CHAPTER SEVEN
THE MONTGOMERY HOUSEHOLD

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     Clary had to knock on the front door. Adrian couldn't bring himself to. His hands were shaking too much, and he could feel anxiety crawling all over his skin, making him jumpy, making his stomach feel odd, like he was going to be sick. After Clary knocked—since there wasn't a doorbell—they waited on the front porch for only about thirty seconds before Adrian's entire stomach jerked uncomfortably. He let out a trembling breath.

"No one's here!" he said, masking his fear with a wide smile. He clapped his hands together as he turned away from the door, fully ready to bolt back to the main road. "Too bad, let's try again next week—" Clary shot him an exasperated look, opening her mouth and reaching for his wrist, no doubt planning to keep him there by force. Her hand locked around his wrist right when they both heard the doorknob turn. Adrian whirled back around to face the door, eyes going wide, heart jumping into his throat. He held his breath as the door creaked open. Part of him expected to be filled with disappointment, thinking it would be anyone except his mother opening the door, but that wasn't the case.

It had been nearly twenty years since she looked like she did in all the photos he had of her, but there was no mistaking her long blonde hair, or the brown eyes that mirrored Adrian's own, or even the smile she gave Clary and Adrian. She had barely changed from her early twenties. Time had been kind to her, so there was no way for Adrian to be in denial about who the woman was, no way to convince himself it wasn't her. The woman who had answered the door was Alice Rosewell, his mother, and he had a very short amount of time to absorb that before Alice spoke.

"Hi," she greeted kindly, glancing between the two of them with no recognition on her face. She looked a bit confused as to why teenagers were at her front door, but she didn't look wary. She barely looked at Adrian. She would try, but then her eyes would slip naturally to Clary. It must've been Clary's rune at work. He was suddenly very grateful it was getting colder and colder in New York. It meant them both wearing turtlenecks wasn't all that odd, and that allowed them to hide the runes on their skin. "Can I help you?"

"Hi," Clary said, matching Alice's friendliness with her own, even offering her hand. She was wearing gloves, but Adrian noticed her offer her non-dominant hand for Alice to shake. The one that didn't have a rune on the back of it. Alice took it, brow furrowing suddenly as she took in Clary. Adrian wasn't that surprised, considering Clary looked nearly identical to Jocelyn. He just hoped it'd been so long that Alice wouldn't rely on memory alone. "I'm Maia Fray, and this is my brother, Simon." She let go of Alice's hand and motioned toward Adrian, who forced himself to smile and offer his hand. He was wearing leather fingerless gloves, so he needn't worry of Alice spotting the rune on the back of his dominant hand.

"Nice to meet you," Alice said, still looking confused, but less suspicious now. She had stopped eyeing Clary curiously the second she lied about her name being Maia Fray. "I'm Alice Montgomery. How can I help you kids?" As soon as Alice revealed her mundane name to be Montgomery, Adrian had to look away. He disguised it by glancing over the front porch. There were moving boxes sitting out on the front, tape still stuck on the top, freshly cut. The one closest to him had 'kitchen' written in clumsy, child-like handwriting. His throat closed up even more.

"Sorry to bother you," Clary was saying, and Adrian blinked rapidly to get out of his own head and looked at Alice. He had the sudden urge to speak up, because seeing the moving boxes made Adrian realize what their cover story for being at the house could be, but his throat was still closed up and his anxiety was still running rampant. Fortunately, Clary was smart enough to notice the moving boxes as well, because she added, "Um, our grandparents used to live here and we were wondering if we could look around?" Alice tilted her head then, looking surprised. Clary quickly followed up the request with, "If not, that's totally fine! Just say the word and we'll leave—"

"Don't be silly," Alice said with a laugh, stepping back and opening the front door wider. "C'mon in, it's chilly out there. I'll put some tea on. Feel free to take a look around." Clary and Adrian shared a surprised look once Alice's back was turned. Considering Alice was a former Shadowhunter, neither of them had expected for it to be that easy. But then, perhaps Alice knowing how to fight was what made her so comfortable inviting strangers into her home in the first place. She was making tea, too, which meant she'd have boiling water at her disposal if something went wrong.

