Simon's POV

It was a bright sunny morning, which would have been nice if I didn't feel so hung over. The sun seemed overwhelming. I was standing up against the passenger window of Jordan's SUV with my arms crossed, my head resting on my arms, and my eyes closed. I had been like that for a while, but I had no idea how long. I wasn't wearing a watch and without my phone I wasn't sure what time it was. I was trying to piece together what I could remember from last night. I couldn't remember the last time I got so drunk that I forgot part of the night and passed out. Then I woke this morning in a strange bed, and I had no idea how I got there. Izzy had left me a note saying she tried to wake me, but couldn't, and I should just grab a ride back with Jordan. I didn't think too much of it, until I realized I couldn't find my phone, and then I glanced around the cottage and couldn't find Jordan or Maia anywhere. Though to be fair, I didn't look that hard, the first bedroom I checked in that I saw two naked people passed out, made me leery of looking in anymore bedrooms. Luckily Jordan's SUV was still here.

Kaelie's cottage was in a somewhat remote area on a gravel road, so when I heard the sound of a vehicle coming down the road I looked up. This was the first car I heard since I got out here. The glare of the sun hit me and I had to squint as I saw a black car coming up the road. There were so many cars parked in front of Kaelie's last night when we got here, that Jordan had to park some distance away, probably a good quarter of a mile. Of course now there were a dozen or so cars sporadically placed up and down the road. I tried to get a good look at the car driving down the road, but I knew it wasn't Jace's silver BMW or Clary's white Toyota Corolla, so I just gave in to the glare of the sun and closed my eyes. Whoever it was must be picking up one of the many people that stayed at the party last night. A few moments later the vehicle sounded like it was getting closer and I opened my eyes to see the car coming towards me. I realized as the car approached that it was a black Chevy Impala, and it looked familiar. I suddenly registered that Sebastian had a black Impala. Though he had road up to the lake with Jace, Alec, and Aline, Sebastian's car appeared outside the cottage earlier this week. He said he had loaned it to a friend and they just returned it, I didn't' ask. He was driving pretty slow, so I started walking towards him in the middle of the road waving my hands in the air. He was far from my favorite person, I still had horrible half dressed images of him and Clary stuck in my head, but I tried to suppress those memories and only focus on the fact that hopefully he was heading back to the cottage and could give me a lift. I figured absentmindedly that he had probably just dropped off some girl that he brought home with him last night.

Sebastian stopped the car a few feet in front of me and I jogged around and climbed into the passenger side. He looked over at me with furrowed eyebrows, his face looked pretty tense; I was looking back at him extremely surprised. He looked like he had bruises all over his face, his eye was partially swollen shut, and his lip was swollen. He looked really banged up.

"What the hell happened to your face?" I blurted out. His face seemed to immediately look less tense and he rolled his eyes.

"I got in a fight. What the hell are you doing in my car?" He retorted. I was wondering what the other guy looked like. I shrugged.

"Can you give me a ride? Izzy left me here this morning with a note to go back to the cottage with Maia and Jordan, but I haven't seen them. They must still be asleep somewhere. I've been waiting by Jordan's car, I was afraid otherwise he'd leave me here, and I seemed to have lost my cell phone." I shrugged. I happened to glance down at the clock and notice it was already 8:45. I'd been standing outside for close to a half hour. He nodded.

"Sure. Why not? I'm not heading right back though. I'm stopping to grab a coffee first." I smiled.

"Sounds good to me." He started to drive.

"So, who did that to you?" I asked with furrowed eyebrows. Sebastian gave me a quizzical glance sideways. He looked back at the road and there was a short pause.

"Jace." He finally said evenly. I didn't like the sound of that. My mind immediately went to Clary. I gave him a very suspicious look and narrowed my eyes at him.

"Jace? You going to tell me what happened?" He took a deep breath.

"Where to begin?" He said heavily.


