Hey guys! I have a busy week this week so after this chapter, you probably shouldn't expect another one up for about a week but I'll try my best! This is a pretty short chapter and I'm sorry but I also had a really busy weekend.

*This chapter is titled 'now' because it's in the present, when Isabelle had gone to get Clary because of what Jace did. Just in case you were confused. XD

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot *sigh*

"Wh -" Clary began, although there were too many questions to ask and too little time to ask them. What did he do? Why did he do it? When did he do it? What were they going to do? And most importantly, what was Clary supposed to do? So instead of asking them, she simply said, "We should go."

She turned to face the brick exterior of the small cottage and created a portal. As she glanced back at Isabelle, she noticed for the first time, the small black band of runes encircling her ring finger. Isabelle noticed where Clary was looking and smiled as Clary gasped, unable to hide the look of shock on her face.

Clary spun around and jumped through the portal, thinking of the Institute, her old and potentially foreign home.

"Brother Jeremiah," Maryse welcomed him wholly into the Institute, as he had been there so often over the past couple of years, that it would seem strange if he were not there.

Ms. Trueblood. Where is the boy? Jeremiah's voice echoed through her head. Without speaking, Maryse gestured for the Silent Brother to follow her, as she led the way to the Sanctuary.

Your home seems rather empty today, Maryse.

"Alec and Magnus went home after spending the night here, and Isabelle went to go find Clary," Maryse responded, trying not to show how much she missed her children. Jeremiah, however, took no notice of her emotional state.

Ah, Clarissa. She has been gone for a while now, hasn't she?

"About a year and a half," Maryse answered honestly.

Do you think that Jonathan did this because of her? Jeremiah asked bluntly.

"I think everything Jace does is because of her," Maryse replied with a heavy sigh.

Simon sank down onto the old and faded leather couch in his family room, a mug of coffee in his hand. His mother walked in behind him, placing the tray of chocolate chip cookies on the glass coffee table and taking a seat next to Simon. She had made his favourite cookies, and Simon's heart snapped in two as she offered him one.

"Mom -" Simon began, but was interrupted by Rebecca. "He can't eat that, mom. Unless those are bloody-chip cookies, Simon will throw up after consuming one. Not to mention the fact that he's only told you this thousands of times."

Simon's mother looked hurt, making tears sting the back of his eyes. Simon took the cookie from her slightly shaking fingers and shoved it in his mouth. When his mother looked so vulnerable and sad, Simon knew he would do anything to make her smile again. And she did. As he chewed and swallowed around the lump in his throat, nausea already beginning to kick in, her lips quirked up at the sides and her eyes were alight with happiness.

He gulped down the rest of his coffee before standing up to go to his bedroom, where he would surely be sick all night. He kissed his mom's forehead and gave Rebecca a pointed look before retreating to his room.

As he walked away, he could hear them arguing in hushed voices. Even one floor up, with his door closed, he could still hear Rebecca talking about his change in needs. He slid to the floor, bending his knees to his chest and putting his head in his hands. It had been hard spending time away from his family, but Simon figured that this was harder. Even though his mom had washed away any signs of faith that she had previously scrawled all over the house, he still felt that she would never stop thinking of him as the monster who took her son away.

Simon didn't blame her. He was a beast in a boy's body. He had needle-tipped incisors which could probably make bears run away. He had ice-cold skin that wouldn't heat up if he was standing in the middle of a scalding fire. He used to have a Mark that would rip a person to shreds if they even thought about taking his life - not that his mother knew or ever needed to know this. And sometimes, the burning desire to drink human blood made Simon inwardly cower, worried that he might repeat his episode with Maureen.

Raphael had once told him that Shakespeare's genius not only applied to humans, but vampires as well. He had given him one of Shakespeare's plays called Macbeth to read. One line had popped out to him.

It said, "Stars hide your fires; / Let not light see my black and deep desires. / The eye wink at the hand, yet let that be / Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see."

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his stomach, and he started to gag. Knowing exactly what would happen, Simon sprinted to the bathroom, clutching his stomach as he began retching up blood along with bits of cookie into the toilet, as he had done numerous times since his mother allowed him to come back home.

Clary and Isabelle arrived at the Institute only moments later. Isabelle strode down the hall with a somewhat uncertain-looking Clary following closely behind her.

"Izzy, are you married?" Clary asked, somewhat cautiously.

"A hell of a lot has happened since you left Clary. And no I'm not married, I'm only engaged," Isabelle replied, letting some of her anger escape with her words.

"Who?" Clary was suddenly feeling very shy, as if she didn't belong in the Lightwood's world anymore.

"You never seemed to care to keep up with our lives while you disappeared, so why should you now?" Isabelle's tone was as cold and hard as ice, and Clary was silenced, with no words formulating in her mouth.

They had been walking for a couple of minutes now, and they were nearing their destination. Though Clary was not paying any attention to anything but Isabelle, and she didn't even notice as they stopped in front of a door at the end of the hall.

When Clary finally regained her voice, she turned to Isabelle and said, "I didn't leave because of you, Iz."

"I know, Clary. You left because of Jace and you're back because of Jace. Seems to me that Jace is the only one who can make you do anything, isn't he?" Isabelle replied as she looked at Clary menacingly.

"What if I'm not here for Jace?" Clary questioned as she tried to come up with an excuse as to why she could have been there.

"You think I don't know you Clary? You think I don't know that you've been missing him every single day since you left, or that you've never stopped loving him, or that you've never even touched another boy since him? You think I never saw him torturing himself because of what he did? You think he stopped searching for you, hoping that there might be a slight chance that he could make you come back? You think I don't know that he would have killed himself by now, but that he knows it would have been too easy and he wouldn't suffer enough? You think he didn't do this because of you!?" Isabelle was screaming by the end of her rant, and her face was scrunched up in pain and hatred for Clary, as she opened the door to the sanctuary and let Clary see what lay in the room beyond.

Hope you enjoyed it!

My english teacher has this thing called the good, the bad and the ugly, where he basically tells us what we did well, what was okay and what sucked. So feel free to tell me my good, bad and ugly!

Did anyone pick up on Maryse's last name? Anyone wanna guess at what's going on there? It's pretty easy so I'm sure you'll all get it.

Please review! Tell me if you love it or hate it, and please correct me if I made any mistakes anywhere!

Peace, love and sparkles,

SLS