Vampires Will Never Hurt You

Becky

When Becky opened the door, she was surprised to see her brother's best friend, Clary.

She squinted, head flinching backward as she blinked.

"Clary? What are you doing here?" she asked.

Clary looked at down at her feet and sighed before meeting Simon's sister's gaze.

"Can I️ uh...come in?" she asked abruptly.

Becky shrugged before stepping aside to let the Shadowhunter in.

"Uh yeah, sure, I️ guess," she said.

Becky gently closed the door behind her, gesturing toward the sofa for Clary to sit down.

When Clary sat down, her body was tense, leaning forward on the edge rather than allowing the furniture to fully support her weight. She nervously tapped her fingers on her knee, creating an extra layer of awkwardness in the atmosphere.

"So, can I️ uh get you anything or...?" Becky asked, indicating toward the kitchenette area.

Clary shook her head, her bright red red curls swaying with her motion.

"No, I'm fine, thanks," Clary said.

The mundane nodded, clasping her hands in front of her before crossing her right foot in front of her left and making her way to the couch.

She took a seat on the opposite end, positioning herself to face the other. Despite the fact that the two had known each other for so many years, they had never really spent much time one on one and the fact that Clary just showed up to her apartment unannounced was extremely out of character. Not to mention the fact that Simon had recently informed his older sister about Clary being a Shadowhunter, making things even weirder since Becky had only just found out about the Shadow World.

Clary soon broke the tense silence by voicing what the two were both thinking.

"So, I'm sorry for just showing up out of the blue like this. I️ definitely would've called first if the situation were...ideal," she began to explain, brows drawn together in thought as she tried to get the words out.

She balled her right hand into a fist, tapping at her thigh in an attempt to suppress tears.

She then drew in a sharp inhale before sighing out a long exhale.

"I️'m sorry. I️ just needed to talk to you about Simon," Clary said.

At this, Becky's eyes widened.

"Have you heard from him? He left me a cryptic text and hasn't been responding to any of my texts since. I️ mean, he kind of has a tendency to. To go a-wall since he...you know, but I️ still worry about him. He always says that I️ don't need to, but he's my little brother, ya know? Well, I️ guess you wouldn't since you're an only child but, is he okay?" she said.

Clary took note of the slight rambling, wondering if maybe it was a habit that ran in the family. 

Maybe Rebecca just didn't usually exhibit the same nervous tick as she was generally a lot more collected than Simon, who pretty much lived in a perpetual state of anxiety.

Clary cleared her throat.

"That's actually what I️ came here to talk to you about. Simon wanted you to know that he loves you so much, and always will," Clary explained.

At that point, fighting away tears was hopeless. Clary sniffed, quickly wiping away tears from under her eyes.

Becky shook her head.

"What are you talking about? He'd said something about needing to protect the people that he loves...where is he?" she asked.

Clary shook her head slowly, indicating that the worst had happened.

"Simon's gone," she choked, more tears running down her cheeks.

Becky's eyes widened. Her lips parted slightly, but no words came out. A tear ran down her cheek before she began to shake her head in disbelief. She was completely stunned.

"You mean he's...no. No! He can't be," she said.

"Did he ever tell you about the Mark of Cain?" Clary asked.

Becky nodded, a confused expression on her face.

"Yeah, it was that freak thing on his forehead that blasted people when they attacked him...what does that have to do with anything?" Becky asked.

Clary exhaled.

"He went to get it removed. He didn't want to risk hurting anyone. He knew the risks, but he went through with it anyway and it killed him," she explained.

At that, Becky quickly rose to her feet.

"I️ mean with all of this magic and everything there has to be something you can do, right? Or a warlock or the Seelie queen or a freaking genie I don't know," she said.

Becky still knew very little about the Shadow World, but Simon had died and come to life once. What's a second time around, anyway?

"I'm so so sorry," was all Clary said. It was all she could say. Simon was dead for real this time.

Becky wiped away tears and breathed sharply before framing her face with her hands.

"Go," Becky commanded.

Clary shook her head, standing up next to Becky.

"Trust me, I️ would anything to get Simon back but-" Clary began.

"Look, Clary, I️ know that you mean well and I️ don't blame you for any of this, but I️ also know that if it weren't for you Simon never would've been involved with any of this so I️ really need you to go right now."

Clary took a step closer to Becky.

"I️ feel awful about-"

"Don't. Just leave me alone so I️ can mourn my baby brother's death," Becky voiced bitterly, pointing toward the door.

She waited for the fiery haired Shadowhunter to show herself out before collapsing on the couch and balling her eyes out.