Burning Sky // Alec Lightwood ➰

She's broken.

Author's note: This chapter contains some strong images, with very graphic detail, so if anyone doesn't feel comfortable with signs of abuse please skip the chapter and go straight to the next one.

Alec's pov

I enter the institute with Sky in my arms not stoping to everyone's frantic voices behind me. It's only when I have entered the infirmary and gotten her to lay down that I allow myself to take in a breath.
 
The bite seems to be getting worse, and there's a lot of blood. A hell of a lot of blood.

The sight of her like that makes me uneasy, and although that I've experienced similar situations before, this time an unknown emotion takes over me, making my hands shake and me feel like I'm about to collapse.
  
I take out some bandages from the drawers beneath me and pull out my stele. I grab a pair of scissors to cut open her t shirt and examine the wound.

When I have full view of her torso, arms and her neck I feel my heart stop in my chest.

Her arms, they are covered in cuts. Some of them seem like she has done it herself and others like someone did it to her. Most of them are old, some even have started to fade away. There is only one that seems quite recent, a big one, very deep. On her other hand there is a burn, the size of her palm.

Who the hell did that to her??

On the base of her neck, close to her collarbones there is another small wound, an old one who seemed to have closed.

Since she always wears long sleeves sweaters, this is the first time that I notice any of this.

I am terrified to look at the rest of her body, not sure that I'll be able to take any more of it.

I tear my eyes from her neck and examine her torso.

I feel sick to my stomach and I feel the stele slip from my hand and coming in touch with the ground with a big thump. My hand covers my mouth as I feel like I am about to vomit.

Her skin here is also covered in cuts some deep others not so much. However those don't seem self caused. There are big ones and small ones, there's also a huge one right beside her belly button, it looks like somebody stabbed her. Her skin in some places has small bruises, they seem from long ago but they are still fairly visible. Her stomach is so skinny that's unhealthy and her ribs are poking out. They seem like they have been broken several times and haven't healed correctly.

I try hard to concentrate on the task at hand and treat her wound, but I am afraid to touch her. I feel like she's a porcelain doll and I'm gonna break her. Like my every move is going to cause her pain.

I manage to clean the blood from her body, trying not to let my eyes roam around. I can't bring myself to draw the rune on her. I can't find a clear surface on her skin and I don't want to place it on top of a wound. The pain will be excruciating.

However I can hear her breathing slow down, and I order myself to do something before it's too late. I am able to find a good spot and I draw the rune on her, slowly and carefully cautious of my every move. When I'm finally done and sure she'll heal I take back various steps and stay there silently examining her.

The pain that has creeped in my heart is unbearable. I wanna crawl down into a ball and cry for her.

God who the fuck could do this to her!? What kind of monster?

Looking down at her I notice for the first time how broken she looks. I mean, she always has a kind of melancholy on her face, but only now I am able to see the pain that is visible on it. Pure and raw pain, nothing melancholic about it.

She has dark circles under her eyes and her she looks so fragile, like a small little girl, and I just feel the need to hold her in my arms.

But I also feel that if I do that she's gonna break. Despite all of this however she doesn't look weak.

Despite everything, she still seems to me so fucking strong like nothing could touch her, it's scary.
 
I hear the door open and close and I take one last lingering look at her before turning to look at the person standing in the door.

Adam, approaches the bed where Sky is on with an expression of panic.

"Oh my god.. I just heard, fuck, nobody told me..." he starts rumbling but comes to a sharp stop upon noticing Sky.

I turn my gaze at her again.

I hear him let out a breath, and then a loud bang, like he kicked something.

I turn around.

The bin is down.

He has his eyes shut and his hands tugging on his hair.

Mastering up all my strength I manage to speak up. "You knew about this?" I try to sound normal but my voice shakes and it's barely audible.

He nods. "Just...I didn't know..." he shakes his head. "That it was that...bad."

I nod staring blankly at the wall in front of me.

"Fuck...god damn it!" He starts again this time his voice louder, angrier.

Not able to stay another moment here, I take quick steps towards the door and make my way to my room.

Once inside, I let everything out. I throw several punches on the wall, not stoping when my knuckles  fill with blood.

When the rage starts wearing off my body, and I'm left with a heaviness in my chest I lean my forehead on the cold surface, taking in several sharp breaths and finally I lean my back to the wall, silently collapsing to the ground, praying that all of this is just some twisted dream my imagination has created. Hoping that all of these things didn't really happen to Sky. To the girl, with the sarcastic personality, the playful smile and mesmerizing grey eyes, who deserves to be happy more than anyone else. Who made me care again.