Distractions - Chapter 49: Chapter 49

Coats floated around her like a billowing cloak as Everest swam desperately for shore. Her faded purple hair was plastered to her head and she wasn't quite sure if the liquid running down her face was water or tears. It didn't matter in the long run though, so long as it wasn't blood.
The shoreline was getting clearer, and Everest could vaguely make out the outline of fishing boats and docks. She hoped that there was someone there, preferably someone with a phone.
She finally made it to land, soaked and heavy with water and all the layers she had put on in a desperate attempt to escape the cold on Valentine's ship. She was gasping for air now; she hadn't swam like that in years. She could touch the bottom now, and once she could kneel without her torso being underwater, she let herself collapse onto the dirt at the water's edge.
"Miss? Miss? Blaise! Someone's in the water!"
Everest's eyes began to close as two people ran towards her. She forced her eyes open when two faintly blurry faces hovered over her. They looked rather similar with the same eye shape and hair color, though the one on the left had a rather large amount of childhood chubbiness left in his face, though it made his large, doe-like brown eyes all that much cuter. The one on the right had a sort of steeliness in her eyes that made Everest wonder what had happened in her life that caused her to guard herself so much.
"Kid, you gotta stay awake," the one on the right said harshly, though worry slipped through into her words.
Everest sighed and her eyes began to close again. "'M tired," she mumbled.
"I know you're tired, but you have to stay awake. I'm not going to jail because some kid decided to die while I was on the same dock."
Everest tried to smile—this person was funny—but she was too tired from everything that had happened recently.
"No, Kid, don't close your eyes. No. Shit. Don't go to sleep. Don't go night night, out like a light! Shit!"
"Night night, out like a light?" the other voice, much younger than the other, asked with a small laugh, despite the situation.
"Shut it Peter. Not now."
The last thing Everest heard before giving into exhaustion was, "Does she look familiar to you?"
Trigger Warning Over
...
When Everest woke up, she was still by the docks. Only now, she was lying on her side in grey sweatpants and a white sweatshirt on a bench overlooking the docks.
"You're awake, good." Everest looked up to see the girl from earlier approaching with a glare and scowl. "I wasn't looking forward to explaining to Peter that he watched a kid die."
"I'm not a kid," Everest frowned, choosing not to comment on how the girl thought she was going to die.
The stranger raised an eyebrow. "How old are you?"
"Eighteen."
"A year younger than me. You're a kid."
Everest rolled her eyes and sat up. The girl didn't offer to help, just watched impassively. "Where am I?"
"Queens."
Everest's jaw dropped with a painful snap. How had she gotten to Queens? Granted, she didn't really know where Valentine's ship was, so maybe Queens wasn't so far away. But still.
"Queens?"
"Queens."
"Oh shit."
"Yup."
Everest and the stranger just stared at each other for a while, Everest trying to process everything and the stranger observing the purple haired girl who still looked like a drowned pompom.
"Why were you in the river?" the girl demanded suddenly.
"I—" Everest didn't know how to answer that. Did she tell the truth about her jumping from her estranged father's ship? Or did she lie and say that she fell out of her friend's party boat?
"The truth."
Well, that settled it. Everest would give the girl the truth, a version of it anyway.
Everest shrugged in what she hoped was an unconcerned way."I fell off my father's boat and I guess I got swept into a current."
The girl's glare lessened and she stopped scowling for the most part. "I'm Blaise. The kid who found you was Peter, my brother." At Everest's questioning look, Blaise continued. "Peter went home for dinner with our aunt."
"Why didn't you go with?" Everest asked.
Blaise scoffed. Or she might have chuckled. Everest wasn't quite sure. "And leave a potentially dead kid around for some creep to find? No thanks, I'd rather go to work in my club clothes."
Everest had to admit, Blaise had a point. "I'm Everest."
Blaise nodded. "Do you need to call someone?"
Blaise changed the subject a lot, Everest noted. There wasn't a lot of unneeded silence or awkward small talk. It was...nice.
