WARNING: THERE WILL BE CURSING IN THIS CHAPTER
Chapter Two: New Starts, Bad Beginnings
Clary POV
'CLARY' I hear Jon call from downstairs. It's 4:45 in the morning and he's waking me up. The nerve. I choose to ignore him, which is working pretty well until I hear him running up the stairs. The next thing I know is he's laying on top of me.
"Jooooon! I can't…" I almost finish before he rudely interrupts me.
"What? Because I'm pretty comfortable where I am right now." He says playfully still laying on top of me.
" Very funny." I say with my voice dripping with sarcasm. It comes out very breathy from his bony spine jabbing into my ribs making it hard to breathe.
" Move your fat ass off me or I swear I'll…" I wasn't able to finish my threat when a violent fit of coughing over came me.
Jonathan immediately gets off me his face turning from playful to concerned that second sitting me up right and passing me my bottle of water by my bed. I chugged the entire water bottle in two drinks. When I looked back at him worry was written all over his face; he didn't say anything for a couple of second to make sure I wasn't going to start coughing again.
"Are you okay?" Jon asked in his protective, big brother way he always does when something like this happens. "You know, maybe you shouldn't go to school today. Sure it's the first day of school but I can get all the packets from your teachers and your schedule you should just take another day to-"
"Jon." I say, silencing him. " I'm perfectly fine to go to school see." I say while standing up to get my clothes I had neatly hung up the day before in my small closet.
Jon sighs, looking defeated. "Fine." He says "But take it easy today…"
"Why?" I said, slightly annoyed at how worried he's acting right now. "I have cancer not diabetes." I say with a little vemon in my voice.
I immediately regret saying it when I see him flinch at the 'C' word.
It's been three years since I've been diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Of the 52,000 known cases in the United States. 80% have been fatal. I guess you could call me a the night I woke up with that horrific headache, the cancer had spread and metastasized almost 5 times it's size. I was as good as dead. Thanks to some miracle workers ,though, including my neighbor, Doctor Lightwood, who is now the head of my cancer case, they saved me. Through the course of my 8th grade year I went through intense chemotherapy causing all of my hair to fall out leaving me bald. And let me tell you; it wasn't pretty at all. Out of all the people though, Jonathan took it the hardest. When he wasn't in school or at football practice, he would spend every waking hour with me.
That's how I met the Lightwoods. Isabelle, who never let anyone talk crap about me when I came back to school in high school bald. Alec, he may be kind of shy but he was always there to listen to me and could even get me to crack a smile when he would talk about his flamboyant boyfriend, Magnus. And then there's Jace, he's my brother's best friend so he's ALWAYS at our house. He's you basic popular, extremely hot but an extreme asshat. God he can really get under my skin sometimes.
"Jon," I said more gently this time sitting next to him on my bed "You don't need to worry so much. I've been in remission for two years." I say stressing the words.
"besides, I have you and Isabelle and all your big, strong football buddies to protect me." I say poking him in the ribs
"I am pretty strong, you forgot handsome though." He said smirking while flipping his short black hair making me giggle.
"Come on get dressed we leave in 10 minutes." He said patting me on the head like
I'm a little kid and then walking out.
I finish getting ready in 8 minutes, a new record for me. I grab my backpack and put in my phone, headphones, a sketchbook and some pencils. You don't really need much going into your first day of your junior year in high school.
I look at myself in the mirror before walking out of my room. I'm wearing black leggings with white t-shirt and my favorite pair of converse. I put my newly re-grown hair into a fishtail braid over my shoulder to keep it in place for once instead of my curly locks going everywhere. One thing I can't hide are random red splotches on my arm from where my cancer left its ugly mark on me. I sigh and grab my light brown cardigan as I leave my room and walk toward the kitchen. As I walk in I see none other than Jace Lightwood. In my house, eating my bagels, with my brother. If I can just sneak out the back door…
"There she is!" I here Jace yell from the kitchen. Setting down what looks like his th bagel he walks over wrapping me in a bear hug that lifts me off my feet. When he puts me down he goes back to our kitchen island and continues to eat his bagel.
"So," He says his mouth full of bagel "How've you been? It's been a while."
