Falling to Pieces(Kit and Ty)

Chapter 3

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Kit rolled over in bed, and searched for the alarm. Kit was pretty sure he knocked over a few things on the table by his bed, but he finally turned the alarm off. He sighed.
Why did I set my alarm for 7:30? He thought, agitatedly.
He rolled out of bed, dropping to the floor. He pushed himself up to his feet, muscles aching. He yawned. Kit hated mornings. He was always tired, and just wanted to go back to sleep. He didn't understand morning people. How could they love mornings? He quickly changed into a t-shirt and shorts. He wasn't going to train today. Not after what happened yesterday.
     Kit stepped out of his room and went into the bathroom. He grabbed his toothbrush, and put toothpaste on it. He scrubbed his teeth, staring at his reflection in the mirror. His golden blonde hair was in knots. He could barely keep his blue eyes open. He looked like a zombie.
     He spit out his toothpaste, and cleaned off the toothbrush.
At least my teeth look good, Kit thought.
     He grabbed a comb, and gently brushed through his hair. It took forever for all of the knots to come out. Kit splashed cold water on his face to help wake himself up. The cold water helped, but he was still exhausted. He stepped out of the bathroom and found Tessa, Jem, and Mina in the kitchen.
     Mina was screaming at the top of her lungs. Kit almost covered his ears. Tessa gave Mina a milk bottle, but she threw it across the room, still screaming.
     "Good morning, Kit," Tessa said, clearly stressed.
     She pushed a strand of hair out of her face, and looked at Mina.
     "What do you want, little Mina?"
     Tessa rocked her in her arms. Mina began to calm down, making happy noises instead of angry ones. Tessa set Mina back into her high chair, then took her seat at the table. Jem was making coffee on the other side of the room. He came back moments later with two cups, one for him, and one for Tessa. Tessa took it gratefully. Mina had been very loud last night, waking everyone up. Kit had tried to block out the noise with a pillow, but it didn't help much. It seemed that everyone in this house was exhausted.
     Kit would've liked some coffee, except for the fact that he hated coffee. He didn't understand why everyone loved it so much. He had tried coffee once with the Blackthorns. Livvy had taken a cup into Ty's room, and dared him to drink it. He said no. Livvy turned to Kit who was also in Ty's room and told him to drink it. Kit had wondered what coffee tasted like, so he gave it a try. He immediately spit it out, to Livvy and Ty's amusement. He vowed to never drink coffee again after that.
     Kit looked at the pancakes on his plate. He reached for the syrup, and poured some on the side of the plate and on top of the pancakes. He cut up the pancakes, and stuffed pieces into his mouth. Kit wasn't sure what his plans were for today. He wasn't going to train. He could always watch a movie, or teach himself to play an instrument. Jem would definitely like that.
     "How did you sleep?" Tessa asked.
     "Great," he lied, shoving another piece of pancake into his mouth.
     Tessa smiled. "I'm glad. Are you going to be training today?"
     Kit shook his head. "Probably tomorrow."
     Kit's muscles ached from training yesterday. He felt as if he could barely walk.
Is this what it's like to be a Shadowhunter? he thought.
     Kit heard the door burst open. He could hear footsteps coming their way. Everyone was ready to fight. Everyone was tense. Kit watched as Magnus burst into the kitchen, immediately feeling relieved. Magnus was wearing typical Magnus clothes, bright, and sparkly. He loved grabbing people's attention.
     "You have mail!" he shouted, enthusiastically.
     Mina giggled. She seemed to like Magnus.
     "It's nice to see you, Magnus," Jem said.
     "I know. It is nice to see me." He held an envelope out to Kit. Kit wasn't sure why Magnus was giving it to him. Who would send him anything? "Come on, Herondale. I haven't got all day."
     Kit took the envelope from Magnus's hand. His name was written on it neatly. "Who's it from?"
     "A boy about your age. Black hair, grey eyes," Magnus said, leisurely.
     Kit looked at him, confused.
     "Tiberius Blackthorn? Ring a bell?"
     Kit's heart skipped a beat. Why would Ty send him a letter? It had been months since they last spoke. Why send him something now? Kit stared at the letter in his hand. Part of him wanted to open it. The other part wanted to bury it and never see it again. All Kit could do was stare at the name neatly written on the envelope.
     Magnus rolled his eyes. "Just for the record, I am not carrying a letter back to Tiberius Blackthorn. If you decide to write back, you will have to deliver it yourself."
Tessa knew that Kit wasn't going to respond. He was entranced by the letter.
"Thank you Magnus," Tessa said.
"No problem."
