A Dog Named Bear

nineteen

Jay

iris | jay

I glance over as the door to my bedroom opens. I find myself frowning as I see Clary slip in, her eyes tinted with red. "What's wrong?"

She silently slips under my covers and stares up at the ceiling.

"Hey," I say gently. "You can't come in here and just say nothing. I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong."

"Can I sleep here tonight?" is all she says, her voice shaky. I freeze when I see tears well up in her eyes before I slide in next to her and hug her tightly.

"Of course." I hear her sniffle, and she shifts to wipe her eyes.

Clary wraps her arms tightly around me. "Why is life so stupid?" she mumbles after a while and I laugh.

"I don't know, lil sis. It just is." I pause, trying to think of the past reasons she had come to my room at 2 am for. "Is it nightmares?"

She lets out a small hum. "Kind of. I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay."

A small silence goes by before Clary looks up at me. "Are you okay?"

"I guess. Why?"

She grins up at me mischievously, as though she hadn't been crying a second ago. "You seem happier. Is it that one girl? Iris?"

I narrow my eyes down at her, not questioning her change of mood. I knew her well enough to know that she was distracting herself. "I don't like her," I say defensively.

"I never said you did," Clary says. "But now I feel like you do."

Glowering at her, I poke her nose with each word. "No. I. Don't."

She laughs a little as she bats my hand away. "I wouldn't mind if you did."

"Really? Weren't you complaining about all my girlfriends the other day?" I ask teasingly and she rolls her eyes.

"I complain because they're utter idiots," she says.

"Hey!"

Clary glares at me. "It's true. You keep chasing after all these girls and they never make you happy. And to add on to that, they're shallow and conceited."

"That's kind of mean," I mutter.

"It's kind of true." She tugs herself out of my arms while simultaneously stealing all of the blankets. "But I'm okay with her because she's not like them. Not just because she's neither shallow or conceited, but because she makes you happy. I'd deal with an absolute asshole if she made you happy."

I stare at her, surprised at how serious she was. "You know, that has to be the sweetest thing you have ever said to me."

Clary laughs before hugging me again. "Don't get used to it."

"Trust me I won't." I sigh and lean my head on top of hers. "Can I have my blankets back?"

"No."

We both stare at each other before she relinquishes her hold on my blankets. "I broke up with Leo," she blurts out just as my eyes were shutting.

"What happened?" I ask, instantly alert. "Did he do something?"

"No." She looks up at me nervously. "He didn't do anything."

"Then what happened?"

She looks away. "I think I love him."

"That's good right?" I ask confusedly. "So why would you break up with him?"

"I don't want to love him," she whispers.

"Why?"

Clary shrugs awkwardly. "Because then it means that this wasn't just for fun. He doesn't want a serious relationship. I knew that from the beginning."

I feel another wave of confusion rush over me. "Why wouldn't he? That boy is head over heels in love with you."

She looks away from me. "Do you really think so?"

"Yes." I prop my head up on one arm. "You know, you should just tell him how you feel. If he doesn't feel the same way then at least you know. If he's dated you for this long, he's gotta care about you at least a little bit. No offense, but you're not the easiest person to date lil sis."

Clary smiles timidly before yawning. "You know," she murmurs sleepily. "You should really take some of your own advice sometimes."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

. . .

mildly short chapter, but i wanted to make clary a bigger part in the story.

thanks for reading! if you enjoyed, please vote, leave a comment and i'll see ya later!

- Jells ❤️