School sucks. And I had writer's block. But I finally wrote it.

In case you haven't noticed, I do not own the Mortal Instruments. All characters/references belong to Cassandra Clare.

"Well, Clary and Sebastian… They've been having some, um, relationship issues lately," Alec said awkwardly.

Magnus scoffed and threw a glare at his significant other. "If that isn't the understatement of the century. What Alexander means is-"

"Magnus!" Alec yelled, cutting him off. "Don't. Remember what happened before you even told anyone? What do you think will happen when that bastard finds out that you did tell someone?"

"This has been going on long enough, Alexander. We can't keep it a secret anymore. It's for Clary's own good."

Jace spoke up. "What the hell are you two talking about?"

Magnus sighed heavily. "Sebastian has been abusing Clary. I found out and Sebastian had people make sure I wouldn't tell." He paused and looked around at the shocked faces in the room. "Then, Clary got pregnant, and Sebastian wasn't happy at all about it. Next thing you know, Clary has a miscarriage; which is why she has been acting weird lately.

Jace stared at Magnus in shock, only half paying attention to what he was saying. Images flew through is mind. His mother's lifeless body, blood pooling around her. His father with burning fury in his eyes and a bloodied knife in his hand. Red and blue flashing lights.

How could he have been so stupid? So blind? He should have recognized the signs after living with an abusive father for twelve years. The flinching. The apologies. The bruises. The nervousness. That night when she didn't want to go home should have been a big red flag to him.

He found himself getting angry. Sebastian was an asshole, but Jace never expected this. He never expected Sebastian to hit a woman, especially someone like Clary. Sebastian was lucky enough to have someone as beautiful and kind and caring as Clary, but he took advantage of her and hurt her.

Jace thought of his mom again. Sebastian could kill Clary, just like Jace's dad had killed his mom. He suddenly stood up and moved toward the door, causing the room's attention to shift to him. He had to get Clary out of there.

"Where are you going?" Alec asked.

"To get her the hell out of there," he replied while reaching for the doorknob.

"Jace, you have court in less than an hour to see if you won the case or not."

Without hesitating, Jace opened the door. "Clary's more important. Figure something out."

Silence weighed heavily down on the remaining four until Izzy decided to break it.

"How could you not tell anybody?" she demanded of Alec and Magnus.

Shrugging, Magnus replied, "It wasn't my secret to tell."

Simon spoke next. "Isabelle, don't yell at them."

"Why not? If Clary got seriously hurt, it would've been all their fault!"

"And it wouldn't be our fault, too? We abandoned her, Izzy, and she needed us. If we had stayed friends with her, then maybe we would have found out sooner."

She buried her face in her hands. "We have been shitty friends, haven't we?"

"No shit." Guilt was slowly eating away at Simon. He had thrown Clary away like she was nothing. How could he have done that to his best friend? He thought back to the confrontation in the hall. Si, I need you more than you think. Why didn't he listen to her? Oh, yeah. Because he was jealous. He was jealous that he wasn't the one she went to for everything anymore. "We have to make it up to her somehow. Help her out in some way."

Izzy sat up straight in her chair. "We could go to the police and report him. Get that asshole behind bars."

Magnus, Alec, and Simon glanced at each other before nodding in agreement.

Laying on her back, she stared at the ceiling. Now that she was sober, she was terrified again. What if Sebastian found out what she had done? What would he do to her? What would he do to Jace?

She wasn't sure she could live with herself is something happened to Jace because of her. There was only one thing to do. She had to distance herself from Jace, which meant quitting her job. That would make Sebastian pretty happy.

Clary glanced at the clock and, with a sigh, got up. Sebastian would be home soon and expect lunch to be made. A bitter laugh escaped her mouth. Everything she did revolved around him and what he wanted. She found herself missing that carefree feeling she had when drunk.

There was knock on the door and she rushed to answer it. She opened the door to find a very tense and angry Jace in the hall. "Jace? What are you doing here?"

"Where the fuck is he?" he demanded, pushing past her into the apartment.

"What?" she asked without closing the door.

"Where is that bastard Verlac?"

Why did he want to know where Sebastian was? "Listen, Jace, Sebastian isn't here, but he will be back any minute. You really need to leave."

Jace visibly relaxed a little. "Pack your stuff. We're leaving."

She cocked her head to the side. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Sighing, Jace pinched the bridge of his nose. "Magnus told us all about Verlac." He began to pace the room. "Now go pack your things, I'm getting you out of here."

Clary was suddenly mad at Magnus. He promised he wouldn't tell. Looking at Jace, she thought of how badly she wanted to leave with him. But she knew she couldn't.

"I'm not going with you, Jace."

Freezing in his tracks, he stared at her with wide eyes. "Clarissa, he will hurt you even more if you stay here. He might possibly kill you. You need to get out."

She shook her head at him. "I can't get out. If I leave, he will hunt me down. Then, he will not only hurt me, but he'll also hurt you." The next sentence that tumbled out of her mouth hurt to say. "You need to leave and just forget about me."

He grabbed her shoulders, his golden eyes burning into her green ones. "I am not going to leave you here with that bastard. I will drag you out of here kicking and screaming if I have to."

Placing her hands on his chest, she gently pushed him back, tears stinging her eyes. "I can't, Jace. I'm sorry."

He grabbed her again. "Yes, you can, Clare. I can protect myself, and you, from him. Just come with me and everything will alright."

A sob escaped her throat. "Jace, just go. If anything happens to you because of me, I don't think I could handle it."

Sighing, he pulled her into a hug and stroked her hair. "Nothing is going to happen to me, Clare. Nothing will happen to you either if you just come with me."

"But-"

He pulled away from her. "No buts." He gently grabbed her hand. "Come on, let's go get your things."

She let him pull her down the hall to her room. From under her bed, she pulled at a suitcase and Jace helped her put her things in it.

"You know, I'm glad Verlac isn't here, but I'm also a little disappointed," he said.

Clary glanced at him. "Why?"

He flashed a grin in her direction. "Because I was looking forward to beating the living shit out of him."

Clary laughed lightly at that and zipped the suitcase closed. "I think I'm ready."

Jace smiled at her again and took the suitcase from her hand. "Good. Let's go."

She followed him back through the apartment and stopped at the door. She looked at the penthouse, thinking of all the memories that had taken place there with Sebastian. His proposal. The first time they made love. Late nights watching movies. The first time he hit her. Late nights crying. The day she found out she was pregnant. The day he took her baby away. She slid the engagement ring off her finger and placed it on the table next to the door. With tears streaming down her cheeks, she whispered a single word and followed Jace out the door.

Goodbye.

Over 100 reviews. I never expected that and it's amazing. I don't know how long this story is going to go on for. To be honest, I have no idea where to go from here. Suggestions would be nice.

Review. (: