Chapter 4
Charlotte and Will pick Jem up, who is now unconscious, and carry him inside. I follow. They take him upstairs to what I assume is his bedroom. When we get to the door, Will turns to me.
"You shouldn't come in here." He says sharply. Charlotte goes in and lies Jem down on his bed. I stare at Will, shocked.
"What? I just saved his life!" I protest. Will's bright blue eyes blaze as he glares at me.
"Look, I'm very grateful and all, but I don't need some mundane girl getting in the way right now." He says, and I feel anger course through my veins.
"Oh ya? Well I didn't do it for you." I snap fiercely. For a moment, he appears surprised. I suppose not a lot of people talk to him like that, especially not girls. Then I look past him and see Jem. He's pale and shaking, but at least he's alive. I feel the anger disappear as I look at him. "I did it for Jem." I smile sadly and walk away. I wonder down the long hallways, admiring the Institute. It's absolutely magnificent. Every inch of it. Then I pass my room and run in. I search it, in a mad panic. I throw the blankets off of the bed, and crawl on the floor until my hand brushes it. I grab it, cradling it close to me. My phone. I pull my earphones into my ear and quickly scroll the my playlists until I find the song I've been looking for. No Light, No Light by Florence and the Machine. I close my eyes and let Will Herondale and his insults disappear. I sing along to the words.
"You want a revelation
You want to get right
But it's a conversation
I just can't have tonight
You want a revelation
Some kind of resolution
You want a revelation." I stand up, twirling and dancing around the room. Worries forgotten, a bright smile lights up my face and I lose myself in the dramatic music.
"No light, no light in your bright blue eyes
I never knew daylight could be so violent
A revelation in the light of day,
You can't choose what stays and what fades-. " I twirl around, completely lost in the music, when I notice a very amused Will Herondale standing in the doorway. I freeze then pause the song. I put my hands on my hips and stare at him, annoyed.
"Come to insult me again, Herondale?" I inquire. He opens his mouth to speak but cut him off. "I, honestly, have better things to do that sit listen to you rant about how I only get in the way." I say. He tries to talk again, but I unplug my earphones and blast Florence and the Machine. Will jumps back, staring at my phone in surprise. I smile and sing along, blocking him out.
"And I'd do anything to make you stay
No light, no light
No light
Tell me what you want me to say
Would you leave me,
If I told you what I've done?
And would you need me,
If I told you what I've become?
'Cause it's so easy,
To say it to a crowd
But it's so hard, my love,
To say it to you out loud
No light, no light in your bright blue eyes
I never knew daylight could be so violent
A revelation in the light of day,
You can't choose what stays and what fades away
And I'd do anything to make you stay
No light, no light
No light
Tell me what you want me to say
You want a revelation,
You wanna get it right
But it's a conversation,
I just can't have tonight
You want a revelation
Some kind of resolution
You want a revelation
You want a revelation,
You wanna get it right
But it's a conversation,
I just can't have tonight
You want a revelation, some kind of resolution
Tell me what you want me to say." I sing until the song ends. There are only three things that I can do almost perfectly. Archery, reading, and singing. Anything else, and I'm probably going it make it into the biggest disaster since page 511 of City of Lost Souls. Will is utterly confused, and looks unsure about what to do about me. "What?" I ask, looking at him. "You've never heard music before?"
"I've never heard music like that." He replies, gesturing to my phone.
"And?" I ask, looking at him expectantly. He stares back. I sigh in frustration. "What did you think of it?"
"It was alright." He answers, leaning against the doorway. "You're not a bad singer."
"Why thank you." I say, attempting to curtsy. Considering that I've never done a real one before, I end up falling back onto the bed. I laugh, and Will stares at me, an odd expression on his face. "What?" I ask.
"You're definitely the oddest girl I've ever met." He says bluntly.
"Oh?" I sit up.
"You're wearing pants. You sing as loud as you can, apparently not caring what others think. You laugh when you make a mistake. You say you're not a Shadowhunter, yet you can shoot a bow with almost perfect aim. You know everyone's name. And you fell through our ceiling." He says, and I consider all this, trying to figure out whether he is insulting me or not.
"Well I am most certainly glad that I am not normal." I say, walking over to him. His blue eyes look over me, as if I am some complicated puzzle that he is trying to solve. I lean against the opposite doorframe. "Is Je-...I mean, is Mr. Carstairs alright?" I ask, quickly fixing my mistake. Will looks down.
