Chloe found herself standing in the middle of the watch tower once again. Tears running down her cheek, her hands clasped on her stomach, watching as her best friend walked out on her once again. She wondered why this always seemed to happen to her. Why it was so easy for Clark to just walk out on her? She fell to her knees, her arms wrapping around her waist trying to hold what was left of her soul together. She closed her eyes, realizing that when she needed him the most, he never was there for her.

She just sat there staring at the door for what seemed like hours. She allowed herself to cry till there was nothing left for her to cry anymore. Then she stood up and adjusted her black, pantsuit. She wiped away what tears were left on her cheeks, and grabbed her purse from the desk by the door. She just couldn't sit there and do nothing, that was who she was. She knew exactly where she had to go and what she had to do.

She entered the barn to find Clark sitting on his sofa, staring off in space. He didn't even turn to her when he heard her heels on the old wooden floor. She paused for a moment, trying to gather her thoughts. She had rehearsed the entire conversation and how it would play out before she got there. Somehow, seeing him made it harder.

"I figured you would be at the fortress or somewhere where you could hide from everyone." She said still standing by the steps. When he didn't reply, she continued. "Today, I buried my husband, Clark. I watched them lower him into the ground, knowing that it was because of me. I needed my best friend to hold my hand. To tell me that it will all be okay, and that somehow, someday, my heart will mend and I will move on." She paused to catch her breath. "You weren't there for me, Clark. I have always been there for you, but you weren't there for me. " She walked over to him taking a seat on the old trunk that he turned into a coffee table. "After you told me that Clark Kent was dead, tonight." She licked her lips. "I realized something. I realized that you were never completely there for me."

Clark looked into her eyes. His gaze was empty and cold, sending chills right through her body.

"I can't do this anymore. It hurts too much for me to keep holding on, Clark." She stood up and kissed him on the forehead, then proceeded to the steps. She paused and turned to him. "I will always love you, Clark Kent. Nothing will ever change that. But I think that it's best if we both just quit playing these games. So I am going to ask you to not call me, to not write me, and to not just blow your way into my life anymore. I have hurt for way to long, and it's best if I focused on me and my happiness for once. I am leaving Metropolis and Smallville behind, Clark. I know that there will come a day when you realize that Clark Kent is still very much alive inside of you, and when that day does come, I ask of you to please, refrain from finding me. I can't play this seesaw game that is Clark Kent anymore."

With those last words she walked down his steps for the last time. She didn't have any tears to cry, or any reason to feel guilty for just abandoning him. For crying out loud, he had abandoned her more times than she cared to count. Now she just wanted to be able to grow up and breathe again.

Three Years Later

The morning sun danced its way through the blinds like a ballerina. It made its way up the side of her bed, enveloping her tiny frame with its warmth and grace. She moaned, blinked a few times trying to focus with the morning light, then rolled over to see the bed next to her was empty. She hated it when he would get up and sneak out, like he had to beat her parents before they got up. She pushed her blond hair behind her ear, wrapped the robe by her bed around her and started down the stairs. She knew that only one thing would make him get up and leave her alone in bed without his morning kiss, 'he was on an assignment that he didn't want to involve her in'. She started the coffee and searched the fridge for a muffin.

"Chloe,…"

The plate holding the last blueberry muffin fell to the floor by her foot breaking into a million pieces. She closed her eyes hoping and praying that this was just a dream. That he wasn't really there.

"Chloe,… please. We need to talk." The deep voice said once again.

She turned slowly to look into his beautiful blue eyes. "Clark,…"