Chapter 11: Chapter 11: A Thing of Trust

Chapter 11:

A Thing of Trust

Jace felt incredibly sheepish after his breakdown in front of Liana and Kiera, though they made it a point not to say anything about it. He was extremely self-conscious of the fact he let himself be seen in such a vulnerable state. He should be strong, and yet he showed such a weakness. Would he ever be taken seriously again after showing himself crying in front of them?

It ate away at him, but over the next few days he was able to get the courage to leave his apartment. Liana and Kiera made sure to check on him, which was really sweet of them. He didn't know what to say or what to do. He was simply going through the motions.

They knew he needed time to process. There was a lot of information he learned. Liana knew he could see her mother, but Balek had no idea. Liana wasn't sure she should break the news to him, but she promised that whenever the time was right, they'd tell him together. It made it a little bit easier on Jace knowing that Liana would be by his side for that.

Slowly, he got back to normal. Balek greeted him heartily as he returned to the club. The staff all gave their warm smiles to him and welcomed him back. He expected someone to berate him, but it never came. Balek poured him his favorite drink, and the two talked about Nadine.

He knew what she had done, and it was reassuring to Jace that Balek didn't blame him either. He knew what his wife chose. He knew it was a choice he couldn't stop, but he never blamed Jace. His wife loved him like her very own son.

"Jace..." Balek leveled with him across the bar, "I know you may not always believe it, but you are family to us. So, just let me spoil you every now and then, huh? Drink up. Rest. Take your time."

"...Thanks, Balek," Jace felt his heart warm, thinking back to all the times Balek was there for him and never asked for a thing, it was always Jace who thought he had to repay him.

Jace still felt that way, as he didn't want to just mooch off of them, but he knew that Balek didn't mind. If he did, he would have said something. It still made Jace rather nervous, but it helped to know that if Balek did something for him, to just accept it.

It would be difficult but knowing that neither Balek nor Liana blamed him for Nadine's death...it helped immensely. Jace felt a huge weight lift from his shoulders. A new set of tears fell from his eyes at the relief he felt, but quickly he recovered.

There was just one last thing left. Something he could no longer do, at least for now. It took him a lot to build up the courage, but as Liana visited the club with Kiera, they sat together as Jace called them over. Balek leaned on the bar while Kiera rested against Liana's shoulder.

"I...Thanks for coming over," Jace looked up at them from his drink nervously.

"Of course," Liana smiled gently, "What's up?"

"Well..." Jace glanced around to ensure no one else was around, not because what he was about to say was a secret, but rather that it caused him a huge amount of anxiety to ask, and it was a bit of a private matter, "You know my mother is in the hospital...and I've been banned from entering, and thus from seeing her."

There was a somber air between everyone as they nodded.

"Right, so..." Jace turned the glass in his hand as he took a breath, it was now or never to ask it, "Since I...can no longer go there, at least for now...My mother should still have visitors, so-"

Liana's eyes grew wide and excited as she knew exactly what he was going to ask now.

"I'd love to!" Liana interrupted without hesitation, causing Jace a slight blush of embarrassment at her eagerness, "Right, Dad?"

"H-Huh?" Balek looked rather confused as he looked between the two of them.

"Jeez...at least let me finish," Jace mumbled sheepishly, "Balek, what Liana got was...I'm asking if you and her could visit my mother, in place of myself."

Recognition crossed Balek's face as his face brightened. It was the first time Jace had ever asked anyone else to visit his mother. He always kept people at bay. While Balek and Liana didn't need permission, they wouldn't step on his boundaries.

On top of that, only family could visit Delilah. With his permission, the hospital would accept them as family, and thus would allow them to visit. This was Jace telling them they were family, and in place of himself, he'd like them to visit her. It was an act of acceptance and a step forward from how he used to be.

The two of them, Liana and Balek, were both delighted to hear him ask this. Even Kiera understood the gravity of what he asked them. Jace eyed Kiera who met his gaze. There was a look in his eye that began to realize something inside of her.

"Jace?" Kiera asked after he didn't break eye contact.

"I wasn't meaning just them," Jace told her, smiling sheepishly, "You're with Liana, are you not? You've been there for me...even if it was because of Liana, so...Oh, don't make me say it."

Jace could feel the embarrassment entering him as Kiera herself became quite surprised. Even a light blush entered the carefree Kiera's face. Exchanging a look with Liana who beamed up at her, the blush deepened as the realization she had dawn over her finally clicked home.

"S-Sure..." Kiera nodded, hugging Liana close, "I'd love to."

Kiera realized that he acknowledged her and Liana as one. This made Kiera incredibly happy. Kiera was Liana's girlfriend, but that had always been it. Kiera had always felt a little bit of an outsider looking in, only ever being associated with Liana. Yet, in that moment she realized Jace considered her more than just Liana's girlfriend.

