Stay with me (sequel)

Chapter 3

The omission of good is no less reprehensible than the commission of evil.
- Plutarch

***

"What do you mean, she's missing?" Simon asked, his mind racing and his heart pounding, like it knew something bad was about to happen. Jace was leaning in with a concerned look on his face, and Simon decided to sit down on the bed, just in case. His boyfriend followed him suit and they both listened to what Isabelle had to say. Her voice sounded gravelly and a low, like she might have been trying to hold back tears. Simon felt bad for her, she missed Isabelle just as much as his other friends.

"Well, after everything that happened, she talked to Jocelyn and Luke, and they told him that her father, well, Valentine, was alive. And she just... she zoned out. She felt so betrayed and no matter how I tried to comfort her, she would just be cold and distant and told me to give her space. So I did..." Isabelle sniffed and Simon rubbed his eyes. Damn the Frays and their secrets. Or was it Morgensterns? No, Clary was still a Fray. "And then, suddenly, like a week after you had...um, went on this vacation, she was back to normal. Sort of. I mean suddenly, she was smiling again and walking around like nothing happened. I tried to talk to her, tell her that it's okay to feel angry and hurt, but she said she's putting it behind her, and she just misses her best friend..." Isabelle stopped abruptly, like she'd said something bad.

Simon felt Jace shift next to him but didn't look at the blonde. He knew he'd find guilt on that beautiful face and he wouldn't have none of that. Instead, he sighed into the phone and tried to think of what to say. "Look, I know that was not very kind of me to say that. I'm sorry, Simon, none of this is your fault, but it's true that she misses you." Isabelle said softly now and Simon nodded, feeling tears pricking his eyes. "I know, I miss her, too." Simon said, his voice wavering just a little. He felt Jace's hand find its way onto his own and he felt instantly better. "Well, the thing is, she said she still needed some time, so she went away. Told me that she's visiting her grandmother in New Jersey. I didn't think anything of it, and neither did Alec and Magnus, they both said that they understood why she needed to be away for a while. After a few days, when she wouldn't text or call and I started to worry, so I went to Luke and he said-" Simon cut her off in mid-sentence. "-that she didn't have a grandmother in New Jersey. She died 5 years ago, her farm was bought by another family." Simon finished for her.

There was a silence for a moment and Simon wished there was a logical explanation to this. His mind was thinking of all kinds of terrible scenarios and he couldn't stop them from flooding his brain. "Right." Isabelle said finally, her anxious voice making Simon feel even worse. "There's something else, isn't there?" Simon asked, in his mind he was calculating for how long his best friend had been missing for. They had been on the road for almost two weeks now, and if Isabelle said that a week after everything had happened, Clary had gone missing, she had been away for about five to six days now. "Luke tried to track her, but nothing worked, she must've turned off her phone or... But he talked to Jocelyn and she said that Clary had gone to visit Valentine. Right after you went away." Isabelle stated, her voice was now hard to hear because it had grown small. Simon exchanged a glance with Jace, who's face was serious and almost stoic.

"She what?" Simon asked, dumbfounded. Why would Clary visit the father who had abandoned her and was a criminal behind bars? "Jocelyn said that Clary had wanted to see for herself, the man who...was supposed to be her father. She couldn't change Clary's mind, and she didn't let Jocelyn go with her. When she came back, they had a huge fight, at least that's what Luke told me. And that's when Clary shut us all of for almost a week, until she just changed back to her old self. Well, she wasn't exactly her old self, I could tell. And then she just took off." Isabelle concluded and it was clear now that she was sobbing. Simon tried to think and he could see Jace was doing the same. "Isabelle, calm down. I'm sure that Valentine has nothing to do with this and I'm also sure that Clary is fine." he told the girl, trying to soothe her. Isabelle made a strangled noise. "I'm her girlfriend. I should've...done something. And now I have no clue where she is, no one can find or track her and I just-" Isabelle seemed to be going off on a ramble between the sobs and Simon shushed her. "Listen, it'll be alright, okay, I promise." he said, trying to sound convincing when in truth, he had no idea what was going on.