It had taken a fair amount of convincing to make Isabelle go home. Eventually she agreed, seeing as Simon was getting settled and we both knew somebody should be at home when Max got there. Somebody other than our parents. That was a sad thought, not trusting them to behave around their son, but for the moment that's just the way things were.
I dropped her off and on the way there found myself asking over and over if she was going to be alright. I wasn't completely sold on the idea of leaving her there, either. Izzy eventually had to remind me that she was big enough to look out for herself and her little brother if she had to. I just hoped things would be sorted out by the time she got there and there wouldn't be another problem.
The house was quiet when we got there. Isabelle went inside, took a quick look into the living room and told me that our Mother was alone. So no more fighting. That was a plus. I felt a lot better about hugging my sister and being on my way.
When I got back to the apartment, Simon was sat on the futon looking through his belongings. My guess was that he must have packed in a hurry and needed to check what he'd actually taken with him when he left.
"Sorry there's no spare room." I said apologetically. I grabbed a couple drinks from the kitchen before I went to join him in the seating area.
"Don't be sorry, I really appreciate this." Said Simon. He sounded tired.
Well, he'd had a long morning. It was around one by now; I kept trying to figure out if it was worth going back to Tessa's or if it was more important I stayed. I wasn't sure if Simon even wanted my company.
I drummed my fingers on the arm of the seat. Like the barstools, I wasn't too sure where most of the furniture in the place came from. I don't think Kyle bought it. It seemed more like everybody who lived in the apartment left stuff behind when they moved on to greener pastures.
"So, you want to tell me what happened?" I asked. There had to be a reason for Simon's Mother to just completely turn on him. Frankly, he was a good person. All parents and kids fall out, but this was really unexpected.
Simon grew uncomfortable, you could see it in the way he straightened up and looked around the room. Oops. I suddenly wanted to push rewind on my mouth.
"You don't have to tell me." I said to try and correct the situation. "I mean it's really your business."
"No, it's fine. I guess." Simon shrugged off whatever he was feeling. "She's mad because I don't want to go to a medical school."
I blinked. Sounded about right, Simon never seemed interested in the Sciences, so medicine probably would not be the best profession for him. I realised then that I wasn't even sure what this friend of mine wanted to do with his life. What were his ambitions, if any at all?
"I hate blood." Simon laughed. "I can't work in a Hospital."
"You have to do what makes you happy." I agreed, although I think I sounded much older than I was when I said it. "In all aspects of life."
Nobody has to live your life except for you. When it comes to the bitter end it is only you left with your memories and regrets. I'd grown to really believe in the fact decisions ultimately belong to the individual; the results affect them the most, don't they?
"Then she got all angry about me wasting my time with parties." Simon added.
I crossed my legs and took a gulp of my drink guiltily. Okay, I definitely felt like more of a responsible party now. Maybe Woolsey's had been a bad idea. I could have introduced Izzy and Cam any time. Not that I'd really known what I was signing up us up for when I'd agreed to go. In future Magnus was going to have to give me more information.
"I'm so sorry." I told Simon. He shook his head at me.
"I had a good time, aside from the headache." He said. "And Izzy really wanted me to go."
Izzy wanted Simon to go everywhere she was. Not in a crazy, over-attached way or anything. More like she really wanted Simon to play a big part in her life.
"I didn't mean for Izzy to end up upset." Simon told me. I must have been giving off protective big-brother vibes or something. "I just wanted to see her, that's all."
"I know." I said, understanding completely. I would have guessed Simon would go to Clary first in a crisis; but if he wanted to see Izzy then that was great too. I knew it would make my sister happy to know she was first-choice, when she looked back in hindsight.
"She was crying." Said Simon as he gazed into space, astounded. It was a fairly rare occurrence.
"It wasn't you that did it." I hoped to ease his guilt by letting him know. "My parents need to get their shit together."
It was a crude way to put it, I know. Not completely fair, either. I just wished that they'd make a solid choice, you know? All-or-nothing. None of this part-time crap which was confusing everybody around them. I wasn't selfish enough, though, to admit that was how I felt out loud. They would move at their own pace and my convenience wasn't important. Although Izzy and Max were a different story. They needed stability.
"Can't be easy for them, though." Simon said as if to remind me that I was being harsh.
"You're not wrong." I replied. I knew it wasn't easy. Forgiving was difficult, but not nearly so difficult as forgetting. I hear that you really need to do both; and they had eighteen years' worth of betrayal to work out between them.
I looked at the clock again, it was around two. There was still time to go back but I still felt uneasy about just leaving Simon there on his own. Kyle would be so confused when he got home. Simon didn't even have a key. At the same time I didn't want to take advantage of Tessa's good nature by staying home when there was really nothing more I could do.
"I think I've got to get to work." I explained, getting up out of my seat.
"You're skipping work right now?" Simon looked like he wanted to hit his head against the wall to ease his compounding culpability.
"Tessa told me to go." I informed him. "She's very easy-going. Do you want me to leave a note for Kyle?"
"A note? Like 'Had to pop out, don't forget to feed the Simon'?" He quipped. I smiled now that his sense of humour was back. It was more like him than all that nervous energy.
"It'll be nice to have a pet around here." I joked back. "But we're going to need one hell of a rat cage."
I even got a real laugh, then. Good to see Simon getting back on-form so fast. I hoped he wasn't trying to cover up how he really felt with a front. If there was anybody he needn't pretend for, I was one of those people.
"Make yourself at home." I encouraged him as I left. "Kyle will be back soon."
"Thanks again, Alec." Said Simon in all seriousness.
I dismissed him with a typical: "Don't mention it." And was on my way.
Hope you liked the chapter, I was putting off posting for some reason but it's up now. I should post the next chapter, "Signs Of Aging" in the near future.