Or, perhaps she was normal now, and didn't think everyone was out to get her and she was just being kind. From what Adrian knew of Alice, that was most likely the case. He hoped that was the case. He hoped her mundane life was peaceful considering what she knew was in the world, in the shadows. A peaceful life was what she deserved.

Alice escaped up the hall, where they could only assume was where the kitchen was. She left Clary and Adrian to look around relive memories about their nonexistent grandparents. It was a smart excuse regardless, because now they could look around curiously without being suspicious. Adrian drifted off into a side room, which turned out to be a living room once he slid the double doors open. It was warm and homey, blankets scattered over the couch, loveseat, and recliner. A few empty cups were left on the coffee table, and cartoons were left playing on the TV. Adrian paused when he saw it, and then his eyes fell on a Bratz doll left on the floor and his heart seized in his chest. Without a word, he turned toward the walls.

A home as lived in as this always had pictures hanging on the walls.

The first picture he saw was of his mother and who he assumed to be his father, in a church. They were both grinning wide, and his mother was wearing a golden wedding dress. A small smile formed on Adrian's face, his anxiety melting away just to be replaced with a small ache. The picture, the love he could see in it, made him think of Alec. He suddenly missed him terribly, so he turned toward the next picture, only to blink in confusion. It was of an infant baby, looking newborn, in a crib that resembled the iron ones in Alicante. They used iron cribs to prevent the Fae from switching children with changelings, too superstitious to realize that Fae couldn't even enter Alicante without permission. Clary stopped beside him to stare at the picture as well, her expression soft and a little pained.

"No hospital blanket, no hospital band..." Clary reached up to touch the picture, then shot Adrian a small smile. "I think that's you, Dri." Adrian blinked a few times, then stared at the picture for a few more moments. He had never seen baby pictures of himself. Malachi had said they were simply lost, and then Mary had said that Alice had taken the few the managed to get of Adrian before Malachi adopted him and Alice was exiled. It would make sense, then, that the baby in the iron crib was him. It seemed rude to take the picture frame apart and see if his name was written on the back of the picture, though, so he went to the next. More baby pictures, of the same baby, only now being held by Alice or Adam. The last one of Adrian was one where he was back in the iron crib, only now another baby was being held over it, staring down and reaching for Adrian with chubby arms. Adrian let out a choked laugh when he noticed the clairvoyance rune on the back of the hand holding the baby up.

"That's Alec," he choked out, his turn to reach up and touch the picture this time. Clary let out a questioning sound, wondering how he knew it was Alec. He let out a small laugh. "Maryse has shown me so many pictures of baby Alec after we came out as a couple. I think she was trying to prove that she was okay with it by doing something stereotypical, even if I've seen the pictures before. That's him. Which means these other pictures are...are me." His voice went quiet toward the end, as the reality of that really hit him. His parents had all of his baby pictures framed and put up in the family room. His throat felt thick again, so he turned away and went to the other wall, where he could see more pictures. His parents seemed determined to capture memories on camera, because there was barely anymore room on the living room walls. There were dozens of pictures everywhere.

"You okay?" Clary whispered, keeping close to him, like she was afraid he would collapse. He wasn't sure what she would do if he did. He was significantly larger and taller than she was; if he fell and she tried to catch him, she would be crushed. He didn't bother teasing her about that, though, just shrugged his shoulders.

