Sweet Creature ▹ Alec Lightwood [2] ( SLOW UPDATES )

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER EIGHT
A VERY, VERY LONG NIGHT

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     The day following Adrian's meeting with his mother was a calm and quiet one, much to his relief. He spent the entire day helping Isabelle clean the weapons in the armory, and then he had showered and dressed both himself and Alec for the dinner Clary had invited them to. Adrian had called her that morning, asking if he could bring Alec along, and she had enthusiastically said yes. He had a feeling Clary had been dying to bond more with Alec for months now. Now, they were walking toward the restaurant while hand in hand, everything still calm and quiet. Adrian needed quiet after the disastrous meeting with his mother the day before.

A meeting he still hadn't told anyone about. The only person who knew was Clary.

"Hey," Alec said, tugging on Adrian's hand hard enough to make him come to a stop. Adrian rocked once on his heels, then sighed and turned to face Alec, though he did pause to push Alec off to the side of the sidewalk, so that they were out of the way of traveling mundanes. Once they were by the nearest building, Alec spoke again. "Are you okay? You've been really quiet all day. Even when you were dressing me—" Alec wrinkled his nose as he picked at the dark blue button-up shirt Adrian had thrown his way. "—you didn't really say much, which is...unusual for you."

"Unusual for me?" Adrian asked, raising an eyebrow. A small smile was pulling at the corners of his lips, tilting it up into the first real smile of the day.

"Yeah." Alec tugged at his hand softly again, smiling at Adrian, as if to comfort him. "What's going on?" Adrian studied him for a moment, his mouth opening to tell him that everything was fine, that they should get going before they were late to dinner. What came out was the complete opposite.

"I met my mother yesterday," he said impulsively, and was met with nothing but stunned silence. He hadn't planned on telling Alec that, not right now, not so soon, but once he started, he simply couldn't stop. "I didn't plan it, I just—everyone left to do something and it was just me and Clary, and I asked if she could create a rune for me and—well, she already had one, so I just figured—" Adrian stopped, realizing he was trying to justify himself rather than just sharing something with Alec. He bit his lip and glanced away, leaning back against the building. Alec was still staring at him in shock. "I just wanted to see them, make sure the compass worked and then make sure they were—I don't know—actually alive and out there somewhere. It didn't...work out like we had planned." Alec tilted his head then, his shock wearing off. He didn't look upset, but Adrian never thought he would be.

"What happened?" Alec asked quietly, squeezing Adrian's hand. Adrian sighed and glanced down at their laced fingers, drawing comfort from it. He took in another deep breath before he continued.

"She has two other kids," Adrian revealed, his voice nothing but a mumble. A ball lodged itself into his throat before he could continue, and he had to take a moment to clear it. "One's a teenager, and the other just turned twelve a week ago. She was expecting for Shadowhunters to show up on her doorstep ever since, so when we did—with me wearing a glamour—she saw right through our excuses. Clary managed to convince her I was her brother until my mother recognized this." Adrian raised his free hand and flicked the Rosewell ring with his thumb, then paused to study it. "She has pictures of me as a baby up on the walls. I saw her wedding photo with my dad, and—and I saw a picture of my sister's birthday a week ago. They all looked so happy. I mean, that's what I wanted to see when I went. Just them being alive and happy. I don't—I don't know why I'm—I mean, it's not their fault the Clave sent them away. It's not their fault the Clave wouldn't let them take me with them. It's no one's fault, so I don't—"