Author's Note: Shout out to little_squirrel_234. Thank you for your faith in my book.

Clary

I listen to the stories of the people around me. Why am I here? This isn't for me. I don't belong here. "A....and then he pushed me into the floor." The girl next to her pats her shoulder.

"It's okay, you don't have to continue," the leader says. Why am I here? Ugh! This girl is so whiny. So her boyfriend pushed her.

"Clary, do you have anything you'd like to say?" The leader asks me.

"I don't belong here," I sigh.

"Then why are you here?" The leader asks.

"Because my therapist told me to give this a shot," I reply.

"Why are you here?" The leader echoes.

"Because my husband abused me," I admit.

"Okay, now we're getting somewhere," the leader says. "Share whatever you want to."

"Uhhh, he and I were married for five years. It started on our second anniversary. That night he beat me for the first time," I stop. What am I doing? This isn't right. I don't need pity.

"It's okay. This is a safe place," the leader says.

"I get that I can relate to all of the girls here, but why should I feel comfortable talking to you," I ask the male leader.

"Everyone here has experienced abuse," the leader explains. What? No way. This guy is 5' 8" 175 pounds easy. No one beat him up, no one held him down as he cried. No one told him he was ugly and worthless. No one raped him over. And. Over. And. Over.

"I'm sure," I chuckle dryly. He stands up and walks toward me. Crap! He's taller. He's huge! Crap! I just made him mad. Crap! He's coming over here. I mean, he wouldn't hurt me. There are so many witnesses. But what if he hurts them all? What if I'm next? He sits next to me in an open chair.

"Clary, I know this is hard, but we don't tolerate disrespect here," the leader comments. I....I made him mad.

"I'm sorry sir," I whimper. I'm so dead. Ugh! Why didn't I keep my mouth shut?!

"Clary, you don't have to be scared here," the leader whispers. Breathe. Just breathe.

"I....I didn't mean to, I promise," I manage.

"Clary, it's okay," the leader assures me. "Okay, I think we need to call it a night," the leader announces. The other girls give him a knowing look and leave wordlessly. Now I'm alone with him. H...he has so many opportunities to hurt me now.

"Clary, I'm sorry for scaring you. You're safe," the leader apologizes.

"I....I don't want any trouble," I manage.

"You aren't any trouble. Do you have a safe place to stay?" The leader asks. Yeah, this church as soon as you leave.

"Yeah, I've got a place," I reply. He pulls something from his pocket.

"Here, this is a shelter. If you ever need a place to stay, go there. They'll give you a warm place to sleep and food to eat," the leader hands me the card. I slowly take it. Is he serious? Why would he want to help me?

"Thank you," I mumble, avoiding his eyes.

"You're welcome, Clary. Have a good night," the leader replies. Then he stands up and leaves.

After a few minutes, I decide a safe warm place to stay with food sounds great. I find my way to the address on the card. A lady is standing in the vestibule when I get there. "Come in out of the cold dear," the older lady greets me.

"Thank you ma'am," I smile politely. We get into the warm building and she takes me to a room to stay in.

"Breakfast is at 8A.M. every morning. This here is your little room," the lady explains.

"Thank you so much," I reply.

"Oh, you're more than welcome dear," the lady smiles. She closes the door and leaves me to get some sleep.

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I do not own any of the Mortal Instruments books, materials, etc. All credit belongs to Cassandra Clare.

Author's Note:
I hope you all like it! Please leave comments, votes, and feedback. I'm going to update, when I do and it'll be random.

Originally posted: 11/18/18