Two Truths and a Lie
I felt good. Well, at least I did until my dad came into the kitchen with a screwed face like he was holding back from telling me something. He kept shifting his weight on his feet with his hands shoved into his pockets. Perhaps his genetics is where I got my own nervous quirks from.
I sighed and stopped stirring the sauce in the pot, bracing my hands against the countertop. "Just say it—"
"I don't know what you mean," he answered too abruptly to be casual.
"You're fidgeting. I'd prefer you ask your questions now before the subjects of those questions arrive." I turned back to the task at hand, stirring and adding spices to the pot.
"I think I see what's going on." He leaned back against the counter with a sigh. "And I don't like it."
I raised an eyebrow. "Enlighten me about what you think is going on."
"Jace is a good kid and I know I basically taped you two together, but I don't want you and him to get too…involved."
"We're not," I scoffed but I felt myself avoiding his eyes.
"I saw the mark on him—"
"And you assume it was from me? You do realize he's a bit of a lady killer, right?"
"Simon certainly thinks so. I thought you and Simon were going on dates and stuff, what happened with that?"
"He's been an ass lately and the single date we went on was not very extraordinary. I don't really think I'm into it," I grumbled down into the spaghetti.
"I take full responsibility for ruining that night," he strained and rubbed the inside of his arm.
I shrugged, not knowing whether or not to deny his claim—who knows, maybe the date would've been decent if I didn't have to rush home. The dancing was fun, the drinking was even better, and we were actually having a fun time. But there was still an undeniable fact—my body didn't react to Simon very significantly and I would've believed my body was a dud if Jace hadn't offered to kiss me himself.
"Just do me a favor, whatever is going on between you and the detective has to stop."
I whirled on him, not putting much effort into controlling the bitterness in my face. "Why do you say that?"
"I just don't want you getting hurt, my love."
"Yet, you're encouraging me to be with Simon. Did you not see what he did in front of the police station? Jace has lost his temper plenty of times, yet has no marks on my skin to show for it." Irritation flared against my bones at the sudden invasion of my extreme personal life—my sex life— as I focused on finishing making dinner. "Set the table, please."
He moved to fulfill my request. "I saw that it was an accident, a horrible unfortunate accident that he felt awful for. You know he has only ever fought for you. That's why he was fighting Jace, he thought you were being harmed."
I scoffed. "Again, Jace has never harmed me."
"I know that, Clary," he sighed in a bit of exasperation. "There's just more to the detective than what's on the surface, that's all."
I raised my eyebrow and went to interrogate his meanings, but just as my mouth opened, the doorbell rang. "I'll get it," I mumbled resentfully.
Before I could open the door, it swung open by itself to reveal the forensic tech who wore a large dazzling smile. This wasn't unusual, he frequented the house often enough to the point where dad made it clear he could walk in whenever he wanted. Valentine had practically raised him since he was a toddler, after all.
"Hey, Clare," he greeted with his hands behind his back. He wore a light blue long sleeve button up shirt with a nice pair of navy jeans and it took me all of two seconds to notice the black bruise that underlined his right eye.
I suddenly felt a small wave of guilt. He had always protected me when I got myself into sticky situations and when the time came for me to protect him, I sided with the other person. Despite the fact that Jace had never hurt me or made me uncomfortable, Simon couldn't be sure and I haven't been putting much energy into convincing him that I was safe. All he knew was that I had been mentally and emotionally pushing him away for almost two weeks in favor of a man who had been known to be violent and reckless.
"Hey Simon," my resentment for him had turned to a low simmer while guilt gnawed at my bones. He stepped in front of me and stopped a foot away, still grinning like he knew something that I didn't. I tried to peek behind his back but he turned to shield his hands. "What are you hiding?"
His grin faded to a sad smile. "I felt—feel—horrible about earlier. I really didn't mean to hurt you in my crazed attempt to defend your honor. So, I got you these." The hands behind his back swung around to a stop between us. A bouquet of small yellow sunflowers was dressed in pink wrapping.
My heart clenched in my chest. "Simon," I breathed, slowly taking the bundle. Our hands brushed against each other, and I ignored his knowing eyes.
"I miss you," he whispered.
If my heart wasn't already cracked, then it definitely was now. I had been selfish with the way I've been treating the man I considered to be my best friend. He was feeling like he had been replaced—I knew how that felt yet I still did it so freely without a second thought.
"I miss you, too." It was true. I missed how we used to be, how we had sleepovers where we would talk all night and spent some days exploring the nearby forests. We have been very disconnected lately, and I knew I was to blame.
