I am so so sorry for how late this is! My laptop broke so I couldn't write for a bit. But, everything is fixed now and I'm on spring break so I should be able to update more consistently for a bit. Seriously, I can't tell you how bad I feel for making you guys wait this long! Every time I got an email that I got a review for this story, I was almost afraid to read it because I was afraid you guys would be yelling at me! But, you guys were so patient and sweet and so thank you so much for that! On a happier note, this story is now on the fourth page for the Mortal Instruments stories when their sorted for reviews! (not including M rated stories) That is seriously amazing! We're so close to 400 reviews! My goal for this story is 500 reviews, and I really think we can get there! :)
Without further ado, here is the chapter! I think this will explain a lot...
Disclaimer: I do not own The Mortal Instruments.
XXXX
Chapter 22:
I walked back into the party with my arm slung casually over Clary's shoulders. How often I had been in that exact position before, yet now it had a whole new meaning to it. Clary had yet to tell me what she was planning to get back at Sebastian, but if the devious look in her eyes was any indication, then it was sure to be something good.
We passed a couple making out on the porch on our way back into the party, and I had to pull Clary back and take another look, not believing what I was seeing. "Well I'll be damned," I muttered.
Clary followed my gaze. "Is that Helen Blackthorn and-"
"Yup," I interrupted. "Aline."
Clary barked out a laugh. "Good for them."
I pulled Clary along again. "That explains why she's been so nice to me lately."
We paused inside the door to the party, Clary standing on her toes to search for Sebastian in the crowd. She finally spotted him across the living room after a few minutes and turned to me. "I'm about to do something you won't like seeing, but it's all an act, okay?"
I grinned. "I don't care what you do as long as you give him hell. Punching him is fun and all, but sometimes you just need to spice things up a bit."
Clary grinned and stretched up to peck my cheek before sauntering across the room towards him. I watched as she picked up a mostly full cup that was abandoned on a side table. She walked up to Sebastian and pressed her body close to his, whispering something in his ear. The grin that had been on Sebastian's face slowly melted away and turned into a look that almost seemed fearful. Then, Clary pulled away from him and dumped the contents of the cup she held over his head. As Sebastian sputtered and wiped furiously at his eyes, Clary stomped on his foot and made her way back through the crowd, a smile threatening to split her face in two.
The grin was still covering her features when she finally made her way to me. "What happened?" I interrogated. "What did you say?"
At this, Clary's smile widened. "I told him to pay up, because you won the bet."
My jaw hit the floor. "Wh-what?!" I sputtered. "Clary! Are you serious? You know what he's thinking now!" I glanced over in Sebastian's direction. He was still standing where Clary had left him, an unknown liquid dripping off of him. He was glaring at me with so much hatred and anger, I was surprised the liquid wasn't boiling off of him.
Clary shrugged and grabbed my wrist to drag me from the party. "Who cares what he thinks? He's an asshole and a pig and I really do hope he pays you, because some extra cash never hurts."
It shocked me how nonchalant she was about the whole situation. Then again, Clary always shocked me. "What was in that cup?"
Clary barked out a loud laugh and shrugged her shoulders again. "Hell if I know. All I know is it smelled really badly, and I think there was a fly floating in it."
I joined in on her laughter and tossed her the keys as we reached my car. "Would you mind?" I asked. "I've had a fair amount to drink tonight."
Clary frowned, a look of guilt passing over her features, though it was gone just as soon as it had appeared. "Of course. The last thing you need is to get caught drunk. Maryse and Robert would have your head."
I snorted. "That's an understatement. You should've seen them last year when Alec came home slightly buzzed. He was grounded for two months. And they like him!"
Clary turned the key in the ignition and gave me a serious look. "Jace," she said. "You know they love you."
I ran a hand through my hair. "They may love me, but that's nothing compared to their love for Isabelle, Alec and Max."
Clary stared at me a moment more before sighing heavily. "We're going to my house. There's something my parents need to tell you. Text my mom, 'It's time'. She'll know what it means."