Jace's POV

Luckily, Izzy didn't require a lot of arm bending for me to convince her to let me come with them to bring Will his car. Part of me couldn't bear the thought of leaving Clary alone for even a minute. Not only did I have an uncontrollable need to be near her, I also felt like I needed to watch her like a hawk. I felt like I needed to protect her with my life. The other part of me just didn't want to walk back into my bedroom. I was afraid I'd see solid evidence that I slept with Seelie, a condom on the floor, or something. I had seen my room in a half conscious blur this morning, but I couldn't go back in there right now. I couldn't face the scene of the crime.

Clary drove with Izzy in Will's car to the hospital and I followed in mine. Clary seemed indifferent about me coming, at least she wasn't voicing any protest, though she wasn't saying much of anything and her expression looked so blank. I waited in the parking lot for about 45 minutes while Izzy went inside with Clary. I would have gone in with them, but I lost that battle. Clary got back in the car and sat in the back seat and looked out her window. She didn't say anything. Izzy sat in the passenger seat, but nobody talked the whole way back to the cottage and I had left the music off, so it was eerily quiet in the car. Clary looked like she was in a catatonic state. I couldn't think straight. I was exhausted. I wanted to be holding Clary. I wanted to go back to sleep with her in my arms. I wanted everything to be the way it was yesterday. I wanted to know what the hell happened over the last 10 or so hours. I knew there was a lot she wasn't saying. I wanted to know what was going on. I wanted to know what she knew, what she saw. I needed to know. I needed to sort out everything that had happened last night. I just didn't know where to start.

Clary never spoke and never stopped looking out her window. She looked like she was in a trance. When I finally drove back to the cottage it was just after 9:30. I was relieved to see that Sebastian's car was gone. I was hoping his room was packed too. A wave of relief also passed over me that Jordan's SUV wasn't in the driveway either. I just couldn't face Alec right now. I stopped the car in the driveway and took the keys out of the ignition. I squeezed them painfully tight in my hand as I watched Clary robotically climb out of the car and walk into the cottage. She didn't even grab her purse off the seat or shut the car door.

I unbuckled my seatbelt, put my keys in my pocket, and reached into the backseat and grabbed Clary's purse. I clutched it to my chest with both hands. If I couldn't hold her, at least I could hold a little piece of her. I hesitated in the car staring at the steering wheel. I felt like I needed a little time to wallow in self pity. I was dreading everybody coming back and finding out what happened. I couldn't bear the thought of how upset Alec would be. He warned me, he told me to straighten up, he told me not to mess it up, he told me not to break her heart. I already felt incredibly horrible, and I knew Alec would be furious with me. I couldn't stop seeing the look on Clary's face when she asked me if I had anything to tell her, when she pressed, There's nothing else you wanted to tell me?, and I said no. I thought it was better to wait until I knew the answer to the question, but I knew exactly what she wanted me to tell her. I was just too afraid to say the words. I was afraid of how she'd react. I wanted to wait until I knew for sure. I just needed to know for sure before I told her. She just looked so devastated when I simply said no. Alec told me recently that he calls Clary Babydoll when she's falling apart, or about to fall apart. Like a porcelain baby doll, it's beautiful, but so fragile. The look on her face, that was what shattered looks like, that was the look of her breaking into a million pieces. Looking back, I know that was the point, right there, that she felt betrayed, she felt she couldn't trust me anymore. I couldn't bear the look on Clary's face. Right now when she got out of my car, she just looked frightfully blank. I had no idea how much of her current turmoil was caused by me and how much was caused by Sebastian. I tightened my fists further at just the thought of him.

I was pulled out of my torment by the sound of my back passenger door slamming shut, by the time I registered Alec, he was opening my driver's door. He shot me a very menacing glare. I was pretty sure that backlash I was dreading, just found me.