I must have visibly deflated, because he stepped forward and wrapped me in an embrace that felt a bit too intimate to be friendly. Regardless, I let it happen because I felt like he needed it after my blatant string of betrayals.
He kissed my forehead at the same time the doorbell rang a second time. I gave him a weak smile as I pulled away from him, but I noticed he looked at the door with a deadpan stare. I also tried not to notice how my heart picked up speed at the thought that I got to see Jace. The detective's disappointment and apprehension had been visible on his features when I told him I needed to nap in my dad's office hours earlier. I understood his anxiety, he didn't trust my dad to be alone with me.
I opened the door to an irritated looking detective. His shoulders were hunched slightly while his hands were tucked into his jacket pockets. A barely-there purple bruise gave his cheekbone a small pop of color to his tan skin. He looked up at me and some of the twists in his features slipped away, until they scanned the bouquet of sunflowers in my hands.
"Hey," he greeted flatly.
"Hey," I tried not to sound awkward. "Come in." I stepped back to allow his hulking figure into the doorway before shutting it behind us with a click. Jace stopped and stared at the lingering forensic tech in the large hallway. Simon stared back, both unflinching. I brushed my hand against the detective's lower back, he tensed under my touch and relaxed just as quickly.
He smelled different. The usual scent of cedar and soap with undertones of chocolate was masked by the faint smell of…I wasn't sure—something earthy? I couldn't tell for certain, so I dropped the idea and walked past Jace.
"Let's go eat," I called through the hallway to the two men in a visual standoff, grabbing Simon by the elbow on the way. He seemed to enjoy my attention as he brought his own to me fully once more while I tugged him into the dining room. I felt bad for not giving Jace the same treatment, but I had to separate them before they could get any ideas of finishing what they started at the precinct. Still, I heard his boots following close behind, reassuring me that he wasn't planning on running back out the front door.
"Hey, guys," Valentine greeted from his spot at the rectangular kitchen table.
"Hey, dad," Simon replied.
Jace only grunted as a greeting to his Captain while I set the flowers on the kitchen counter.
I gave dad a look at the seat beside him with a head tilt to Simon. He seemed to get the message. "Why don't you sit beside me, Seb?" he offered, tugging out the chair.
The tech tried not to look disappointed. "Yeah, sure." He plopped down on the same side as my dad while Jace and I walked around the table to the other set of parallel chairs. Before I could reach out, large familiar hands grabbed my chair and slid it out in a gentlemanlike offering. The action caught me off guard, but I should have been used to it with Jace.
"Thank you," I mumbled and sat gently, letting him push me closer to the table edge. He sat beside me and I could feel the heat from his thigh against my bare one, bringing back memories of our rendezvous in the car earlier. I pushed down a blush.
My dad and Jace faced each other while Simon and I did, making any eye contact from both dad and the tech nearly impossible to avoid. I fiddled with my smartwatch until the speaker in the kitchen started playing soft music to fill the unbearable silence.
"Before we begin, I want to say something," my dad started, smoothing his hands over the thighs of his jeans. We all looked to the Captain, feeling as if we were watching him give a press conference. "I know this is a hard situation to endure after today's events, but I want you all to know I love you like my own children so I want you to get along properly." He sighed. "And I appreciate your somewhat willing participation. This house hasn't been this full in a long time."
Jace tensed minutely beside me until I could've sworn he stopped breathing. I had a fairly good idea of what was going on with him, but I had no way to know for sure yet. In an attempt to comfort him, I brushed the back of my hand against his outer thigh.
He seemed to come back to life and grazed my open palm with his fingertips in gratitude. "I'm glad to be here," he swallowed nervously.
"Me, too," Simon grumbled.
"Excellent. Now that that's over with, let's get to it," dad said and clapped against his thighs before passing the bowl of pasta to Simon. "Now I can start with embarrassing stories of Clary from her youth—"
"Absolutely not," I paled.
Jace cracked a smile for the first time tonight. "I'd like to hear some." The fingertips in my palm slid up to lace between my fingers.
The bowl came to me and I reluctantly took my hand from under the table to spoon out a serving for myself while dad continued, much to my dismay. "One night a few years ago, she was in a bit of a rebellious phase and tried to sneak out her window—"
"Oh god, dad, please don't," I begged and passed the bowl to Jace.
He disregarded my pleas with a dismissive wave and continued, amusement written all over his face. "She tried to sneak out of her window but her jeans caught on the sill and made her topple over into the brushes upside down under her window. The commotion woke the neighbors dog and scared the shit out of me. I came out with my gun expecting to find someone breaking in but was surprised to see Clary half hanging from her window with a leg stuck in the air as still as a statue as if I wouldn't see her if she didn't move."
