AN: Hi everyone, been a while. This is part 4 in my series titled the "'Counting Series." This one is kinda different in you kind of need to read the other parts, but you are free to ignore me.
I kind of procrastinated writing this by reading acotar(I only finished the first book. Don't you dare spoil it). However, I think I did a good job with my imagery, which I've lacked recently.
My Instagram account is vmarslover, where I post photos, update announcements, my schedule, and previews.
Make sure to read the note at the bottom!
Disclaimer: I do not own Tmi, and I also make spelling errors
Description: After a fight, Jace storms out, and this time alone allows Clary to reflect on his actions, where she soon realizes that Jace isn't behaving like himself. Leading her to believe that the cause of the outburst was to do with his birthday approaching. Can the memories of adopting Max keep them together? Or will the dark memories break them apart? (AU/AH/ONESHOT/HEA/OOC)
Enjoy!
Frosting (1.7K)
April 23rd
The rattle of the photos on the wall sends a chill down my spine as the echo from the door slamming still rings loud in my ears.
This evening took a wild turn that I never foresaw happening, since one second, we were kissing and laughing, then things took a serious turn when I asked about next week.
Jace instantly froze and became unresponsive and would only blink.
No acknowledgment whatsoever.
Just blank.
I then completely remove myself from his lap, so I am no longer on top, and he only responses when I reach out, only for him to flinch away.
He then quickly stands, and his expression turns from blank to anger.
A part of me dies at this moment, reliving memories of my time with Sebastian, and I almost have pinch myself to bring myself back into the present.
Jace is not Sebastian.
Jace doesn't behave like this.
Ever.
Then I make the mistake of asking what's wrong.
Jace exploded into aggressive pacing back and forth, almost like he was trying to wear the carpet down.
Until he suddenly froze and looked me dead in the eyes before saying he needs to be alone. With that, he walks to the bedroom door only for me to reach him and grasp his arm, only to have it pulled away from my grip immediately.
"Don't follow," he asks, a tightness in his voice that has me on edge.
"What's wrong?" I whisper, and he visibly freezes with his back now towards me.
"Nothing, stay out here. I am going to shower."
I ignore him and continue to follow him into the bedroom.
He quickly snaps back and tells me to leave him alone. I call back and say, "You can't shut me out. Something is obviously wrong. Let's talk about it."
Then without warning, he brushes past me, and I slowly follow, giving him some space as he reaches for the knob, and he whispers back, "I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize," I say.
He then turns around with fire I have never seen before and says, "don't tell me what to do."
I freeze, and he marches out the door.
I stare at the door with the echo haunting my ears.
He has never behaved like this, and it's as if he became a different person in that instant.
After standing in the hallway, I slowly make my way over to our dining room tables and sit only to witness a drop of water land on the table.
The water was a silent tear.
Coming from me.
I use the back of my hand to wipe away the rest that threatens to fall, as my legs are hit by something warm. As I reach down, Max licks my hand, and it brings a smile to my face.
With Max on my lap, he comes me down as he begins to fall asleep as I pet him.
I then whisper into the silence, mainly to Max, even if he doesn't understand the question that is bothering me the most, "What's wrong with Daddy, Max?"
Max perks up for a moment and lays his head back on my legs.
As I sit in the silence, a realization begins to dawn on me.
Jace's birthday is next week.
A day he still dreads almost a decade later.
A day I have come to ignore to avoid this cycle of darkness.
When I asked him, I wasn't thinking. I asked because I wanted to know what we should do on my days off.
The memory of Jace's birthday always haunts him because it is a reminder of the family he lost.
The day his father decided co-parenting wasn't enough of an escape and left Jace's life for good.
The reason Jace hates his birthday because he believes it to be cursed with these memories of his family falling apart.
There was only really one birthday that Jace didn't react horribly to.
The day we found Max.
I reach for my discard phone on the dining room table and quickly send him a selfie of Max and me with the caption, "'We'll be here."
Nothing more.
When he's ready, he will return.
I try to open my eyes, but I am met with only darkness since it appears to be the middle of the night still.
Max stands on the bed, and his shifting from sleep to the alarm is most likely what woke me up.
I listen closely to the sounds around me and hear soft footsteps coming from the hallway and are slowly making their way towards me. A part of me wants to be on guard and fearful, but in the back of my mind, I know it's Jace.
Or it better be.
The door begins to crack open, and Max begins to growl in warning.
The then intruder continues to open the door, feeling no fear.
With the door now open, I can see a silhouette that matches Jace's figure perfectly.
