She's My Parabatai

Chapter 22

We had been sitting outside of the infirmary for what felt like hours. I was sitting against the wall facing the door, waiting for it to open, with Izzy's head rested on my shoulder. She had ceased her crying but I could still sense the waves of sorrow coming from her.

From what I had gathered from Izzy's basically incoherent sobs and the Ascended talking, Max had taken a fall down a flight of stairs. The two Ascended who had been in the hall when I arrived heard a crash and rushed to the scene to find Max at the bottom of the stairs. His head was bleeding from where he must've hit it. He was unmoving and unresponsive. His glasses were hopelessly shattered. Somewhere in the time that the Ascended were staring, shocked at the scene Izzy had arrived and let out a scream, alerting the rest of the Institute. Apparently that had been right after she had called me.

The door suddenly opened and the Silent Brother I had seen enter earlier exited. I got a better look at him now; he did not look normal. He still retained his hair, and his eyes and mouth were neither missing nor sown shut.

You may enter now, I heard him speak inside our minds. I have done all I can for him. Time will tell.

With that he strode down the hall, towards the exit, but not before I noticed the gray lump of fur also known as Church trailing after him.

I followed the siblings and Jace into the infirmary but held back. These people were Max's family. I barely knew him, all I could think was that Sebastian would fit better in this room than me they had been friends, at least I think who knows now, while I was completely out of place.

Max was lying in a bed and just looked like he was sleeping peacefully. There was a bandage over part of his head but other than that nothing seemed wrong.

I looked to my Parabatai. She was holding her little brother's hand urging him gently to wake up.

I quietly slipped out of the room. If Izzy needed me I wouldn't be far.

I found the stairs where Max had fallen; it hadn't been hard. While someone had cleaned up the small amount of blood there was still his broken glasses on the ground. I gingerly picked them up, careful not to cut myself. I shook them to let the hanging glass fall off before I folded them up and put them in my pocket.

It was then I saw something under a table in the hall, something that the others must've missed. Reaching under the table I pulled out a book. It was the book Sebastian gave to Max. He must've been holding it when he fell and then it slid out of his hands.

I gripped the book and took it back to the infirmary with me. When I arrived I found that Robert and Maryse had cleared out leaving only Izzy, Alec and Jace in the room.

Walking over to the bed I set the boy's broken glasses on the bedside table and then I set down the book right next to them.

Max suddenly flung his eyes wide open and struggled to sit up. Izzy attempted to get him to lay back down. "Sebastian-!" He shouted. "Where is it?!"

I quickly put the book in his grasp. He seemed to relax.

Alec began asking him questions, what had happened. Max said he didn't remember he was at the top of the stairs and then nothing. In the middle of all the questions he announced that he was sleepy and was asleep again before the parents came back into the room.

***

There was music coming from the music room. I heard it when I was wandering the halls.

It was the day after Max's accident. He was recovering well. Izzy was beyond happy as she had expressed the sentiment to me late yesterday. I suppose it is a great relief to know your sibling isn't going to die.

Alec had finally gone to Magnus' today. They were going to try and figure out what type of magic was used to make Jonathan and Sebastian disappear and if Magnus could pinpoint the source. Among other things.

Izzy was doting on her little brother today. Trying, and failing miserably, to make cookies for him. After her fourth near poisonous batch I left her in the kitchen readying her fifth batch.

As I neared the music room I listened to the melody more closely. A piano was being played creating a soft, haunting song.

The music came to its end as I arrived and I was about to go and tell whoever was playing how impressed I was when I found it was Jace.

He had his back turned to me, sitting at the piano bench. He began another song, this more faster.

I stood in the doorway. I didn't know that Jace knew how to play the piano. I didn't know he knew how to do anything besides kill demons. But that wasn't true, I-

Jace suddenly pressed a wrong note and ceased playing, cursing to himself. He finally noticed me standing there and turned his head.

"Sorry," I started. "I heard playing and-"

"You're wrong," was Jace's reply.

"What?" What was I wrong about? He had just been playing the piano, hadn't he?

He turned his body on the bench so that he was facing me. "You said I don't have siblings, I didn't know what it felt like." He stood up. "Alec and Izzy are my siblings. The Lightwoods are my family. Max is my little brother and I almost lost him yesterday. Of course I understand." He had steadily been making his way towards me and now pushed past me out the door.

"Jace, wait!" I called after him. "I didn't realize-"

"Of course you didn't, Clary," he laughed. "By the Angel, you're so self-centered! Sure, sure, it's your father that's been killed. Your brother was behind it the whole time. You have no idea if he's going to kill you or not. Maybe this entire thing is revolving around you, but that doesn't mean the rest of us don't have problems of our own."

I was silent. What would...what could I say to that?

"You don't understand the bonds I have with the Lightwoods because you haven't cared to notice. I bet you don't even know the majority of the Ascended's names. Alec's wrestling with who he is as a person and his feelings for Magnus." He had known about that? "I know you've realized the latter but did you know how hard he's fighting to keep everything a secret from his parents? Even your own Parabatai," he let out a small laugh. "Did you know she's been sneaking out? Raziel knows where but I bet it has to do that was bloodsucker, Simon.

"You don't pay attention to others around you, Clary, you're ignorant. I'm done pretending that it doesn't matter. Because that, Clary, is a deal breaker for me." He turned away from me and made his way down the hall.

"Jace!" I shouted after him, but it came out quieter than I had hoped. Either he didn't hear me or he didn't care as he rounded the corner.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading guys! 2.4k views on this story, omg! Thank you guys so much! Another chapter is coming soon so be ready!