Jace stifled a cackle through a large mouthful of spaghetti and Simon coughed to hide his own. "Thanks for that dad," I sighed.
"But it's funny, because if she had just told me she was going out I would've let her." He ate a forkful of pasta, thank god.
"Asking permission kinda goes against the whole 'rebellious thing'." I looked over at an amused detective under my brows. "He still let me go out that night. It was very patronizing." At that, he released a laugh that rumbled his chest, but what really surprised me was the undeniable hand that enveloped my knee. I turned red but disguised it as embarrassment from the story.
"So you've always defied rules, then?" he asked casually. The question seemed innocent on the surface but the way he gave my thigh a squeeze hinted otherwise—most likely referring to the way I had broken my own rule a few times already and hadn't urged his hand away yet.
"I try to make everybody's life around me a little harder. I'm sure you can attest to that, detective," I commented and shoveled food into my mouth to avoid looking at the man testing me.
"Not a chance." He turned toward the Captain who watched us with curious eyes. "You know she solved two cold cases in a week? I'd say the partnership is working out."
"I knew it would, she's a smart one. Maybe I should just have her replace Detective Archer so we stop accumulating so many unsolved cases," my dad sighed.
"I've been telling you to get rid of him for years." Jace rolled his eyes. "And she can't replace Archer, she's stuck with me." A gasp threatened to leave my throat when the hand on my knee moved to mid thigh.
"Why didn't you pair us up? I'm sure I could've taught her forensics, it's not very hard," Simon said, shooting Jace a subtle serrated gaze. The hand tightened possessively.
"I'm not into science as much as detective work," I chimed before anybody could speak for me.
Simon set his fork down and laced his hands together under his chin. "You know, there was this one time when Clary and I were out at lunch and she laughed so hard that ramen came out her nose just as a waitress walked by to check on us."
My stomach clenched under my ribcage. "Why are you two ganging up on me tonight? Jesus." I slapped my head into my hands to hide my flushed face.
"The other day, she was running in the rain and fell right on her ass in a puddle," Jace added to the jumble of stories.
"Oh come on," I whined. "We all know I'm not very coordinated." His hand smoothed further upward, fire spread through my lower half. As much as I wanted to focus on what was being said, I couldn't.
"She was clumsy as a small child, too. I've had my fair share of catching her from falling off the jungle gym. You remember how you used to tie your hands together to keep her out of trouble?" Valentine elbowed the tech beside him.
Simon scoffed. "Little did I know she would still get into trouble but dragged me along with her so I was guilty by association."
"She's used to believing she's in charge," Jace chuckled, slipping a fingertip under the hem of my skirt for the second time today.
"I am in charge," I retorted a bit aggressively at him from the coiled tension in my lower abdomen.
There was a malicious gleam in his eyes while he scanned my face with a sinful grin. "I disagree," he shrugged with another squeeze.
I felt Valentine's suspicious gaze piercing into the side of my head while Jace and I had a staring contest full of sexual tension that I was sure radiated through the entire room.
"So Clary, when are you and Simon going on a second date?" the Captain asked.
That snapped Jace and I from our fight for dominance and the lustful look he wore dissolved with the question.
I blanched and swallowed hard as I stared at my plate. Not knowing how to respond to the invasive question, I said the first excuse that came to mind. "We haven't talked about it." Once I said that, Jace's hand slipped from my thigh and I cringed at how badly I wanted to take back my words and take his hand into mine. Instead, I kept quiet—but felt a shoe tap against my Converse from the other side of the table. Simon smirked when I flicked my eyes up at him for a moment.
I resisted grinding my teeth.
First, I had a sultry man caressing me under the table, testing my strength. Now, I had my friend-who-wanted-more trying to play footsies with me. At least I had enjoyed the first one while it lasted.
"We can go wherever you want," Simon said after a beat with a wink.
Jace gave a low, dark chuckle in false amusement and looked up to my dad. "No offense, Cap, but I wouldn't let my daughter anywhere near a man that has struck her."
"Jace," my dad sighed, rubbing his temples with his fingertips. I twisted my hands in my lap and pulled my foot away from my friend but didn't say anything. The irritation inside me was replaced by a black hole feeling in my chest.
Simon slammed his hand on the table, making me flinch. "And if it were up to me, I wouldn't let Clary be around the man that took her mother from her."
The entire room stilled until nobody was breathing, waiting in anticipation for somebody to make a first move. With a jolt, Jace stood from his chair with an ashen, hollow expression and stormed out of the room. My heart plummeted in my chest at his sudden absence as the front door slammed shut.
