Distractions

Thirty-Two: Party in the US of Mess

This chapter is a rollercoaster and later parts of it are very heavy which is why it took me so long to write and post it. But I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. I am interested in what you will think of Clary after this chapter. Let me  know if your opinion on her has changed after you read this.

Trigger Warnings: Mentions of poor parenting, weapons/guns (used in training), anger, hatred, mentions of death, self harm scars, suicidal thoughts, attempted suicide, hospitalization,

Everest, for the first time in far too long, opened her email. She stared at it in utter horror. This was why she opened her email at least twice a day, usually more often than that. Once she had realized that the ShadowWorld would take over her life for a while, she had sent out a mass email to everyone she worked with, as well as a social media statement on both of her accounts, saying that she would be completely unavailable for an unknown amount of time so it would be better to keep emails and DMs to a minimum. If this was the minimum, she dreaded what it would have been like if she hadn't sent out the statements.

"Fuck me," she said slowly, rubbing her face tiredly.

She stood from the couch and made her way into Magnus's kitchen for more coffee. She had already gone through a pot since she woke up and the second had just finished brewing.

"Okay," the man in question said cheekily. She snorted ungracefully, opening the fridge to get the creamer and hide her blush. "What's got you brewing a second pot of coffee?"

She huffed and pointed at her computer. "Check my email. It's pulled up on my computer." She sat the pot back down and cleaned up the small amount that had spilled. "And I always at least make two pots of coffee. It's how I live to see another day and not be arrested for voluntary manslaughter."

Magnus laughed. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him spin to face her, then back to her computer, then back to her. He looked like a dancer. "How on earth do you have almost four thousand emails?"

Everest shrugged, then shoved her hair behind her ear when it fell back into her face. "I haven't checked it in like a month. Which I never do because it stresses me out when I have a bunch of emails. I haven't even looked at my DMs yet. Or my other email folders." She pushed down the tears and urge to scream. It wasn't the time. Magnus hadn't experienced her being overwhelmed with work before; she didn't want the first time that happened to be after whatever situation had happened the night before. "It's probably a lot of spam, but Angel, why can't it sort itself out?"

"There's more?"

Magnus sounded like he wanted her to be joking but knew she wasn't.

She just nodded tiredly. Her faded hair fell back into her face and she ran harsh hands through it before flipping her head upside down and sloppily throwing it into a scrunchie. Everest looked up to see Magnus watching her with raised eyebrows and his mouth twisted in a way that made his concern for her hair clear.

"Do you want me to fix your hair?"

She nodded with what she was sure was a somewhat pitiful expression. "Please do."

Magnus only smiled gently at her. He grabbed her coffee mug and her hand and pulled her into the bathroom. She sat on the edge of the counter while he took out a hair brush. He carefully undid her mess of a bun, if it could even be called that, and slowly brushed through her hair. Somehow, despite her having forgotten to brush it the past few days, it didn't hurt to be brushed. Once it had been brushed through, he gently braided back the front parts of her hair, the parts that always fell out of buns.