"It's not as hard as I thought it'd be—" he stopped when he realized what picture he was looking at, and then he froze on the spot, his heart jerking in his chest. He had spoken too soon. He had seen the child-like handwriting on the moving box outside. He had seen the Bratz doll abandoned on the floor. He could still hear the cartoon playing in the background. Still, for some reason, his mind didn't actually process the fact that there were clearly children in this house until he saw the picture of said children together. It was a family photo during what looked like a birthday party. Alice and Adam were there, on either side of the little girl in front of a pink birthday cake. The little girl looked no more than twelve, with dirty blonde hair and a bright smile. Standing behind her chair, with an equally wide smile, was a teenager boy, looking just as old as Jace. No more than sixteen, surely.

Adrian felt dizzy.

"Dri?" Clary whispered, placing her hand on his arm. Adrian blinked and looked at her, a little dazed. He forced himself to smile.

"Spoke too soon," he spoke. He looked back at the birthday picture, feeling a mixture of pain and something else. Not quite affection, because he didn't know these people, but close. "I was so consumed with finding them that I didn't prepare myself for what I'd find. I didn't even think they'd have—" He broke off, pressing his lips together. He shook his head. "It's a little overwhelming."

"We can leave," Clary offered, reaching to squeeze his hand. "You know they're alive now. That's what you wanted. We can leave and try again when you're ready. Or not try again at all, if you don't want." Adrian took in a deep breath, then jumped out of his skin when the teapot started screeching from the kitchen. That was what made him decide to stay.

"Let's have her tea first," he decided, smiling a bit. "I want to...I don't know, look at her, for a minute. Just until I wrap my head around the fact that I'm actually here right now." Clary nodded, then tugged him out of the living room. They had bene in there for so long that he was sure Alice thought they had explored the entire house by that point. They made their way to the kitchen, and paused when they saw Alice placing mugs with teabags onto the dinner table in the kitchen. A plate of chocolate chip cookies was placed out as well. She smiled as they came in.

"Find what you came here for?" she asked, motioning for them to sit down at the table before taking a seat herself. She reached for a cookie as Adrian and Clary got comfortable, and Adrian saw silver scars running up and down her arms, one large one even on her neck. Those scars showed Adrian where her Marks used to be, before they were stripped from her. He felt a pang in his chest.

"I think so," Clary was saying. "Thank you for letting us come in and look around. We really appreciate it." Adrian nodded in agreement, playing with the teabag in his mug. The movement caught Alice's attention. Her eyes met his for a moment, and then she was frowning and glancing away. She set the cookie on a small plate, opening her mouth to say something else—and then she paused, thought for a moment, then trained her gaze on Adrian again. She stared longer this time, brow furrowing, like she was trying to figure out a puzzle.

"Well," Alice said eventually, blinking a few times to clear her head. Adrian was sure Clary's rune had made her mind feel fuzzy. "Now that you two could look around and everything. I have a question." Clary bit into a chocolate cookie and blinked at her a few times, while Adrian brought his mug up to drink. He was sipping on it when Alice, not unkindly, asked, "What's the real reason you two are here?" Adrian choked, and that unfortunately caused tea to be sucked down the wrong pipe. He broke out into rough coughing, putting his mug down and covering his mouth with his hand. His eyes were watering by the time the coughing fit was done, and he brought the tea back up to clear his throat, gulping down more than he needed to just to avoid Alice's sudden heavy stare.

"We told you," Clary said, once Adrian's coughing wouldn't interrupt them. She even went so far as to make herself look confused. Adrian ducked his head. "Our grandparents—"

"My husband's family built this house," Alice cut in, placing her mug calmly back down on the table, though she did pause to push a stack of napkins toward Adrian. Adrian mumbled a thanks and took one, a little embarrassed he'd choked on tea during such a meaningful moment for him. "His parents lived here before we did. Not your grandparents. Not to mention, I know a glamour when I see one, and I can recognize Shadowhunters a mile away. We all move the same. Now, who are you, and why are you here? Is it because of Abigail? She only turned twelve last week, the least you could do is give her a few more months to decide—"

"W-We're not here for Abigail," Clary cut in, sounding startled. Adrian was as well. Neither of them had even thought about changing the way they moved, but they should have. A trained Shadowhunter would never forget their training, even if they were exiled and had their Marks stripped. The fact that her daughter—Adrian couldn't call her his sister, not yet—had just turned twelve meant she was hyperaware of any Shadowhunters near her now, because twelve was when a child's first Mark would be placed on them, and the children of exiled Shadowhunters were always given a choice at twelve whether they wanted to be Shadowhunters or not.