My dad sighed. "Why did you have to go and say something like that?"
"It's the truth. One you have been hiding from Clary for way too long. How are you able to even look at him, let alone invite him into the household he turned to shreds? It makes me sick to my stomach," Simon's face contorted in disgust and looked up at me with dark eyes. "Since I'm the only one here that gives a shit, I'll tell you the truth; the man you've been so incessant on being around and looking up to is the one that locked your mom away. How does that make you feel?"
I stood so aggressively that my chair fell backwards and smacked hard against the linoleum floor. "Fuck you," I spat. He scrunched his paled face in confusion. "Forget about a second date." I ignored my dad and the tech's pleas to come back as I quickly followed the direction of my detective.
A sigh of relief blew from my lungs as I saw Jace sitting on the hood of his car parked along the curb, puffing on a cigarette. I approached slowly with my hands in my back pockets. When he saw me, he tried to hide the cigarette behind his torso but strained to avoid my face.
"Hey," I whispered, finally coming to sit beside him.
He chewed on his cheek and looked up at the clear night sky. "Just like that, the truth is out, huh?"
I shrugged. "I already knew."
That got his attention. His head snapped to look down at me. "What? How?"
"You get real ominous and tense when my mother becomes the subject of discussion. I guess I pieced it together when we were on the stairs this morning—you said you had to solve an ongoing case to prove your worth as a detective and the only case strong enough to allow a 21 year old into detective work was the elusive Butcher of Salem." I crossed my arms over my chest to ward off the cold tendrils of air that seeped through the sleeves of my knit sweater.
The end of the cigarette lit up bright with a deep drag. "And I'm assuming since you're out here instead of in there that you don't resent me for tearing your family apart."
I blanched, pushing away from the hood in favor of standing an inch from his leaning frame between his knees. My fingers curled into the open edges of his jacket. "You were not the one to tear my family apart—you didn't brutally murder and cut up seven people." He turned his face to the side, but I forced him to look back to me with a palm to his stubbled cheek. Pain and guilt plagued his gold irises. "I'm not sure how many innocent lives you had saved, but I know I was one of them."
"If I hadn't taken her away, you wouldn't have had to deal with abuse from your dad."
I took the cigarette from his fingers and took a puff. The taste was bizarre, like bees on my tongue and bitter ash in the back of my throat. "I would endure worse to make sure she never gets to see the light of day again."
He placed his hands on my hips and stared at me for a moment before plucking the cigarette from my hand. "These aren't good for you." The stick flew through the air with a flick of his wrist, smacking the asphalt in a plume of sparks.
"Must be pretty good if you relapsed after 67 days," I muttered, not putting any disappointment in my voice because I really wasn't, I only wanted to make sure he was doing alright and let him know that I support him.
"I've been under a lot of stress and I felt like I had nowhere else to turn," he swallowed.
"These cases are tough, but I know we can solve them—"
"It's not the cases, fuck I haven't been as focused on them as I should definitely be but you've been on the forefront of my mind for days. The thought of you finding out about my connection to your mothers case has been torture."
I had to admit, there was a very miniscule flicker of hurt that tugged at the back of my mind—not because of his involvement, but simply because he hadn't told me himself rather than the truth coming out in Simon's tantrum. "Were you ever going to tell me yourself?"
"I was, but I needed time—time to figure out how to come to terms with losing you because I believed you wouldn't be able to bear the sight of me once I told you. Maybe that was selfish, but I wasn't ready to say the words aloud."
I tucked a lock of red hair behind my ear, dissolving any hurt I felt. "I know what it's like to not be ready to talk about something. Nobody can resent you for that."
He chewed the inside of his cheek and looked down into his lap where I stood between his knees. An internal roller coaster raged behind his eyes as he had to force down two weeks worth of the fear and stress he had been harboring at the thought of my discovery. Eventually, his shoulders relaxed as if a physical weight had been lifted from him. "I got you something," he said suddenly.
"Oh," I was taken aback, "a gift?"
He only smirked and dug into the inside breast pocket of his jacket, then pulled out a trinket hanging by a small chain and loop around his finger. The keychain reflected moonlight as it spun, glinting off all six sides between us.
"Is that a Rubik's?" My fingers shot out to take the miniature version of my favorite puzzle, turning it over in my fingers.
His hands tucked into his jeans pockets. "I saw it and thought of you. I figured you could attach it to your backpack—that way, you always have one on you when you need it."
