She was swimming in darkness, but she could hear someone calling her name. She tried to move toward the sound, but the darkness was too heavy and weighed down greatly on her muscles.
"Get him out of here!" she heard someone shout, although it sounded distant and muffled. "Come one, Clary. Wake up."
The desperation in their voice motivated her to work harder. She put all the effort she could into reaching the source of the voice, and was finally able to open her eyes.
A pair of familiar light green eyes greeted her. "Magnus?" she croaked out.
"Hey, biscuit," he replied, offering a small smile. "Can you try sitting up for me?"
She nodded, wincing as she struggled into a sitting position. "What are you doing here?" she asked as he looked her over.
"Luke called me when he found you passed out on the floor with Sebastian next to you. What the hell happened?" He opened a first aid kit that he had with him as he spoke.
Everything suddenly hit her like a train. Coming home to find Sebastian going through her things. Him yelling at her after finding out her secret. Texting Luke before finally losing consciousness.
"H-He attacked me."
"No shit. I want to know why." He pulled out a few sterile cloths and she watched as he poured rubbing alcohol onto them. He looked at her sympathetically before saying it might sting a bit, and touched the cloth gently to her face.
She let out a hiss as the alcohol burned the cuts on her skin. "He blames me for Aline's death," she answered. It wasn't a complete lie; it just wasn't the whole truth.
"Well, it's a good thing you texted Luke. You're looking pretty banged up. We should probably get you to the hospital to get thoroughly checked out."
He offered her his hand, helping her stand up, and she flinched at the pain that radiated through her body. There wasn't an inch of her body that didn't hurt in some way. A knock came from the front door and Clary let out a groan.
"Who the hell is that?"
Magnus looked away from her guiltily. "I actually have to get back to work, so I can't take you to the hospital myself, so I called Jace and asked him to."
She moved her hand out of his. "You what?" she hissed.
He put his hands up in a defensive motion. "I'm sorry. But he was the only one available."
"Luke couldn't do it?"
"He's busy taking care of Sebastian. He didn't want anybody else talking to him for some reason."
Jace knocked on the door again and Clary let out a sigh, mumbling out a "whatever."
Magnus opened her door for her, revealing Jace. He was standing in the hall, hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans. Clary was honestly a little surprised to see him in his street clothes, a simple pair of jeans and a tight fitting black t-shirt.
"Thanks for doing this, Jace," Magnus said. "Catch you later, biscuit."
Clary glared at his back as he disappeared down the hallway. Once he was out of sight, she turned and acknowledged Jace. "Hey," she said lamely, suddenly feeling awkward.
"Hey," he greeted back. "Ready to go?"
She nodded and followed him out of her building. He led her into the parking garage and to a shiny black Lexus. He opened the door for her and she slid in, feeling suffocated by the thick silence between them. She was waiting for a "I told you so" from him.
He started the drive to the hospital, his eyes focused completely on the road. His hands were gripping the steering wheel so tight that his knuckles were turning white.
"Just spit it out already," she suddenly blurted once the drive was a little over half over and she could no longer stand the silence.
The car swerved slightly as he jerked in surprise at her raised voice. "What?"
"I know you're just dying to say something, Wayland. Might as well get it over with. Let me have it."
"Verlac had given you the bruise on your cheek, didn't he?"
"Yes. He did. Happy?"
"I can't believe you, Clary. If you had just fucking told me the first time we probably could have prevented this whole thing! I can't believe you fucking were just going to let him go without any consequences for hitting you!"
"I-I'm sorry," she squeaked out.
He sighed and ran a hand through his golden curls. "No. I'm sorry. I shouldn't be yelling at you right now. I'm just upset. When Luke told me what happened… I-I'm just glad you're okay."
She was saved from replying as he pulled up in front of the hospital.
A few hours later, Clary was sitting in Luke's office. She had been checked over at the hospital, and a few minor injuries. The worst was a few bruised ribs, but aside from that she only had some cuts and bruises. She just didn't know how bad it looked yet. She had refused to look at herself in the mirror, afraid to really see the damage.
Now, she was sitting across from Luke. He had called and told her that she needed to come to the precinct as soon as she left the hospital.
"Sebastian has agreed not to tell anybody about what he discovered as long as you agree to not press charges and we have him put in witness protection. He's afraid you, or your family, might come after him now that he knows," Luke explained to her. "That is, if that's what you want."
She nodded numbly. "I guess."
