Hiding My Life (On Hold)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Clary's POV

Blake will be here any minute and I just finished getting ready. So, to pass time, I sat down and started to feed Lily a bottle.

I left my hair down and put on just a tiny bit of make-up. A knock sounded on the door and I stood up, but Jon made it to the door before I could get there.

"Hi, I'm looking for Clary." I got to the door and he smiled down at me. "You look amazing."

"Thanks. Okay, Lily's formula is in the cabinet, her blankie is in her crib and she needs to be put down for a nap in an hour." I kissed her head and handed her off to Jon.

"I got it, babe. Go on, have fun." He kissed my cheek and let me leave the house. "But, not too much fun." I laughed and got into the elevator with Blake.

"'Babe'? I thought the baby daddy wasn't in the picture."

"Oh, ew. God, no. That's my brother. My very overprotective big brother." He nodded.

"Well, I feel stupid."

"Don't. Him calling me 'babe' and kissing my cheek, all the signs that I lied to you. But, no, baby daddy is gone."

"Okay then." We walked out to a cab and he opened the door for me, so I scooted to the other side and let him get in, too. "So, does your brother live with you?"

"No. But, my dad and my brother are always over at my place, helping me, taking care of Lily."

"I get it. Single mom needs helpers?"

"Exactly." I smiled as we pulled up outside of Taki's.

"You didn't exactly seem like the type for fancy dinner places."

"Trust me, I'm not." We got out and headed inside, sitting down in a booth in the corner. "So, what do you do? Where do you work?'

"I am the manager of a gym that's mainly for MMA and boxing."

"That sounds fun." Kaelie came over and took our orders before giving me a nasty look and sauntering away. 

"What was that?" Blake laughed. 

"Baby daddy's ex. She still thinks that I stole him from her when we were in high school, but she was just one of his many fuckbuddies." 

"Ah, so he was a player." 

"That's all he was." 

"So, where do you work?" 

"Actually, I own an art gallery just down the street from my place." 

"Wait that place, um, Just A Dream? You own that?" 

"Recently bought it, but I've worked there for about a year now. I usually supplied most of the paintings." 

"You're C.M?" I nodded. "Wow. An artist." 

"Yep. Did you go to college?" 

"I did, NYU. Did you?" 

"I left for Harvard at fifteen years old." His eyes bulged. 

"Damn. You're more interesting than I thought you'd be." 

"So are you." 

Reaching for my drink, I looked down at my wrist, not realizing that I had put on my gold watch when I was getting ready. 

"Hey, you okay?" I looked up at Blake and nodded. 

"Yeah, sorry. Today is a difficult day for me." 

"Why is that?" 

"Um, today is the fourth anniversary of my best friend's death." 

"Oh, wow. I'm sorry." 

"Don't be, I don't really like to talk about it." 

"That's fine. What about your mom? You talked about your dad and your brother, but not mom." 

"Yeah, my mother and I don't speak, it's a very long and complicated story. What about your family?" 

"I have two older brothers, three older sisters and my mom and dad are together, but they live in Jersey." 

"It must suck having them far away." 

"It does, but I have friends to fill the void." His phone started ringing. "You mind? It's work." 

"Go ahead." He answered. 

"Hello? What? Who?" He sighed. "Leave her alone, I'll be there soon." He looked over at me with a guilty expression. "I'm so sorry, but there's an issue at the gym and I have to go." 

"I'll come with. If you don't mind?" He smiled. 

"Of course, I don't mind." We got our food to go and took a cab to the gym. 

When we got there, a man greeted him. "She's on top of the building, she won't get down." We looked up at the teen girl sitting on the ledge, at least two stories up. 

She sat there, sobbing, scratching her arm horribly. "I'll go up, see if I can't talk her down." 

"You can come with me, but you can't help her." I said and walked to the side of the building, climbing up the ladder until Blake and I were standing on the roof, just a foot from the girl. 

She looked maybe thirteen, fourteen years old, her clothes looking like bloody rags. 

Blake extended his hand, attempting to grab her shoulder, but I quickly shoved it back to his side. 

"Don't touch her. Don't say anything, let me do this." He nodded and I got down on my knees, resting my arms on the ledge. "Sweetie, what's your name?" She didn't answer, just continued to sob. 

I eyed the hand shaped bruises on her arms. "I don't know you, but I know what you're feeling. The shame, the pain, the fear. It happened to me, too." She hesitantly looked over at me. "I thought about jumping off of a building so many times, but some people helped me realize that I still had a whole life to live. You have a whole life to live, sweetie. Come with me. We'll get you help and he'll never hurt you again." 

She nodded and I stood up, letting her grab my hands and I pulled her off the ledge. Blake stared at me in wonder, but didn't say a word. 

"Call an ambulance." He pulled out his phone. "Can you make it back down the ladder, or no?" She nodded and I went first, staying close behind her just in case she slips. 

We made it to the bottom and I held her shaking hand. 

"It's going to be okay. Can you tell me your name?" 

"S-Sarah Jackson." 

"How old are you?" 

"Fourteen." I nodded. "Will you stay with me?" She cried. 

"Of course, I will. Come here." She hugged me and cried into my shoulder. "It's okay." 

The sirens sounded and they pulled up. The paramedics got out and looked to the two of us, so I pulled away from her. 

"Come with me, Sarah. They're going to take good care of you." I led her over to the gurney and the paramedic helped her up onto it, covering her with a blanket and strapping her to the gurney. 

"Do you know what happened to her?" The woman paramedic asked me as the male put Sarah in the ambulance. 

"I don't know her, but I know that she was raped. I'd like to go with her, she asked me if I'd stay." 

"Sure. You can ride in the back with her." I got up in the back and sat beside Sarah, letting her hold my hand. 

"I'll meet you there." Blake said and I glanced at him before they closed the doors and we rushed off to the hospital, sirens blaring. 

I wish that this girl didn't have to endure this lifetime of pain......