Chloe had woken that morning to...
Silence.
Something wasn't right. It was Saturday and her father was supposed to be home this morning. There should have been the sound of music drifting through the house, pots and pans clanging together. The smell of burnt toast.
At first her heart leapt, but then she relaxed. There was nothing to worry about.
But the feeling in her gut would not go away. She was almost afraid to step out of bed.
No. He wouldn't leave her. He wasn't like her mother had been and he knew Chloe needed him.
She closed her eyes and forced her foot out from underneath the covers. Just as it was about to touch the carpet of her room the phone rang through the silence.
'That'll be him,' she thought to comfort herself.
"Hello?" Chloe answered the phone and noticed the nervous tone in her own voice.
"Chloe?" Lex's voice responded. She closed her eyes. It was not the comfort that she had been hoping for.
"My dad isn't here," she said in an annoyed tone. There was a pause in the conversation before he replied again.
"I know."
"Well then why are you calling here?" she almost demanded.
"Okay Chloe. Relax. The reason I'm calling is because your dad's here-"
"Okay and where would that be?"
"Chloe let me finish," he told her in a harsh tone. He rubbed a hand over his bald scalp. She was going to blame this on him. He was already blaming it on himself. "Your dad's in the Smallville Medical Center."
The tone he had taken in his last sentence affirmed all her worst thoughts. Chloe struggled to keep her grip on the phone as her breath became labored.
"I'm coming," she managed to get out of her throat. She hung up and dropped the phone to the ground, not caring if it landed safely. She snatched her keys up and in record timing was on her way to the hospital.
Only when she was walking into the Smallville Medical Center did she realize that she hadn't even put on some appropriate clothes and that she was barefoot, but that didn't stop her from continuing on. She did get some weird looks, though, especially when she went up to the front desk.
Lex had stood there staring at the phone when she had hung up on him, but then again what was he supposed to expect? He snaked a hand around to the back of his neck and closed his eyes. What was he going to do?
When he opened his eyes he found Chloe dressed in a short t-shirt and nothing else except for a pair of boy- short underwear that peeked out from underneath the hem of the shirt when she leaned over. He mentally smacked himself. Now was not the time to think of Chloe in that way, even if he had developed an... attraction?... towards her.
It had started the very first day that he had met her. First her spunk and her wit. She was the only girl in Smallville High- much less of all the women he had ever met- that was not intimidated by him. Their encounters often consisted of their 'verbal judo' and Lex had secretly grown to looking forward to their sparring.
Then there were the stories her father would always tell about her. About her near death encounters with meteor freaks to the day that her mother walked out on them. Lex always found these stories fascinating. At first he had told himself that it was just Gabe's wonderful way of putting words that made it interesting, but he had slowly realized he was beginning to have a sort of infatuation with Chloe.
Third, there was the one time he was actually going to let her interview him. And that had gone...horribly wrong. But when he had seen her body twisted on the ground, he had not only felt guilt- he had felt true sympathy. Worry. And... something else. It had felt almost like he was losing his mother or Pamela all over again.
Lastly, there was the Wall of Weird and the fact that she didn't blame the Luthors for the mutations. It was as if she trusted him, and honestly she barely knew him.
But now there was very little hope that she would want anything to do with him after this. He knew that none of this would have happened if he hadn't called in Gabe that morning and she was for sure going to blame anything that happened to her father on Lex.
He jerked his mind back to the Smallville Medical Center waiting room and walked over to Chloe. It was the first time he had seen her like this. She had a defeated and exasperated look on her face. He interrupted what the nurse was saying cautiously. He knew she could explode any minute.
"Chloe," he touched her arm and she whipped around to face him, still supporting herself on the desk. He could see that tears were starting to form in her eyes.
"Tell me what happened," she whispered to him, trying not to burst out in tears in front of Lex Luthor.
Silence.
Something wasn't right. It was Saturday and her father was supposed to be home this morning. There should have been the sound of music drifting through the house, pots and pans clanging together. The smell of burnt toast.
At first her heart leapt, but then she relaxed. There was nothing to worry about.
But the feeling in her gut would not go away. She was almost afraid to step out of bed.
No. He wouldn't leave her. He wasn't like her mother had been and he knew Chloe needed him.
She closed her eyes and forced her foot out from underneath the covers. Just as it was about to touch the carpet of her room the phone rang through the silence.
'That'll be him,' she thought to comfort herself.
"Hello?" Chloe answered the phone and noticed the nervous tone in her own voice.
"Chloe?" Lex's voice responded. She closed her eyes. It was not the comfort that she had been hoping for.
"My dad isn't here," she said in an annoyed tone. There was a pause in the conversation before he replied again.
"I know."
"Well then why are you calling here?" she almost demanded.
"Okay Chloe. Relax. The reason I'm calling is because your dad's here-"
"Okay and where would that be?"
"Chloe let me finish," he told her in a harsh tone. He rubbed a hand over his bald scalp. She was going to blame this on him. He was already blaming it on himself. "Your dad's in the Smallville Medical Center."
The tone he had taken in his last sentence affirmed all her worst thoughts. Chloe struggled to keep her grip on the phone as her breath became labored.
"I'm coming," she managed to get out of her throat. She hung up and dropped the phone to the ground, not caring if it landed safely. She snatched her keys up and in record timing was on her way to the hospital.
Only when she was walking into the Smallville Medical Center did she realize that she hadn't even put on some appropriate clothes and that she was barefoot, but that didn't stop her from continuing on. She did get some weird looks, though, especially when she went up to the front desk.
Lex had stood there staring at the phone when she had hung up on him, but then again what was he supposed to expect? He snaked a hand around to the back of his neck and closed his eyes. What was he going to do?
When he opened his eyes he found Chloe dressed in a short t-shirt and nothing else except for a pair of boy- short underwear that peeked out from underneath the hem of the shirt when she leaned over. He mentally smacked himself. Now was not the time to think of Chloe in that way, even if he had developed an... attraction?... towards her.
It had started the very first day that he had met her. First her spunk and her wit. She was the only girl in Smallville High- much less of all the women he had ever met- that was not intimidated by him. Their encounters often consisted of their 'verbal judo' and Lex had secretly grown to looking forward to their sparring.
Then there were the stories her father would always tell about her. About her near death encounters with meteor freaks to the day that her mother walked out on them. Lex always found these stories fascinating. At first he had told himself that it was just Gabe's wonderful way of putting words that made it interesting, but he had slowly realized he was beginning to have a sort of infatuation with Chloe.
Third, there was the one time he was actually going to let her interview him. And that had gone...horribly wrong. But when he had seen her body twisted on the ground, he had not only felt guilt- he had felt true sympathy. Worry. And... something else. It had felt almost like he was losing his mother or Pamela all over again.
Lastly, there was the Wall of Weird and the fact that she didn't blame the Luthors for the mutations. It was as if she trusted him, and honestly she barely knew him.
But now there was very little hope that she would want anything to do with him after this. He knew that none of this would have happened if he hadn't called in Gabe that morning and she was for sure going to blame anything that happened to her father on Lex.
He jerked his mind back to the Smallville Medical Center waiting room and walked over to Chloe. It was the first time he had seen her like this. She had a defeated and exasperated look on her face. He interrupted what the nurse was saying cautiously. He knew she could explode any minute.
"Chloe," he touched her arm and she whipped around to face him, still supporting herself on the desk. He could see that tears were starting to form in her eyes.
"Tell me what happened," she whispered to him, trying not to burst out in tears in front of Lex Luthor.