"Out." Alec spat. I was in shock. Not only from everything that had happened this morning, and the surprise of seeing Alec when I thought he wasn't here, but also because Alec had never looked at me like he was looking at me now. He looked so ominous. I hesitated too long and he reached in and grabbed a handful of my shirt and pulled me quite forcefully from the car. He slammed the door behind me. I was still holding onto Clary's purse for dear life. I couldn't breath. I couldn't think straight. I was also seriously hung over and exhausted. I sincerely felt like I was going to throw up. Alec dragged me quite uncomfortably down to the water very similarly to how he had just a week before. He pushed me down on the ground quite roughly. I dropped Clary's purse as my hands reactively flew to either side of me to brace my fall. I sat there, knees bent, Clary's purse lying on the ground in front of me, looking up at him remorsefully. Alec was staring out at the water, his arms crossed, but he hadn't said anything. Several minutes passed. I swallowed hard.

"Alec?" I said very tentatively. He didn't say anything and I couldn't see his face the way he was standing just slightly in front of me. He finally took a deep exasperated breath and rubbed his hands over his face.

"Izzy just told me you woke up with Seelie in your bedroom this morning." I nodded, but he couldn't see me.

"I did." I said softly. His hands fell to his sides balled in tight fists.

"Did you sleep with her Jace?" He asked in a scary calm voice. I shook my head.

"I honestly don't know. I don't remember most of last night. All I know is Clary said she saw Seelie and me kissing at the party. Izzy said I got really drunk last night, but I don't remember-" Alec had snapped. Before I could even register what had happened he had spun around and grabbed my shirt with two hands.

"SHE TRUSTED YOU!" He yelled as he yanked me up from the ground. My hands reached for his, but I didn't try to stop him, I just put my hands gently over his. His fists balled tightly into my shirt. He looked so angry, but he also looked hurt. I just looked back at him apologetically. I didn't have the words.

"I TRUSTED YOU!...I TRUSTED YOU SO MUCH!...SHE ASKED ME IF SHE COULD TRUST YOU AND I SAID ALWAYS!...I SAID SHE COULD ALWAYS TRUST YOU JACE!...I WENT OUT ON A LIMB FOR YOU AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME?...YOU SLEEP WITH SOME OTHER GIRL THE FIRST TIME YOU GET DRUNK!…YOU BETRAYED CLARY'S TRUST!…YOU BETRAYED MY TRUST!...YOU MADE A LIAR OUT OF ME JACE!...YOU'VE JEOPARDIZED CLARY'S TRUST IN ME!...HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME JACE?... HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO HER?-" He yelled as he shook me roughly. I just looked back at him. I was filled with despair. I didn't know what to say. He wasn't hitting me physically, but everything he said felt just as painful as a physical blow.


Simon's POV

Sebastian didn't say much when I first got in the car. Then, he started this peculiar story about his past and what life was like being a player. He talked about losing his parents and meeting Aline. I had no idea what this had to do with Jace rearranging his face. Sebastian went to Dunkin Donuts and we ordered breakfast sandwiches and coffee. He even paid. Then he kept driving, but not in the direction of the cottage. He just kept talking. Though I was a little concerned I didn't have my phone, I was oddly intrigued by this conversation. This was by far the most I had ever talked to Sebastian, though I wasn't even doing any talking. I was just listening, and hoping he didn't leave me on the side of the road somewhere. Things were looking less and less familiar to me.

Sebastian's story got even stranger as he started to talk about when he met Kaelie and Seelie. Then he brought up Clary and Jace and Jessamine and Aline. He went into depth about this crazy big charade that he was a part of last night, and then this morning. Sebastian seemed to talk forever. After we had been driving for about a half hour or so he finally just stopped talking. I wasn't sure if he was done at first.

"So?" Sebastian said suddenly. I blinked a few times and closed my mouth. I hadn't realized how long I had been staring at him with my eyebrows furrowed and my mouth gapping open.

"I…Ah…When…Um…What…Ah…" I took an exasperated breath.

"You expect me to believe all that?" I asked incredulously. He shrugged.

