Valentine's Arrow

9: Beginnings and Betrayals

CHAPTER NINE

REBECCA

Sebastian said he had an errand to run, and politely asked Rebecca if she wouldn't mind waiting. Just as politely, she replied that she didn't mind at all, and so, she found herself standing outside a blue shuttered house, the sun now high enough to make her shirt stick to her back with sweat.

She contemplated making a run for it. Maybe she could find the Paris Institute. They would be able to help her, wouldn't they? She would be able to return to her family.

But no. She couldn't leave Clary behind. If she escaped, Sebastian would not hesitate to take his anger out on Clary, and Rebecca couldn't risk that happening.

Sebastian didn't take very long. He was back in less than two minutes, and then, without any hassle, they returned to the apartment. The living room was empty when they arrived, but Jace immediately burst through the door leading to the kitchen, closely followed by Clary. "Where were you?" he demanded.

Sebastian shrugged, moving to the kitchen and filling a glass of water. "I thought Rebecca might want to see Paris, especially since she's always wanted to take her travel year at the Paris Institute."

Jace's expression softened, but his voice didn't. "You could have at least told me," he said. "Or left a note. It isn't as if our situation is the safest. What if something had happened to her-"

"I followed him," Rebecca said, glancing sheepishly at Jace. "When he left, I followed him through the Portal. If it's anybody's fault, it's mine."

Jace's shoulders relaxed. "Just as long as you two weren't off canoodling somewhere."

"C-canoodling?" Rebecca spluttered, but Jace simply smiled wickedly as Sebastian chuckled. "Whatever. I'm going to go change."

Clary followed Rebecca to her room; she stood leaning against the wall as Rebecca leaned over the sink in the bathroom and turned on the tap.

"So, what really happened with Sebastian?" she said, as Rebecca cupped water in the palm of her hands and let the cool liquid trickle over her face. It was surprisingly refreshing. She turned and faced Clary, not bothering to dry her face.

"I followed Sebastian to this underground chamber," she began without preamble. "I got attacked by a couple of Dahak demons-" she looked away and swallowed visibly, "-but Sebastian... saved me." She told Clary everything Sebastian had told her, including their conversation in the café - well, almost everything. She left out the part about him supposedly having feelings for her.

Clary bit her lip. "It looks like he really has a plan. It looks like he's really trying to redeem himself." There was a flicker of hope in Clary's voice as she said it, and Rebecca didn't have the heart to disagree. So she simply nodded.

Dinner that night was a somber affair. Neither Rebecca nor Clary spoke much, although Sebastian seemed to be in a very cheerful mood. The moment they had finished, however, Rebecca escaped to her room, seeking some peace and quiet. The day's events had been... bizarre, to say the least, and she wanted to think.

She peeled off her clothes and stepped into the shower. The warm water was like a gentle hand caressing her back. She shut her eyes - and Sebastian's words rose up in her mind, a whisper in her ear, almost like he was standing right next to her.

It seems you desire someone else.

Mark. She had called him Mark, that night in the club. She hadn't thought about Mark in a long time, and couldn't see how she had mistaken Sebastian for him. They had the same blond hair, but that was where the similarities stopped; the Mark she had met in the New York Institute two years ago had been soft-spoken and mysterious, but forever on the lookout for a new adventure. Rebecca had never met someone who had as big a heart as he did, though he always tried to hide it. Once, they had both found an injured bird lying on the ground outside the Institute. Mark had scooped it up in his hands and nursed it back to health for two solid months before releasing it. Sebastian would have probably stepped on it and laughed, she thought, stepping out and turning the water off. After getting dressed in a t-shirt and shorts, she sat on the bed for a long time, staring at the moon as it made its way across the sky.