A/N: Hello everybody. This is my first attempt at writing a Smallville story. Please let me know what you think.
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Disclaimer: All characters and settings are not mine; I'm just borrowing them for a while.
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Waking Up to the Truth
"Chloe?"
Chloe Sullivan woke slowly as she heard someone calling her name. She opened her eyes and quickly closed them again to try and block out the throbbing pain she felt in her head. She groaned.
"Chloe? Are you alright?" the voice asked again.
She opened her eyes to see the face of her best friend, Clark Kent, staring down at her.
"Clark?" she asked hoarsely.
"Thank God you're awake." He said relief evident in his voice.
Chloe looked around. She was in the hospital. How had she gotten here?
"Clark, what happened? Why am I here?" she asked.
Clark recognized the fear in her voice. Chloe wasn't someone who got afraid often or easily. He hated that he was the one who had to tell her. "You had an accident."
"An accident?"
"Yes. You flipped your car. The doctor's said you were really lucky." He smiled weakly at her.
She tried to sit up, but couldn't. She tried again and got the same result. Something was wrong. "Clark," she said slowly, panic rising in her voice, "get a doctor."
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Paralysis. From the waist down. That's what the doctors determined a few hours later after a battery of tests. But it was probably only temporary. The swelling around her spinal cord didn't appear to be long term. At best it would only be a few months.
Months.
That word sunk into Chloe's brain. Months. She wouldn't be able to move her legs for months. She felt like hiding, like crawling into a cave and never coming out.
Everyone said they understood when she had said she wanted to be alone. They all left her in her room, saying they would be back tomorrow. But she didn't want them to come back tomorrow. She didn't want them to come back ever.
She sat in her bed, wondering how this had happened. She never drove fast, never drove recklessly. Why had her car flipped over? She racked her brain well into the night.
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"Clark, how is she?"
Clark looked up at the sound of Lex Luthor's voice. He had flown all night back from London when Clark had called him about Chloe. And he looked it. The dark circles under his eyes highlighted the worry in his blue eyes.
"She's…" Clark couldn't find the words. Everyone had been there for hours, but she refused to see anyone.
"Where's her room?" Lex demanded.
Clark shook his head. "She doesn't want to see anyone. She won't let anybody but the staff into her room."
Lex stood there. She wouldn't see anyone? Even Clark? This was bad.
"Would you ask her? Please." Lex asked him.
Clark nodded. He turned and headed down the hall to Chloe's room.
"Chloe?" he said when he reached her door.
"Clark I said I wanted to be alone." She replied coldly without even looking at him.
"Lex is here. He wants to see you." Clark told her.
Lex. The name seared through Chole's body. Yes, she wanted to see him too. So much it hurt in her heart. But she wouldn't let him see her like this, not him. She would die first.
"No." she said flatly.
"Chloe, he flew all night to get back here." Clark told her.
"I said no." she repeated.
"Fine. But you know Lex. He won't give up that easily." Clark said before turning away.
As Clark's footsteps faded away down the hall a tear slipped down Chloe's cheek. Why? Why had he come? Anyone else she could have dealt with, but not him. Not Lex.
She loved him. So deeply that she felt it everywhere, even in her hair. She had never loved anyone like this before. Not her father, not even Clark. This was real. And it was dangerous. She knew Lex. He would never see her that way. To him, she would always be the same little pain of a journalist that reluctantly became his friend.
No one knew how she felt. And she would keep it that way. Everyone who knew Chloe knew how stubborn she was. And she knew that this was a love that would never go away. So she had resolved to keep it a secret, her secret. Forever.
As Lex walked to the door of her room she wiped another tear from her cheek, never noticing him. Just like her, he was stubborn. He would so whatever he could to make this easier for her. It was all he could do.
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"He's still here." The nurse told her.
Chloe groaned. This was getting ridiculous. How long could he last?
Apparently, as long as he had to. For the past two weeks Lex had sat in a chair outside of her room from nine in the morning until nine in the evening, as soon as visiting hours were over. He never missed a day. He just sat there, going through his work papers, making business calls, refusing to leave.
At first Chloe had been furious. He was ignoring her wishes and embarrassing her. Everyone knew who he was, so naturally they noticed him. Now she was more sad. This was why she loved him. Beneath his hard shell, he had a good heart. He was loyal to those he cared about and would do whatever he could for them.
But she wouldn't be swayed. Tomorrow she was going home. She could get away form him there. It was the only thing that kept her going. The only thing that stopped her from calling him into her room and breaking down. If he came in, she would tell him everything. She knew she would. So she sat there, looking out the window, waiting for tomorrow and the strength to hold it together until then.