Everest thought about Clary, Simon, Jace, Izzy, Magnus, Alec, Luke, Gino, Roslyn—no. Not Roslyn. Roslyn was who knows where in some random country. She couldn't call Roslyn.
"Is that a no then?" Blaise asked when Everest's silence stretched on longer than it should have.
"No, no. I do."
"Here." Blaise handed Everest a phone in a dark red case with black and white doodles inked across the back. "Call whoever you need to. Just make sure I get my phone back in one, functional piece."
Everest smiled gratefully as she began to dial all the numbers she had memorized. She didn't have Jace, Alec, or Magnus's numbers memorized, and Luke had changed his recently so she couldn't call him. Everest tried Clary, Simon, and Izzy's numbers, but they all went to voicemail. She tried Gino's number, but he denied the call. So did Raphael and the Harpers.
"Think, Everest, think. Who can you call that answers random numbers?" Everest muttered, tapping her foot against the metal bench.
Then it hit her. Lily, the vampire in Raphael's clan that she met in a cooking class! Lily always answered random numbers.
"Hello?" Lily answered in a poor imitation of a southern drawl.
"Hey Lily," Everest said breathily, glad to hear a familiar voice.
"Everest? Is that you?"
"Yeah, it's me."
"Where are you? Raphael said you were kidnapped or some shit like that and that no one can find you."
"Long story, but basically Valentine had me captive on his ship with Jace. Me, Jace, and Clary escaped, and then I passed out. Now I'm at a random dock in Queens and you're the only one who answered the phone."
Lily snorted. "That's hilarious."
"Not if you're me," Everest protested. "I'm at a random dock in Queens!"
"Sure, sure. What do you want me to do about it?"
"I don't know! Tell Phae or something?"
"Can't. Raphael is out with that Seelie friend of yours trying to find you."
Everest huffed, though she did file the information about Raphael and Gino being in the same vicinity away for later. Blaise raised an eyebrow. "Can you come pick me up then?"
It was silent, then there was some shuffling. "Sure. Be there in a few." Then Lily hung up.
Everest gave the phone a rather disgruntled look before handing it to Blaise. "My friend will be here soon."
Blaise nodded and started typing away on her phone while Everest stared out into the water. What would happen now? She didn't know where Jace or Clary were, so they had to be located. She had to get back to the Institute to find out what was going on, but that would probably require coffee.
"Hey Everest!"
Everest glanced away from the water to see Lily running towards her at a mundane pace. Everest smiled a little when the vampire approached.
"It was nice to meet you, Blaise," Everest told the girl who seemed too familiar for Everest's comfort. "Thanks for not leaving me to die. Tell Peter I say thanks too."
Blaise nodded. She did that a lot. Blaise handed Everest a bag as she spoke. "Will do. Try not to swan dive into any more rivers, alright? I don't want to have to save your ass again. This is your stuff, by the way."
Everest laughed. "I wasn't planning on doing it again, but I'll try extra hard not to fall into the river now."
Blaise smirked and began to walk away. Everest watched her go curiously. Where did she know her from?
"Who was that?" Lily asked with a teasing grin.
"I don't actually know. I just know her name is Blaise and she's too familiar for my liking."
Lily hummed. "Where to now?" she asked, letting Everest hop onto her back.
"Coffee. But not Java Jones. I don't wanna be attacked by Sara and Mark for disappearing."
Lily hummed again and took off at a speed that was too fast for a mundane to see, but slow enough that Everest didn't go flying off her back. It was only a few seconds later that they stopped near a small coffee shop. Everest was pretty sure that this particular coffee shop was only a few blocks from the Institute.
"I'll see you around, Everest," Lily said, waving and then disappearing in a blur.
Everest walked in, wincing at the sharp ringing that came from the bell above the door.
"Hello! Welcome to Calliope's Coffee House, how can I help you?" a pleasant voice chirped from behind the counter.
Everest gave the barista what she hoped was a nice smile. "Hello. Could I have a M'n'M cookie and an extra large coffee with two espresso shots and creamer?"
