AN: It's my birthday. Well, it was yesterday. Happy birthday to me. And I'm giving you guys AN extra Kong chapter, by my standards. This doesn't pick up from where it left off. Btw, if you must know, it was Jon calling Clary. They just talked. Nothing big. Anyway, enjoy this chapter.

"And they all lived happily ever after," I close the book. "Aren't you getting a little too old for bedtime stories, Jordyn?"

My daughter huffs.

"Just don't tell Charlie," she looks around. "She'll think I'm a wimp."

I chuckle half-heartedly.

"It's okay," I shrug. "As long as it's just your sister, right?"

"I guess," she says reluctantly.

I ruffle her blond hair and kiss her forehead.

"Goodnight, JorJor," I grin.

"Goodnight, Mommy," she grins back. "Goodnight, baby."

I chuckle then switch off the lights and blow her a kiss that she probably can't see. I shut the door and lean against it, tired. Two weeks. It's been two weeks without their dad.

Jace hasn't come back yet. It's crushing poor Charlie's heart. I know that it's crushing Jordyn too. Little by little, her tough demeanor is falling apart. She's started crying at night. She's asking for bedtime stories even though she hasn't had one read to her since she was four. She hasn't been to one of her friends' sleepovers in ages. I'm scared for her.

Charlotte tries to keep happy. I can see it in her, though, that she's scared. She's scared that her father's not coming back, she's scared that I'll leave them too, she's scared of everything. This even brought back her fear of the dark. Unlike Jordyn, Charlotte's always trying to cheer everyone up. She's constantly trying to make others happy even if it costs her happiness.

My landline phone rings and I sigh. Waddling downstairs, I manage to pick up the phone, despite my exhaustion.

"Hello?"

"Clary?"

I gasp. The familiar voice at the end of the line causes me to jump.

"Jace?" I ask, slowly.

"It's me," he mumurs.

"Okay. So why are you calling?" I try to sound like I don't care. I'm trying to ignore the quickened pace of my heart.

"I want to apologize," he sounds pained. "For everything. There's something that I've got to tell you, Clary."

I roll my eyes.

"What?"

"There's this... thing, Clary. It's something that the coach gave the whole team. It's supposed to "improve your performance". It's just that... I looked it up. I looked it up, Clare, and it's not good. It's a drug. They're called anabolic steroids."

I grab my laptop and start typing. I come across an article about anabolic steroids. I click on it and read some of the side effects.

Men may develop:

Prominent breasts

Baldness

Shrunken testicles

Infertility

Impotence

"Ew," I say to Jace. He chuckles.

Women may develop:

A deeper voice

An enlarged clitoris

Increased body hair

Baldness

Infrequent or absent periods

"Imagine no periods," I whisper. "Praise the Lord hallelujah." Jace's laughter gets louder.

Both men and women might experience:

Severe acne

Increased risk of tendinitis and tendon rupture

Liver abnormalities and tumors

Increased low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol)

Decreased high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (the "good" cholesterol)

High blood pressure (hypertension)

Heart and circulatory problems

Prostate gland enlargement

Aggressive behaviors, rage or violence

Psychiatric disorders, such as depression

Drug dependence

Infections or diseases such as HIV or hepatitis if you're injecting the drugs

Inhibited growth and development, and risk of future health problems in teenagers

"Ahh," I say quietly. "So that's why-"

"-Why I got angry so quickly. It does say "aggressive behaviors, rage or violence." Look, Clary, I'm so sorry."

I sigh.

"You can't be forgiven that easily, Jace," I twist my mouth sideways, twirling my hair.

"Okay," he sounds despondently determined, if that makes any sense. "So, how's the baby?"

I grin at the change of topic.

"Okay. He started kicking the other day and-"

"Wait," Jace sounds shocked. "He kicked?"

"Yeah," I say slowly. "What's wrong?"

"I missed it," he murmurs.

A pang of guilt goes through me. I totally forgot that Jace hasn't been here.

"Oh," I say, simply. "Sorry."

"It's okay."

There's an awkward silence between the two of us before I think of something to say.

"So where are you staying? Izzy's wondering. She wants to come and beat the crap out of you."

He chuckles.

"I'm staying at a hotel," he replies vaguely.

I wait for him to continue. When he doesn't, I figure that I have to prompt him.