When we got to her house it was nearly pitch black, save for the dim light coming from the kitchen. I pushed through the door with as much confidence as I would have if I were crossing a threshold in my own home. Jocelyn was sitting at the table, wrapped up in a bathrobe. Luke was sitting beside her, his hands gripped around a steaming mug.
Both their gazes rose as we walked in. Jocelyn looked at us with scrutiny. "Are either of you drunk?"
Clary rolled her eyes. "Plastered."
Jocelyn glared at her for a moment or two before fixing her terrifying gaze on me. I could never lie to her. "I'm not drunk, but I've been drinking. Clary drove though," I quickly added.
Jocelyn's eyes bore a hole into me for what seemed like forever, until finally she just sighed and shook her head. "It's too late for me to lecture you." She took her seat again and gestured to the two seats across from them. "Sit."
I hesitated a moment before obeying. "What's going on here?" After her cryptic words in the car, Clary had refused to even speak to me, let alone answer any of my questions.
Luke and Jocelyn shared a look before Luke took a deep breath and turned to me. "There's something we haven't been telling you."
Beneath the table, Clary gripped my hand and squeezed.
"We met your parents in college," Jocelyn said.
My eyebrows knit together. "I thought you didn't meet them until Clary and I became friends." I knew without anyone saying it that she wasn't talking about Robert and Maryse.
Jocelyn's face was very sympathetic. "Luke, get him some coffee. He's going to need it." Luke obliged immediately as Jocelyn continued on. "We lied. We all met at orientation freshmen year. I was still with Clary's father then, though Luke was around. You see, Clary's father was a terrible man." I glanced at Clary, but her intense gaze was fixed on her mother. Judging by her lack of surprise, she had heard this story before. "The summer between high school and college he got into some really bad things."
"What kind of bad things?" I interrupted.
Jocelyn stared at her hands, and one of Luke's arms immediately went around her shoulders. "Drug dealing. It started out fairly harmless, but it only escalated from there. I had no idea to what extent until it was too late. In the beginning, he was only dealing with marijuana, which wasn't that intimidating, and he was bringing in so much money . . ." She let her thought drift off, her mind lost in some distant memory. Suddenly, she snapped her gaze back to mine. "You have to understand that he was an extremely charismatic man. He could've convinced a room of the world's greatest scientists that the sky was green. His charisma combined with the temptation of giant stacks of money to a poor college kid would've been too much for anyone to resist. So, when he asked your parents, Luke and I to join him, we said yes."
My parents were drug dealers? My dad, who was an amazing lawyer, and my mom, who taught elementary art classes, dealt drugs?
"Once he moved on to more serious stuff, your parents and I wanted out," Luke chimed in. "Valentine was furious and he forbid Jocelyn from so much as speaking to any of us." He gave me a sad smile. "I had never been extremely close to your parents, and the only thing we really had in common was a mutual friend in Jocelyn. When that was taken away, we fell out of touch and I didn't speak to them again until years later."
Jocelyn picked up the story again. "I had no choice but to stay with Valentine. I thought I was in love with him. But I did ask him to keep our relationship separate from his, well, work after Jonathan came along. There was no way I could allow a child into that messed up life. He did manage to keep those two parts of his life separate at first, but when we got an apartment together, he started getting sloppy. He would make deals while I waited in the car. Once, he even brought someone back to the apartment. I saw men pull guns on him, knives, beat him to the point that I thought he was dead." Jocelyn's voice broke and she had to stop to regain her composure. "And then I found out I was pregnant with my beautiful little girl." I didn't have to look to know that Clary was rolling her eyes. "I was terrified. I no longer loved Valentine, but I had no idea how to leave. I knew that I couldn't bring another child into that messed up world he had forced me to live in, so I turned to the one person I trusted most: Luke."