Church ran up to Magnus, rubbing against his leg. Magnus reached down to pet Church, but Church hissed at him. He drew his hand away.
     "Church! You need to be kinder to other people!" Jem scolded, scooping him up into his arms. Church purred.
Church hated everyone except for Jem. Church would hiss at anyone who tried to pet him, or pick him up. The only times he wouldn't do that, were if Jem was the one trying to pet him. Church also loved to scratch people. Kit had never seen Church scratch Jem. Not once.
"Goodbye everyone! Until we meet again!" Magnus yelled, dramatically.
He left without another word. Kit was still silently staring at the letter. So many thoughts were going through his head. He was confused, and scared. He was afraid to open the letter, if he decided to open it. He didn't know what to do. Just when he thought the wound Ty left in his heart was beginning to heal, he had to reopen it by sending the letter.
"Kit," Tessa said, urgently.
He shifted his gaze to Tessa, who was looking at him with worry in her eyes. "What?"
"Are you alright?" she asked.
Kit nodded vigorously. "Definitely. I'm—uh—I'm perfectly fine."
     Tessa nodded, knowing he wasn't telling the full truth. "I'm—uh—just gonna go to my room for now," Kit said.
     He left, letter in hand, before Tessa or Jem could say another word. He shut the door behind him, and locked it. He didn't want anyone to come in. He wanted to be alone, just him and the letter. Kit lay down on his bed, holding the letter in front of him.
     "Why did you send me this, Ty? Why now?"
     Kit knew no one would answer him. He just found it comforting to voice his thoughts into the empty room. Kit still wasn't sure if he should read the letter. He could ask Tessa and Jem for advice, but they couldn't give him good advice without knowing the whole story. Kit couldn't tell anyone the full story. It was too painful and embarrassing. He needed to act strong, unbreakable. He was a Shadowhunter. Shadowhunters had to be strong.
     Kit decided to read the letter. He couldn't stand not knowing what it said. He tore open the envelope and unfolded the piece of paper inside. Every word was neatly written. It was Ty's handwriting. Kit didn't know how to feel about the letter. Did Ty actually care about him? Did he actually care if Kit was happy in Devon? If he didn't care, then why would he ask? Livvy wanted Kit to visit the Los Angeles Institute soon. Kit knew he couldn't do that. He didn't want to face Ty in person, and he didn't want to leave Tessa and Jem.
Did Ty expect him to write back? Kit wasn't sure. He had asked questions in the letter, but did he want them to be answered? Kit was not going to write back. He didn't want to talk to Ty, even through writing. He didn't want to think about Ty anymore, or any of the Blackthorns. Thinking about the Blackthorns would lead to thinking about Ty. Kit just wanted to move on with his life. He was with Tessa, Jem, Mina, and Church. Kit knew he'd be happy here.
                                          ********
     Ty was preparing Irene's dinner when there was a knock on his door.
     "Come in!" Ty called.
     Julian opened the door, stepping into Ty's room. He looked at Irene who was eating a piece of chicken, showing off her big teeth. "Hey," Julian said awkwardly.
     "Hi, Jules. Have I introduced you to Irene?"
     Julian shook his head. Ty loved sharing what exotic animals he found in the wild. He used to get in trouble for taking animals into the Institute, but Irene was his pet. Julian couldn't get rid of Irene.
     "Irene is a Carpathian lynx!" he said excitedly. "She was injured near a lake. I took her to Catarina. She taught me how to take care of Irene." He pet Irene adoringly.
     "That's an awesome story, Ty! I just wanted to tell you that dinner's ready. You don't have to come down if you don't want to. I can bring up some food for you."
     Ty shook his head. "That won't be necessary. I'm coming down to eat dinner with my family."
     Julian smiled, and left. Ty followed his older brother, still wearing his headphones. Loud noises were often overwhelming for Ty. He found it hard to focus when there was so much to think about. That's why he wore his headphones, to block out distractions.
His whole family was at the dinner table, the only exception being Livvy, who stood next to Ty, unnoticed by everyone else. He waited for everyone to serve themselves before taking his food. Grabbing food when everyone else was could easily lead to pointless conversation. Ty grabbed two pieces of pizza, and kept to himself while everyone else talked.
The music playing in his ears was calming. He had also brought down one of the toys Julian had made for him to fidget with. He fidgeted with the toy with one hand under the table, taking out any stress on the toy. With his other hand, he ate the pizza on his plate.
Everyone was so happy. Ty could tell by reading their faces, and hearing their conversation faintly over the music playing in his ears. Ty loved his family. This family had weathered the toughest storms. This family had stuck together no matter what.