Blood rushed to my cheeks at the subtle comment of being on his mind, but internally shook away the thought as my heart expectantly began stuttering in my chest. "I love it," I strained, swallowing down the strange rising feeling. "Thank you."
"Anything for you." He smiled and looked toward the house. "So what do we do now?"
I followed his gaze, taking a deep breath at the sight of my childhood home. Anxiety swirled in my stomach. "I suppose we go back inside and finish what we started."
He groaned. "Do we have to?"
"Considering it had only been fifteen minutes before a fight started, we have another fifteen to go before we can justify leaving. Plus, I'm sure my dad tore Simon a new one while we've been out here."
He chewed the inside of his cheek and looked down into his lap. "This sucks."
"I agree," I sighed, grabbing the open flaps of his jacket once more. "Would a small break from the rules help?"
His head snapped up, eyes quickly scanning my face as if he had only imagined the words. "What—?"
"Kiss me," I urged, my own greed poking through the curtain. An apprehensive expression passed his features as he flicked a side eye to the house, but it quickly dissolved when he grabbed my face in his palms. A flutter tickled my guts at the intimacy and anticipation.
When he finally pressed his lips to mine, the flutter exploded into warm fuzz that reminded me of the velvet wrapped book from the first day we met. The memory clenched my heart, making me melt further into him like I suddenly turned into slime.
He pulled back, leaving me in a daze and only wanting more of him. As I looked up, he seemed to have the same feeling. "We should probably get back before you end up splayed on the hood of my car."
My face reddened. "You're joking."
He smirked and looked me up and down. "Sure."
With a deep breath to settle the blood in my cheeks, I took a step back, pulling his jacket with me. He begrudgingly stood and palmed a couple candies into his mouth. As we made our way back into the house, I shot him a quick look of reassurance—he gave a nervous smile right back.
When the door opened, we were greeted by casual chatting emanating from the kitchen, letting me know that the angry tension had lifted. My shoulders relaxed.
Down the corridor, I no longer heard Jace's boots following behind. I spun, fearful that he bolted in a second last minute decision. But there he stood, observing the multitude of pictures hanging on the walls of the hallway. I came up beside him, close enough to feel the warmth that always seemed to radiate from him.
The many pictures consisted mostly of me in various stages of my youth, some included Simon while others showed how happy Jocelyn and Valentine had been early in their marriage. I was unsure why my dad kept the images of my mother up, but a part of me understood that no matter how much you wish to cut someone from the past, it was impossible—especially with me around. He loved her with every fiber of his being, and I could see that he still did.
"You look beautiful in this one," Jace chimed, pointing at a glossy image framed with faux gold metal. Simon and I stood together, wearing elegant attire and beaming smiles. The dress I wore was emerald green and hugged my frame before spilling to the sandy beach at our feet.
I smiled. "That was for Senior Prom. Nobody at school asked us to go so we went with each other."
"I would've asked you." I almost didn't hear the murmured words as he continued to stare at the wall of frames.
My insides were feeling…uncontrollable, both mentally and somehow physically. I had only felt this feeling once in my life, when I had a huge crush on Justin Maddock, one of the jocks from my Junior year of high school. Of course, he never knew I existed but I was enamored at the time and gushed about him constantly to my parents and Simon. All of those exhilarating feelings came to an abrupt end when my dad arrived home late one night with the news that Justin had hung himself in his basement. That was my first heartbreak, I cried my eyes out for weeks curled in Simon's lap. I felt unfathomable regret that I hadn't had the courage to introduce myself and make my feelings known while he was alive.
I was afraid of what that meant in this regard.
With a hesitant breath, I took his hand and gave it a squeeze in thanks—but when I tried to release it, he laced his fingers through mine. The strange feeling amplified, and I felt my body flush.
This man would be the end of me.
I pulled him to the edge of the kitchen, where I slipped my hand out of his despite the squeeze he gave in an attempt to stay linked. The tension between all four of us was already tight enough to cut off circulation to my brain, and walking into the kitchen holding hands with the very reason for it was unwise for the moment. Best to stay separate, no matter how much my heart ached for his physical contact.
Valentine and Simon looked up at the same time, both shocked to see the man behind me. "Welcome back," dad said with an inviting smile, "I guess you care about us after all."
Simon gave a subtle eye roll.
"I came back for her," Jace grumbled before taking his seat. I bit the inside of my lip.
"How noble," Simon muttered but still avoided my eyes, knowing they held a nasty look directed at his behavior.
"I definitely appreciate it," I smiled at the detective and grabbed his hand under the table. His eyes gleamed at the action with another squeeze.
My dad clapped once. "Well, where were we, then?"