Clary smiled and held back a laugh as CeeCee entered the living room. Clary had given her the freedom of dressing herself for their day out school shopping, and CeeCee definitely took the task in stride. She was dressed in a Mini Mouse-esque red skirt with white polka dots paired with a clashing lavender t-shirt. For shoes, she wore a white tennis shoe on her left foot and black on her right. The only thing that matched was the pair of white frilly socks she had.
"Miss Clary, will you please give me a ponytail?" she asked, holding out a brush with a hair tie wrapped around the handle.
"Of course, sweetie," Clary responded, kneeling down and gesturing for the girl to turn around. The brush ran easily through her blonde locks as Clary gathered the strands higher up on her head before wrapping the elastic tie around them.
Just as Clary gave CeeCee's ponytail one final tug to tighten it, she heard the doors to the elevator open followed by the sound of clicking heels on the wooden floor. She quickly stood up, her brow furrowed in confusion. CeeCee didn't have any lessons until later in the afternoon, and she didn't know who would be showing up to the penthouse at this time.
She turned around and was met with a pair of icy blue eyes glaring at her. They belonged to a tall, slender woman with pin-straight blonde hair that fell down her back. A skin-tight white dress clung to her body, revealing an ample amount of cleavage and showing off her toned, tan legs. She was wearing those red-bottomed shoes that Clary knew were designer and insanely expensive. A distraught looking Jordan was standing behind her.
"Who are you?" Clary asked, standing up a little straighter.
The woman scoffed, her blue eyes somehow becoming even colder. "I'm Celine's mother, Kaelie. I'm guessing you're the new tramp Jace hired to watch after my daughter?"
"Excuse me?"
Kaelie ignored her, looking behind her at CeeCee. "Celine, darling, what are you wearing?"
CeeCee beamed, grabbed the edges of her skirt, and moved slightly side to side. "Miss Clary let me pick my clothes today, Mommy."
"Well, you look absolutely ridiculous. I will not allow you to go out in public dressed like that."
The little girl looked like she was about to burst into tears, and Clary quickly intervened. "Hey, CeeCee, why don't you go play in your room for a little bit while Mommy and I talk?"
CeeCee nodded before running off down the hallway. Clary could have sworn she saw a few tears start to make their way down her cheeks as she went, and her heart broke a little.
Before Clary could say anything, Jordan spoke up. "Miss Whitewillow, you really aren't supposed to be here without Mr. Herondale being present."
He stuttered slightly, and Clary knew he must be nervous. They had sort of a bonding moment that morning over breakfast. He confided in her that he was also new, and that he was extremely worried about messing up as part of Jace's security team. He thought he was too young for the job, barely over twenty-two, however, Luke had known him for years and believed he would be great for the job. In the short amount of time Clary had known him, she had really grown to like him. He was cute, in a rocker kind of way with curly brown hair falling in his face, and his hazel-green eyes always seemed to sparkle with kindness. She also knew he was not a force to be reckoned with, though. He was extremely tall and muscular, and she would not want to be on his bad side.
Kaelie turned her attention to him, her red painted lips forming a sneer. "Shut up before I send you back to whatever sewer you crawled out of."
That was the last straw for Clary. Jordan had been nothing but kind to her, and he did not deserve that kind of attitude. "Hey!" she called, drawing Kaelie's attention. "What the fuck is your problem?"
"My problem is that Jace keeps hiring a parade of whores like you who are just trying to hop on his dick and are using our daughter to get there. I can't stand to see what all you hussies do to my daughter, like letting her dress herself. I forbid you from letting my daughter make a fool of herself in public. She has a reputation to uphold."