     Helen and Aline were back from Wrangel Island. He was happy to see Helen back, but there were years that she missed out on, because she had faerie blood. Ty knew this was unfair. Helen would never betray the Shadowhunters, yet they sent her away. Ty also hated how some Shadowhunters treated Downworlders. They treated Downworlders like they were below them. Ty knew this wasn't right. Alec Lightwood and Magnus Bane were working hard to fix that problem.
     Ty knew he only had two weeks to be with his family before returning to the Scholomance. He came home often, but this was one of the few times he got to stay for more than a few days. Ty loved being around his family. The Blackthorn family was a team. They would always be there for each other. Ty knew he could depend on his family. He smiled, thinking of all the fun times his family will have in the future.
             *********
     Kit held Mina in his arms, rocking her back and forth. Tessa and Jem had gone out for a bit, so Kit had to take care of Mina. Tessa had given him a list of simple instructions. Kit was to give Mina a bottle full of milk and a cup of applesauce for dinner. After feeding her, he was to hold her for a little while. Then, he could put her in the crib, and do whatever he wanted. Tessa had left dinner for Kit in the refrigerator. She had went out and bought pizza for him. All Kit had to do was heat it up in the microwave.
     Kit held the baby bottle while Mina drank from it. He watched little Mina drink the entire bottle of milk. After she finished, Kit put Mina in her carrier while he cleaned out the bottle. He rinsed it out with water, then put it in the dishwasher. After that, he opened a cabinet and grabbed a cup of applesauce and took a spoon from a drawer. He opened the applesauce, and fed it to the baby. She was a very messy eater, but she at least seemed happy for the moment.
     Once Mina finished the applesauce cup, he threw it out, and cleaned up the mess Mina had made. He wiped off her face, and the area around her. Kit wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he liked taking care of Mina. She was so cute and innocent. He loved staring into her eyes and watch them light up with excitement whenever something remotely interesting happened. Babies were so curious. They wanted to learn the secrets of the new world they were brought into.
Kit also enjoyed tickling Mina to make her laugh. Mina would grow up to be an amazing woman. Kit just knew it. With Jem and Tessa as her parents, there would be no possible way for her to be anything but amazing. He carried Mina to her crib, and gently lowered her into it. She yawned, pushing her tiny fists up into the air. She blinked at Kit as if waiting for something. Tessa hadn't given him any more instructions, so he left Mina in her room.
     He returned to the kitchen and grabbed the pizza box out of the refrigerator. It was pepperoni pizza, just how he liked it. Kit hadn't been living here for long, yet he felt like Tessa and Jem already knew so much about him. He took two pieces out of the box, and put the in the microwave. He watched as the plate in the microwave spun around, heating his pizza. The timer went off, and he opened the microwave. Kit took the pizza out and put it on a plate. He brought his dinner to the table, and sat in his usual seat.
The table was empty. No Tessa. No Jem. No baby Mina. It was just him. It was completely silent as Kit ate his pizza. He was used to conversation at the dinner table. He was used to eating with a family. Kit wasn't sure how he'd become so dependent on other people. He used to be almost completely alone. Now, he hated not having Jem and Tessa around. He almost considered them his family.
Once finished with the pizza, Kit cleaned his plate and returned to his room. Jem and Tessa said they'd be back by nine. It was only 7:30. He still had time to kill. Kit decided to watch a movie until they got home. He set up a movie in what he called 'the sitting room.' He had watched The Avengers with Tessa, Jem, and Mina in that room. Kit had chosen to watch The Hobbit. From reading the description, it had seemed pretty cool. He stretched out on the middle couch, taking up the entire space. He was comfortable and ready to watch the movie.
     The movie was awesome. He liked everything about it, the characters, the plot, the acting. Everything was perfect. Kit knew that the movie was based on a book. Maybe Tessa had read that book. Kit turned off the TV and played on his phone until Tessa and Jem got back.
     Kit heard the door open, followed by footsteps. He walked into the kitchen, still on his phone, and saw Jem and Tessa enter. They were smiling, and laughing.
     "Hello, Kit," Jem said.
     Kit looked up from his phone, and smiled. "Hi."
     "Was everything alright with Mina?" Tessa asked, already knowing the answer.
     Kit nodded. "She was pretty easy to take care of. She wasn't very fussy."
     Tessa smiled. "That's good. Mina seems to really like you!"
"Well, I wouldn't say that." Kit didn't think anyone was capable of liking him. Kit knew Jem and Tessa were the only people alive that could possibly like him. Maybe, they'd love him someday. Maybe, over time, they'd become more and more a family. Was that too much to ask for?