Distractions - Chapter 14: Chapter 14

.
"Ugh!" Everest slammed her head down on the desk. It was times like these when she wondered why she ever decided that she liked writing. "Writing is hard!"
There was a chuckle from behind the purple haired girl and she turned. Her eyes were narrowed in frustration and there was a bruise forming on her forehead revealing how she had decided to express her frustration to the world.
Alec stood in the doorway, amused concern written across his features. He crossed the room, his eyebrows knitting together as he saw the mark on her forehead. "Are you alright?"
She nodded. "Yep. I just hate writing at the moment." Her voice was bright and cheerful, disguising just how frustrated and overwhelmed she was.
He chuckled again and offered her a hand. "Well, if you want to take a break I'm heading to the Ops Center if you want to join me?"
"Sure. I need a break before I throw my computer out the window." She accepted his hand and he led her to the main part of the Institute.
Clary was on the phone with somebody, Izzy was standing by a bunch of small monitors, and Jace was leaning back in a chair with an iPad, looking extremely annoyed as Clary talked to the person on the other line.
"We found the Cup. I have so much to tell you. Call me back."
'Ah, so she's talking to Simon, the guy Jace kind of lowkey hates. Fun,' Everest thought.
Everest leaned on the back of Jace's chair and watched as he played Solitaire. Dots connected in her brain as she analyzed the cards. "You can place the Jack down and then place that stack with 10-2. And then once you find the Ace you can complete that suit," she said quietly, pointing at the cards she was talking about.
He looked up at her in surprise. "How'd you catch that? I didn't even see it and I've been staring at it for five minutes."
Everest shrugged, hiding her discomfort. She had always been good at seeing the things people missed for the most part, when it came to games and stuff like that at least, she didn't know why. "You probably missed it because you've been staring at it for so long."
A faint beeping noise grew stronger until an alarm sounded through the Institute. Jace stood up quickly, nearly toppling Everest over. The two of them, Izzy, and Clary peered at the screen Alec was staring at. A red circle was hovering just outside the Institute's wards.
"There's something outside the perimeter," Jace said, stating the obvious.
"I told you—" Alec began.
"Don't say it."
"What's happening?" Clary demanded. Everest grabbed her backpack from the corner she had accidentally left it in. She holstered her gun and pulled her hair back into a ponytail.
"Looks like someone's trying to break in," said Izzy.
The five of them began walking to the front door, each of them grabbing a weapon.
"Could be the Circle."
"Told you so." Alec smirked.
"Too soon," Jace grumbled.
"There's no such thing as too soon for an I told you so," Everest chimed. She grabbed her sister's elbow and yanked her along. She had stared at the screen for a moment too long and Everest had run out of patience.
They approached the area where the intruder was supposed to be, their weapons creating a circle of light around them. Everest's gun glinted in the blue-white light of the seraph blades. It could be a fun thing to add to a story.
'No. Bad Everest. Not the time,' she scolded herself.
There was a silhouette of a person between the trees. They were holding something that looked suspiciously like a body.
"This better not be some stranger with Simon's dead body because he was an idiot," Everest muttered softly. Izzy flicked her cheek without her eyes leaving the figure.
"Don't move!" Jace shouted.
"Drop what you're holding. Put your hands up," Alec commanded.
The figure turned, revealing themselves as two boys (neither were quite mature enough to be considered 'men' yet in Everest's mind) that Everest knew quite well: Raphael Santiago and Simon Lewis. Simon was pale and his head lulled limply to the side. Around her, the others lowered their weapons.
"Oh my God, Simon!" Clary shouted.
Everest rushed forward but Alec caught her arm and pulled her back. She was almost thankful. She didn't know what she was going to do once she reached her brother figures and didn't want to know what her gut reaction would have been. It was either collapse and cry or smack Simon and/or Raphael until something good happened. Neither was a good option.
...
She leaned against a table with her head tilted back and eyes closed. She breathed through her mouth, trying her hardest not to inhale the smell of musty death that filled the Institute's basement.
