Brothers by Blood (Alec Lightwood twin)

Chapter 23

*A few days later*

BEN'S POV

I was finally allowed to leave the infirmary, which I was so grateful for. I honestly could not be more relieved, I think I might have died of boredom had it not been for my phone, Alec, Jace, Magnus, and occasionally Clary. I haven't seen Izzy since I woke up though. I know she blames herself, but she shouldn't. No one blames her, I certainly don't. At the moment, I was sitting in my room reading, when I heard a knock on my door.

"Come in!" I called, putting a bookmark in my book and closing it. I looked up when I heard the door open and close. Interestingly, Clary entered my room.

"Hey Clary." I said with a smile.

"Hey Ben, how are you feeling?" She asked kindly. I smiled and gestured for her to sit down. She happily complied.

"Much better now that I am out of the infirmary. That place was driving me nuts!" I told her. She chuckled at my words.

"I bet it was." She said with a smile.

"Hey, it Izzy ok?" I asked curiously. "She didn't come and visit me while I was in the infirmary." I added.

"She's taking the knowledge of what she did and said to you really hard. She can't believe what she did and she regrets it way more than she is letting on." Clary told me. I sighed sadly. It made me sad to think that my baby sister was hurting and there was nothing I could do about it.

"Where is she now?" I asked.

"In her room I think. Why?" Clary answered.

"I'm going to see her. She can't avoid me forever and I need to talk to her." I told her, getting up. My chest hurt slightly, but I masked the pain so that no one would notice. It wasn't that bad, it was more like an echo of the injury that I had.

"You ok?" Clary asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks Clary." I replied with a smile before she and I walked out of my room and went our separate ways.

ISABELLE'S POV

I feel bad for not going to visit Ben, but I can't face him. Not after what I did. I was sitting in my room listening to music and reading a book to calm myself down when I heard a knock at my door.

"Come in." I called. The door opened to reveal the one person I had been trying to avoid all week. Ben.

"You know you can't hide from me forever." He said, the affectionate smile on his face matching his tone. I looked away, trying to hide the tears that were rapidly forming in my eyes. He walked over to me and sat down next to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. I turned to him and embraced him in a tight hug.

"I'm so sorry." I said quietly.

"Izzy, I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me." Ben said in a comforting tone. "You don't need to keep apologizing. I forgave you long ago."

"I am sorry though." I replied. With that, we fell into a comfortable silence.

"You should get some rest." Ben said, noticing my tired state.

"So have you." I replied.

"Do you want me to stay with you? Like when we were little?" Ben offered. Honestly, that sounded like exactly what I needed right now. I nodded and, without another word, we both cuddled up on my bed and drifted off to sleep.

*Later*

CLARY'S POV

Ben had been gone for quite a while now. He said he was going to talk to Izzy, but I haven't seen either of them for quite a while. I decided to go to and check on them, starting with Izzy. On my way to Izzy's room, I bumped into Alec and Jace. They have been spending a lot more time together since Jace got back, which has been great. Jace told me that they are closer than they have ever been and their parabatai bond is stronger than ever, especially since Jace returned from Valentine, bringing Ben with him. I am so glad that they have fixed their issues, because seeing both of them happy is wonderful.

"Hey Clary." They said in unison.

"Where are you off to?" Jace asked.

"Izzy's room. I haven't heard from her in a while. Ben went to visit her but he seems to have disappeared as well." I explained.

"Mind if we join you?" Alec asked. I shrugged.

"Sure." I replied, gesturing for them to follow me. They did so and, soon enough, we got to Izzy's room. I knocked on the door, but I didn't receive an answer. I then proceeded to open it and was faced with a sight that warmed my heart and put a smile on my face. Ben and Izzy were asleep together on her bed. Izzy was curled up against her brother, her head in the crook of Ben's neck, and her right arm draped lazily over his torso, whilst Ben was lying on his back, his left arm wrapped around his sister and his head tilted to the side slightly to make room for Izzy's (picture at the top). I looked back at Jace and Alec and saw that they had identical smiles on their faces. They looked at each other and got out their phones to take a picture. I can't believe I didn't think of that! After the three of us were done, I closed the door quietly and we left them to sleep.

"That is too cute." I said lowly. I knew Jace and Alec would be able to hear me but I didn't want to wake Ben and Izzy.

"I agree." Alec said.

"At least they're both getting well needed rest and they have made up after everything that happened." Jace said, a soft smile on his face.

"Yeah. I know Ben never blamed her for what happened, but Izzy was absolutely distraught and would not stop thinking about how her brother was in the infirmary because of her." I said sadly. Both boys nodded at this and the three of us made our way away from Izzy's room, giving Ben and Izzy the rest they both sorely needed.