Chapter 2: Family Issues
“Hum.
Thanks! That’s… hum… nice of you” I couldn’t form a single coherent sentence. I
was so mesmerize by this gorgeous boy that my mind was slow. I stood there like
an idiot starring at him like he was a vision.
“So, are
you planning to tell me your name some time?” He asked with a playful smile.
Go on stupid, answer him. I order myself when my mouth refused
to speak. “Oh! Right. Let’s see… ” What
was my name? I knew it started with a C… Or maybe… I tried to look away
from this vision of a boy to clear my head and save some dignity, if I had any
at this point. “My name is Clarissa Fray, but everyone call me Clary”
“Very nice
to meet you Clarissa” He said this with a tone that made me feel nervous, but I
couldn’t tell what was so bad about it. “So, shall we go to class?” He started
walking, not checking if I was following him. Maybe it was because he knew I
would follow, even if he didn’t tell me to.
“What’s
your first class?” He asked me. It seem to me I spend an eternity to look at my
schedule, trying to decipher the words in order to understand what was written
in it
“Humm…” I
was starting to hate that word, or maybe it just annoyed me that I’ve used it
too many times already. “Literature 1 in classroom 7” I answer at last. At least you didn’t use the hum again. I
thought reproaching myself.
“Great!”
Said Jace, distracting me from my thoughts. “That’s my class too!” He seemed
really excited by this, like he was hoping to be with me more time and just had
his wish granted.
It turned
out we had the same classes, so he sat by me all day. At lunch he introduced me
to his brother Alec. He was the complete opposite of Jace, his hair was dark
instead of gold and his eyes were blue, but he seems to have a hidden force he
didn’t like to share. I meant to ask
Jace why they were so different, but I didn’t want to seem rude or something.
After
school, Jace offered to walk me home and, since I didn’t want to go by bus (It
was so depressing) I accepted.
“So,” Jace
said after a while. “Tell me, how did you end up here?”
“Well, my
mother likes to move out a lot, so every few years we move to a new city.” I
answer, hopping he wouldn’t notice I didn’t like it much.
“That
sounds like fun!” He smiled at me, and I knew he had noticed.
“Actually,
it’s not. I have already been in five different schools and I’m not even a
senior. Plus, I’m too shy to talk to anyone, so when I actually start to talk
to someone, we are moving out again. It’s difficult to have friend with this
kind of life.”
“Wow! Don’t
take it on me, girl!” He said sarcastically. “So what does your father say
about it?”
“Hum…” We
had reached a topic I didn’t like to talk about. “My father is dead, actually…
So…” I didn’t know what else to say. It didn’t seem like there was something to
say, really.
“What
happened to him?” Jace seemed truly sorry about my lost, but for some reason he
was reluctant to say the actual words, or at least that’s the impression I got.
“Car
accident. I wasn’t even born, yet.” I didn’t want to give him too many details,
in hopes he’d drop the subject.
“I
understand how you feel.” He said with some seriousness in his voice. “My
father’s dead too. He was murdered. I was nine.”
“Oh Jace,
I’m so sorry” I didn’t knew what else to say.
“Don’t be”
He said lightly. “I’m ok now.” He said it in a tone that made me think he was
done talking about it, so I said the first thing that came in my mind to change
the topic.
“So, is
that why Alec and you look so different?” As soon as it was out of my mouth, I
regretted having said it.
Jace looked
surprise, perhaps because he didn’t expect me to realize about the differences
quit this soon, or ask him about it so suddenly.
“So you
realized. Yes, that’s the reason precisely. More to it, Alec is not my real
brother. After my father was killed, his parents adopted me into their home and
we became very close. He’s the only friend I had.” He was thoughtful for a
moment after adding “Well, asides from Isabelle. She’s Alec’s sister.” He
explained.
“So, they
are the only friends you’ve got? Don’t you have friends at school?” I was
surprised, I thought he’d be like the super popular guy, but then, when we were
at school, it was as if people were afraid of him, well, boys mostly. The girls
stared at him drooling.
“To tell
you the truth, I don’t want to have other friends. I’m happy with just Alec and
Izzy.” I couldn’t understand that, but, if I was honest, I didn’t like the
attention that much, so I guess I understand him.
We were at
my house now. “This is where I live” I said shyly. “Guess I’ll see you
tomorrow”
I expected
him to say goodbye and live. Instead
he kissed me in the cheek and said “Already looking forward to see you tomorrow
Clary” And then he turn and started walking the way we’ve come, leaving me
starring after him, stunned by what he’d done.
