Halestorm: A Shadowhunters Fanfiction

7.

One week later
New York Institute
Jace P.O.V
—-
I sat on Alyssa's bed, leaning against the headboard. We had been spending a lot of time together since she arrived. Late night talks, outings during the day. She was a breath of fresh air and a fiery spirit. It drew me to her constantly, forever in her orbit.

"Ahem. Jace." She waved a hand in front of my eyes. I blinked and looked at her, smiling.
"Sorry, I was day dreaming. You look amazing." I said and stood. Her deep purple flowy tank top swayed with her movements, the leather jacket she borrowed from Isabelle weighing it down. She bent down to adjust her boots, visibly nervous.

"I can't believe she's coming to New York. I feel like I haven't seen her in ages." She said to the floor. I stood her back up and cupped her face in my hands softly.

"I can't wait to meet her." I said before leaning down to peck her cheek. She blushed and looked up at me, blue eyes glinting in the rising sunlight. I ran my fingers gently through her silky blonde hair.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" She asked softly. I chuckled.

"You're just..amazing. I've never fallen for a girl this quickly before." I said before leaning down to kiss her. We both peeled apart at the sound of a knock on the door. I went to answer it as Alyssa turned back to the mirror to finish her makeup. I swung the door open casually to see Clary leaning against the frame. She opened her mouth to say something but scrunched up her eyebrows at the sight of me.

"Oh, Isabelle told me this was Alyssa's room." She said. I nodded my head and looked back.

"Lyss, there's someone here for you to meet." I said. Clary breathed a laugh through her nose, shaking her head a tiny bit before Alyssa came to the door. Alyssa's face lit up and she reached out her hand towards Clary.

"Oh! Clarissa Fairchild! I've heard so many great things about you back in Alicante. I'm Alyssa Hale." She said excitedly. Clary smiled and took Alyssa's outstretched hand.

"It's great to meet you! I hope the Institute has been treating you well." Clary gave a quick glance to me. Alyssa and I both blushed.

"It's been great. Isabelle and I have utilized the training room quite a bit. It's so nice to have a space to practice." Alyssa said.

"One of the many perks of the Institute. I heard you had a brother around here somewhere?" Clary moved away from the door as Alyssa and I walked out.

"Yes, Archer. He's probably waiting for my sister to arrive. She's visiting from Alicante." Alyssa explained. We made our way to the den, which was brightly lit with the now risen sun. Isabelle and Alec both turned around, panic and worry across both their faces.

Alyssa P.O.V
—-
"What's going on?" Jace asked, walking towards Alec. Clary and I sat down on the couch across from them, looking up at Isabelle. She ran her hand through her hair and huffed.

"Dad said he needs to talk to us. All of us. Something is wrong." She spoke fast. I bit my lip. Did they find out about the real reason Archer and I moved to New York? Were we about to be kicked onto the street? I tried to wipe the worry off my face as Alec looked at me. He raised an eyebrow but didn't say a word. Our attention was drawn to the door as Archer walked in, followed closely by our sister.

"Allie! By the Angel!" I jumped up and ran to my sister, almost knocking her over with my hug. She squeezed me tight, pulling back and taking my face into her cool hands.

"Lyssie! You look so much older since the last time I saw you! And gorgeous!" She motioned up and down to my outfit. I beamed. I turned to face the rest of my friends to introduce our sister.

"Guys, this is Alexandra, our older sister. Allie, that's Alec, Jace, Isabelle and Clary." I said, pointing to each person. Alexandra waved to them, then took my hand to grab my attention back. Before she could say anything, Archer let out a gasp.

"Mom?" He said. I turned to see my mother standing behind Alexandra, a man standing with her I didn't recognize.

"M-mom." I breathed. I felt like fainting. I staggered back a bit, running into Isabelle who had moved closer to the door.

"Dad, what's going on?" She asked. I looked from Isabelle to the man, then to Archer. Archer looked at me with a confused expression.

"We all need to clear the air. Have a seat, please. Beth, I appreciate you deciding to come." The man said. I shot another look towards Archer. He went blank. I took a seat between Alec and Jace as the man and my mom sat across from us. We all sat waiting in anticipation, worrying about what would be in store.

Archer P.O.V
—-
My whole body was tense as we awaited what was to come. The man cleared his throat. He looked from Isabelle to my two sisters, back to my mom and then to me. He was stalling.

"Sir, what is it? Is everything okay?" I asked. It was infuriating that no one was giving answers. Finally, my mom sighed.

"I haven't been honest with anyone. That ends today." She said vaguely. Alyssa leaned forward as she spoke.

"When have you ever been truthful with us, mother?" She asked, a bite to her tone. Jace reached around to grab her and gently pull her back. She allowed him to, but her face said everything she didn't. The man next to my mother spoke.

"There's no easy way to come out with this, so excuse my less than eloquent speech. Bethany and I met in Alicante at an event. Against my best judgement, our meeting led to an affair." He started.

"You cheated on mom?" Isabelle asked quietly. Her face changed from confused to devastated. The man just nodded his head.

"Is that why dad left?" I blurted out. My mother met my eyes, tears welling. She wiped at them quickly and looked away.

"I didn't leave, son. I didn't want to."

Alec P.O.V
—-
We sat still, not looking at each other. Son? Did he just call Archer son? My stomach turned into knots. I felt like I could be sick. The puzzle pieces were starting to fall together and years of questions were finally being answered.

"What?" Alyssa said in a whisper, tears streaming down her face.

"Robert is your father." Bethany choked out. Alyssa slowly began to break down, crumpling into herself. Isabelle pulled her into a hug and held her, stroking her hair. Tears from Isabelle's eyes started to fall as well.

"How could you do that to mom? She didn't deserve this!" I started to stand. Jace stood up with me, angling himself between my body and my father.

"Your mother and I were struggling, it just happened and-"

"Two children don't just happen!" I shouted, finding the anger that was deep inside the knots in my stomach. "You left them fatherless! You lied to us and to mom!"

"She did what she thought was right." Alexandra spoke up. She seemed the most mellow out of all of us. Archer pointed towards her.

"You knew." He said flatly. Alyssa pulled away from Isabelle, wiping her tears off her face.

"You knew and you didn't tell us?!" She said, her voice drowned from tears. Alexandra dropped her eyes to the ground. Alyssa turned to her mother.

"How dare you. You let us believe our dad didn't want us! Yet you both broke your families for your own selfish gain!" She bit into the words as they were said. Bethany stood.

"Alyssa Renee, listen-"

"No! I'm done listening. I don't want to see either one of you right now." She said, pointing at both her mother and sister. Alyssa stormed out of the room, followed closely by Archer. I stared my father down, the words I wanted to say being held back.