Clary's hands were shaking as she got back into her car and she fumbled putting the key into the ignition. It scratched at the outside a few times before she managed to get it in and then twisted it around.

She felt as though she was being lurched into a new sense of discomfort and shaky ground with every new turn that she took.

Initially, she had thought that it had just been Jace.

All the shit that had gone down at the clubhouse, with Sebastian, Clary had just thought that it was because of Jace and the club. Because she was the outsider and the rich girl that was 'slumming' it with them, that was what she had thought it was about. And she had thought that Jace would pick them over her in a heartbeat, because they were just having fun, they were just fooling around, and so when he had then shown up at the game...She'd been pissed off, of course, but she couldn't help the fact that she had also felt happy that he had shown up, why she'd given him that chance to explain.

But then it had become this whole...Conspiracy almost, and she was right in the middle of it.

Her and her family.

Her father and her brother.

Clary breathed in deeply through her nose and looked through the front windscreen of her car, toward the hotel. She was parked down the street, but the grand entrance for the hotel was spread out luxuriously, and so she could easily see the glisten of the black and white tilings and the glint of the glass from the huge doors and windows. She lifted her hips and slipped her fingers into the pocket of her tight skinny jeans, pulling out a small circular recorder that Simon had given her before she had gone to meet her father.

She turned it over in her hands, tapping down on the button on the side that Simon had told her to press when she wanted to start recording, and went to stop recording. The little green light faded to black, signaling that it was no longer recording, and she took in another deep breath.

Clary opened up the compartment underneath the steering wheel, where she had used to keep little bottles of alcohol that her and Kaelie would sneak from the country club. Except now, she had the card that Luke had given her hidden in there. Clary pulled it out while swiping her finger over the screen of her phone to unlock it, dialing the number on the card.

It rang and rang and rang, and just as Clary thought it was going to flick over to answer phone, there was a muffled voice and then what sounded like music was playing in the background and then the voice became a whole lot clearer.

"You're speaking with Luke, what can I do for you?" Luke's voice was firm and strangely comforting and Clary felt tears spring to her eyes, for what felt like the hundredth time that week.

"It's Clary. I came and saw you at the station the other day," she began, forcing her voice to stop shaking.

"We don't have to do this right now," Simon's voice was low and comforting, and the expression on his face was soft, and didn't show any of the pain that he must have been feeling from Clary's acrylic nails, digging into the back of his hand from where their fingers were laced together tightly. "He doesn't know what information you're bringing in, he doesn't know who you are—we can go back to your place, or mine if you don't want to go to yours, and we can just...Breathe and come back tomorrow." Clary didn't say anything for a few beats but then she looked up at Simon.

"I rang him from my phone. If he wants to find me, I'm sure he can...Reverse tracer it or whatever," Clary told him.

"Reverse trace," Simon offered unhelpfully and Clary just rolled her eyes.

"I really don't think that's at the top of my problems right now," she responded and Simon attempted a small smile, but it didn't do much to reassure her. She looked tired and her eyes were bloodshot and she was barely wearing any makeup. In fact, the makeup that she was wearing actually looked as though it was her from yesterday, which Simon was pretty sure was a first for her.

"Alright," Simon took in a deep breath and then let it out smoothly, reaching out a hand to cup her face and meet her eyes. "Take in a few breaths and then we're gonna get out and we're gonna walk into the station and you're going to take it one sentence at a time, okay?"

Clary didn't think she had ever been more thankful for Simon than she was right in this moment.

"Okay," she nodded.

"And then whatever happens, happens. You've done your bit, you've done what you can, and then you can leave and you don't have to ever think about all of this again," he continued.

That actually got a smile.

Or, more like...A smirk.

A sad one.

And a bit sarcastic.

"I'm pretty sure we both know that's a total lie," she replied and Simon shrugged a shoulder.

"Worth a try," he smiled and gave her hand a squeeze. Clary squeezed back, nearly viciously, and Simon's fingers were white from the fact that she was cutting off the circulation. "You ready?" He asked her and Clary nodded, although her eyes were still glistening, she still looked worried.

"Yeah," she murmured and Simon nodded. She had driven home from the hotel in her car, going well under the speed limit and still nearly driving off the road more than once, and Simon had made the decision that they would drive to the police station in his car. His car smelt like fries and car freshener that was undoubtedly sprayed to try and cover the greasy smell of fries, which wasn't working too well. "Let's go." Clary let go of Simon's hand to get out of the car, picking up her bag from where it was resting on the dashboard. "I should've brought Essie."

