She woke up with a pounding pain her head. The light from the window filtered in, hitting her straight in the eyes. Groaning loudly, she rolled over and buried her face in her pillows.
She was about to fall back asleep when a noise startled her to full alertness. The unmistakable sound of clanging pots and pans came from the kitchen. She sat up straight in her bed. Who was in her apartment? Did she bring someone home last night?
That's when it hit her. Jace.
She jumped out of bed and threw her door open before racing to the kitchen. Standing in front of the stove was Jace in just a pair of boxers. He was whistling quietly to himself as he flipped the pancakes that were cooking on the stove.
Clary stood there for a moment, stunned. Jace was in her apartment, half naked and making breakfast after she had drunkenly invited him over. She looked down at herself real quick. She was in a pair of skimpy shorts and a lose camisole, but she had no recollection of ever changing last night.
"I know I'm attractive, but that's no excuse to stand there creepily staring at my back," Jace spoke suddenly and turned to face her.
Her eyes lingered on his abs for a moment before she met his gaze. He gave her a knowing smirk.
"W-What happened last night?" she asked once she finally found her voice.
His smirk grew a little and he took a step toward her. "Nothing much. We danced together at the club, you invited me back to your place, and the rest… is… history," he said in low, seductive voice.
Clary's eyes grew wide and she swallowed hard. It had been pretty obvious what had happened, but she was hoping it hadn't.
Suddenly, Jace burst into laughter. "Don't look so terrified, shortcake. Nothing happened. I may be a dick, but I will never do anything with a girl who can't consent." He turned back to the breakfast he was making. "I brought you home, got you changed, and put you to bed. I slept on the couch just so I could keep an eye on you. You're a very small person, Clare. You need to be careful about how much alcohol you consume," he said, taking on a serious tone. "You're just lucky I'm the one who took you home. Not someone who would have loved to take advantage of you."
"Oh, um, thanks for watching after me then," she said, awkwardly rubbing her arm. She suddenly felt very uncomfortable. "I'm going to go get dressed."
She quickly returned to her room and locked the door. She sat on her bed and buried her head in her hands, feeling completely and utterly embarrassed. She felt like she had made a fool out of herself. She drunkenly invited Jace to come home with her, and she knew that in her intoxicated state she had the sole intention of hooking up with him. She was glad that he hadn't taken advantage of her. She was glad that nothing had happened. But at the same time, she felt slightly rejected. Like she wasn't good enough for a drunken one-night stand. She knew this was a dumb way to think, but she couldn't help it.
With a deep sigh, she stood up and changed into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. She threw her hair up into a ponytail and walked back out to the kitchen, where Jace was now also fully dressed. He glanced up at her as he talked on his cellphone, and signaled to her to wait a minute.
He hung up the phone and slipped it into one of his jean pockets. "Sorry, darling, but breakfast is going to have to wait. They had a little incident down at the precinct and need our help."
They entered the precinct together, and Clary's eyes immediately fell on Sebastian Verlac, who was handcuffed to one of the desks. His right eye was swelling and a cut on his lip was bleeding slightly.
"What the hell happened?" Clary demanded, throwing her hands onto her hips.
"Verlac threw a little hissy fit when we told him he couldn't see Aline before she left. He assaulted an officer and paid the consequences," Jordan said, walking up to her. She noticed a small bruise forming on his cheek.
"His aunt was murdered and his cousin is about to be put in a safe house in some unknown location with no way of contact. I think it's understandable that he'd be upset."
"It's no excuse to strike an officer!" Jordan yelled out.
"Are you arresting him?"
"No. Luke doesn't want to press charges," he grumbled.
"Then why the hell is he handcuffed to a desk?"
"To restrain him until he calms down."
Clary glared at him. "He looks pretty calm to me right now. Give me the key," she said, holding out her hand.
"I will," he started, "if you give me all the dirty details about your night with a certain detective."
Clary's face flushed red.
"Kyle," Jace shouted, "give her the key. Now."
Jordan obliged and handed the key to Clary. She shoved past him and walked over to where Sebastian was sitting. She unlocked the cuffs, and he removed his hand.
"Thanks," he muttered, rubbing at his wrist where the cuff had been.
