It's a Kiss

Chapter 12

Senior Year

Clary

Here it is senior year and Jace and I have not progressed romantically. He told me that he is in love with me, but we have not gone out on our first date yet. The most romantic thing we have done is prepare for our SAT exam and that was his mother's idea. We have been applying to the colleges that we would like to attend and Jace has turned down his acceptance into Wharton. I was passing by our advisor's office, and I overheard the conversation. When we arrived home, Uncle Steven looked very angry when he called Jace into his office. Aunt Celine, Max, and I started eavesdropping at the door.

Jace

As soon as I walked in the door, dad called me into his office. He looked angry. I put my backpack down in the foyer and walked into his office. The minute that I closed the door behind me, he turned on me.

"Jace, I just received a call from Wharton's admissions office telling me that you have turned down your acceptance. Is this true?"

"Yes, it is true. I have decided that I do not want to attend Wharton or take over your business upon graduation. I plan to attend whatever college Clary decides to attend and maybe find a career that I have an interest in. Something that is going to make me happy."

"No. You are going to attend Wharton and take over my business. This is what we talked about and planned."

"No, dad. This is my life now; my time and I am going to do what I want with my life."

The next thing I know, my dad clutches his chest and falls to the floor. I laid him down on his back and loosened his tie. Mom, Clary, and Max ran into the room and fell to their knees around them. I yelled at Clary to call an ambulance. The ambulance came and loaded my father after they have stabilized him. When we arrived at the hospital, they admitted into the emergency room and ran some tests on him. The doctor came to talk to us after he was done looking at the results.

"Are you Mr. Herondale's family?"

"I am Mrs. Herondale. These are my son's and Clary is considered family. How is he?"

"He is fine, and we have him stable. He seems to have a heart problem, but I am sure that it is all stress-related. We want to keep him here for a few days and run some more tests to make sure that my prognosis is correct?"

"May we see him now?"

"He is being moved into a private room and as soon as he is settled in, you may go and see him."

I felt such relief when I heard the doctor say that dad is fine. My decisions have caused all this, but I will make sure that this will not happen again. The next day, people from the company started to show up to see my father. He was supposed to be on bed rest and free from stress, but these people were here with papers for him to sign and decisions for him to make. The vice president called me over and asked me to go to the cafeteria to talk to him. I followed him wondering what was this about.

Clary

We were all listening at the door to see what Uncle Stephen wanted to talk to Jace about and we heard them arguing about school. The next thing we knew, Jace called out and we heard someone fall. We opened the door to find Uncle Stephen on the floor and Jace loosening his tie and unbuttoning his shirt. He asked me to call an ambulance. After several hours in the emergency room, they admitted him into a private room and decided to keep him for a few days. The next morning, I walked in to see Uncle Stephen surrounded by people from his company with paperwork and only talk about work. The vice president of the company called Jace over and asked him to go to the cafeteria. I asked Max if he wanted to come with me to follow Jace and see what was going on, and he agreed right away. We sat where there was a partition separating us from where Jace was sitting and blocking his view of us. I did not want him to know that I came to eavesdrop on their conversation.