well how much time do you have? Because you are in for a wild ride.
My whole life, I was in the spotlight, my father was an actor, and my mom was an artist, and together they walked the red carpet with such grace on every occasion. Even though I was a rebel as a child, I always looked up to my parents, and they loved me, but I hated the attention. My father was always stressed about me being caught smoking or partying by the cameras, that the pressure was too much. So, I packed my bags and ran away from Boston to New York. Most parents would be angry about their only daughter running away, but they were grateful for it since I'd cause less trouble that way but continued to send me money.
When I ran away, I met Sebastian, who was so kind and didn't want me for my money. For several years we had fun, but it all changed when we got married because my parents didn't want me marrying him, so they gave me an ultimatum; him or the money, I chose wrong.
From that point forward, my parents were no longer in my life, and it was just Seb and I. Two years into our marriage, things took a turn for the worst, when he began drinking a lot more and always wanted to go clubbing. This is where he'd experiment with drugs and beg me to take some with him, so I did, and let me tell you I have an addictive personality. From there on, things spiralled out of control; Seb lost his job because of the drugs and took his frustrations out on me. To deal with the pain, I began taking more drugs, mainly cocaine or oxycodone. From the abuse, I began to believe Sebastian when he blamed me since I was a drug addict.
A year after the drugs took control, I'd wake up regularly in an alley on the other side of town from my home. The first time this happened I knew I wouldn't make it home without another high. So on my walk back I found a new dealer behind a local diner; his name was Magnus. The first time I found Magnus, I bought the pills and quickly rushed into the diner to use the washroom to crush the capsules.
I remember this so vividly because this moment changed my life. As I grab the cold steel handle of the diner doors, I didn't notice the blonde Angel coming out of the other side, until I open my eyes and he is staring at me. Why would this Angel be staring at me? I am nothing.
"Hey, are you alright? That was quite a fall," he says, and I feel my stomach flutter like never before, and I manage to ignore the shaking of my hand.
"Seriously? Do you have a concussion?" he asks again, crouching beside me. It is then it dawns on me, the door hit me, and I fell backwards onto the hard ground.
I know I should answer him, but the pounding in my head from the lack of drugs or from the fall is impossible to ignore, and I barely manage to answer him with "where is the washroom?" I ask, not moving from the ground. His reply confuses me because he doesn't answer me immediately and instead stares at me with his brows coming together into a sombre expression.
Eventually, the Angel comes out of his daze and nods while giving me instructions for the washroom located in the right at the back. I nod my head and place my hands beside me, trying to push myself up into a sitting position, while the Angel quietly holds his hand out, and I take it and a spark emerges between us and we both don't move.
He carefully pulls me up and walks away from the diner, and I set myself up in the bathroom and collapse into bliss.
A week later, I have a horrible fight with Seb, where I rush upstairs and take a line of coke and race out the door before his arms reach me. From the coke, my pain in my ribs disappears, and I run with adrenaline rushing through me.
Time passes, and my high almost runs dry, and I find myself sitting on a park bench watching the sunrise. This was a moment I felt most at peace, and I remembered the family I left behind for this life, with the sun glowing just like one of my mom's paintings, it is then the tears began to race down my cheeks, and I curl up on the bench and fall asleep.
One of the most annoying noises is buzzing, especially from flies, it is then I feel the itch on my arm and face. I then open my eyes and spot the problem, and fly is crawling on me. I move my arms, and it flies away, and I push myself into a ball, and I bring my knees to my chest. How did things get so bad? I just slept on a bloody park bench in the middle of New York. After several minutes my body roars from hunger, and I wonder to myself when was the last time I ate anything not laced with cannabis.
I reach into the pockets of my jeans and manage to pull a folded Five dollar bill out, and I walked towards the diner. As I walk, the pain in my chest flares up from the rib and I have to stop and double over in pain to catch my breath. From the pain, it takes me an hour to arrive at the diner, and I walk inside with shaky knees from my lack of a high or lack of food.
I glance at the tall blonde woman at the hostess stand who's name tag reads Kaelie.
"hey babes, table or island?" the blonde asks, and I remain mute just pointing to the booth in the corner. She understands me and grabs a menu and looks up at me and flashes me a sparkling smile and leads me over.