To the barista's credit, she didn't even blink at the absurd caffeine level in Everest's order. "12.37 and your order will be right out."
Everest handed the money over the counter, grateful that her wallet hadn't been ruined in the water. She accepted the cookie and leaned against the wall to wait for her drink. She sighed. So much had happened over the past few days, and she only knew what happened to her. She had no idea what had happened at the Institute, not really. Clary hadn't exactly explained anything about what had been going on while she and Jace were on the ship.
"Are you alright?" the barista asked, handing her the drink.
Everest smiled slightly. "It's just been a long few days."
"I get it, it's been a long few days for me too." The barista leaned against the counter, her micro-box braids swinging in her face slightly. "Want to talk about it?"
Everest shrugged, then took a sip of her drink. It wasn't bad. It was smooth and had just the right amount of creamer to offset the bitter espresso shots. Calliope's Coffee House needed to be added to her coffee shop rotation.
"Eh, it's a lot of family stuff. I wouldn't want to burden you."
"Whatever it is, it can't be worse than my brother-figure deciding to go back to the place where he almost died every year just to attend a reunion that will be full of pompous brats and gross old people. Or his guardians and him getting in a fight over it."
Everest grimaced. "That sucks. Still, I'm not sure you  want the full story."
"Then you don't have  to tell me. Just thought I'd offer an ear if you wanted to rant."
Everest's smile was a little more genuine this time. "Thanks. I'm Everest by the way."
"Hailey."
Everest glanced up at the clock and sighed. "I've got to go deal with whatever chaos has filled my life. I'll see you later, Hailey."
"See you 'round Everest."
Everest's steps were slow and dragged on the ground as she walked to the Institute. She had finished her cookie in the coffee shop, and had drank quite a bit of her coffee already. She stopped in front of the gates, hesitating. Was she ready for whatever awaited her inside? Was she ready to deal with whatever trouble she was likely to be in when she walked in?
She stepped forward, squeezing between the gate and the stone pillar that was supposed to hold the gate up. (Maybe that gap should be fixed.) She had to be ready for whatever awaited her inside. She had to. She had to help her friends fight Valentine, she couldn't just hide away in a coffee shop forever. Besides, they might think she was dead if she was gone too long. Especially if Clary and Jace found their way home before her.
She approached the ornate front doors. She tugged at the handle gently at first, then more urgently. The doors wouldn't open. Why wouldn't they open? They opened for Shadowhunters, so why weren't they opening?
"Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Shit!" Everest slammed her open hand against the door, the thick wood absorbing any sound that may have occurred when she hit the door. "Damn the world."
Trigger warning: Panic attack
Everest slunk away from the doors, defeated and confused. She sunk to the ground, face in her hands and shoulders up to her ears. Her breathing was heavy, but she wasn't hyperventilating yet. She counted that as a win at least.
'What can I feel under my hands?' she asked silently, answering her own question after a few moments of moving her hands on the ground around her. 'There's dirt and rocks and grass. There's also sticks and dandelions.'
Everest went on listing what she could see, hear, smell, taste, and touch for a few more minutes until her breathing evened, the burning behind her eyes lessened, and the cement block in her throat went away.
Everest exhaled slowly, eyes fluttering closed as she leaned her head against the stone walls of the Institute. She should get up, try the doors again. Or she should find a phone, maybe go ask Hailey at the coffee shop if she could use a phone there. She should try to call Clary or Jace or Izzy or Gino or Luke or the Harpers or Raphael again. Someone who would know what to do, someone who might know what was happening. She should get up and do something besides sit against a back wall of the Institute in near tears. She should get up and go to Magnus's or the hotel or the Jade Wolf. She should do something. She needed to do something. Why couldn't she get up and do something?
Everest cried out, hands pressing against her face in hopes of warding off her frustration. Why was her executive function giving out now of all times? Why couldn't it wait a few more hours?
Trigger Warning Over
"Mrow?"