"She showed up on my doorstep with only Jonathan and a duffel bag, sobbing to the point that I couldn't even understand her," Luke said. "I was shocked to say the least, considering I hadn't spoken to her since freshmen year. But I finally got her to calm down enough to tell me what was going on, and I let her stay with me. Instead of waiting for Valentine to come looking for her, I went to him and made sure that he would stay away." Luke didn't elaborate on what that meant, and I wasn't sure I wanted to know anyway. "Jocelyn and I slowly grew together once more, and after Clary was born I proposed to her.
"We had tried a few times to get in touch with your parents, but they hadn't been responding. Not that we could blame them. They had a baby son to deal with, and last time they saw us we were dealing drugs. However, our wedding was a perfect opportunity to make a last ditch effort to meet up with them. We sent out an invitation and they agreed to come. Once we reunited at the wedding it was just like old times. We reconnected instantly, Jocelyn and your mother bonding especially well over their shared love of art."
"Then why did you guys pretend not to know each other?" I interrupted again. This story was moving too slow for my liking, though I knew that Luke and Jocelyn were shortening it as much as possible.
"We were both immensely embarrassed over our past," Jocelyn explained. "All we wanted was to put it behind us, and we knew that if we told you guys some of the past, you would eventually want all of it. Anyway, soon after the wedding, we met you, only two at the time. We instantly fell in love with you, as did Clary. When they told us that you still didn't have any godparents, we offered to fill the position, and they were happy to agree."
Her words hit me like a ton of bricks, and I sunk back in my seat. If they were my godparents then . . . "Why are you guys not my legal guardians?"
Jocelyn gave me a small smile as she reached across the table to grab my hand. "I promise, honey, I'm getting there."
Clary and Jocelyn each gave my hands a squeeze.
Jocelyn continued on. "They had met Robert and Maryse after college and had become good friends with them. You and Alec had been having play dates since you were born. But they felt like we would've been better suited to be your godparents because we shared more of the same values.
"When your parents passed away, we were supposed to be the ones to take you in. However, at the time, the store was going through a very rough time. We were pretty much broke. We were barely able to support ourselves, and we knew that we couldn't bring a child into a bad situation such as that, so Robert and Maryse offered to take you in."
It took a moment for the meaning of Jocelyn's words to sink in. "They offered?" I questioned. "You mean, they wanted me?" My voice broke on the words.
Jocelyn nodded. "How could anyone not have wanted you? You were the sweetest little boy, and you were already friends with their children."
"Please understand that we wanted you as well, but we also wanted what was best for you," Luke added.
I felt hot, wet tears falling down my cheeks. For the second time in eight years, and the second time today, I was crying. But this time, my tears were happy ones.
Jocelyn stood and crossed the distance between us to wrap her slender arms around me tightly. "I'm sorry we didn't tell you sooner, honey," she crooned. "It was a lot to take in, and we didn't want to tell you until you were ready to handle it."
I turned to Clary. "How long have you known?"
Clary looked reproachful. "My parents told Jon and me everything the day after your parents' funeral."
Jocelyn released her hold on me and I leaned across the table to gently peck Clary on the lips. As soon as I pulled away and saw the grinning faces of her parents, I muttered, "Oh shit."
Luke was smiling, but there was a hint of protectiveness behind it, while Jocelyn was just grinning from ear to ear. "Now it's your turn to spill," she beamed.
XXXX
So, next chapter will be the final real chapter of this story, where everything will be wrapped up. After that, I'm planning five epilogues. I know that some of you said that would be too many, but I promise you that if you don't want to read them, or only want to read some of them, you will still understand the story. They will mostly be fluff. I chose five because the first five chapters of this story were all before the actual story took place, so I want to end with five chapters of after the story took place. Again, I'm really sorry this took so long. The next chapter should be up sometime next week.
Question: Would you guys rather have the epilogues in Jace POV like the story, or third person like the opening chapters?
Love always,
YesIWriteForFun
P.S. For those of you who celebrate, have a great Easter!