I carry myself as quickly as possible towards the booth clutching my side and trying to calm my frizzy hair while quietly sliding into the one side. This is where I finally open my mouth and ask for a coffee with 2 cream and 4 sugars, which is different for me because I usually drink my coffee black, but because I can't afford anything else, my body will need the sugar to get me home.
While sitting there, Kaelie comes over to me and hands me my coffee, and I begin mixing things together, and while I am in the process of this, the doors of the diner swing open and the bell goes off. I only look up when a person moves into the booth in front of me, and I glance up, at the Angel.
He stares at me, analyzing my face trying to solve the mystery that is my life when he finally opens his mouth and asks, "where do I know you from? Before the door thing?"
I shrug, not answering again.
"Do not play that game with me, I've seen you somewhere."
" I don't know what you mean," I finally say with annoyance in my voice. The blonde raises an eyebrow at me and shifts in his seat and placees his hands on the table and leans forward.
"So Red, what brings you to Hell's Kitchen?"
Hearing the name red brings out a fire in me, and I lash out, "Excuse me, my name isn't red, and I'd appreciate you never calling me that again, and what I do isn't your business."
He doesn't react and just continues to analyze me and finally responds with, "okay, don't answer me, let's just start small. What's your favourite colour?" And with that our friendship bloomed, we'd joke, laugh and I began to feel like a person again.
That moment was ruined when the bell rang, and I looked over, and it was Sebastian, and before I could duck out of view, he rushed over to me and grabbed me, digging his fingers deep into my arm, pulling me from my seat.
"Hey, let go of her," the Angel, who's name is Jace tells Seb, and this is when Seb realizes Jace and quickly snaps back to me.
"You little whore, we need to go NOW," and I follow Sebastian towards the exit not fighting while taking one last glance at Jace, who wore a confused expression, and I mouthed sorry to him and turned my head down. When I arrived back home, I was beaten until I fell unconscious.
A week passes before I see Jace again. When I do show up, we create a routine of us meeting at the diner before Jace begins or ends his shifts, where I sit there drinking my overly sugary coffee, and he has a burger. We never talk about Seb until a month after the accident when he spies the fresh bruises on my cheek that he finally asks why I am with my husband, and this is the first time I couldn't say I loved him. I had fallen for another man, but I can't tell him that, so I just shrug.
My friendship with Jace is only a friendship even though I have feelings for him, I am just too scared to leave my husband. My drug use doesn't slow down, and I continue to wake up in the alley, and Jace doesn't say a word about it. One night I fight with Seb over him wanting children, and I tell him we can't, and he calls me a whore and the next thing I know, I am being tossed into the wall knocking pictures to the ground. He leaves me there, and I lay in my own blood until I manage to pull myself into a sitting position. I sit there with my head against the wall staring at the celling and glancing at the broken picture of the family I left. It is then I realize I can't have a child here, and I pull myself up and grab my pills from underneath the floorboard and quickly crush one. This is the night I escape.
I don't bother grabbing a coat after I come back from my high, I just use my hair to cover me, as I rush to the diner hoping for Jace to be working. When I arrive, Maia is working, and she takes one glance at me and knows things aren't alright and rushes towards me trying to support me with my messed-up ankle and screams for Jace.
This is when my heart breaks, Jace comes running out and spots me and his face breaks while he stands there frozen staring at me with an expression, I'll never forget, it's one of complete shock and horror.
I try to take a step toward him but trip on the one piece of paper on the ground and began to fall towards the ground. I am about the hit the ground when strong arms wrap around me and pull me close. I must be frozen because I am sweating in his arms from the heat, and as I stand there in shock, Jace begins to weep and apologize. I try to comfort him in telling him its not his fault, its mine, but he doesn't hear me and drags me towards our booth and asks Maia to grab us some fries.
This is the night my life changed for the better because I moved into Jace's apartment with his two siblings. This man, who knew nothing about me, let me into his life and showed me love, and he never pushed me. It wasn't until a year after leaving Seb did I decide I was ready for a relationship. I got clean with Jace's help, and since Sebastian has been out of my life, the cravings were so much easier to fight. Fast forward, 4 years after I first walked into that diner, I have a family to call my own. My parents are in my life again, but not a whole lot because I want my independence, but most importantly, I have Jace and our children, Hope and James. Before Jace, I didn't see much of a future, but now I am grateful for this man in helping me grow to be my own person.
AN: Have a great day! Stay safe!