Clary's POV-

After I woke up from my deep sleep I found Valentine on the couch with a bottle of Jack in his hand. He rose shakily to his feet and grinned at me with a malicious glint in his eye. He reached down and grabbed me once again by the hair tugging at the all ready sensitive hairs there. He pinned me to the wall and got too close to my face- close enough that I could smell the alcohol radiating off of him.

"Why did Jon have a bruise on his face?" Valentine asked me very calmly. Valentine clam was scarier than an angry Valentine.

"I-I-I-" I stuttered.

"Hmmm? Oh you don't know? Well then maybe you will know why Jon didn't take you home today." He told me snidely.

"I don't know." I was finally able to tell him.

"Don't know what?" He asked me.

"Why J-Jon has a b-bruise on his f-face."

"Then maybe you will be able to tell me where you were after school. Huh?" He asked me grinning from ear to ear.

"Um-m." I honestly didn't know what to say. If I lied he would ask Jon and he would for sure tell Dad that I was with Jace. But if I tell him I was with Jace then I was going to get my ass beaten. Either way it ended with me getting my body turned into a bruise. "I- I was with-"

"I just remembered that she had a project that she had to work on after school." Jonathan said from the kitchen. "I totally forgot sorry Dad." He told him without sounding sorry at all.

"Is this true?" Dad asked me with a sneer.

I couldn't speak from the shock of Jon saving me so I just nodded vigorously. Valentine dropped me to the floor making my body shake from the impact. He then kicked me repeatedly in the stomach for the hell of it then taking a drink from his bottle of liquor and going to his office to 'work'.

When I finally caught my breath and was able to look up at Jon he stared at me with a blank look on his face. He didn't move to help me in any way just standing there as if unsure of what to say or do.

Without a word to me he walked up the stairs to his room and shut himself in, locking the door.

As I dragged my beaten self off the floor I also climbed the stairs to my room. Once there I grabbed the hem of my shirt to access the damage to my torso. There was a blossoming of bruises on my blemished stomach. I winced at the look of my permanently black and blue stomach with random splotches to red, angry scars and burns. But the thing that caught my eye was the words carved into my stomach. 'You are not worthy" in jagged writing that was festering with pus and un-treated burns.

The infection was getting worse and if I didn't take care of it quickly then there could be a serious problem. I knew that I couldn't go to my dad. He would just accuse me of being weak and trying to get him caught by the police. I couldn't go to Jon because he would just sneer and slam his door in my face- been there, done that.

With a sigh I grabbed my phone to look it up on the Internet. My phone was definitely the nicest thing I owned. It was an I phone 4 and I had bought it myself after I had worked enough hours at the restaurant that I used to work at. I had to leave because too many people asked too many questions.

As I glanced across the screen I saw 15 texts from Isabelle 5 from Simon and 1 from Jace. Jace I couldn't believe that I actually kissed him! It was the first kiss that I had ever had willingly besides the kisses that my own father forced upon me.

But where did that kiss leave us? Also his determination to stay away from Jon and to protect me from him was amazing and all but, are we dating? We haven't even gone on an official date I have no clue how to handle this dating thing. With a grunt of frustration I scroll past his text and read through Isabelle's.

They mainly comprised of "where are you?" Are you ok? Did Jace do something? Why don't you answer me! You don't tell me anything! Ugh!

Why is she angry? I don't understand. I didn't do anything wrong. Ugh I will have to talk to her tomorrow.

I then scrolled to Simon's texts. He asked, "Where are you?" "R u ok?" "Fray?"

I replied quickly with a 'yes I'm fine Simon I will see you tomorrow"

I quickly turned off my phone so I wouldn't be bothered with any other texts; I just wanted to sleep after a nice long shower. I quickly stripped out of my clothes and climbed into the freezing shower. I sat pondering mine and Jace's relationship and how I would prevent him from leaving his band. I couldn't let him do that. I refuse.

However, if Jonathan doesn't leave then Jace will but if Jon leaves then chances are, my dad will stop managing the Demon Brothers. That would mean that Jace wouldn't have a band either way. I have no clue what to do. Time to cross that bridge when I get there.

When shower finally got hot I turned around to face the spray but the hot water on my cut/burn nearly made me scream in pain. I hurriedly got out of the shower to put some disinfectant on it but I couldn't bring myself to pour the alcohol on it. Before I could do anything else the scab burst from me patting it dry. It started gushing blood and I could barely stand it. I needed help so I called the only person I could think of that knew and that wasn't mad at me at the moment. Jace.

I grabbed my phone, turned it on and quickly dialed his number. He answered on the third ring.

Jace/Clary

"Hello?"

"Jace? It's Clary. I need help."

"What, what Clary what happened?"

"I can't explain just please hurry."

"Ok, ok I will be there as fast as I can."

"Don't go through the front door climb the tree next to my window I will open it for you. "

"Ok be there in 3 minutes."

Then he hung up. I tried to move to the window and barely got there before I could barely move from the pain. I leaned up and grabbed the windowsill and pushed it open then collapsed as my vision became spotted. I then noticed that I wasn't wearing any clothes so I scooted over to my dresser and luckily my pants and underwear are in the very bottom drawer.