"Well I expect you to believe that if Clary doesn't leave, they'll just keep trying to make her or they'll keep trying to set her and Jace up…I expect you to believe that even though Kaelie and Seelie are deplorable, Jonathan is a million times worse and nothing good can come from Clary going to that party…I expect you to believe that when we get back, everybody will make it sound like I attempted to rape Clary, but I was just attempting to scare the shit out of her so she'd leave. I don't mean just like it's not a big deal, I did say and do some really awful things in the process…And I expect you to believe that you need to watch your back because Seelie is already plotting her revenge against Izzy…Right now, if you can just believe that, I think it doesn't matter if you believe anything else I said." I took a deep breath. Several minutes passed.

"I doubt you just told me all this because you momentarily thought you were at confession. So besides watching my back for a venomous bitch, what else did you want from me?...You want me to make Clary go home?" He nodded.

"I think that would be best." I rolled my eyes.

"Isn't that what they want anyway?" He nodded

"Yeah, but I think the other alternatives are worse." I ran my hand through my hair and scratched my head.

"What are you going to do?" He shrugged.

"First I'm going to get Aline the fuck out of this town. Ray leaves tomorrow to go back home, he has work on Monday, she was already questioning if she was going to stay the second week or leave with him, but I'll make sure she leaves with him. Jessamine lives in the area, so I can't do anything about her except keep my distance and make it look like I'm attempting to cooperate with Seelie. Seelie and Kaelie are both out of school right now and neither of them work, so that makes things hard, they can stick around however long they want. While they are here they can go after Jessamine, but when Kaelie goes back to school, she has access to Aline again. So I don't know. Right now Seelie and Kaelie's priority target is Clary though. That much is clear. I think if she leaves it would be best all around. I think she'd leave if you talk to her." I shook my head.

"Have you met Clary? She'll leave if she wants to leave. She's stubborn and she's going to be twice as likely to stay if I tell her to go. I'll talk to Jace-" He cut me off.

"You can't. He'll confront them and then they'll know what I did. That will just make things worse. Talk to Clary." I rolled my eyes.

"How do I know you're not just saying all this because it's part of the plan to get Clary out of town?" He shrugged.

"Well it does still help me out if she leaves town, I'll give you that. I told you because you're probably the only one in the cottage that I don't have to worry about in a physical fight.-" I made an irritated noise and he laughed.

"Hey it's true. If I told Alec, Jordan, or Jace, I'd be on the ground before I finished my story. Magnus, Maia, and Izzy would never give me the time of day, and they probably already know Jace and Clary's side of the story. It actually just worked out that I happened to come across you and you hadn't heard anything yet. I need an ally right now. I need somebody that can pass information to Clary as necessary and that can give me information in return. I can only stay a step ahead of Seelie and Kaelie if I know what Clary is doing too. If she decides to leave great, but if she decides to stay I need to know that before Kaelie and Seelie figure it out. I need to know how she's doing, if she forgives Jace or is thinking about forgiving him. If I don't try to get her to go to the party, I'm sure Seelie and Kaelie will work other angles to get her there. I need to know if she decides to take the risk and go. I'll tell Jace everything before I let her go alone. I want to know if you hear anything about Jessamine too." I nodded slowly.

"I'll talk to her Sebastian, but I don't know if I feel comfortable being an informant for you." He shrugged.

"Well I think it will only be in her best interest, but do what you want." I took a deep breath.

"If you don't tell the others what's going on they'll just hate you. Some of them will hate you anyway. I'm still not sure I don't hate you." He nodded.

"I know, but if I tell them what's going on, things will start to look too suspicious to Seelie and Kaelie. If I can talk myself out of what happened without telling the truth I will, otherwise I'll go find somewhere else to crash. Just another reason I need you. If I'm not in the cottage you can be my eyes and ears." I shook my head.