Everest removed her hands from her face only to be face to face with a familiar blue Persian cat.
"Church?"
The cat meowed again and padded up to Everest. He sat in front of her rather smugly, as if he knew something she didn't.
"You exist? In this dimension? I thought you were just someone from the other dimension," Everest mused, placing a hand out for Church to sniff.
Church meowed indignantly, as indignantly as a cat could at least, but still placed his head under her hand. Everest scratched behind his ears with a small smile; he was soft. Church wound around her arm until he was at her waist. He pawed at her stomach, as if demanding to sit on her lap. Not wanting to meet an angry Church, Everest stretched out her legs, and the cat settled on her lap with a smug meow.
"How would you feel about being my cat?" Everest asked, petting Church.
Church gave her an approving look (how was this cat so expressive?) and nodded.
"You're very expressive," Everest told him seriously, her smile growing a bit more. "If I didn't know better, I'd guess that you weren't actually a cat."
Everest peered at him curiously. "Are you a cat? Like, actually?" Church blinked. "Magnus would know. I could ask Magnus. But Magnus isn't here and I don't remember his number."
Church gave Everest a rather unimpressed look until Everest sucked in a breath.
"I could go to Magnus's apartment and ask him!"
Church jumped off Everest's lap and onto a nearby bench. Now with proper motivation, Everest was able to stand and once she was upright, Church hopped into her arms and her coffee held carefully in one hand.
"To Magnus's place we go."
...
"Why do you have a cat?"
Everest turned to see a middle-aged woman with silver hair tied back in a slick ponytail leaning against an open apartment door. The woman had dark eyes full of confidence and she wore black jeans, a dark blue blouse, and black boots. She was tall and radiated power. If Everest hadn't just dealt with an angry Valentine, the woman would have terrified Everest.
"I met it on my way here," Everest explained. "I'm on my way to my partner's place."
The woman looked Everest up and down for a few moments the same way Blaise had earlier. She must not have hated whatever she saw because she nodded.
"Who's your partner?" Everest appreciated that she didn't automatically assume that Everest meant she had a boyfriend when she said 'partner.'
"Magnus Bane."
The woman raised an eyebrow. "The glittery man that always has people coming in and out of his house? That Magnus Bane?"
"Uhh, yes?"
The woman snorted. "Good for him, finding someone that isn't a walking disco ball."
Everest laughed a little, jostling Church slightly. "Yeah, his usual company is rather eccentric, isn't it?"
The woman nodded, then gave Everest a long stare. "Is everything alright?"
Everest blinked. What was with people asking her that lately? "Yeah, it's just been a long few days."
The woman hummed. "Well, hopefully spending time with that cat of yours helps some."
"Yeah, hopefully. I'm Everest by the way. I'd shake your hand but," Everest nodded down at the lump of fur  and sass in her arms, "there's a cat in my arms."
The woman dipped her head in acknowledgement. "Roxanne. Nice to meet you, Everest."
"Nice to meet you too, Roxanne. Maybe I'll see you later?"
"Maybe indeed."
Everest sent Roxanne a small smile as she left. The woman smiled too, though it seemed forced. But not in a way that made it seem like Roxanne didn't like Everest, rather it seemed forced in a way that made it seem as if Roxanne didn't smile all that much.
Lots of movement was coming from Magnus's apartment so Everest opened the door slowly. Her eyes widened and burned at the sight in front of her.
Izzy, Clary, and Magnus were standing tensely around the couch where Jace was kneeling besides Alec. Alec's eyes were closed and his chest was hardly moving. Was he—no, Everest couldn't think like that. It wasn't good for anyone when she thought like that. She couldn't think like that.
A dull thud reached her ears. A small stone was rolling away from the couch. What was that?
"What's happening?" Izzy demanded.
Trigger Warning: Near death experience
"He's slipping." Magnus's words were so soft Everest barely heard them. The pain in his voice froze Everest in place. What? What did that mean? Everest wanted to rush in and demand answers, but she was once more frozen. But this time, she was frozen in shock and horror. She preferred it when she was frozen earlier.
