Brothers by Blood (Alec Lightwood twin)

Chapter 13

*Two days later – Ben talking to Maryse and Robert about Alec*

BEN'S POV

I had been back at the Institute for a few days and I thought it best to talk to both my parents about how they were treating Alec.  I had asked them both to meet me in Dad's office to have a private discussion.  The only one who knew what I was doing was Alec, who had tried to coax me out of talking to them, but nothing he said worked so he just decided to go along with it.  Alec deserves to be happy and I am not going to let ANYONE get in the way of that. 

I walked into the room and saw my mother and father standing in front of Dad's desk.  I closed the door, locking it and drawing a Soundless rune on the door.  I turned around and they were looking at me strangely.
"What's going on Ben?"  Dad asked.
"We're having a long overdue discussion with both of you about how you have been treating Alec."  I said seriously.
"Excuse me?"  Mum asked.
"You heard me.  From what he has told me, he has been treated very poorly since the wedding by almost everyone here, especially you, Mother."  I said venomously.  They both looked shocked at my tone, and what I was saying, especially the topic I was talking to them about.
"He tainted the Lightwood name and humiliated us in front of some of the most respected members of the Clave.  Calling off the wedding would have been one thing, but kissing Magnus Bane in front of the entire Institute as well as some of the most respected members of the Clave?  I hardly recognise him anymore."  Mum snapped.  I glared at her.
"First of all, you were the ones who tarnished the Lightwood name.  Not him.  Second, you've just been trying to get Alec to fix your mistakes.  He told me that the only reason he agreed to getting married was because you asked him to and he didn't want Izzy or Max in the firing range."  I retorted.  "I also heard that you tried to get him to 'forget about Jace'.  He cannot just 'forget' about his parabatai.  They took an oath, and through their runes, their souls are intertwined.  They cannot just 'forget' about each other."  I snapped.
"You asked him to do that?"  Dad asked her in disbelief.
"Jace has been labelled a traitor by the Clave and if we want to have any chance to restore our family name, Alec should distance himself from Jace."  She said in a snobbish voice.
"Oh, yeah, 'cause that worked out so well for Michael and I."  Dad said sarcastically.  Mum glared at him. 
"That is a completely different situation."  She snapped.  I wasn't entirely sure what they were talking about, but I let it play out.
"How?  I abandoned my parabatai and our bond got so weak it was practically non-existent; it got so weak I didn't even feel it when he died.  Alec and Jace's bond is so much stronger than ours was.  It will destroy both of them if you ask either one of them to do that to the other."  He told her.  Before she could reply, he continued.  "Don't you dare believe that it won't, if you do, you are being ignorant, or extremely selfish.  If you do, then you won't only lose Alec, but probably the rest of your children as well, because where Alec goes, Jace, Ben, and Isabelle will follow."  He stated.  I thought now was as good a time as any to intervene.
"You always drilled into us that we were never good enough.  All we ever tried to do was live up to your expectations, but nothing we ever did was good enough.  Now, you almost made Alec marry to restore a family name that you tarnished in the first place by being members of the Circle?  The fact that you were married, the fact that Alec and I were born, and the fact that you had friends high up in the Clave, were the only things that prevented you from ending up like Hodge."  I ranted.  By this point, they were both staring at me in shock.  "I've had enough.  Mother, the way you treat Isabelle is unacceptable.  She always tries to please you and you constantly treat her like she is a disappointment.  When was the last time you gave her a hug?  A compliment?  A smile?  I certainly can't remember, and she probably doesn't either.  You treat Alec no better.  Even though all he does it remain loyal to this family and do as you tell him."  I stated.  I didn't let either of them say anything before I continued.  "I'm so proud of him for deciding to pursue his relationship with Magnus, because this is the first time that he has actually made a decision for himself to make himself happy.  You're so focused on yourselves and your reputation that you don't even stop to think about your children, and how we might feel.  I don't care how you treat me, but I do have an issue with anyone who messes with my siblings.  That includes you."  I stated, glaring at them.
"You do not get to speak like that to us Ben."  Mum said authoritatively, standing up slowly from behind her desk.  But I wasn't backing down like I usually would.  I slammed my hands down on the table and lowered myself to her height, as I was taller than her, so I could look straight into her eyes.
"I am DONE trying to gain your approval and make you happy.  The only people I care about as family at the moment are Alec, Isabelle, Jace, and Max.  And I protect my family no matter what."  I told her in a deadly tone.  "Unless you pull your act together, I don't recognise you as my mother."  I snarled, before turning around, walking to the door and unlocking it, and flinging it open.  I stormed out of the room leaving my parents in stunned silence behind me.  I headed straight to my room to try my best to calm down.  Once I got there, I slammed my door so hard I was surprised it didn't fall off its' hinges, and flopped down on my bed.  I closed my eyes and tried to slow my breathing in order to calm myself down but nothing seemed to work.

