Lonely
Chapter 1: Weak
It had been two years. Two years since he left without a word. Two years since he showed up on her doorstep, upset and shaking, only to find her kissing Oliver. The last thing he said to her was, "I'm sorry if I'm interrupting. I just came to look for a friend." He paused. "I guess I was mistaken." He gave her a broken look. "I'll just go."
She didn't want to believe it had been two long years. Everyday since then she made the same trip up the wooden stairs to his sanctuary, hoping that she would reach the top and see him standing there, looking through his telescope or lying on the couch. That she would wake up from the nightmare and realize that he was still there. But all she could do is hope.
Her feet felt as heavy as the day before, just as they would tomorrow. Each stair becoming harder to climb than the last. Each breath stifled the closer she was to the top. And so the pain continued as she forced herself up those stairs, until finally...the last stair. She turned slowly and closed her eyes. She knew he wouldn't be there; he was never there. Her hazel eyes crept open, peering out, hoping for once that she was wrong. Realizing she was still holding her breath, she let it out; he had to be out there, somewhere.
She walked the familiar path and fell into the same spot on the couch as she always did. The same spot she sat in when she first went there. It was the first time he had opened up to her and she remembered it vividly. She placed her head on the arm of the couch and looked out into the sky. She looked at the same star she did every night, waiting for his return. She spoke to it as though he was there, on that distant star, listening to her every word. She smiled. He would laugh at her for thinking that.
"Hey Smallville. It's me, Lois, as it is every night. Ya know I'm going to have to smack you when you get back, you've made me into an emotional nut case." Her eyes began to glisten. "God Smallville, where are you? I'm so sick of waiting for you to come home. I'm so sick of searching for you and only coming to another dead end." She sniffed still trying to fight back the tears. "Everyone misses you so much! We just..." A tear fell and she caught it with the tip of her finger. "Damn it. I promised myself I wouldn't cry. But yet every time I come up here, I do. You wanna know why Smallville?" She waited as if he would answer.
After a few seconds she continued, unnerved. "Because this house is so quite without you. Your mom's a wreck. She barely talks to anyone anymore. When she does talk, it's only about you and then she cries. I've never seen your Mom cry so much. And Chloe? She's not her usual self anymore. She's not as nosey as she used to be and she pulls away any time someone mentions something about you. And me?" Her voice started to sound angry but then paused. "I really don't know what to think." She looked down at her hands as they began to shake from the cool breeze coming through the loft. "I do know this though: I hate you not being around. I mean, there is no one to argue with, no one to make fun of and know I'm only joking. I'm going to find you Clark. I just have to."
She stood and began her journey back down the stairs toward the exit. She planned go to his room, put on one of his flannel shirts and sleep snuggled up with his pillows. She turned around one more time and looked up at the star, "If only you could hear me." Another tear fell to be quickly wiped away.
Only ten miles away, a doorknob to a solid green room began to move. He looked up slightly, unable to muster the strength to fully lift his head. Focusing on other things, he knew who wouldbe on the other side. Listening to her heart beat, he had heard every word she said. Every night he would listen. Listen as if it was the last thing he would ever hear. The door opened and he snapped out of his trance with the familiar clicking of those stilettos coming across the green laminated floor towards him.
She put a finger under his chin and looked into his sunken eyes. They held open long enough to see her, just enough to remember why he was still there. He turned his head away in disgust, the green shackles on his weakened arms and legs shaking. She removed the finger with tears in her eyes, jumping slightly as she finally noticed the other person in the room.
"Lex, I was just checking on him." Her voice shaking as she looked down at the floor.
"Lana how thoughtful of you. But unfortunately, Clark here doesn't need your help." He smirked at the figure before him. "He is a threat to man kind Lana. He doesn't need help from anyone." He took another step forward only to feel a hand grab onto his arm.
"Lex, how much longer to you plan to keep him here? He never hurt anyone. I may have been angry with him when he left me, but even he doesn't deserve this. It isn't right Lex." It wasn't the first time they have had this argument.
Lex looked down as her as a grin appeared across his face. Grabbing her hand on his arm with such force she let out a small whimper. "Oh, Lana. How can you be so blind? So what if he hasn't tried to hurt anyone. He will." He let go of her hand and stepped toward Clark, grabbing his face and forcing him to look into his eyes. "That's why he will never be free. Because he doesn't deserve it." He looked at Clark, "Do you Clark?"
Lex let go of his face and Clark lowered his head. Punching him in the stomach causing Clark to wince, Lex moved to leave. He paused at the doorway and turned his head toward Lana. "And if you decide to set him free or tell any of his friends where he is..." he looked directly into her eyes, "You'll be next. And you'll be dead. You understand me?" Lana looked over and frantically shook her head.
With Lex gone, Lana paused for a moment at the door and looked back at Clark, knowing for the first time in her life that this time, Clark Kent wasn't going to win.