Clary narrowed her eyes at her, and took a step forward. She stood up straight, even though she was still a good six inches shorter than Kaelie, and placed her hands on her hips. "Listen to me, and listen well, Miss Whitewillow. First, I work for Jace, not you. I don't give a shit how you raise your daughter on your weekends with her, but I'm not following those rules. I follow the rules given to me by my boss. Second, how dare you insult your daughter like that? CeeCee's five years old!" She threw her hands in the air. "She needs you to support her, not tear her down. If you continue to talk to her like that, she's going to have some serious fucking issues down the road. Third, don't you ever, and I mean ever talk to Jordan like you just did. I don't give a fuck who you are or how 'influential' you think you are, he does not deserve your disrespect. Finally, don't talk to me like you just did. I'm here to help take care of CeeCee, not fuck your ex. Not that it's any of your goddamn business anyway."
Kaelie suddenly reached out and smacked her across the face. Clary's hand flew up to her cheek, where a sharp pain began to radiate. She stared at Kaelie in disbelief.
"You better watch yourself," Kaelie seethed, "or I will have you out on the streets like that." She snapped her fingers in the air.
Jordan stepped toward Kaelie and grabbed her by the elbow. "It's time for you to leave, Miss Whitewillow."He sounded more sure of himself this time, and he began to pull her toward the elevator.
"Jace will be hearing about this," Kaelie said over her shoulder as Jordan gently pushed her into the elevator.
Clary ran a shaky hand through her hair and tried to calm her racing pulse. Confrontations always made her adrenaline spike, and she was really feeling it after this one. She knew she probably shouldn't have confronted the mother of Jace's child like that, but something in her snapped. She couldn't handle the way she was talking to everyone, especially her own daughter. After taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, she went to go check on CeeCee.
She found her in her closet, throwing clothes around and sifting through hangers. Her blue eyes were red and snot ran down from her nose, obvious signs that she had been crying. Clary crouched down and gently turned CeeCee to face her. She wiped away a few stray tears from her cheeks with her thumbs.
"Hey, sweetie, what are you doing?" she asked.
"Mommy said I look bad. I need to change."
Clary frowned. "Well, I think you look beautiful today, CeeCee. I would really love it if you kept that outfit on."
"But Mommy said-"
"I know what Mommy said. She was being mean. I really think you look fabulous in the clothes you chose."
"You do?" CeeCee sniffled.
"I do," Clary nodded. "Why don't we get your face cleaned up, and then we can go shopping?"
Clary held CeeCee's hand as they walked into Staples together. They had gone to the high-end department stores like Bloomingdale's and Barneys to buy new clothes, but Clary had no idea where to take her for supply shopping. She knew Staples was a "commoner's" store, but she figured it was a safe bet. At least she was sure they could get everything they needed there.
"What do you want to look at first, CeeCee?" Clary asked as they started to wander farther into the store.
"Backpacks!" she exclaimed, pulling Clary toward the back wall lined with bags.
Clary pulled down a Disney princess backpack and showed it to her. "What about this one? It'll match your room."
CeeCee shook her head vigorously. "Princesses are lame. I want that one!" She pointed to a dark green one on a hook too high for her to reach. The backpack was similar to the princess one Clary held, but instead of girls in pretty dresses, it had turtles in different colored masks.
Clary put the Disney one back and pulled down the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle one CeeCee wanted. "Ninja Turtles? Are you sure?"
CeeCee nodded, taking the bag from her. "They're so cool! We watched it at Johnny's house."
"Alright, if it's what you want," Clary responded. She then grabbed a matching lunchbox from the wall. "Do you want this to go with it?"
CeeCee grinned at her. "Yes, please. And can we get ninja turtle notebooks and pencils?"
Clary laughed at her excitement. "We can get whatever you want, sweetie."
"Can I tell you a secret, Miss Clary?"
"You sure can."
"I want to change my room to be ninja turtles but I'm afraid to ask Daddy."
The corners of Clary's mouth turned down. "Why's that?"
"I don't want him to get mad because it's not girly."
"I'm sure he won't get mad. I can talk to him if you want?"
"Please ask him!"
"You'll have to ask him, sweetie. But I'll talk to him to convince him to say yes."
"Thank you, Miss Clary!"