"Jace, I saw you yesterday at your house." I say moving toward the kitchen. I look in the box of bagels we got yesterday and see my favorite cinnamon sugar bagel in the bottom of the box. My hunger just isn't there though so I decide to skip breakfast.
"That doesn't mean nothing has changed in those short hours. A lot could've happened." He said matter-of-factly
"Like what?" I asked
" I don't know, you could've become blonde, or bought a hamster, or maybe you decided to get a gold tooth." He said shrugging
"Why would I EVER do any of those things?"
before he could answer my question, there's a knock on the door. Who would be knocking on our door this early in the morning?
"I'll get it!" I say before this conversation could get anymore awkward.
When I open the front door a short scream escapes me as I see Simon on the other side. The Simon I've known since I was 5 years old, the Simon who was my friend not because my brother was popular but because he liked me for me. Before I think I run up and hug him, catching him off guard by the way he stumbles back a little.
"Thank god. I thought I had the wrong house for a second." I hear him say. I can't help but laugh, I missed him so much.
"I missed you Si." I say into his shirt
"I missed you too, gingy."
We hug in silence for a couple more minutes until I feel Simon tense up. I turn around to see Jon and Jace watching us. Jace with his usual amused smirk on his face. I'm to excited and happy to care though.
"Well, If it isn't Simon Lewis." Jon says walking toward Simon to give him one of those weird guy hugs. "What brings you back? And to our house this early?"
" My mom's job moved us back here and I thought I'd say hi to my two co-captains since I'm on my way to football practice right now." He said
"Sweet man. What position do you play?" Jace asked, talking for the first time since he entered. I might of imagined it, but I might have heard a twinge of jealousy in his voice. No one seemed to notice so I \just let it go.
" Wide receiver. You?"
"Running back." Jace said non chalantly picking at another bagel.
An awkward silence filled the room for some time until I couldn't take it anymore.
"Speaking of football practice if you guys don't leave now you'll all be late." I said.
There was a chorus of 'yes's from the guys and a sly wink from Jon as a thank you for breaking the tension.
"Yeah, I better get going. I guess I'll see you guys at school. Wanna ride Clary?"
I looked at Jon for approval, which he gave easily. Jace, though, was looking down holding his keys way too tight that his knuckles are white.
"Sure." I said surprisingly cheerfully. " I guess I'll see you guys when we get there I said walking to the door, Simon at my side.
"be safe" I hear Jon say.
"Yeah, Yeah."
" Seriously though. I swear Lewis if there's even a scratch on her I'll…"
" Relax Jon, it's a 15 minute ride to school, I think we can manage." I say turning back around to give my brother a hug, which he actually accepts. I then run back to Simon pulling him to his 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt and we drive away.
"So." He says as he drives, " Have I missed anything in my three year absence?" I know what he trying to get at by the way he keeps glancing at the red splotches on my arms. I pretend not to notice.
"You know, the usual, school. There's this girl at school I know, Isabelle, who I think you might like, maybe you'll hit it off with her." I say playfully squiggling my eyebrows.
" Mmhmm" He says,
still distracted by my ugky splotches, not even trying to look at the road anymore. Until both of our heads shoot up at the sound of a honking horn. While his head was down he had moved into the wrong side of the road with a car coming straight at us. I bring myself into a fetal position with my head in between my legs too scared to see what was about to happen. I feel Simon swerve the car hard enough to slam me into the door.
My adrenaline is still pumping when he pulls over to the side of the road, So I don't really register when I hear the passenger side door swing open causing me to fall to the ground since I was still leaning on it. I fall onto soft grass still in my fetal position, too shocked to move.
" Oh, shit!" I hear Simon say as he peels my arms away from my head as gently as he can while pulling me up into a sitting position against the car.
" Clary? Clay. Come on Clary talk to me" He says desperately shaking me.
Although I can hear him my brain just feels out of focus. As the adrenaline starts to wear off , I start to feel pain on the right side of my body that took most of the impact. Ever since the cancer, it doesn't take as much to wear me out or hurt me. I know there's going to be a huge bruise on my hip and I feel blood starting to pour down my right hand. Still, though, I don't really register anything. That is, until I heard the roar of a certain Black Mercedes Benz E550 screech to a stop next to Simon's car.