Everest opened her eyes again and stared blankly at the body of her friend. Clary was leaning over him, her emerald eyes filled with tears. Jace, Alec, and Raphael looked incredibly annoyed with the whole situation while Izzy's expression was filled with concern. Izzy rested her hand on top of Everest's, but the girl shook her head. She couldn't deal with physical touch right then, it would probably send her over the edge and cause her to break down. She couldn't afford for that to happen. She needed to be strong, if only for one more day.
"People will be wondering what we found outside the perimeter," Jace said, breaking the silence.
"I'll go. I'll tell them we didn't find anything. Nobody will come down here," Alec volunteered. He cast an unreadable expression towards Everest before he left.
"I fucking jinxed it," Everest mumbled quietly. Nobody but Raphael seemed to hear her, and for that she was grateful.
"I might be a vampire, but I was raised a good Catholic." The heaviness on Everest's shoulders eased just a little bit hearing Raphael's voice. The faint Spanish accent mixed with his odd ability to make every word flow together had always soothed her.
"The vampires breached the Accords. Killing Simon is grounds for war," Izzy said angrily. She glowered at Raphael.
"The vampires were not behind this. Just Camille. She attacked Simon on her own," Raphael defended. Izzy and Jace rolled their eyes.
"And how do we know you're telling the truth?" Jace demanded.
"I could have gotten rid of him, but instead I brought him here. I don't want trouble with the Shadowhunters."
The look in Raphael's eyes told Everest all she needed to know. Raphael hadn't just brought Simon to the Institute because he didn't want to pick a fight with Shadowhunters, but because he didn't want to pick a fight with Everest. She dipped her head in his direction to let him know she understood.
"Smart decision."
"I warned the mundane to stay away, but Camille gave him a taste of her own blood. And like an addict he came back wanting more."
The dots were connecting in Everest's mind. Camille, a vampire, gave Simon, a human, her blood. Humans become vampires when they consume vampire blood. Simon could become a vampire.
Everest's head shot up and she locked eyes with Raphael. She saw the reluctance and annoyance in his gaze and she knew that her assumption was true. Simon Lewis would become a vampire. Especially if Clary had anything to do with it.
She walked over to the table where Simon laid and glared down at him. "Stupid Simon. You don't go back to a vampire clan's home base unless you know you won't get turned!"
"The only reason Simon ever tasted Camille's blood is because of you!" Clary shouted. "You kidnapped him! You drug him to the Hotel Dumort! You—you delivered him to Camille!"
"Clary," Everest snapped. "No he didn't, not on his own accord at least."
The three Shadowhunters stared at her.
"What are you talking about? That's what he did."
"No, Jace, it's not. Raphael was ordered by Camille to kidnap Clary, not Simon and I. But the backup plan was me and whoever else strayed from the group. Raphael put Simon in a locked room far away from where Camille usually is for a reason! He didn't want Simon to become a vampire or a fledgling or whatever he is now! He finds Simon annoying enough as it is." Everest unclenched her fists as she breathed out slowly.
"Everest is right. I never meant for this to happen," Raphael said softly.
Clary hugged Simon's cold, limp body to her chest, sobbing. "Simon. Simon, please. Come back, please!"
Everest looked away as a memory from four years ago surfaced.
"No! Raphael please! Don't leave me Phae! Please, I need you!" cried a fourteen year old girl with burnt orange hair as she fought against the ropes digging into her arms and legs. "Please Phae! I can't live without you! No, come back Raphael!"
Everest blinked away the tears as her sister spoke up louder than before, her voice filled with hope.
"So I could have Simon back? Alive and breathing?"
"No, Ritz. That's the thing. Simon wouldn't be alive or breathing, he'd be a vampire. That's the price we'd pay to have him back in our lives as more than memories and a gravestone to visit twice a year."
"Yeah, and not the sexed up, romantic kind. The ugly, bloodsucking, coffin-dwelling kind," Jace added.
Raphael scoffed. "That's offensive."
"Really?" Jace raised an eyebrow.
"Coffin implies wooden box. We sleep in caskets now. They're made of 14-karat gold." Raphael smirked. He leaned back against the back of the pew, his textured jacket leaving tracks on the dusty wood.
