ʜᴇᴀᴠᴇɴʟʏ ꜰɪʀᴇ ~ ᴛᴍɪ

Chapter 24 - The Dim Past

"Because I didn't sleep and drool at his classes."

Isabelle threw a pillow at him with her free hand. And winced.

"Careful, Izzy." George reached forward and took her teacup, which was empty. He set it down on the table beside her and said, "I honestly never had much interest in joining as an Investigator. But one thing led to another and here I am. Besides," he added. "I couldn't ask her to leave her passion."

"That's sweet of you," Isabelle commented.

He just shrugged. But a different question came into his mind. "Do you think Valentine finished the Infernal Conversion?" He knew Allison must have continued with Jace to stop it. But the question is, had they done it?

"We won't know anything," said Alec. "Unless either Jace or Allison explain what the hell happened."

A dark silence settled, which made George even more restless. Alec seemed to have enough as well, and announced, "I'm going to check on Dad. I'll be back." With a parting look, he left the room with a conflicted face.

"Your brother will be fine," George said, noticing Izzy's concerned look. "As much as they fight, Ally won't let Jace die."

She nodded absent-mindedly, her mind already somewhere, and muttered. "He better be."

George didn't speak further, giving her the comfort of silence, which didn't ruffle him this time. He shut his eyes for a minute, the headache now a dull throb. The bandage did obscure his vision a bit, but it did keep his head from being split open. He relished in the easy silence, the tiredness he had tried to ward off threatening to creep in. Yet, his body seemed to start to shut down.

"You should lay down for a while," Isabelle's voice filled his ears like a lullaby. "I don't mind,"

He smiled without opening his eyes. "If you're into cuddling, I'm in,"

"I don't cuddle,"

"I know,"

Silence settled again. This time, he opened his eyes and sat straight. "I should head down. I won't disturb you. Rest."

"No, wait," She looked like she wanted to say something, her hand reaching for her neck to hold the ruby necklace she always wore.  Only it wasn't there. Which she seemed to realize right then.

"Fuck," she cursed, her eyes ecstatic. "I lost my necklace! My mom—" She stopped as she noticed the said necklace dangling from George's fingers.

"I found it after I took care of that demon," George said, noticing her misted eyes. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. After all that happened—"

"It's okay," She breathed a sigh of relief. "You found it. Thank you, George,"

Before he could lose his nerve, "Can I?"

He knew her knee-jerk reaction would be no. But to his surprise, she nodded, with a look that he couldn't decipher. Slowly, he moved from the end of the bed and sat by her. She was taller than others but still had to tilt her head up to meet his gaze. And, of course, her eyes were guarded.

Something caught his eye when he looked at the necklace. An inscription was etched on the silver frame. A Latin phrase. "Amor verus numquam moritur, " he read out. True love never dies.

Izzy said nothing.

He reined in his sigh and slid her hair away from her neck. Silky strands that he wanted to thread his fingers through. But he pushed them back to reveal her long, delicate neck. Careful not to touch her skin, he placed to necklace and wound the clasp behind her neck. George was sure she sucked in a breath as his arms went around her.