"Anything for you, sweetie. Now, let's go look at notebooks."
They headed down an aisle of paper and notebooks. CeeCee excitedly picked up one of every TMNT notebook they carried. She also picked out matching folders, pencils, and a pencil bag. They had to settle for a normal sharpener and ruler, though.
As they were checking out, Clary heard someone call out behind her.
"Cherry?" a familiar voice said.
Clary turned around to see Sebastian standing a few feet behind her. "Uh, hi, Sebastian?" she greeted, though it came out sounding more like a question. Out of all the places to run into him, she never thought a store like Staples would be one. She found the whole situation to be weird.
"Funny running into you here," he said with a smile.
"Yeah, it is."
"Who's this little princess?" he asked, looking at CeeCee who was standing next to her. Clary didn't like the calculating, almost predatorial, expression on his face.
"I'm CeeCee!" the little girl exclaimed happily.
"She's beautiful." He turned his attention back to Clary. "Is she yours?"
"No." Before he could ask any more questions, she said, "Listen, it was nice seeing you, but I really need to get her home in time for piano lessons."
"Will I be seeing you at Pandemonium later?"
She shook her head. "I'm only working weekends as of right now. I have other commitments during the week." She had talked to Bat after getting hired by Jace and asked if she could work just weekends. She easily could have quit the serving job now, but she figured she'd keep it. Any extra money she made she could put aside for when her time with Jace came to an end.
Clary grabbed their bags off the counter and took CeeCee by the hand, leaving without waiting for a response from Sebastian. She led CeeCee to the car where Jordan was waiting for them. She hadn't felt like driving today, and she was glad about her decision after the odd encounter with Sebastian.
"Are you okay?" Jordan asked as she quickly buckled CeeCee into her car seat.
"Yeah. Just ran into an old acquaintance. A little caught off guard is all," she replied, sliding into the backseat. "We should go home now. I want to give her plenty of time to get ready for piano."
"Of course, Miss Fray." Jordan responded, looking at her in the review mirror.
Clary sat on the couch in the living room, her knees drawn up and a sketchpad resting on her thighs. It had been part of a goodbye/congratulations gift that Magnus had given her upon news of her new job. Along with sketchpad, she had received new pencils, a few canvases, and a watercolor pallete. He said he didn't want her to lose her "artistic touch" while no longer working in an art store.
She moved her pencil across the paper, trying to finish the sketch she had started earlier of CeeCee during her piano lesson. Clary had loved how concentrated and determined she had looked as her fingers played simple tunes like "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "Mary Had a Little Lamb." She also loved the way she beamed when her instructor had told her she did a wonderful job.
Clary flipped the pencil around and erased the last few marks she had made. She was struggling to get CeeCee's expression just right. She wished she had worked on that during the actual lesson instead of trying to recreate if rom memory now, when CeeCee was tucked snuggly in bed and sleeping.
Sighing, she flipped her pencil back over and tried again. She made quick of her eyes, drawing them looking down at the keys and slightly squinted. The nose was already done, and she had left it alone, so she moved on to the mouth, which was giving her the most trouble. She drew her lips in a straight line, with her small tongue peeking out of the left corner. The drawing wasn't perfect by any means, but she felt it was better than before.
After having everything outlined and drawn, Clary moved onto shading to give it some dimension. As she was finishing the shading, she heard someone enter the foyer, and looked up to see Jace. She watched as he set his briefcase down on the kitchen counter before removing his suit jacket and setting it on top.
He turned and caught her eye, causing her to flush at the fact she had been caught staring.
"Um, hi," she said lamely, trying to break the awkward silence.
"Hey," he said, walking toward the couch. "It's pretty late. Why are you still up?"
She shrugged. "Couldn't sleep. Always been more of a night owl."
He sat down on the coffee table in front of the couch, exhaling loudly. "I know what you mean."
"Must be pretty use to late nights at the office, huh?"
One side of his mouth quirked up. "Yeah. So, I got an interesting call from Kaelie today."