"I feel like you're trying to set me up Sebastian. I think we should just go back to the cottage now." He nodded and did a U-turn. I had no idea where we were.

"I'll take you back, but when you start getting unwanted attention from Seelie, you'll know I was telling the truth. You don't have to believe me, but it's better if you don't tell anybody else except Clary. It will make things a lot worse for everybody involved if Seelie and Kaelie find out what I just told you." It took us about five minutes to get back to the cottage. How could we have been that close and I had no idea where we were? Sebastian let me out of the car and then drove away without another word.

I sauntered slowly over to the door of the cottage, I was so tired. Right as I was about to open the door I heard yelling. I glanced around and noticed Alec and Jace involved in some sort of altercation down the hill towards the water. I quickly opened the cottage door to grab Izzy, luckily she was right in the kitchen. We took off down the hill towards Alec and Jace.


Jace's POV

I'm not sure how long Alec would have yelled if Izzy and Simon didn't seem to come out of nowhere and tackle him, one on either side of him. He didn't even look at them as they were yelling at him to stop shaking me, to let me go. He pushed me down hard on the ground and I landed rather painfully on my ass. Izzy was standing in front of Alec with her hands on his chest as though she felt she needed to hold him back with force. Simon stood for a moment slightly off to the side as though he were taking in the scene. Alec stopped yelling, but he just stood there with his fists tightly balled at his side and stared at me with all the weight of the world.

"Stay away from her Jace." Alec's voice was cold and his words cut. It couldn't bear the thought of how much I hurt Clary, how much I hurt Alec, but I wouldn't stay away from her, I couldn't.

"Alec…" I started hesitantly and he glared daggers.

"I'm so sorry for everything, but I can't. I can't stay away from her." I said softly as I shook my head. He seemed to almost lean forward based on the way Izzy was leaning back. Simon surprising stooped down next to me and put a reassuring hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. Alec took a deep breath. He looked at me for a long moment. When he spoke his voice sounded dark and threatening.

"You're my brother, and I love you, but I can't stand the sight of you right now…If she comes to you, fine, otherwise, stay away from her. You go near her, I'll bring her home Jace. You'll never see her again." Alec just stared me down. My breath caught. I hadn't really thought of the fact that I had never been to Clary's new apartment and I didn't actually know where she lived. If Alec didn't want me to see Clary again, I quite possibly never would. Alec seemed to be giving Izzy and Simon a warning look. I had a bad feeling he was making a point that they shouldn't tell me where she lives either. Of course Clary could tell me where she lives if she wanted to, but right now she wasn't saying two words to me. I really doubted she'd tell me where she lived. Alec tried to sidestep Izzy, but she looped her arm with his and held him tightly to her side. They started to walk back to the cottage. I stared out at the water in shock. Simon still had his hand on my shoulder and seemed to be looking at me.

"Jace?" Simon said very quietly as he jerked my shoulder slightly to try to get my body to face him. I looked over in his direction. I felt so alone right now, it was kind of comforting to have Simon with me.

"I need to talk to Alec and Izzy right now. I'm going to talk to them in mine and Izzy's bedroom. I have a pretty good idea what's going on, and if I'm correct, Clary's going to want to go home.-" I could hear Izzy calling.

"Simon!" Simon looked up towards the cottage and back towards me.

"Forget about what Alec said. You should talk to Clary before she's gone, apologize, tell her you love her, I don't know, just speak from the heart. I know she loves you Jace. Don't give up hope." Simon squeezed my shoulder one more time before he stood up and jogged up the hill to the cottage. I use to always think Simon hated me, but after this past week, I wasn't as sure. Though, I really had no idea how much he thought he knew about what happened here this morning. Maybe he'd hate me after he talked to Alec and Izzy. I put my head in my hands, my elbows on my knees. I took a couple deep breaths. I sat there for a few minutes. I couldn't lose Clary. She was my world. If I lost her, nothing else mattered. Is this what karma is? Was I being punished for being a player for all these years?


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