"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED." I hear my brother yell, sounding enraged. Jace isn't far behind him looking just as pissed off.
I see Simon pacing in front of me running his hand through his brown hair over and over mumbling to himself. This seems to annoy Jace even more. He takes action by slamming him into Simon's car holding him by his shirt.
"Did you not just hear him ratface? What the hell did you do to her?" In a voice so repungent it caused Simon to stumble over his next words.
" I… I got distracted… a- and umm swerved the car." He said terribly intimidated.
"Well how the hell did Clary get hurt?!" he said even louder
" It was either that or get hit by a car!" he yells back at him
"And who fault is that?" He says, eerily calm
Simon doesn't answer.
"Yeah, that's what I thought." He says letting go of Simon I disgust causing him to fall to the ground.
As I attempt to stand up my bruised hip sends a bolt of pain causing me to cry out and begin to fall back down. Before I could even fall to the ground, Jace was there swooping me up painlessly into his arms bridal style. Usually I would tell him to put me down but it felt… nice. Simon was on the ground next to his car with his head in his hands his shoulders moving up and down like he's crying.
"Clary," he said looking up at me with desperate, red-rimmed eyes.
"Don't," I hear Jon say, not even bothering to look at him. "Stay away from her Lewis or I swear to god I'll make your life a living hell. Come on Jace,"
They look at each other for a split second and seem to make a silent agreement where Jace gets in the back seat with me and Jon is in the front seat glancing back every now and then while he's driving.
Still in a slight daze, I only jerk out of it when I feel the sting of antiseptic being spilt on my right hand. I hiss as it makes contact with my hand and try to get it out of Jace's grasp which doesn't work.
"Hey, it's okay, if you haven't noticed my dad's a doctor." He says with a smile on his face which is a nice change to his signature smirk. I meet his eyes and immediately feel more relaxed. The slight blood loss probably also had a small part in it but I'm gonna go with the Jace option.
He takes some gauze from a portable first aid kit in his car and begins to gently wrap my hand, firmly, but not enough for it to hurt. By the time we reach Alicante high, luckily, they're only a couple of minutes late. While Jace, reluctantly, gets out to tell the coach why they're late. I'm left with Jonathan in the car for a couple of minutes.
"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked looking me up and down for anymore injuries and stops at my hand.
" Yeah, just a little sore" I say gently laying down on the back seat of Jace's car.
"I swear I going to kill him.." he says half talking to himself his hands gripping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turn white.
I don't really know what to say to that. It was an accident… but at the same time it wasn't. The way he looked at me was like he'd never seen my scars before. I may not be the most secure person about my appearance but somehow it got to me in a way where if he wasn't my best friend I probably wouldn't be feeling so ugly. I felt tears threaten to spill over my eyes but I refused to let them fall. I sniffed loudly enough for Jon to hear and break him out of his angry reverie. He gets out of the front seat and moves to the back laying my head on his lap, like I would when I would get scared when I was younger, he would let me crawl on top of him and just sit there with me, being my rock when things wouldn't always be alright. I yawn, stretching but I immediately regret it when I feel pain blossom from my abdomen. Jon seems to notice me flinch and sees the dark purple bruise that has formed right where my shirt rode up from stretching. He tries to get out but I put my hand on his arm to keep him from beating up Simon.
"Relax," He says, "I'm just getting you some ice." He gets out of the car and runs the short distance to the locker room, disappearing when the door closes behind him.
I must have fallen asleep. When the door opened again, it wasn't Jon, but Jace holding the ice pack. The cold pack on my bruise caused me to hiss at first but eventually brought a welcoming coolness to the constant pain at my hip. Just as Jace was about to leave I put my hand on his forearm. He stopped and turned around to look at me in the eyes; green meeting gold.
"Stay with me, please." I ask him, still groggy from sleep. I don't know why I asked him, it just felt right to be around him.
"Always." He said quietly, coming to the back seat and laying me on his chest. I might have imagined the next part but I'm pretty sure he kissed the top of my forehead right as sleep overtook me.
AN: Wow that was a long chapter! Tell me what you think about it and if you guys want me to write in other people's point of view. Thank you so much for your continued support and amazing comments You guys are amazing!
R & R
XOXO
Erin