Clary stilled her hand, turning her face to look at him. "Look, Mr. Herondale, I'm really sorry. She was just so-"
He put a hand up, signaling for her to stop. "I know exactly how she is, and you don't need to worry. Honestly, I'm surprised you'd be the one to put her in her place." He cocked his head to the side as he looked at her, and moved his hand out toward her face. He ran the pad of his thumb over her cheek, and her heart almost stopped at the physical contact. "There's a bruise. Did she do this?"
"It's nothing," she responded, removing his hand despite the fact that she liked the way his touch felt. It really was nothing, though. She had experienced much worse during her time with Raphael. "I have really fair skin and bruise easily, you know?"
He nodded, but she could see there was a tension resting in his jaw. "If she lays a hand on you again, let me know. I put up with a lot of her bullshit, but I won't stand for her to act out violently."
"O-Okay," she stuttered.
His eyes moved away from her face and travelled down her torso, stopping at the sketchpad on her legs. "Did you draw that?" he asked, staring at the sketch of his daughter at the piano. She nodded silently. "That's really good." He took the book in his hands. Normally she would have stopped anyone who touched her work, especially when she didn't feel confident about it, but there was something about him admiring a piece she created that felt right. "Do you mind if I keep this?" he asked.
"Um, sure?" she responded, not understanding why he'd want it. It wasn't even close to her best work.
He swiftly tore the page out of the book. "Where did you learn to draw like this?"
"I think it was just in my genes. My mom was an artist, a sculptor and painter. She would do freelance work when she had time, and I loved watching her work. I've always been more inclined to drawing, though. That's what I was studying at NYU. Studio arts."
"Well, I think you are very talented, Miss Fray. You could probably sell your work."
She let out a laugh and shook her head. "Oh, no. It's not nearly good enough for that."
"I find that hard to believe. You are your own worst critic after all."
"I also just haven't had the time to work on anything worth selling. These silly little drawings aren't something an art collector or gallery or homeowner would want to buy. They're more personal to me and just for practice and fun."
He moved his head to the side, looking out the window and over the city. He placed an index finger on his chin, and seemed to be thinking. "I want you to promise me something, Clary," he said, still looking out the window.
"Okay?"
He turned back to her, and she was caught off guard by the intense look in his eyes. "I want you to work on your art while you're here, while you don't have to worry about anything other than taking care of CeeCee."
"But-"
"No. No buts. I think you have real potential, and I want to see you live up to it once you're done here. So promise that you'll work on it."
"I-I promise."
A large grin broke out on his face. "Great! I can't wait to see what other surprises you have in store, Miss Fray."
"Speaking of surprises," she said, remembering her earlier promise to CeeCee."CeeCee wants to redecorate her room."
"She does? That shouldn't be a problem. What does she want this time? Frozen? Moana?"
Clary smiled, shaking her head. "Not exactly. How familiar are you with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?"
His eyes widened. "She wants ninja turtles?"
"Yup," Clary responded, popping the p. "And when she asks you about it, you need to be supportive. She's really afraid you'll be upset because it's not girly."
He cursed slightly under his breath. "That's all Kaelie's doing. God, sometimes I hate that woman."
Clary scoffed. "Yeah. She hasn't been the most supportive mother from what I've seen so far."
"I'm this close to asking for full custody. The only reason I didn't fight for it the first time was because I thought it would be best for CeeCee to have both parents extremely present in her life. At this point, however, I think her mother is doing more harm than good."
He let out a groan, putting his hands in his face. Without thinking, Clary placed a hand gently on his knee.
"Whatever harm she may be doing is definitely outweighed by all the good you do for her, Jace," she said softly.
He removed his head from his hands and looked at her. Taking her hand off his knee, he carefully brought it up to his lips, running them lightly over her knuckles. "I think you might be one of the best things to happen to CeeCee. Maybe even to myself."
With that, he dropped her hand and stood up. He wished her goodnight before disappearing up the stairs and to his room.