"i am ember
burning down your empire
glowing brighter than the darkness inside of you."
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Clary Saltzman thought living in a strange town with her estranged biological father and half-sister would be all she had to worry about...
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CLARY SITS AT the small table in the kitchen with Charlie, sipping slowly at her coffee.
"What are you going to do today?" Her father asks, looking up from the newspaper in his hands to meet his daughter's hazel-green eyes.
The redhead lets out an annoyed breath, closing her eyes briefly. "I don't know. Anything to get away from here."
Charlie nods, his brown eyes flickering down to the girl's phone, which is blowing up with texts from someone named Hope. "Your friends seem to really miss you."
His lip twitches upwards at the soft expression that takes over Clary's face.
He knows one of the biggest reasons why she hates being here is because she's away from her friends. An idea springs to mind.
"Okay." He clears his throat, setting his newspaper down on the table. "How about we make a deal?"
Clary tilts her head, slowly putting her coffee down. "Okay?"
"If you stop running off and spend some time with Bella and me, maybe make some friends here too, then I'll talk to your mother and Headmaster about letting your friends come here for a weekend," Charlie says, shocking Clary. "Now, it's only if you do those things I said."
"Father," Clary blurts out, pursing her lips at Charlie's confused, wide-eyed expression. "The Headmaster is my dad," she explains. "He was the one always there for me, before and after he and my mom got together, so he's not just my Headmaster."
"Alright." Charlie nods slowly, slightly hurt by her words, but he understands nonetheless. He wasn't there for her, so he has no room to say anything about it. "Do we have a deal?"
His daughter sits back in her seat, hesitantly nodding her head. "Okay. Alright. I can deal with that."
"Good." Charlie smiles, relieved. "Bella's up in her room—ask her to go to that diner I was talking about earlier. You two can eat and bond a little."
He gets up, walking out of the kitchen, leaving Clary to her thoughts.
She doesn't really want to waste her day hanging out with Bella, but she's willing to do anything to see her friends—her family.
It's only been four days, but she misses them terribly and wishes they could be here for longer than one weekend, but she accepts that she has to take what she can get.
"Okay, Clary, you can do this. Even if Bella's face annoys you," she says to herself before standing.
She fixes her fiery red hair in a ponytail as she walks up the stairs, making her way to Bella's door. She knocks and waits a few seconds before the girl answers the door, shock taking over her face.
"Clary?" She says hesitantly, their father's brown eyes wide with shock and curiosity. "This is a first..."
Clary forces a smile. "I was... um... wondering if you want to go to that diner—whatever it's called—and get some food."
