I Hate You (IN EDITING)

Chapter 21

The air was warm, and heavy, the sky painted a brilliant denim blue. How could things be so...perfect, when her world was tearing at the seams? Jace nudged her with his elbow. She stumbled over her own feet for a second before frowning up at him. He raised an eyebrow, his eyes melting to molten gold, but otherwise, said nothing - a feat which seemed impossible for Jace, once upon a time.

Isabelle, only a few feet away, was generously applying an orange, runny liquid over her skin. As she rubbed, it turned clear, her blemish-free, pale skin seemingly absorbing the fruity-scented substance. "Want some?" She shook the bottle in Clary's direction.

"I'll pass."

"But, Clary—you're so pale—" the raven-haired girl protested, dropping the bottle onto her Thor towel, so obviously borrowed - ahem, stolen - from Simon.

"And I don't tan—I burn, so, no, I will not put on tanning lotion." With that, Clary unfolded her own superhero towel, laying it down on the sand. She may be seventeen - nearly eighteen, but that didn't lessen her love for all things supposedly childish. Because superheroes were cool and awesome, and not to mention, certain superheroes looked super hot shirtless. It was a proven fact.

"Are you okay?" Magnus asked tentatively, peering out at her through lowered sunglasses. His long once-gangly limbs stretched out over his too-short towel.

"Fantastic, thanks for asking," Clary replied venomously. Where the sudden anger had come from, she didn't know, but judging from Magnus's reaction, he was just as surprised by it as she was. She felt remorse, but knew that if she were to open her mouth again, more venom would come rushing out, eager to poison her friends.

"Let's go swimming, I'm going to burn to ashes if I don't cool down," Isabelle whined. "Before one of you says something more idiotic than the last..." She finished, her tone low as she grabbed her brother's hand, dragging the tall, muscular boy into the water, Magnus got on their trail like a puppy. She could feel eyes weighing heavily on her, though she refused to look back—even when someone wound their hand in hers, pulling her out to the water.

XXX

She could still feel the water lapping at her exposed legs, the way her hair had pasted to her head and back as if the water were glue. Even more, she remembered the exact feeling of Jace's hand entwined with her own. Sitting, staring down at her phone now, she wished she were still sizzling under the blistering sun, she would even wish to be dunked under again if it meant that she did not have to make this call—but she did, and nothing could change that fact.

Summer was coming to a close, her birthday approaching rapidly, and it seemed even the usually noisy crickets knew it, somehow. Because tonight, they were utterly silent, almost as if they were holding their breath until Clary put the small device to her ear.

And it was with a shaky finger that she dialed that phone number, the one she knew like the back of her hand. Though, in all reality, she didn't know the back of her hand all that well.

The dial tone sounding in her eardrum like a warning signal: hang up! Hang up! Being the hard-headed person she was, Clary kept the phone stuck to the side of her face, waiting for her mother to answer.

"Oh, Clary! How are you sweetheart—"

"Mom, I know." Clary cut her mother off curtly, something she wouldn't typically do, but now was not the time for pleasantries.

"Know what?" Her mother must be feigning curiosity, the innocence in her voice. What else would Clary know? Perhaps that her mother liked to cross dress and was secretly a popular stripper at a local strip bar? Yeah, sure.