"Then why are you here?" Alice demanded, a frown pulling at her face. She glanced over at Adrian. "And take that glamour off, please. It's giving me a horrible headache." Adrian hesitated, then reached into his pocket for his stele. He didn't want to make this situation worse by refusing to take off the glamour. He didn't want to be introduced to Alice that way. He could only hope she wouldn't see his face and put two and two together. Maybe she wouldn't. The last time she'd seen him, he'd been a newborn, with no distinct facial features of his own. He crossed the Mark out on his arm, and felt it as it left him, like a sheet had been peeled off his body. Alice blinked at him a few times, a look of relief flowing through her, and then she frowned and looked closer. Adrian dropped his gaze to the plate of cookies, holding his breath.

"I'm Clarissa Fairchild," Clary said quietly, clearing her throat. "Most people call me Clary. And this..." Clary glanced at him once. He caught her eye, then dropped it back to the table. "This is my brother, Sebastian." Alice blinked, recognizing both of those names. Her staring at Clary in disbelief meant that Adrian could shoot Clary a dirty look for calling him Sebastian.

"I thought she took you and ran." Alice shifted in her seat then, suddenly uncomfortable. It made Adrian think she was well aware of what Sebastian had been and was not okay with him being in her kitchen now. Adrian shot Clary another dirty look, once she shrugged sheepishly at.

"She did," Clary said with a smile. "We were dragged back in. Anyway, that's not the point. Actually, um, we were going through old photos and such and we came across yours, and—well, my mom is getting married. To Luke. You would've known him as Lucian Graymark. We thought it'd be a nice surprise for our mom if you—if you came to the engagement party. I'm sorry we lied, but, well, we panicked and—here." Clary turned to ruffle through her bag, probably for a stray engagement party invitation. They had been sent out a week ago, but Adrian wasn't surprised that Clary had a few copies. She was the one who had designed them.

Adrian picked up his mug again and finished it off, only to set it down and realize Alice was looking at him again. Rather, her eyes kept straying down to his hands. He glanced down at them, resting around the empty mug, and realized why. He was wearing fingerless leather gloves, but he hadn't taken off his Rosewell ring. It was there, over the leather on his middle finger, on full display. He tried to hide it behind the mug, disguising the movement as him just leaning up against the table, but it was too late. Alice had already seen the ring, and now she was staring at Adrian with wide eyes.

"Where did you get that?" she demanded. Adrian shifted in his seat, feeling his chest seize up. He wasn't ready for this. He wasn't ready for it at all.

"Found it in an antique store," he drawled, trying to hide how panicked he felt. There was a beat of tense, uncomfortable silence. Clary had stopped rummaging around her bag. Adrian shot a glance at her and saw that the invitation was in her hand, crumpled but there. He cleared his throat, then pushed back his chair, standing from the table. "Clary, we really should be going. It's getting late."

"Y-Yeah, okay," Clary said, rushing to stand up as well. "Here's the invitation. Feel free to come. Mom would be really happy to see you." Alice was standing as well by that point, but she wasn't looking at Clary at all anymore. Her eyes were glued to Adrian, and for good reason. She could really get a good look at him now. His blonde hair was the same shade as hers; his eyes were the same brown. She knew who he was; she wasn't stupid. Adrian and Clary just had to get out of the house before she could find her words.

They weren't fast enough.