"Don't worry about it. Do you want to talk about what happened?"
He glanced nervously around the room, where everyone was watching them carefully. "Not here."
She nodded in understanding. Being surrounded by nosy cops wasn't the best situation to be in at the moment. "There's a nice little café right down the street. Why don't we go there?"
"Alright," he said, standing.
She started to lead him out of the precinct when Jace stopped them. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked.
"Well, considering he's not under arrest, I'm free to take him wherever I want. We're just going somewhere to talk things over. I seem to be the only one in this building capable of being decent to people," she replied, trying to keep her tone calm.
"What's that supposed to mean? I recall you thanking me for being a perfect gentleman this morning. Don't you remember? I mean it did take place in your apartment after you invited me to go back to your place the night before."
Everybody within earshot was now staring at them. She knew exactly what he was doing, what he wanted everyone else to believe.
"Screw you, Jace."
"We're already past that, sweetheart," he said with smirk.
She scoffed and led Sebastian out of the building, all while trying to stop the burning at the back of her eyes. Now everyone was going to think they were fucking each other. They weren't going to take her seriously anymore. She'd be just another dumb bimbo who fell for Jace's tricks.
She remained silent as she took Sebastian to the café, Java Jones, that was a few buildings away. She ordered coffee for both of them and found a table in the back corner to sit at. She stared at her coffee, still fuming at Jace.
"Soooo," Sebastian spoke, breaking the silence. "You and Wayland, huh?"
She shook her head slightly and looked up at him. "I guess you wouldn't believe me if I told you nothing happened last night, would you?"
He shrugged. "I actually think I would. You don't seem like the type of girl who just hops into bed with guys like him. So, if nothing did happen, then that was a pretty huge dick move that he pulled back there."
"Yeah, it was. But we're not here to talk about me. We're here to talk about you."
"Listen, I'm not proud of what I did back there. I was- I just- I got really upset and couldn't hold it back."
"I'm not mad at you. I don't blame you, Sebastian. You've been through a lot. And knowing Jordan, he probably egged you on. Just be glad Luke decided not to press any charges. He might be the only actual member of that force with a heart."
"I just feel like nobody understands, you know?"
"I actually kinda understand Sebastian. My brother just up and left one day. No explanation. No goodbye. I understand what it's like to have someone you care about just be gone and not get to say goodbye to them. But at least you know you'll be able to see Aline when this whole thing blows over."
"You have a point. It's just really hard. My parents were never really around, so Jia was like a mother to me, and in turn Aline's like a sister. I just feel so lost without them."
"I'm really sorry that you have to go through all of this, Sebastian. But don't worry. We'll find the man who killed your aunt and then your cousin will be safe and things will go somewhat back to normal for you. And you have my number, so if you ever need to talk, you can just call." She offered him a kind smile.
"Thanks," he said, downing the rest of his coffee. "I really should get going. I have some things to work on."
"Yeah." Clary stood up. "I should leave to. Like I said, don't be afraid to call if you need someone."
"Thanks, Clary. I really appreciate it," he said before leaving.
Clary stood there for a moment longer before leaving herself and hailing a cab back to her apartment. On the ride home she kept thinking about Sebastian. She couldn't help the guilt that pegged her. It was her father, after all, who was doing all of this. It was her father who was causing all these people to suffer. She wished she could make it all go away.
The cab dropped her off outside her building, and she sluggishly climbed the stairs to her floor. She felt exhausted, mainly emotionally. She rounded the corner to the hall where her apartment was and groaned inwardly as she spotted Jace leaning on the wall next to her door.
"What the fuck are you doing here, Wayland?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
"I did some digging into Verlac's background, and I don't like what I found, Clary. He has a lengthy history of assault and battery. I just need you to trust my judgment and not hang around him," Jace said. "I think it'll be best for your safety. I don't want him having the chance to hurt you in some way."
She rolled her eyes and stuck her key into the door. "After the stunt you pulled today at the precinct, I no longer have any desire to trust you or your judgment," she pulled the door open. "And Sebastian isn't the one I'm worried about hurting me right now."
With that, she entered her apartment and slammed the door in Jace's face.
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