Asteriel | Alec Lightwood

Chapter 17

Before going back to the institute I convinced Alec and Izzy to stop by my house so I could pick up my things, like clothes, and of course my lyric writing notebook, among other things, since apparently, my stay at the Institute will last longer than I expected. Though I'm not complaining.

I immediately noticed something is wrong the minute I stopped on the doorstep. My mother's potted plants were broken, and the door handle was ripped off. I gasp, trying to run inside, but Alec grabs my arms preventing me from doing so.

"They might still be in the house." He whispers closer to my ear, I don't have time to think about the shivers his breath gives me. I nod to him, understanding. Right after, he softly releases me.

"Is there any other way we can go in?" Izzy asks me, whispering as well.

"Through the backyard door, there's an extra key hidden in the middle of some plants." I tell them in a murmur. They nod at me, and we all move quietly around the house.

Alec helps me over the backyard fence, and I land quietly on the grass. Then they leap effortlessly over the fence, following me to the back door of my house. I quickly pick up the extra key between some plants, and handle it to Alec.

"I'll go first, wait here until my command." We nod at his order, although I'm not happy with him going alone, but don't want to start an argument right now.

All the curtains are closed, so we can't be seen, but that doesn't mean we can't be heard, therefore Alec is very careful while opening the door. He walks quietly inside through the closed curtains, while me and Izzy remains in place, waiting for him, anxiously.

After about 10 min, I can hear my heart beating on my ears, and when I'm almost going after him, "It's clear, there's no one else in here." Alec tells, abruptly opening the curtain, and startling the hell out of me.

"Oh my god, you almost gave me a heart attack!" I exclaim, breathing heavily. Izzy chuckles, but Alec don't react at me. In fact, he's looking troubled.

"What's wrong?" I query, concerned.

"It's all overturned." He states, and I immediately run inside the house. He's right, all the furniture, decorations, pictures, are overturned and thrown on the floor, completely out of place, even the fridge is open. I inhale sharply, placing a hand on my mouth.

I dash upstairs, to my room. "As!" Alec calls, and I can hear his quick footsteps following me. When I step inside, is even worse, my mattress is thrown off the bed, many things are crushed, and my heart shatters when I see the state of my keyboard and guitar. Both of them are on the floor, totally broken. "No!" I sob.

I kneel down beside them, picking up some pieces, hugging them. Tears run down my cheeks uncontrollably, it may sound silly, but these instruments meant a lot to me. The guitar was a gift from my parents and the keyboard I managed to buy after working a lot, to be able to pay for it.

Alec kneels beside me, circling his arms around me, bringing me closer to his chest. I accept his comfort, and bury my face on his shirt, not caring if I'm going to soak him. He caresses my hair, and after a minute, I raise my head up, looking at his sad eyes. The moment my eyes met his, he looks slightly surprised, but quickly shrugs. I feel Izzy's hand on my shoulder, and she is crouched beside us.

"I don't understand. Why would they do this?" I sniff, slightly pulling away from Alec, but he still keeps his hands around my arms, and strokes my skin with his thumbs. I'm much calmer right now.

"They were probably looking for the Cup. Thinking since you're friends with Clary and a Shadowhunter you could have hidden it in here." Izzy assumes.

"Or they were searching for something else." Alec speculates, and I motion to get up, he is quick to help me on my feet.