Lost || Jace Herondale

TWO

"It's your mother's death anniversary tomorrow." Elijah stated, rubbing his clean shaven chin. 

I nodded my head solemnly, trying to busy myself with the dirty dishes that had piled up. I scrubbed incessantly at the grease lathered on the frying pan from Elijah's dinner. 

"I keep thinking back to that night." He leaned against the kitchen counter with a can of cider in his palm, not taking his narrowed eyes off of me. 

"Elijah please-" My voice cracked at the unwelcomed memory of my mother on the blood soaked carpet floor with a hole in her chest. 

"No." He held up his finger, his lips tightening, "you will listen. Do you not care for your mother?"

"Of course I do, I love her. It's just-"

"Just what? Hm?" His voice rose, "what makes you think you can forget about her? I have to live with the memory of saving you because she begged me to, while those thugs broke into our home and butchered your mom. My Amy."

Bile rises in my throat at the mention of her name. "You think I've forgotten? The memory of her lifeless body haunts me every night. I can't close my eyes without seeing her!" My breath gets caught in my throat as a plate slips from my hands, shattering into tiny fragments on the wooden floor. 

"You stupid girl." Elijah takes a step toward me, his knuckles a ghostly pale white. His breath shudders as he draws air in, "clean this up before you go to work." His heavy footsteps storm out of the kitchen, pounding up the stairs. 

I clasp my hands together to stop them from trembling and take an uneasy breath once I hear Elijah's bedroom door slam shut. He was right, it was selfish and disrespectful to my mother to force any memory of her into the far depths of my mind. 

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Travelling in a taxi to the pandemonium would have taken twice as long with all the traffic and I was already late enough as it is. I enjoyed the walk, the air was refreshing and it gave me a chance to compose myself. The sky was a flickering red and as I walked, I watched in awe as the sun set behind the skyscrapers.

Too busy admiring the sky, I suddenly collided with a hard chest and began to lose my footing. The stranger grasped my upper arm to steady me.

"I-I'm sorry." I profoundly apologized, nailing my eyes to the pavement. I couldn't bring myself to look at the person, embarrassment sending a twang to my cheeks. 

"No need. I should've seen you coming." The stranger spoke, his voice smooth. 

At the sound of his voice, I lifted my head - recognising it from the previous night. My eyes widened, mouth gaping slightly. There stood Jace, the tattooed blond that had took a seat next to Magnus. 

I stepped out of his hold and he opened his mouth to speak but I beat him to it, "I-thank you, I'm sorry, I have to go, I'm running late." Feeling heat rush to my cheeks, I swiftly started to scurry away, still sensing a pair of eyes burn holes into my back. My heart drumming masked his yells at me to wait.

The familiar Pandemonium finally came into view and a rush of relief flooded into my chest.

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I despised stocking shelves. Yes, it gave me a break from constant chatter and dulled the growing headache, but it meant I was alone. And tonight, of all nights, I needed the hustle and bustle of the pandemonium. I struggled to resist the urge to head out to the bar and find Magnus to ask him about how his date went last night. 

I started unpacking the boxes of alcohol which arrived this morning. It was scary the amount of alcohol the club got through on just one night. It was about halfway through my shift when glanced around the storage room. A deep sense of satisfaction filled me at how organised it was beginning to look.