Vampires Will Never Hurt You

Luke

Luke jumped when he received a knock on the door of his motel room. He hadn't been expecting any visitors, so he was unsure of who it could it be.

Slowly, he opened the door, alarmed to see Maryse Lightwood's daughter, Isabelle, standing at the door in tears.

The werewolf stepped aside, allowing her to enter and she sat down at the edge of the bed. Luke crouched down in front of her.

"I'm sorry," Isabelle choked, wiping tears from under her mascara smeared eyes.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. Just tell me what's going on," Luke said, attempting to calm her down.

Izzy exhaled, taking a moment to collect herself. She then shook her head in disbelief.

"It's Simon. I️ went with him to the Seelie Court, because he wanted to remove the Mark of Cain and..."

Luke raised his eyebrows in alarm, before standing.

"Is Simon okay?" Luke asked.

Izzy looked up at him, making eye contact before shaking her head and turning her gaze down to her lap.

Luke turned around, facing the opposite wall, shaking his head in disbelief. Simon didn't deserve it. He was never supposed to have any part of the whole Shadow World. He was supposed to live and die a mundane. None of this was ever supposed to happen.

"I️ told him that it wasn't worth the risk, but he was selfless and he chose death over the chance of hurting someone he loves," she explained. At that point she didn't know if she was making things better or worse. If anything, she was simply trying to process her own feelings about the whole thing. Perhaps she was trying to convince herself that Simon's death was heroic rather than unnecessary, but she would always have the ache of feeling like he didn't need to die.

Luke hung his head in shame, looking down at his feet.

"Mundanes and the Shadow World don't mix. I️ should've protected him from all of this. I️ should've..."

"Hey," Izzy interrupted, rising to her feet. "None of this is your fault and you know that."

When Luke turned around to face the Shadowhunter, he was misty eyed and tense.

"Besides," she continued, her bottom lip quivering. "It's not like you're the one who went with him on a suicide mission."

At that point, she broke. Shadowhunters were supposed to be strong. They were supposed to be able to handle death, and yet she couldn't help more tears from forming. Shadowhunters had to be tough so people like Simon could live full lives, and yet she was still alive while he had to go through dying twice.

Luke rushed to her, taking her in his arms to keep her from collapsing.

"Listen, I've known Simon for a long time. That boy would've done what he did with or without you. You couldn't've stopped him. It's not your fault, okay? There's nothing you could've done," he assured.

There was nothing she could have done, and now there was nothing that either of them could do. No matter what they did, no matter how much guilt they felt or how badly they wanted him back, Simon was dead for real this time.

With this, Izzy stepped back, now able to stand on her own and begin to collect herself. She nodded, though she didn't entirely believe him, she certainly would try. She then shook her head.

"I️ am so sorry. I️ know this can't be easy for you, losing Jocelyn and then Clary and now Simon," she said solemnly.

With this, Luke stepped back, raising his eyebrows.

"Isabelle, there's something that you should know about Clary," Luke said.