Overwhelmed [3] 《SHADOWHUNTERS》

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Andina's hands trembled against her control as if she hadn't eaten a thing all day. Her socks met the worn carpet that ran through the hall her family claimed as their own. Her body moved forward, but any conscious effort was gone within her. She felt she were ten feet away from herself, a witness from afar as she managed to lay her left palm against the rough surface of a dark door. The grain of the wood could be made out under fingertips, if they did not buzz as if full of static electricity.

When she found the strength to turn the knob, she caught Isabelle in the midst of doing something with the makeup in her vanity, containers scattered all over the typically organized top. The lights around the mirror touched the girl's dark hair like gold as she turned to locate the interruption to her privacy. Andy assumed her face must have spoken lengths on its own with the worry that was quickly extended back to her. "Hey," Izzy said softly, and she prepared herself to stand and invite her sister into her bedroom.

She was unable to get the chance. "I need to tell you and Alec something." The woman's voice croaked. Isabelle faltered for a moment, never fond of a statement such as that or the anxiety that it threw over her. But her closest friend's eyes were like glass, causing Izzy's lips to twitch downwards as she failed to contain her own emotions. Andy bounced her foot for a moment - as if that would provide her heart with enough blood to keep herself from that faint feeling on the edge of her mind.

Izzy nodded and got up to join the lousy figure, where she met the woman's arms with a light, inquiring touch. She believed it only offered Andy the support needed to breathe as the woman's frame wavered. Iz followed Andy into the bedroom just beside her own as they spared a knock and slipped inside. It was not lost on the younger Lightwood how her brother, arched over the desk he had moved permanently into his space, glanced up in quite a similar manner to how she had. He took in their presence much the same, as well, mood altered by the defeat Andina cast upon his tidied floor.

He met Isabelle's eyes and all she could do was offer a shrug that let him know she was just as lost. When Izzy gained Andy's gaze for a split second, she fastened the door shut behind them. Every stretch of silence only served to heighten their stress. Andy took a few steps forward, uncalculated and stiff. The Lightwood siblings watched on as she stumbled to the seated chest at the end of Alec's bed and onto it - she wasn't injured, her family could tell, but she was not acting naturally.

Alec was almost stunned when Andina spoke plainly, with not a single snide towards their earlier arguments about how to deal with the Clave. "Clary told me she just went to the Seelie Queen." Isabelle padded across the hardwood, drawn closer by the raw fragility her loved one exposed. Neither she nor Alec were pleased by the idea that the Fairchild had lived up to her ancient name and attempted to include a Faerie in their most personal matters.

The three were but silhouettes against the lamplight allowed out of Alec's two windows. Andy ducked her head, but she tried her best to meet his eyes, their eyes. It was always difficult to rip off a bandaid with a gentle hand, but even she had the emotional intelligence to know how this might throw their souls off course. She let the truth empty out of her at the best balanced pace she could manage. Alec turned towards her as he learned that Jace had been in the Seelie Realm, his heart torn at the thought that his other half had done this on purpose. Izzy pulled even closer, still, as her lips parted with sullen shock.

And then, Andy shared who Clary said Jace had been with. She lost her own resolve, unable to remain their foundation as their faces plunged. Her own pain reverberated back to her within Isabelle, at least a tenth of the weight Alec felt. It wasn't hard to tell he felt physically ill at the resignation that his parabatai seemed to have some sort of bond besides their own.

Andy had to stretch to reach him, but she needed to keep him from that deep whirlpool of his own mind. Her fingers grasped at his knee, tight, and his beautifully saddened brown eyes met her. He took in the downfall reflected within hers. There was no more rampage between them. They knew they could not remain quiet about this any longer.