Searching for Safety

Chapter 12

 The sound of the front door slamming shut startled me awake. I jumped and sat up, looking around the room frantically. Ryder shifted next to me and I looked back at him, his eyes were still closed and his breathing was steady and slow.

"Come back..." He mumbled, his arm reaching out. I looked at the door for a second before laying back down. His arm wrapped around my waist and he moved so he was snuggled against me. My face flushed and I smiled slightly. I could feel his breath on my neck and I shivered involuntarily, making him nestle his face closer into my neck. His lips brushed against my skin and I shivered again, my face was hot. He groaned and mumbled in protest to my shiver, but it was clear that he was still sleeping. I took a deep breath and started to relax again. Someone knocked loudly on the door and we both jumped and sat up, Ryder almost falling of the bed.

"Ryder get up! We need to get this show on the road." Clary yelled through the door. He groaned and threw his pillow at the door.

"And do you know where Elaina is?" She asked. Ryder got up and stretched, rolling his eyes.

"In here, recovering from the heart attack you just gave her." He said turning on the light. I slowly started to get out of bed, yawning and stretching my arms.

"I'm so sorry Elaina, I didn't realize you were in there too." Clary said through the door. I chuckled and got up.

"It's okay." I said opening the door. She smiled at me and went back downstairs. I sighed and turned around, walking back over to the bed. I sat down and pushed my hair out of my face, finger brushing my hair as I did so.

"I'm gonna go downstairs and see if Izzy brought us a change of clothes or anything." Ryder said chuckling. I nodded and stood up.

"I'll be in the bathroom." I said walking to the door. He nodded and followed me out of the room. I went into the bathroom and shut the door, taking a deep breath before going to the sink and washing my face with cold water. I took breath and sat on the edge of the tub, trying to organize my thoughts. I felt confused and conflicted about the most recent events. My adoptive mother killed herself, leaving me with only my biological father's name, and as it turns out he's also Alec's father, meaning I have a half sibling, and I'm half warlock. Me being half warlock put a bounty over my head for some warlock vampire hybrid who I've never met, and not one of my four friends are human, but they all decided to help me, and are traveling to Washington D.C with me to meet my real father. On top of all that, I'm also starting to like Ryder, who is a demon, and I have no idea how he feels about me. I sighed and shook my head, there was just so much going on that it was hard to keep up.

"Elaina, can I open the door?" Izzy asked as she knocked. I stood up and opened the door for her, giving her a warm smile.

"I brought you a change of clothes, your toothbrush, your jewelry box, and your brush." She said handing me a small backpack. I smiled and gave her a hug.

"Thanks Izzy, god I'm glad you grabbed the tooth brush I didn't even think of that." I said laughing. She gave me a warm smiled and winked at me.

"Don't worry, I've got you covered hunny." She said laughing with me. I closed the door again and quickly got changed, putting on the dark blue t-shirt and black skinny jeans Izzy brought for me, then I brushed my teeth and my hair. Once I got rid of all the knots I put my hair in a tight French braid. I looked myself over in the mirror, the shirt was fitted, the neckline was a bit of a deeper 'v' than I was used to, but it wasn't impractical or too showy. I put everything back into the backpack and went downstairs, pushing my anxiety as far back into the back of my mind as I could.

"Good morning Elaina, you feeling better?" Alec asked as I walked into the kitchen. I nodded and leaned against the counter.

"Morning Alec. Izzy, did you happen to bring a different pair of shoes I can wear? Mine aren't water proof and it's like, always the rainy season in Washington." I said with a light chuckle. Izzy smiled and shook her head in amusement.