"I don't think you're allowed dogs inside a police station," Simon told her as he locked the doors with the fob on his key ring and then came around to the front of the car to meet her, taking her hand again.

"I brought her last time," Clary replied and Simon shrugged. They were parked right up close, so it only took a minute or so to walk up the stairs to the front doors. Simon pushed them open and Clary followed after him, one hand gripping Simon's, the other clasped around the straps of her bag.

"Is that him?" Simon asked under his breath and Clary looked up to see Luke approaching them, a small smile on his face as he reached out a hand to Simon. Simon shook it and then they both looked at Clary.

"So," Luke's voice was deep and soothing and Clary straightened her back and pushed her shoulders back to meet his gaze. "You said that you've got something to tell me."

"I do," Clary nodded firmly.

"Mum! Clary's staying the night!" Simon shouted out as he and Clary walked into the house, Essex trotting at her side. They had gotten back from the police station about twenty minutes ago, but had walked back over to Clary's house after parking Simon's car in his driveway to get her overnight things and pick up Essex.

"Clary!" Elaine Lewis came out of the kitchen, still dressed in a high-waisted black suit and a silk blouse that she had probably worn to work that day, and she smiled widely when she saw the redhead. "It's been a while since I've seen you." There was always this thing when it came to Elaine—and even Levi Lewis—that Clary had always loved. They were warm and affectionate with each other and to their children, and that reached out to Clary as well, given she had been Simon's friend since they were kids. "Sweetie," Elaine's smile faltered. "Is everything alright?" Simon twisted his lips together as he looked at Clary's, whose expression was shaky.

"She...Had a run-in with Lydia at school today," he quickly said, looking back at his mum. Clary squeezed Simon's arm subtly, by way of thanks. She really didn't want to get into everything with Elaine, she would just want to help and it would just blow up into this big disaster that would result in Elaine calling Jocelyn, and Clary really didn't want that right now. It would also be a good idea not to mention the fact that she hadn't even been at school that day, or for the past few days.

"Oh, yes," Elaine's nose wrinkled. "Si told us about what happened with her and Jordan. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Clary shrugged.

"Well, you stay here as long as you need, okay?" Elaine said, reaching out and rubbing Clary's shoulder comforting. "You know you and Essie are always welcome," she grinned as she leaned down to rub Essex's head, and the husky panted and nudged happily at her hand, always looking for more attention.

"We're just gonna head upstairs, mum," Simon said.

"Oh, right—your father and I are going out to dinner with Becca. Did the two of you want to come?" Elaine mentioned as she straightened up.

"No, we're just going to head up—"

"You go," Clary interrupted Simon. He turned his head and frowned at her, but she just nodded at him. "I'll be fine—I've got Essie, and...I wouldn't mind being by myself." It wasn't as though she hadn't stayed at the Lewis' house by herself before, the place had been a second home to her when she was younger.

"You sure?" Elaine asked.

"I can stay," Simon assured her.

"No, it's okay. You go," Clary repeated and attempted a small smile, and she felt Essex bump her head against the side of her leg, trying to comfort her, obviously able to pick up on her unease. "Honestly," Clary urged them. "I'll be fine."

"I'll just come with you upstairs first," Simon said. Clary nodded and shot Elaine another quick smile before walking through the foyer of the house toward the stairs at the back. Essex followed, picking up the pace so that she could run up the stairs in front of Clary and Simon. Simon had a big double bed pushed up against the wall of his room, underneath his window, and his room was actually pretty tidy for a guy without a cleaner, although that was because Elaine made him clean it himself on a bi-weekly basis. "I can stay, you know. We have dinner with Becca all the time, it's pretty much like she never left home."

"No, it's fine," Clary said as she dropped her bag with her clothes and overnight things onto his desk, on top of his scatterings of books, and then collapsing on Simon's bed, face first into his big fluffy pillow. She knew he hesitated there for a moment, because she heard Essex panting from where she was standing beside him, but then he reached down and squeezed her arm before leaving.

As soon as she heard him shut the door to his room, and Essex jumped up on the bed, she burst into tears, bubbling out of her chest and down her face, staining the pillow underneath her.