"At a hotel where exactly?"

"About 10 miles away from the house," he replies casually.

"Are you serious?" I groan. "And I thought that you wouldn't have been in the same continent."

He laughs some more.

"No, I couldn't be bothered to drive to Canada so I drove to the Alicante Resort about 10 minutes away," I can practically hear him grin.

"Okay. I've got to go," I look around. "The girls have school tomorrow and I don't want to wake up late."

"Okay. Tell them that I love them."

"Alright."

"Oh, and Clary?"

"Hm?"

"Room 408."

I skim my page again, turning it, even though I have no idea what just happened. It now seems like reading is such a... a mundane task. I sigh as I close my book. My phone beeps with a text. I unlock my phone and read it.

Hey girlie.

-I

I grin.

What's up, Isabelle?

-C

Nm, you?

-I

Nm. Your idiot of a brother called yesterday. XP

-C

REALLY? Inform me.

-I

Kay. So we were talking, right?

-C

Mhhm.

-I

He said that his coach made him take anabolic steroids.

-C

Bullshit. Jace has been on anabolic for YEARS. I'm telling you. YEARS, sweetheart.

-I

Are you serious? :o

-C

Mhhm. He's lying to you.

-I

That son of a bitch.

-C

Hey. Don't talk about my mom like that. ;)

-I

Haha, sorryyyy.

-C

You're fine.

-I

I can't believe that he'd lie to me though.

-C

That's just Jace.

-I

So true.

-C

I mean, after all you guys have been through...

-I

IKR. I thought he'd be more considerate.

-C

Nope. That's JACE. *jazz hands*

-I

Haha, niceee.

-C

You should come over. See Emma. You know, all of that crap.

-I

I think that I should.

-C

Good. Besides, I'm baking confetti cake. :D

-I

I'll be over in five.

-C

Haha, you better. Are you okay to drive?

-I

Iz, I'm pregnant, not disabled.

-C

I switch off my phone and climb into the car. Quickly glancing at the clock, I realize that I can spend, basically, the whole day at Izzy's house with Simon and Emma. Both Charlie and Jordyn have sleepovers to go to so I could even have another girls' night with Isabelle.

Before I know it, I'm pulling into their driveway. Simon's outside, playing catch with the three year old Emma. She sees me, drops the ball, and runs towards me.

"Auntie Clary!" she squeals. I laugh and kiss her forehead.

"Hey, sweetie," I give her a hug, her thick black hair tickling my neck.

She looks directly at me, her light brown eyes lighting up with excitement.

"Are Charlie and Jordyn here?" She asks, hopeful.

I stroke her hair.

"No, baby, they had to go to school. I'm sorry."

Emma pouts but covers it up with a smile.

"Oh well." She shrugs and walks back to her father, not before waving frantically at me. I chuckle and go find Izzy.

She's sitting on a counter in her kitchen, doing something or the other on her phone.

I clear my throat and she looks up.

"Oh, Clary!" She gets up and hugs me.

"Hi, Iz," I grin at her.

"Before we do anything, we need food. Grab some popcorn from that cabinet over there. I'll get the confetti cake." Isabelle gestures to a cabinet before opening the fridge to pull out the colorful cake.

We take this all to her TV room. Isabelle places the cake down and heads back to the kitchen to grab some drinks for us.

I sit down on the sofa and open her DVD case. I flip through all of them before I find a movie that I like. I slide Divergent out of the movie case slip and place it inside the DVD player. Isabelle comes back just as the movie begins.

"So," she starts, taking a sip of her Coke. "Jace."

I groan.

"Dude, your brother is such a douche," I whisper, for Emma's in the room beside us.

Isabelle chuckles.

"Don't worry. These walls are basically soundproof."

I sigh in relief.

"And, I know. I've lived with him for most of my life. I feel for you, though. Why do you even stay with him? He's going to seriously break your heart beyond repair one of these days."

I sigh, wondering the same thing. It was not unknown that Jace was the biggest douchebag known to mankind. I mean, it's not like it was a secret.

I can hear Isabelle sigh next to me.

"It's okay, though," she grins. "He's still my brother."

AN: So I hope you guys like my special birthday chapter.

LOVE YOU GUYS SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SOOOOOOO MUCH,

-Sosebo