"No..." Clary breathed out with the same helplessness that Everest felt bubbling in her veins.
Alec started wheezing. Everest's breaths were starting to come in shuddering gasps again.
Jace's voice became more urgent. "Thy people will be my people, thy God will be my God. When thou diest, I will die. And there will I be buried. The Angel do so to me."
Alec breathed out once more and then his head fell slowly to the side. Everest's breath became stuck in her throat and tears threatened to fall. No. He couldn't be dead. He couldn't. It wasn't possible. It wasn't fair. He didn't deserve to die. He couldn't be dead.
Jace gasped and hugged Alec tightly, eyes bright with tears that threatened to fall down his cut-up face. Tears slipped down Clary and Magnus's faces, as they did Everest's, and Izzy stared with her mouth parted slightly and eyes brimming with unshed tears.
"And more also...if aught but death part thee and me." Jace's words were shaky. "Please don't leave me, Alec."
Church nuzzled into Everest's arms as if trying to comfort her, but she only distantly noticed. It wasn't fair. Alec couldn't be gone. He didn't deserve that. No. He wasn't gone, he couldn't be gone. No.
Trigger Warning Over
Another set of shuddering breaths joined the symphony of grief. "If...aught but death...part thee and me."
Izzy's hands clasped in front of her, a soft smile forming on her face. Clary and Magnus each stumbled slightly in shock, grabbing each other's hands for stability and comfort. Everest's mouth was wide open and she nearly dropped Church. Jace pulled back slightly to stare at Alec, whose gaze was slightly vacant but was very much alive.
Jace and Alec embraced tightly, both crying.
"Jace Wayland!" Everest, along with everyone else, turned to see a Black man entering the apartment through one of the side doors (Magnus's apartment was massive) followed by four Shadowhunters. "You are hereby sentenced to the City of Bones to await trial for the charge of high treason and aiding Valentine in a war against the Clave."
Jace straightened up and approached the man. On the couch, Alec struggled to sit up.
"Wait, what...what the hell is going on?"
Jace glanced back at Alec. "It's all right, Alec. All that matters is that you're back."
The Shadowhunters that had accompanied the man grabbed Jace's arms and began to escort him out of the apartment. Before he was out of the apartment though, Jace glanced back and met Everest's teary gaze.
"Everything'll be okay, I swear it. I swear it on purple Skittles."
The Black man rolled his eyes and followed the group out of the apartment. They all watched Jace go, though Clary, Izzy, Magnus, and Alec seemed rather confused about what Jace said.
Church leapt from Everest's arms startling her from the horror-induced frozen state. But still, she didn't move.
"What's a cat doing in here?" Clary asked, breaking the tense silence. She was staring at Church curiously.
"There's no—Church?" Magnus's voice raised an octave upon seeing the cat. "Why are you in my apartment? Better yet, how are you in my New York apartment? Did Tessa bring you?"
"Who's Church?" Alec asked, allowing his sister to help him sit up.
"The cat. Old friends of mine found him in an old church—hence his name—and he turned out to be immortal because of a ritual he was used in." Magnus shook his head. "He's rather grumpy and temperamental. He really only ever liked one person."
Church slipped away from Clary, who had stuck her hand out for him to sniff, and darted back into Everest's arms.
"Where's he—EVEREST!" Clary shrieked.
Izzy's hands flew to her mouth as she caught sight of the eighteen year old with faded purple hair that was still damp from the river. Magnus and Alec turned too. Magnus's eyes filled with tears once more and Alec's mouth parted. Everest's eyes widened as she tried to keep tears at bay.
Everest, recognizing the signs of an oncoming charge, set Church and her coffee down on the table beside her. She was knocked back into the wall with the force of her sister's hug. Hot tears soaked her collar, but she didn't care. She was clutching Clary just as tightly as she was being clutched and she was crying too.