"Adrian?" Alice whispered, and Adrian frozen in the kitchen doorway, entire body going rigid. He sucked in such a sharp breath that lying was no longer an option anymore. Just by his reaction, it was obvious who he was. Alice let out a sharp gasp of her own. He closed his eyes tightly, then took a deep breath and turned to face her. He thought he owed her that much, at least. One last look before he darted out the front door. She took him in, from head to toe, and then she let out a breathless laugh. When she met his gaze, her eyes were filling with tears. "I can't—I can't believe you're here, I—"

The front door opened then, and suddenly the house was filled with a little girl screeching for her mother. Another voice called out as well, a teenager's, and that was when Adrian broke. He could handle pictures. He couldn't handle the actual kids stumbling into the house.

"We're leaving," Adrian decided, reaching for Clary's hand. The kids—his siblings—were stumbling up the stairs now, to their bedrooms, so he didn't have to worry about running into them.

"Wait—" Alice stuttered out, rushing after them. "Wait, don't go, please—"

"I'm sorry, we shouldn't have come here," Adrian threw over his shoulder, letting go of Clary's hand. The next thing he knew, he was throwing open the front door and rushing out, breaking into a full-on run. He was out of sight of the front door before Alice or Clary had made it to the front door at all. He ran until he was out of the neighborhood entirely, and then he stopped and collapsed by an intersection road sign, curling up on the edge of the curb and pressing his forehead to his knees. He stayed like that, even when passing cars honked his way. He didn't move an inch until he heard footsteps approaching him, heard Clary's gasps to catch her breath.

She didn't ask him if he was okay, because he clearly wasn't. She just sat down beside him on the curb and rested her cheek against his shoulder, staying with him until he felt like talking. Eventually, he straightened from his curled up position and took in three deep, calming breaths. He then leaned over to rest his cheek on top of her head.

"That wasn't so bad," Adrian said jokingly, and was rewarding with Clary's disbelieving scoff.

"You wanna talk about it?" she asked. Adrian raised his head, then shook it, filing his fingers through his hair. He'd done enough talking for the day, and he had felt more overwhelming emotions than he would've liked. What he wanted was to sleep until the next day. "Okay, well, how about dinner tomorrow? Me, Luke, my mom, and Simon are all going out to eat as a sort of small engagement celebration. Luke told me to invite you and I—I kinda forgot, sorry. Dealing with my own problems, so..." Adrian shot her a curious glance, confused. Clary had seemed fine lately, but then, he supposed anyone could seem fine if they tried hard enough.

"Wanna talk about it?" he offered. "I might be able to help. I did grow up with Jace. Plus, it would be a very nice distraction right now." That made Clary smile.

"It's just...he's been acting weird lately," Clary said, huffing out a frustrated breath. "He's avoiding being alone with me, and whenever we—" Her face immediately turned red. She ducked her face as she continued. "I don't know, he kind of...freaks out, I guess, and basically runs away. Like, he literally panics. Whenever I try to talk to him about it, he says it's nothing and then leaves really fast. Do you remember when we were all training together and Jace was going extra hard on me? Remember when he pinned me down and then left in a hurry? It's like that—well, without all the sparring, obviously—only every single time we're alone. Now he's avoiding me completely. I invited him to the dinner tomorrow and he didn't respond. I don't know what's going on, and it's—it's scaring me. What if he doesn't...want me anymore?"

"Jace has never acted like that before," Adrian admitted sheepishly, "so I'm not sure how much help I can be. Actually, I'm the one prone to running away when things overwhelm me. It was never Jace..." He paused in thought, brow furrowing in confusion. "If Jace didn't want you anymore, you'd know. He wouldn't beat around the bush around that. I'll try to corner him when I get the chance, try to get him to talk. No promises, though." Clary huffed, planting her chin in her hands.

"That's fine, thanks for trying, at least," Clary mumbled, then shot him a look out of the corner of her eye. She grinned. "Does this mean you're coming to dinner tomorrow night?"

"Oh, absolutely," Adrian confirmed, standing from the curb and helping Clary to her feet. "I never pass up the chance for free food."

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, this was an emotional rollercoaster. Enjoy!

Unedited.