"My bad." Jace looked moments away from flipping Raphael off.
"It's almost sunrise," Raphael said. "Simon must be turned into a vampire tonight or be staked through the heart."
Everest crossed her arms across her stomach, her fingers digging into her upper arms. She shook her head, mouthing 'no' over and over again. She couldn't make that decision, she wouldn't make that decision. It wasn't hers to make; it was Simon's. And since he couldn't make that decision, it fell to his mundane family who also couldn't make it. So it was up to Clary since she was closer to Simon. Everest bit her tongue to stop from crying. She wouldn't make that decision, she couldn't.
"And if I do neither?" Clary asked, her voice cracking.
"His soul will be trapped for eternity. You have until sunset to decide. The clock is ticking."
Clary turned to her little sister whose eyes were shining with unshed tears and whose upper arms were scared from years of her nails digging into the skin in moments of high stress—like the one they were in now.
"Everest? I don't know what to do," she admitted. "What—what would you do?" She walked closer to her sister.
It took a while for Everest to respond, but when she did, she was sure it wasn't the answer the redhead was wanting.
"I don't know. I think that I'd want to do what the person would want most, but eventually give up and just be selfish and bring them back if they were super special to me." Everest locked eyes with Raphael as she spoke. She was indirectly referencing her birthday four years ago and he knew it. "But this isn't my decision Clary. This isn't even your choice. It's Simon's."
"But he can't make that decision Everest. We have to make it for him!"
"No. You have to make it for him." Everest began to walk away. "I'm not going to make such an important choice for someone I care so much about. It's not my choice, and since he and his family can't make that choice, it's your decision now since you're closer to him. I'm not going to make that decision."
Clary scoffed. "I don't know why I'm surprised. This is what you do. You ignore hard decisions and make others make them for you."
Everest froze at Clary's words. Gasps were heard throughout the room and there was a low growl coming from Raphael's direction. Everest turned slowly, avoiding looking at anyone but her sister.
"You know what Clary? Maybe you're right. Maybe I do pass off hard decisions onto others, but you know what? I have my reasons." Everest glared at Clary, pushing away her hurt.
"Oh really? Reasons like what?"
"Reasons like almost being killed at fourteen because someone I love dearly had to make a hard decision. One that could have ended in my neck being snapped no matter what choice he made, a choice that caused me to believe that said person was dead for four years. Reasons like—like not being accepted by my own mom because I made a hard decision to tell her who I really am. So yeah, maybe I do try and avoid hard decisions, but I have my fucking reasons. So don't you dare think or say otherwise."
Clary's face had paled while Everest was speaking. "Everest..."
"No. Just...just no." Everest sighed and began walking back up the stairs. "Just text me when you've made your decision."
Just before Everest reached the top of the stairs, she heard Izzy speak. She paused, listening intently.
"I don't think you know Everest as well as you think you do, Clary. I don't know how much she told you about her life from seven to fourteen, but she met a lot of people connected to the Shadow World. And not all of them stuck around." There was a beat of silence and when Izzy spoke again, her voice wavered.
"I don't know if she ever told you why she doesn't like chairs, and it's not my place to tell you the full story, but I will tell you this. Everest Fairchild has gone through so much in her life, and has watched so many people be hurt or killed in front of her that it's a miracle we still have Everest at all. She watched someone she thinks of like a brother be threatened into staying away from her. The threat was his life as well as hers. Her neck was literally held inches from being snapped. As it is, her leg was broken in multiple places and she has so much trauma involving sitting in chairs and so many other things."
"I—I didn't know," Clary whispered, so quietly Everest could barely hear.
"That's my point Clary! You don't know everything about Everest! You don't know what she does in her free time when she's not babysitting or writing. You don't know exactly why she hates making hard decisions. You don't know how hard her life has been and still is."
"I should go apologize," Clary said.
"Not right now. You need to leave Everest alone before she shatters. You've done enough already to start the process, don't be the one to finish it," Izzy snarled before Everest heard the distinctive clicking of her heels.
Everest rushed up to the hallway and waited for her friend. The girls fell into step with each other. Their postures changed to similar stances and to a stranger, they looked like they had been raised together.