I had just pulled on my bra after my pants when I heard a barely audible gasp from the window. I whipped my head around in time to see Jace slamming open the window and flinging himself through the gap.

He came rushing to my side and looked at me in shock.

"Is this the part where you take off your shirt and bind my wounds?" I ask him breathlessly.

"If you wanted me to take my clothes off you should've just asked." He told me with a very suggestive wink.

I gave a breathy laugh at that and all signs of joking were wiped clean of his face. He got up and ran to the bathroom to grab towels to try to stop the bleeding.

He pressed it against my wound firmly. At my hiss of pain he gave me a look full of sorrow and sympathy.

"When did this happen?" He asked me to try to distract me.

"The initial cut happened a few days ago but the scab just split, that's why I am bleeding at the moment." I explained.

"Oh Clary. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Well we weren't exactly friends at the time." I snapped. " I'm sorry Jace I'm just tired. But speaking of friends what are we?"

"What are we?" He asked me puzzled.

"Ya like are we dating?" I asked him blushing. I'm surprised that I could even blush with the amount of blood that had poured out of my body.

"Oh Clary." He chuckled. " He then got up to one knee and looked down at me with so much love and admiration as I laid bloody on the ground. " Will you give me the honor of becoming my beautiful and amazing girlfriend?" He asked me.

Grinning ear to ear I replied " Of course."

With a grin Jace leaned down and kissed me with so much passion that I could barely contain myself. My hands tugged him down to me so I could wrap my arms around his neck, completely forgetting that I was still bleeding. He braced himself on his hands beside my head. We gave our all into that kiss. Our tongues grappling for the upper hand; to explore, to tease the other. With a grunt of frustration I pulled down to me so I could feel him pressed up against me. Jace dropped down to his forearms so I could feel every contour of his body but unfortunately that also meant that I had a grown boy pressing down on my cut.

My breath left me in a whoosh and a hiss of pain. I clenched my eyes and fists shut trying not to scream and alert my brother and my, hopefully, passed out father. Jace pushed him up so fast that he blurred in my vision. He profusely apologized as I looked down at my stomach. The bleeding had finally stopped, probably because all of the blood in my body was now pooled in my cheeks from embarrassment.

I tossed the now bloody towels to the side and ask Jace to go get the rubbing alcohol from my bathroom counter. I grab another towel from beside me and shove it underneath me and braced myself for the pain to come. When Jace walked back into my bedroom and saw my face he nodded in understanding. He knew what he had to do and he was not pleased about it. He grabbed my right hand with his left and poured the alcohol on my wound with his right.

The moment that the alcohol reached my stomach I gripped Jace's hand with my right and fisted the other in my mouth to prevent myself from screaming out in pain. Once the whole thing was covered in alcohol Jace grabbed another towel and patted it dry. Once all of the alcohol and blood was gone Jace went to look at my stomach grime free.

I braced myself for the moment he would leave in disgust and tell me that my stomach was hideous and he couldn't stand the sight of me anymore- that I was disgusting. That I really was not worthy.

I turned my head away in shame of what was carved into my stomach forever. Jace had a look of absolute shock on his face and pure hatred. I clenched his fist and I scrambled away from him in fear. I knew that this was going to happen. He was going to see that I wasn't worthy and that it was necessary for him to add to my bruises that I needed to be punished.

He looked at me in shock and confusion and hurt.

"Clary. Did you think I was going to hurt you?" He asked me close to tears.

I couldn't say anything because I was ashamed of what my stupid mind told me. I truly did think he was going to hurt me.

"I would never hurt you. Not in a million years." He said as he pulled me towards his warm body. "I know what you are going through I understand the fear but you don't need to be afraid of me. I won't hurt you. I would kill myself before I would even think of laying a finger on you." He told me sincerely.

I couldn't look at him for fear of bursting into tears but my cursed eyes were leaking anyway! Jace pulled my chin up to meet his eyes.

"Clary, I love you. Never forget that." He hugged me closer to him in an embrace of understanding. Jace stood up in search for bandages to wrap my stomach.

"Top drawer to the right closest to the toilet" I told him.

"The pure amount of bandages you have in there is enough to stock a hospital…." He told me.

He had grabbed one of the 'smaller' rolls and gauze. He laid the sterile gauze onto my wound first then wrapped the bandage completely around my stomach, not tightly but firmly. Afterwards he lifted me bridal style into my bed and wrapped me into my blankets. With a kiss on my forehead Jace made his way towards the window.

"Jace." I whispered. "Don't leave me."

"Never Red, never." He told me. Jace kicked off his shoes and slid his shirt off then got under the covers with me. He tugged me to his side and wrapped his arm gingerly around my waist. It was awkward for a moment before I relaxed and settled into his warm embrace. I placed my head on his chest and slung my arm around his waist and tangled our feet together as if nothing could separate us.

We fell into a deep and comfortable sleep together.

A/N

I loved writing this chapter! It was sooo much fun! I was going to combine this and the next chapter but decided against it ;)

Let's just say shits gonna go down next chapter.

I have decided that I am going to take this story in a different direction then planned. You shall see when I finally get to write that part!

Love you all!

Please please please review even if its only one word every word helps me write the next chapter.

Alexa