"You guess? Clary, this is a huge decision. You have to be sure."
She shrugged. "I'm just so tired of keeping this secret, Luke. It's exhausting. But I'm also not ready to have everyone know yet. I mean, after Seb's reaction, I'm really scared."
"I understand. But are you sure you're okay with his deal? I mean, he's going to get off scotch free and disappear from the face of the planet."
"I'm sure."
"Alright. I already had someone draw up a NDA and contacted somebody with witness protection. All we need is Verlac's signature and then we'll send him on his way. But this also means you have to sign a NDA saying you won't tell anyone that you know about Sebastian's placement in the program." He reached into a file on his desk and pulled out a piece of paper, sliding it across the desk toward her.
"Okay." She picked up a pen and signed her name and the date at the bottom of the page. "Done."
"We're going to let Sebastian go home, clean out his house, and maybe say a few goodbyes. He's going with the cover of not being able to handle the deaths of his aunt and cousin and needing to move away from all the memories. He'll be put in the program first thing in the morning, just so you know. Until then, I'd keep an eye out for him."
"Will do," she said. She suddenly felt exhausted and wanted nothing more than to go home and go to bed.
"How did he even find out, Clare? I thought you were being careful."
"He blamed me for Aline's death and went through my things trying to find proof. I kept my birth certificate and a Morgenstern ring in a jewelry box and I guess he found it. He flipped out, yelling at me, saying everything was all my fault. Not that he's wrong."
"Oh, Clary. None of it's your fault. You can't blame yourself for the actions of those related to you."
She forced a smile. "Yeah, you're right. Can I go home?"
"Of course. Try to get some rest. I'll see you later."
Clary said goodbye and rushed out of his office. No matter what he said, she was going to continue to blame herself. It was her fault. She was the one with a homicidal brother. She was the one keeping this huge secret. She was the one not trying hard enough to stop him. The only way she would stop feeling guilty would be for her to finally bring Jonathan down.
She walked into her apartment, anxious to finally go to bed. However, the smell of cigarette smoke filled her nose, causing her stop in her tracks. She looked up and locked eyes with a pair of icy green ones.
Sitting at her dining room table was Camille Belcourt, a cigarette sitting between her blood red lips. She pulled it slowly out of her mouth and blew out the smoke, a smile creeping across her face. "Hello, Clarissa. Might want to lock your door the next time you leave."
"What are you doing here?" Clary demanded, crossing her arms.
Camille's grin grew wider as she stood up, putting her cigarette out on the table. "I gave you a warning, Clarissa, and you didn't listen. A little birdie told me that you've put together the pieces and figured out the truth about Jonathan."
"So? Are you here to 'teach me a lesson'? In case you hadn't realized it, you're a little late." She gestured to her bruised face.
Camille slinked closer to her. "No, sweetie. I'm here to give you another warning. Leave this case alone. Drop it. Don't offer anymore help. Or else mommy dearest might pay for your mistakes."
"Y-You don't even know where she is."
Camille let out a humorless laugh. "That's so cute, Clarissa. You really believe I don't have eyes and ears in the department? How do you think we got to Aline? If you don't heed this warning, your mother just might reach a similar end." With that, Camille sauntered past her and out of her apartment, leaving her standing there in shock.
Who else was going to get hurt because of her? She couldn't let something bad happen to her mom. It was all because of her that her mom had to stay hidden anyway. Clary was chasing a wild dream of bringing justice to the males of her family, but could that ever really happen? They were too powerful and would stop at nothing to keep from getting caught.
The ringing of her phone brought her out of her thoughts, and she realized her cheeks were wet from hot tears.
"H-Hello?" she answered, her voice cracking slightly.
"What the fuck is this I hear about Sebastian walking free?" Jace's raised voice came from the other end.
"I'm not pressing charges against him," she whispered, not having the energy to fight with him.
"What the fuck, Clary? Are you fucking kidding me? After the talk we just had to day? I can't believe this. You're just going to let him beat the shit out of you and get away with it? What? You don't want your little boyfriend to get in trouble? I expected better from you, Fray. If you think-"
"Listen, Jace. Now's not a good time for this," she said, cutting him off.
He must have heard something in her voice because he immediately stopped his ranting. "What's wrong?"
"Camille Belcourt was here. In my apartment. Again." She didn't have it in her to lie or come up with some lame excuse.
"Lock your door and stay inside. I'll be right there."