"Everest, you're back. I missed you so much! Please don't do that again. Next time hold my hand tighter," Clary muttered. Her voice was thick.
"I'm not exactly planning on jumping from a ship again, Ritz."
Clary leaned away, an annoyed crease forming between her eyebrows. "I don't care if you're planning on doing it again or not. Just don't do it."
A short, watery laugh escaped Everest. "Okay Ritz. I won't."
"Why were you gone so long?"
Everest sighed, trying to come up with an answer for her sister's question. She wasn't going to tell her about passing out in a river and meeting Blaise and Peter, not yet. "Time is a social construct, Ritz," she said instead of an actual explanation.
Clary raised an eyebrow at the lack of an actual answer. "Uh huh."
Clary was pushed away from Everest and Izzy took her place before Clary could ask for a better answer. Izzy hugged Everest even tighter than Clary had.
"Stop making me think that I've lost you," Izzy said sharply. Then her voice softened. "I missed you, Sunny. Please don't do that again."
"What part?" Everest got Deja vu. Hadn't she and Izzy had a similar conversation after everything that happened at the Hotel Dumort?
"All of it!" Izzy huffed.
Everest just smiled and hugged Izzy tighter. After a few moments, Izzy detached herself and nodded towards Alec and Magnus, who was now sitting on the couch.
"Go say hi to them before they break."
Everest squeezed Izzy's hand again before approaching her boyfriends. At least, she hoped they were still her boyfriends even after everything that had happened.
Magnus yanked Everest down onto the couch and kissed her, pulling her as close to him as possible. Guess that answered that question. Everest smiled into the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"You're home," Magnus mumbled, resting his forehead against hers.
"I'm home."
Someone huffed lightly behind Everest and she turned to see Alec with a small pout on his face, though his eyes were alight with happiness. Everest scooted over to Alec and wrapped her arms around him, though she could tell that her leg was still tangled with Magnus's. He kissed her gentler than Magnus had, though that might be because he had just been unconscious not even twenty minutes ago, and then he pressed a kiss to her forehead.
"I missed you."
"I missed you too. All of you."
Someone coughed and Everest detangled herself from Alec and Magnus to raise an eyebrow at her sister and soon-to-be-Parabatai. Oh shit. She had forgotten about that. Luckily she could still feel the ring (and all her jewelry for that matter) so it was all good.
"Get a room," Clary deadpanned.
Despite everything that had happened, everyone laughed. It felt good to laugh.
They just existed for a moment longer, relishing in being together again, even if Jace had just been taken away again. They would get him back. They had to get him back. No matter what, they would get him back.
"Where'd you find Church?" Magnus asked, rather out of the blue.
"The Institute."
"You went to the Institute?" Izzy's expression became rather serious. Everyone's expression did, really.
"Sort of. I went to the Institute, but I couldn't get inside."
"That'd be because of the lockdown," Magnus explained. "No one can go in or out without Aldertree's—that's the guy who just barged in  here—permission."
Everest's face scrunched up. "How fun," she muttered, leaning back into the couch cushions.
Church looked up from where he was perched beside Everest's coffee. He leapt from the table and padded towards Everest where he hopped onto the couch and settled in her lap. He purred lightly when she scratched behind his ears.
Everest looked up at Magnus when he chuckled lowly. "What?"
"Church likes you. I haven't seen that cat like anyone since 1878," Magnus mused. His eyes were sparkling, not from tears but from laughter. It was nice to see him happy again. Everest didn't like it when he was sad.
Everest shrugged. "Yeah well, I guess I'm special then."
Church meowed in a rather agreeing way. They all laughed again. All that was needed to complete the scene was Jace and possibly Roslyn and the rest of Everest's extended family. But she could solve those problems later. Right now, she just wanted to focus on soaking in the feeling of Magnus's hand in her hair and Alec's arm wrapped around her shoulder. She wanted to focus on soaking in the sight of Clary laughing and Izzy grinning. She just wanted to soak in the moment before going back to the real world and trying to solve the rest of the problems. And that's what she did.