Colliding Hearts #Wattys2017

Chapter 31- Lonely Nights

Night One

Alec's bedroom was a wreck, his desk chair was broken and his desk was cracked. His blankets were strewn all along the room. His walls had holes here and there with plaster lying on the floor, arrows were stuck into the walls some had been shot while others had been shoved in.

His bow and empty quiver lay discarded in the a corner of the room. In the very center with knees pulled to his chest and chin resting on his knees was Alec. His jacket lay somewhere among the mess along with his boots. His knuckles were bloodied, the blood slowly drying the longer he ignored the stinging of the pain.

His mark was cold, as cold as it had been when he had thought Emerson was dead. Emerson. The mere thought of her name had him clenching his jaw as anger burned through his chest. Gone. That was the first word that he had heard when listening to a panicked Clary.

Emerson was gone and it had been Jocelyn who had taken her, Magnus couldn't track them because they were in a place he had never. And so everyone had tried calling both but they had found Emerson's phone lying on the kitchen counter and Jocelyn refused to answer.

It was night now, his first night without Emerson bothering him in someway. She wasn't there to ask for food, or to spend time with Jace, plotting to do something that would result in the pair annoying Alec. Emerson wasn't there to talk with Clary, the two finally getting close and Clary found Emerson, while blunt at times, was very caring and every bit as intelligent as she was funny. Izzy couldn't watch her older brother watch Emerson and she couldn't try to get the girl to stop wearing such terrible clothes.

Simon couldn't pin her down and interrogate her, thought with each time he had tried he found he was starting to enjoy the annoyed look that would make him want to carry on because he found it funny. Luke found himself in the library sitting at the table he saw Emerson sitting at for the first time.

His head in his hands as he pictured her sitting across from him eating ice cream and asking him what it was like being a werewolf. Magnus himself had returned to his apartment and was lying on her bed staring at the ceiling as he used his magic to replay every memory he shared with her from the moment she was born.

In such a short time Emerson Gray had managed to impact their lives in one way or another. It was the first night without her and they were all taking it so very hard.

Night Two

Jace remained in the training room, pushing his body beyond its limits. Simon stayed with Izzy as he let her dress him however she wanted. Luke remained at the station, calling Jocelyn when he was on break only to slam the phone down when no answer came. Magnus portaled himself all around the world, looking for the Enochian Guardian he had met who went by the name of Emily, hoping she could at least rack Emerson.

Clary remained in various places around the institute, always on her phone, calling or texting her mom but never receiving a response. Alec, well Alec remained locked away in his room mindlessly tracing his mark and willing it to burn, sting, anything to let him know that Emerson was fine. The second night everyone was slowly coming together and falling into old routines to help the others cope.

Night Three

Night three could be said to be the worse, Magnus had returned saying there was nothing he could do. Clary had broken her phone in a fit of anger and Simon and Jace both had to take her to her room where they all three remained, later being joined with Izzy. Luke had left, shifting into a werewolf and ordering, once more that his pack search as far as they could.

Alec left his room for the first time and avoided everyone, going straight to the training room. It was there he began firing arrow after arrow, anger fueled every shot that was fired and his chest burned with frustration and worry.

It was worse, the third night because Alec felt as if his energy was draining, his skin was sickly pale and despite his anger he found himself falling to the training room floor, his bow and the unshot arrow clattering to the ground. He sat on his knees, his elbows resting on the floor as he fought the wave of nausea.

His hands formed into fists as he punched his raw knuckles into the floor as his head swam and his vision blurred in and out. Moments passed and slowly the feeling began to leave he and he was left weaker than before. His breathing ragged and he wanted nothing more than to sleep but he feared sleep.

Every time he closed his eyes for too long he saw Emerson lying in his arms, bleeding with her eyes closed. Ever since his talk with Ambriel the bond he shared with Emerson had become stronger. He was left wondering if there was more between Rhamiel and Ambriel, that could explain why this affected him far worse than it was affecting even her own twin or step-father.

Her being missing was physically making him ill and he wanted nothing more than to have her near him. He had tried to to get Ambriel to talk to him, to explain why he couldn't feel Emerson, why he was physically growing ill without her; he had only spoken once.

"She is your soul mate, you can not be so far away from her now that you bare the mark. It doesn't matter anyway, this will be the last you hear from me."

That been earlier that morning, after he had vomited and thought he would faint. He didn't understand why Ambriel had appeared only to tell him he would no longer speak with him. Though perhaps it could be because Alec had agreed with everyone in the sense that they should pretend they weren't the Guardian and the Anahera.

Whatever the reason Alec was left alone inside his head and his soul felt as if it was ripped into pieces. All of this made his head swim and as he heard his name being called out by a panicked Jace, Alec's world went black.

Night Four

Alec had spoken to Jocelyn, he had allowed everyone to finally see how sick he had become, the emptiness in his voice and the void look in his eye had worried them all. They had thought that after he spoke with Jocelyn and heard that Emerson was at least alright he would feel slightly better; they had been wrong.

Jace had helped Alec back to his room and Izzy and Clary made certain he didn't leave his bed. Jace cleaned his room and Simon even went so far as to fix the walls as best as he could and bought him a new desk chair. Izzy and Clary forced him to eat soup, though it never stayed down and he was forced to stay on the bathroom floor his family worrying about him.

Luke was in the library, doing as much research as he could, trying to figure out why Alec was deathly ill. Magnus had stayed beside Alec as well, giving him a glass of water after every time he vomited. Magnus had tried using his magic to create a potion to cure Alec but it had failed. Now everyone was in Alec's room, their worry shifted from Emerson to Alec who looked as if he was slowly dying. 

A knock on Alec's bedroom door had Izzy heading towards the door, not being strong enough to look at her brother any longer. When she opened the door her eyes widened as she saw her mother with a worried look in her brown eyes.

Maryse Lightwood had changed greatly in the last year, from losing her youngest son, fighting in a war and almost losing her two other children to getting divorced from her husband, she had gotten kinder and more motherly in the last year. So when Luke had contacted her telling her that something was wrong with Alec she had left the Mumbai Institute and had headed back home.

Without exchanging any words Maryse pushed past her still shocked daughter before heading to the bathroom where everyone as crowded around. The sight broke her heart and she saw Max's lifeless body before her eyes though she knew it was Alec this time, lying against Magnus with his eyes closed and his breathing uneven.

Without any words Maryse began lifting Alec and with the help of Magnus and Jace they carried the now unconscious Alec back to his bed. Maryse got a cool washcloth and sat beside her son as she dabbed at his sweaty forehead. Silence settled in the room and they all couldn't do anything but stand by and wait and that was what was killing them the most.