"I guess you heard that?" Izzy asked quietly.
"Yeah." Everest smiled. It was only a half smile and it was full of forced happiness, but it was a smile. "Thanks for defending me like that. You didn't have to."
Izzy rolled her eyes. "Your sister shouldn't treat you like that. Despite all of our fights, none of my brothers have ever said anything so rude before."
"That's just a stressed Clary for you, I guess."
"That doesn't excuse her."
Everest shrugged but said nothing more as Alec approached.
"Mom and Dad want to see us in their office Izzy," he said.
"I'd ask to join, but seeing as I basically told your mom off the last time I saw her, I'll be at the Ops Center." Alec smirked at her comment.
Everest waved to the two as she left the hall. She ignored Alec's concerned question ("Is she okay?") and Izzy's defeated answer ("I really don't think so."). She sat down against a wall and pulled out her phone. She hesitated, thumb hovering over the call button. She pressed it and held the phone to her ear, the dialing noises echoing through the empty room more than she'd have liked.
"Hey," she greeted softly.
"Escritora? What is it?"
Jace P.O.V."
A ringing cut through Clary's sobs. Jace glared at the vampire as he answered his phone.
"Escritora? What is it?"
Raphael's gaze fixed on Clary and Jace's glare intensified. "I believe so, yes." He looked down before he spoke again. "No. No, I do not think it is possible. Your sister is almost as stubborn as you."
Jace and Clary looked at each other. Clary only had one sister, Everest. Was Raphael talking to Everest? But why would she be calling him?
"I'm sorry. I truly did not mean for this to happen. I didn't even want to kidnap him anyway." As he watched, Raphael's gaze softened. "I know. That doesn't stop me from being sorry."
"I'll talk to you later then...Love you too Escritora."
He hung up and Clary began hounding him with questions.
"Who was that? Was that Everest? Why did she call you? How do you know her?" The redhead's questions came one after the other so quickly Jace had a hard time telling them apart.
The vampire's gaze hardened once more. His phone dinged and he glanced down. Raphael sighed before turning to the Shadowhunters.
"That was Everest. She called me to ask how certain I am that you will make the decision that she feels is morally correct in this case." Jace noted how carefully Raphael phrased his words, as if trying to keep Everest's opinion from influencing Clary.
"How does she know you?" Clary demanded again.
"I met her when she was seven and after a few years, we became very close. She was—and still is—like my little sister."
"You're the one who was threatened with Everest's death that Izzy was talking about, aren't you?" Jace asked. Raphael nodded.
"Why didn't she tell me?" Clary asked, as if Raphael had all the answers.
"I don't know." He was lying, Jace realized. Raphael knew exactly why Everest hadn't told Clary, he just didn't want to say. "But I respect Everest's choice and you should too."
Clary turned away, but Jace stalked towards the vampire.
"What aren't you saying Vamp?" he snarled quietly. "You're hiding something, something about Everest. And I will find out, and if it is something that I—that we—should have known before, you will pay."
Raphael smirked. "I see Everest has already wormed herself into your heart, Wayland. Not surprising. That girl could worm her way into the Inquisitor's heart and control her like a puppet if she so wished."
Jace's eyes narrowed further. "And she hasn't made a home in your cold, dead heart, vampire?"
Raphael chuckled. It was a low and dangerous chuckle, one that sent shivers up his spine. "Of course she has. She made herself a spot in my heart within a week of us meeting."
"Then what are you saying?"
"What I'm saying is that Everest Fairchild is very special. Not only to me, her friends, and family, but also to a great deal of other people, mundanes and Downworlders alike. So you better be prepared to deal with an army should you be the one to cause my little sister to shatter. And that goes for all of you Shadowhunters."
Raphael stood from the pew and stalked to the corner farthest from Jace with a dangerous smirk across his face. Jace was left wondering what had just happened, and if Everest was really in so many people's good graces that there would be an army of people backing her up if something happened.
'Yes she would,' he decided, realizing just how much he cared for Everest already. It had hardly been a week since they met, too. 'And I'd be part of that army too.'