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It was Jace "Sorry to startle you"

"It’s fine" She bent to retrieve the blanket

"Actually, I’m not sorry," he said "That’s the most emotion I’ve seen from you in days"

"I haven’t seen you in days"

"And whose fault is that? I’ve called you You don’t pick up the phone And it’s not as if I could siotten"

"Not exactly prison" She tried to sound light as she straightened up "You’ve got Magnus to keep you coested that the cast of Gilligan’s Island could do so anatohed "Aren’t you supposed to be leaving with Magnus?"

Hisfracture behind his eyes, a starburst of pain "Can’t wait to get rid of ainst herself and stared down at his hands, unable to ers were scarred and beautiful, with the faint white band of paler skin still visible where he had worn the Morgenstern ring on his right index finger The yearning to touch hio of the blankets and scream "I mean, no, it’s not that I don’t hate you, Jace"

"I don’t hate you, either"

She looked up at hilad to hear that--"

"I wish I could hate you," he said His voice was light, his mouth curved in an unconcerned half smile, his eyes sick with misery "I want to hate you I try to hate you It would be so much easier if I did hate you Sometimes I think I do hate you and then I see you and I--"

Her hands had grown nurip on the blanket "And you what?"

"What do you think?" Jace shook his head "Why should I tell you everything about how I feel when you never tellmy head on a wall, I’d be able toso violently that she found it hard to speak "Do you think it’s easy for me?" she demanded "Do you think--"

"Clary?" It was Sirace of his, startling her so badly that she dropped the blanket again She turned aside, but not fast enough to hide her expression from him, or the telltale shine in her eyes "I see," he said, after a long pause "Sorry to interrupt" He vanished back into the living roo lens of tears

"Damn it" She turned on Jace "What is it about you?" she said, with ery than she’d intended "Why do you have to ruin everything?" She shoved the blanket at him hastily and darted out of the room after Siht up to hi shut behind her "Si?"

He turned around alht here with the sun co up for hours, this struck Clary as a feeble excuse "You know you’re welco the day if you want to avoid your mom You can sleep in ood idea"

"Why not? I don’t understand why you’re going"

He s else underneath "You knohat the worst thing I can iine is?"

She blinked at hi someone I love"

She put her hand on his sleeve He didn’t move away, but he didn’t respond to her touch, either "Do youwhat she was about to ask "I mean you"

"But you can trust et the feeling you’d rather pine over so with so "Just give et over it all"

"You’re not going to tell , are you?" he said His eyes looked very wide and dark in the diht "Not this time"

"Not this time I’m sorry"

"Don’t be" He turned away fro for the porch steps "At least it’s the truth"

For whatever that’s worth She shoved her hands into her pockets, watching him as he walked away from her until he ed up by the darkness

It turned out that Magnus and Jace weren’t leaving after all; Magnus wanted to spend a few more hours at the house toas expected After a few nus while Jace, sitting on Luke’s piano bench and industriously studying soo to bed early

But sleep didn’t coh the walls, but that wasn’t as keeping her awake She was thinking of Sier felt like home to him, of the despair in Jace’s voice as he said I want to hate you, and of Magnus, not telling Jace the truth: that Alec did not want Jace to know about his relationship because he was still in love with hinus to say the words out loud, to acknowledge what the truth was, and the fact that he hadn’t said the--because that hat Alec wanted, and Magnus cared about Alec enough to give him that Maybe it was true what the Seelie Queen had said, after all: Love made you a liar

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