The incident with my Father had put the evening on a down note we just couldn't rise from.
Mother was stressed over how to deal with him, Isabelle was mad that he'd had nothing nice to say about her good news. My feelings on the matter were obviously fairly miserable, which made Magnus unhappy on my behalf. Even Max was in gloomy spirits when he came down for dinner; surrounded by negativity and smart enough to know the elephant in the room was the man who was not in the room.
While the rest of us suffered through awkward silence, Izzy and Mother discussed a compromise about her school-theatre balance.
"I'm not going to force you to study for a degree you don't want." Mother promised.
She understood how pointless it was to send my sister anywhere if she was going to half-ass it. Especially when Izzy pursued her actual goals so passionately. Mother's time, support and funding would be better spent elsewhere.
"However." She added. "You're not dropping everything for this. School comes first, while you're at school."
"Meaning?" Izzy asked, drumming her fingers on the table.
"Meaning no taking time off and no auditioning if your grades decrease." Said Mother. It seemed fair enough to me, but my sister didn't seem to think so.
"What if I get something which films in term-time?" Izzy argued. Camille may have been in a position to negotiate her timetable - most directors were tripping over themselves to get her signed - but this was the beginning of Isabelle's career. Being demanding about her hours wasn't going to be a great approach.
"We'll cross that bridge when we get there." Mother told her, needing more time to come up with a solution to that particular problem.
"And what if I miss my big break because I get a D!" Izzy whined and threw her hands up into the air.
"Well then it's up to you not to get a 'D' isn't it?" Said Mother. She started to rub her temples and I got up to grab the plates.
While I was taking everything into the kitchen I heard Magnus offering some words of encouragement. He told Isabelle that she was wonderful on stage and was going to succeed regardless of what she did or didn't miss. I smiled and stood behind the door listening.
"And trust me." Said Magnus. "Cammie doesn't humour anybody. If she's helping you it's because she believes in you, too."
"Funny how she does and my Father doesn't." Isabelle complained.
"He does believe in you, Isabelle, he just wants you to take an academic approach." Said our Mother as I walked back into the room.
"When was I ever academic?" Isabelle lamented. "That was always Alec's thing!"
I paused with my seat pulled out and looked at my sister. Yeah, sure. Academics were my thing. I was the one who always set the bar until I failed at the last hurdle.
Magnus watched me as if he wondered what was going on in my head. Then he stood up and excused us, saying that he had an early start the next morning and needed to get going. We said our thank-yous and goodbyes, and to tell you the truth I was happy to get out of there.
On the way home Magnus decided to mess around by missing the turning which took us to my place on purpose. He joked that it was his mistake - we didn't live together 'yet' - and made to turn around. I placed a hand lightly on the wheel to indicate he should steady it and told him not to bother. I really didn't want to go back to my little 'low income' apartment that night.
"Wages are paid with numbers, not with happiness." Said Magnus, giving me a sympathetic smile. "You are so much better than Robert, don't let him get to you."
"What's your Father like?" I wondered out loud. Magnus rarely mentioned his deceased Mother and never his other parent.
"My biological Ayah is most notable for his thirty year absence and my stepfather is giving him a run for his money." Magnus shrugged off my question with a slight shiver. His accent became particularly prominent when he said foreign words. "So I honestly can't say."
"Maybe you're better off..." I considered. Mainly because I was feeling pretty bitter towards Father figures at that moment.
"I like to think so." Magnus agreed. "And so are you, seems you'll never have to meet them."
Magnus' apartment was freezing cold when we got inside. I didn't want to take my coat off but Magnus insisted. He made me sit down and remove my boots, too. Then he went to turn on the heat and grab a spare blanket.
"This will warm you up, Baby." He said as he threw the patchwork swath over my shoulders. Seconds later he slipped underneath too and draped one of his arms around me.
"Don't call me that." I muttered. "I hate that."
"You hate what, Baby?" Magnus smirked. I elbowed him in the ribs lightly.
"Having anybody but your parents call you their baby is really creepy." I explained. I mean, I knew that other people didn't see it that way but I never really understood how that was the case.
Magnus smirked at me. I could already tell he'd sensed an opportunity to poke fun at me. It was in the way he could barely stifle that chuckle of his.
"What is it?" I asked him.
"Nothing, nothing..." Magnus grinned. "Just thinking about your Daddy complex."
I groaned. Usually talk like that came from one friend of mine in particular. "Have you been talking to Jace or something?"
"And what if I have?" Asked Magnus.
Rolling my eyes, I swung a leg over his lap so that I was sat in a better position to kiss him. It was deep and slow and when I pulled away I realised that Magnus' hands had found their way over my thighs and into my back pockets.
"I don't do this with my Father." I said, planting another kiss on his jaw and then his neck. "Or this. Or this."
"Is this the part where you stop?" Magnus breathed huskily into my ear. "To punish me for flirting too much? And yelling at you? And waking you up too early in the morning?"
"And talking too much?" I offered as I pulled back and took my turn to smirk down at my boyfriend.
"That too." He smiled. "Try to be forgiving."
"Well... Maybe. If you behave." I teased. "And never say that 'B' word again."
"I don't tell you enough how you're the very best, do I?" Magnus sighed. His thumb grazed my cheekbone lovingly and I fell forward slightly to nuzzle into his shoulder.
I believed him, too. Not with the statement itself, I wasn't that conceited, but rather I believed that Magnus thought that way. Because although he did things sometimes which made me feel like he might prefer somebody else; I knew deep down that I was the only one who really had him.
"Even though I'm just a... What was it? Glorified checkout-boy?" I asked. Only half-joking. I felt the sting of my Father's words even as they passed my own lips.
"You're not 'just a' anything." Said Magnus. Now his hands were rubbing up and down my back in a decidedly less lustful gesture. "Don't you ever think that."
Even though I had been the one to initiate what could easily have become a sexual encounter; I was glad that Magnus and I didn't do anything that night. Instead Magnus just held onto me and we spoke for hours. It felt safe. After the events of that evening I really needed that. The little things which made me feel more valued. Sex was like television to Magnus; there was something that mattered every so often but most of the time it was a really average pastime. I was thankful not to have my averageness highlighted again that night when we went to bed.
Thank you for reading! Opinions seemed split down the middle about the last chapter - here is hope that those of you who weren't so happy will continue to read on. In addition, I haven't written very much of the next chapter yet, so I'm giving warning that the next update could take a little longer. Best wishes until then, everybody.