"That's why I'm here. He wants to meet you." Will says, not sounding at all pleased about this. I feel my heart beat faster.
"Jem wants to meet me?" I ask incredulously, forgetting to be careful about the whole name thing. Will stares at me, but I don't notice. "Alright...that's cool...just give me about ten minutes to get ready, okay?" I say, shutting the door. Will barely haas tie to get out of the way. I run to my suitcase and pull out my curlers. Thank goodness they don't need electricity. I roll them into my straight black hair. My shirt and pants are dirty and torn from falling in my mad scramble to kill the demon, so I rummage through my suitcase, looking for something nice to wear. I pull out a white dress with long sleeves. It is a cute skater dress that falls to my knees. My favorite part of it was a cute black lace pattern at the bottom. I change into it quickly, and grab my makeup bag. I am not a make-up type of girl, for my typical day involves sitting inside in comfy clothes while reading or playing on my phone. But I want to look nice when I meet Jem. I gently apply red lipstick, and put on a tiny bit of smokey gray eyeshadow. I pause to look in the mirror, and smile at my achievement. I pull out my black heels, looking at them cautiously. They're not that tall, but I've never worn them before. I slip them on carefully, and stand up, and fall back down. After about five more minutes of looking like a newborn giraffe, I give up. Then I realize how ridiculous I'm being. I'm trying way too hard. Because if Jem likes the me who can walk perfectly in heels, and wear red lipstick, it doesn't matter. I throw the heels back in my suitcase and wipe of the ridiculous red lipstick. I take my curlers out and my hair falls around my shoulders, wavy. I pull my black combat boots back on and walk outside. I walk down the hallway, back up to what I believe is Jem's room. I take a deep breath when I get to the door, and push it open. Jem is lying in his bed, his silver hair illuminated by the pale moonlight that's drifting in from the window. His eyes flutter open and rest on me. I suddenly feel very self conscious. I bite my lip so slightly that most people wouldn't be able to see it. It's what I do when I'm nervous. Jem seems to notice though, and smiles. He could light up the entire universe with his smile. I want to say something, but I can't.
"Thank you." He says softly. "You saved my life. You don't even know me, and you risked everything to rescue me." His voice is melodic. His statement is not entirely true though. But I suppose telling him that even though I've never met him, I know all about him and I'm madly in love with him might make me seem a bit creepy.
"Of course." I reply instead, my voice sounding very small, so quiet that I almost don't recognize it.
"What is your name?" He asks, motioning weakly for me to come closer. I take a step.
"Aurelia Charlotte Rose." I say, and he smiles.
"That's the most beautiful name I have ever heard." He says and I feel myself blushing.
"I'm James Carstairs," He says. "But you can call me Jem." I smile, and look down.
"Alright. But only if you call me Aurelia. Honestly, if someone else calls me Miss Rose I'm going to go crazy." I confess, and he laughs. But then he begins to cough. I rush to him, kneeling down next to his bed. "Oh, are you alright? Do you need water? Or medicine? Should I go get Will?-." I speak very quickly as I panic, but Jem places his hand over mine, which silences me.
"No, no. I'm fine." He says after he stops coughing. We sit in silence for a while, until Jem speaks. "Will says that you are a good singer. Can...can you sing something for me?" He asks quietly. I nod, trying to think if a song. Now is not exactly the time to be singing something like Shake It Off by Taylor Swift. Wait. That's it. I sit on the edge of Jem's bed and begin to sing softly.
"I remember tears streaming down your face
When I said, "I'll never let you go"
When all those shadows almost killed your light
I remember you said, "Don't leave me here alone"
But all that's dead and gone and passed tonight
Just close your eyes
The sun is going down
You'll be alright
No one can hurt you now
Come morning light
You and I'll be safe and sound
Don't you dare look out your window darling
Everything's on fire
The war outside our door keeps raging on
Hold onto this lullaby
Even when the music's gone
Gone
Just close your eyes
The sun is going down
You'll be alright
No one can hurt you now
Come morning light
You and I'll be safe and sound
Oooh, Oooh, Oooh, Oooh
La La
La La
Oooh, Oooh, Oooh, Oooh
La La
Just close your eyes
You'll be alright
Come morning light,
You and I'll be safe and sound...
Oooh, oooh, oooh, oooh oh oh." I close my eyes and give myself up to the music. I let it flow through me, let it tell it's story through me. When I finish, Jem is sleeping. He truly looks like an angel. I pull the covers up, and walk out of the room, consumed with a soft feeling of joy.
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