ALEC'S POV

I was in my room training (hitting a punching bag) when I heard a loud slam echo from Ben's room.  I almost jumped out of my skin it was so loud and sudden.  He must have talked to our parents.  I put a shirt on and went over to his room.  I opened the door to see him lying in his bed, trying to slow his breathing.  I walked over to his bed and sat down.
"What happened?"  I asked simply.  He sat up and looked at me.
"Let's just say I have never been so angry in my entire life, and Mum and Dad did not expect the outburst I just had."  He said.  My eyes widened.
"What did you say?"  I asked in shock.
"Something about them being the ones who tarnished the Lightwood name, not you, that they would be in the same situation as Hodge if they weren't married, had friends in high places, and hadn't had you and I when they did, that I was proud of you for making your own decisions and you deserved to be happy, that they were selfish and they only thought about themselves and their reputations rather than you, Isabelle, Jace, Max, and I, and how we might feel.  I called her out on how she had been treating Isabelle.  Oh, and I also told Mum that I was done trying to make her happy and gain her approval, and unless she pulled her act together I didn't recognise her as my mother."  Ben said.  My eyes widened and I looked at him incredulously.
"Did you really say all that?"  I asked in disbelief.
"Yeah.  I've never stood up to them like that before, and it did actually feel good to stand up to them like that."  He told me.  To be honest, if I thought anyone was going to stand up to them it would have been Ben.  He has always been fiercely loyal to Isabelle, Jace, Max, and I, and it doesn't surprise me that he would stand up to our parents to protect any one of us.  I think had he been here when the whole marriage fiasco was going on, things would have been very different.
"Dad told me that the reason they were so hard on us was that they didn't want us to make the same mistakes that they did.  They wanted us to be better than they were."  I told him.
"I find that hard to believe.  Mum only cares about the Lightwood name and reputation, she doesn't care about us.  She uses us as tools for her own agenda."  He spat.  I thought back to when Mum said she was proud of me, and how well I adapted to different situations before springing the "marriage" thing on me.  The smile on her face in that moment wasn't manipulative or like it had some hidden agenda, she was genuinely proud of me.  I sighed.
"I'm going to use a line that Magnus used on me on you.  Never underestimate a parent's love.  She does care about us in her own way."  I told him.
"Like when she cared about both you and Jace when she told you to forget about him even though he is your parabatai?"  Ben retorted, raising his eyebrows at me.  Ok, he has a point there.  "You know, Dad was shocked and horrified when I mentioned that though.  He got very defensive and he mentioned someone named Michael, who I assumed was his parabatai by the way he spoke, and that he, Dad, had abandoned him."  He told me.  I looked at him in confusion.  "I quote, "I abandoned my parabatai and our bond got so weak it was practically non-existent; it got so weak I didn't even feel it when he died.  Alec and Jace's bond is so much stronger than ours was.  It will destroy both of them if you ask either one of them to do that to the other"."  Ben quoted Dad.  I was shocked at this.  Questions filled my mind.  Why would he do that?  What happened between them?  Why wouldn't he tell us he had a parabatai?  Who was 'Michael'?