My grip, I did not realize I had on the bedsheets loosens immediately, since I know I am okay.
"Are you awake" he whispers into the darkness. I nod out of surprise but soon realize he can't see me clearly enough since the hall light is dimmed.
"I am," I answer.
With the response, he moves to his side of the bed and moves the covers to crawl in beside me, then moves close to me without touching me, giving me a choice on whether I want him near.
Something Sebastian never did.
I move closer to Jace, and he slowly moves to wrap his arms around my waist to pull me close until my face is resting on his beating heart.
The warmth gives me comfort that we'll be okay.
Jace does something out of character.
He cries.
I mumble words of comfort by adjusting myself further up his chest, so I am near his ear.
He sobs, and as heartbreaking as it is. I am glad he is letting me into this moment.
I ask him what he needs from me after his breathing finally levels and his sobbing has become controlled.
He asks for a loving story, and I smile because the only story I can think of is the one I relived earlier.
"A few years ago, around this time, we went for a picnic in the park. That day I was anxious, but you kept me calm and encourages me to leave the house, something I had been avoiding doing. You gave me that escape by doing the bare minimum, which was something I had been deprived of. You made me feel good with the wind in my hair and the sun shining down on me. I laughed for the first time in months."
I pause and give a moment to let all my feelings sink in for him since I gave away a lot of my own internal struggle before continuing with, "as we sat by the pond, we saw the ducks you were terrified of but remained by my side anyways. Then suddenly, the ducks came towards us, unannounced to me. You panicked and shot up from the blanket and referred to the ducks as demons that I laughed at. Suddenly, you were saved by a little puppy running towards us, scaring away the ducks. You didn't say it until later, but you told me how thankful you were for the dog. This is why I believe you suggested we take the puppy with us since there was no owner in sight. I was so happy that day because I had always wanted a dog."
I pause again and move my arm away from Jace to reach out for Max as I continue the story so that I can pet him. Since it brings me back to the memory of me carrying him around that day before I continue the story with, "We brought him to a vet to get him checked out and to see if he had a microchip, and there was nothing. We spent that week connecting with him and handing out posters. No one claimed him, so we kept him."
I run my hand over Jace's face as he finally turns to look at me. "That was your best birthday, and I know you still don't want to talk about it. But we can't avoid it. I didn't even mean to refer to it. You jumped to it. It's been almost a decade, Jace, and you need to work through this. If not for yourself, then for me. I don't want you beating yourself up. You need this for yourself."
He reminds silent, and we don't speak until the next morning when he tells me that he will talk to someone and that he wants to celebrate his birthday this year. I only smile at him and reassure him.
A week passes by, and Jace is driving us to my mom's house for us all to celebrate together.
Little does Jace know that my whole family and some of his, along with friends, will be there.
As we walk through the door, I know Jace was overwhelmed by the people. So, I squeeze his hand as we navigate all the people in my mom and Luke's small home.
I stay by his side like I promised when I accept the ring and smile our way through the singing, and I smile the largest at the sight of Jace smiling for the first time on his birthday with frosting on the corner of his mouth.
I take it upon myself to be cheeky and reach for his jaw to turn it softly towards me, and as soon as he faces me, I reach over and wipe it away.
Only to like it off my own fingers.
Yum frosting.
I paid for that later when we got home, and Jace slammed his lips against mine and held my hands above my head as he went for my neck, ensuring I couldn't touch him.
I laugh and tell him it was just frosting.
He ignores me and gives me a lot more than the amount of frosting on his face.
See, birthdays aren't all bad.
I can't wait until the next one.
The End
AN: This one was a darker one where it had many inner struggles that needed to be addressed, and having smut in it didn't feel right. Sorry to everyone, I worried on insta, hehehe.
So, what do you think? Should there be more to the series? I had really only planned these 4, but thanks to a few of you, I have my mind spiralling into some more to continue their journey. Mention in your review if you want to see more. I am curious to know what the response is. If so.. the next will have smut...
I might make changes to my schedule because my work life is messy and has been messy for the last month since I temporarily work at a different location. I also have come up with many stories that my Instagram fam have been providing their input on. So follow that if you want live updates and want to vote.
Questions:
1.) How do we feel about Jace's outburst? I am kinda mad about it.
2.) Don't you love Max? I do.
3.) Will they continue to move past these struggles?
Make sure to leave reviews and favourites! They keep me motivated.
See some of you in a few days for a 26.56 update! (Ap 27 probably evening)
Stay safe!