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“Clary, is everything okay?”
“Yes, Uncle David,” Clary said and tried to brush Elton’s hand away.
“Listen, Seth talked to me last night and I’ve realized something. We keep doing things our own way, thinking we’re protecting each other. But we’re not. You think you’re—”
“I’m ready to go.”
“No!”
Clary forcefully jerked her arm out of Elton’s grip, and Uncle David stepped between them to keep him away. She turned, headed to the plane, and went up the short flight of stairs without looking back.
There was no turning back. Not after Seth saw her note.
* * *
Seth reached across the bed, then frowned and lifted his head when he realized it was empty. On the pillow was a folded piece of paper.
Clary must’ve gotten up to make breakfast.
He sat upright as he reached for the note.
Seeing Holly has made me think, and I’ve come to realize how you and your brothers are exactly like her. I can’t have such toxicity in my life, so I’ve decided to leave.
“What?” Seth frowned and reread the first line, then continued on to the final sentence.
In line with our Benjamin Button relationship, let’s return to the strangers we once were.
Clary
Seth read through the note several more times. “This has got to be a joke.” Because none of it made sense.
But Clary wouldn’t play such a cruel joke.
She had seemed troubled yesterday, but there was no way that was what she thought.
He left his room and went over to Clary’s. But her room was empty, and the suitcase that she had put inside her closet was missing. He ran down the stairs and pounded on Andrea’s door.
She opened it with a face mask on. “What is it?” she asked, patting the white cotton sheet on her face.
“Is Clary here?” He sidestepped Andrea and entered the room.
“What are you doing? No. She isn’t here.”
Seth checked the bathroom and closet. Clary wasn’t there. “Do you know where she went?”
“I didn’t know she was going out. She didn’t say anything.” Andrea stuck her hands on her hips. “Maybe she’s just downstairs, or in the wine cellar. Why are you freaking—”
Seth didn’t hear the rest of what Andrea said. He was out of her room and sprinting down the stairs. He headed straight past the living room where Zane and Oliver were, and into the empty kitchen.
He didn’t stop there.
He continued out back, then went down to the wine cellar. She’s gone. He ran back up into the house. “Did either of you see Clary?” he asked before he got to the living room.
His brothers frowned, looked at each other and back at him, then shook their heads.
“Is something wrong?” Zane asked.
“She’s missing.”