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She was a part of their family, and would always be. His mother was important to him, and he'd let no one get close that he didn't trust. Which was another reason everyone was so happy he asked what he did. Kiera felt a tug at her heart as she began to look at Jace a little differently.

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Rosalie wasn't entirely sure why she came to this club, Radiance. Her friends loved to party, and perhaps it was because of this she found herself participating with them. Two of them were members of the Vixen's, as beautiful as they were vicious. An almost all female gang from The Stacks. A place of tight knit, crammed together buildings. It's very own city almost. Buildings so close together it was almost like a wall surrounding the district.

The Vixen's controlled most of it, with the Renegades taking the rest. She met them and her third friend at a party she frequented during her college days. They all hit it off and hung out whenever they were able.

Gabriel, brown hair pixie cut, painted hearts on her cheek. Half-Elf, light brown skin, miniskirt, crop top with a see-through jacket. Tattoos decorated her left leg, intricate designs of flowers and skulls. The mark of a Vixen, an elegant V entwined with rose thorns, displayed brazening just above her left hip.

Gloria, a human gothic looking girl. Dark hair, black lipstick. Fishnet clothing with dark shorts and crop top. Gabriel and Gloria, the two G's. Together always, even more so because they were a couple. Just like Gabriel, Gloria was a member of the Vixens. The V shaped tattoo shown just above her right breast near her shoulder.

Briana, an Elf with blonde hair tinged pink, tied in twin tails. Fair skin and short shorts, crop top, and cybernetic lines running across her body. The more rambunctious of the four of them, and not one of the Vixens.

Rosalie, herself. Beautiful red hair, near crimson, tied in a loose braid. Green eyes and fair skin. A black crop-top with a shrug. Black strips of cloth wrapped around her stomach in an diamond-like pattern. She wore long pants, unlike her companions. They fit her shape quite well. No visible markings of anykind otherwise.

These were their looks whenever they went out. She felt confident, but why did she constantly come to this particular club? A man named Balek ran Radiance. A name she knew. A name she heard from someone once. That person supposedly worked here, but had not been around for a while.

Listening in on conversations, she heard that they weren't feeling well lately. She felt worried. An emotion she wasn't used to. Currently, that person was resting, but tonight it was different. The staff always seemed worried, but tonight they seemed a lot more relaxed.

"I wonder why?" Rosalie thought as she smiled along with her friends, though it never really reached her eyes. She tried parties to see if she could feel something. Rosalie didn't know what it meant to really live, and while she liked these three, she didn't really care much for them.

Even still, as she sensed the magic behind her, ready to manipulate them, she protected them from it. They were, after all, still her friends, whatever that meant to her. With an invisible ward she weaved it over them. Even the most observant wouldn't be able to see it.

"Heeey~" The man's voice washed over them as he walked up towards them.

Gabriel clung to Gloria as they looked him up and down. The typical frat type, but an Elf in black dress pants and a white dress shirt. His blonde hair well-kept. The pink mist wafting from his words only seen my Rosalie. It settled among her friends, but soon dissipated thanks to the ward.

"The hell do you want?" Gabriel asked him from Gloria's side.

"Just came to say hello," The man spoke above the music, "Four lovely ladies, who wouldn't want to say hello?"

His words laced with magic, Rosalie felt it attempt once more to settle on her friends, but once more the moment it did, it dissipated. Reaching towards her, his hand fell upon her arm. His touch sent an itch throughout her body. An unpleasant one. She wanted to kill this man right here and now.

"Like, oh my god, ew," Rosalie played her part, resisting her urge to retaliate, instead just taking her arm from him, "Don't touch me."

"Yeah man, what the fuck?" Briana chimed up, "Keep your hands to yourself."

"Sorry, my bad," The man smiled, his words weaving with magic even stronger than before, "I'm just trying to be friendly."

As the light pink mist weaved itself among them again, he attempted to touch her arm once more. "He doesn't learn..." Irritation entered Rosalie. A flash of a memory of a more pleasant touch, one she still couldn't stop thinking about. This person was not it.

She could no longer contain herself as a disgusted shiver ran through her body. Gathering the power inside of her hand, she slapped his arm away.

"I said, like...Don't touch me," Rosalia kept up her persona as she brought her palm to his sternum.

The force of it was a bit more than she intended, realizing she might kill him. Adjusting it last second, the man took the hit. Knocked off his feet, he flew backwards, but as he did something stopped him. A single hand holding the creep from behind.

Her heart raced as she saw who it was. A man, golden hair tied back loosely and eyes glowing neon blue. Staring right at her. "...Jace?" Her eyes met Jace's as the creep looked up to see who had caught him. Fear entered the creep's eyes as realization entered them. He began to struggle, Jace's eyes immediately turned towards the man.

"Sit," Jace's voice ordered as the man attempted to get away.

In a mere instant, power flowed through Jace's hand into the man. His leg swept his feet from under him as he fell to the floor, Jace holding him down. His glowing eyes looking up at Rosalie once more. His face was calm, yet she could tell. He knew.

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