"Emmeline?" her mother said softly as she peeked her head through the door.
Emmeline didn't turn around as she lay down on her bed, hugging her pillow close to her.
Her mother sighed. Emmeline hadn't left her room in several days and refused entrance to everyone, even Clark and Chloe. She was getting really worried about her daughter.
"I made some lunch."
"Not hungry," Emmeline answered quietly.
"Just eat a little bit for me, okay? How about a grilled cheese sandwich? I know you love the way I make them."
Emmeline turned her head after a small pause. "With tomato soup?"
Her mother smiled at her. "Of course. I'll be right back."
As she went down to the kitchen, she looked over at her husband sitting at the island. "How's she doing?" he asked his wife.
"She's agreed to eat, so it's a start."
"This is getting out of hand, Audrey."
"Hon, this year has been so hard on her. What with her biological mother coming back into her life, and then dealing with the custody case, and now her first love has disappeared on her. Not to mention she had to deal with my cancer for a good portion of last year. It's been tough on her lately, and a person can only handle so much."
"Even still, I don't want her staying in her room as much as she is."
"Oh, please, don't you remember when I broke up with you back in college? You didn't leave your dorm for three days."
"That's beside the point."
She laughed lightly. "Look, we both know our daughter is strong. She's one of the strongest girls I know. But she can also be very fragile. It was only less than three years ago she finally got comfortable speaking to other people. We just need to give her some time and our support. She'll be fine in the end."
"There really is nothing like a girl's first heartbreak, is there?"
"Nothing. But she'll be okay, and we both know it."
"Yeah. She's a tough girl."
"I don't think we tell her that enough."
"We should change that."
"Mrs. Brooks?" Chloe called through the screen door.
Emmeline's mother smiled. "Hey, come on in, Chloe."
"How's she doing today?"
"She's getting better. Why don't you go on up? I think the company would do her good."
"All right, thanks." Chloe headed upstairs, and her heart broke at the sight of her best friend depressed in her bed. "Hey, Em, it's me."
Emmeline turned her head but didn't say anything.
"I brought some chocolate ice cream with me."
For the first time in days, Emmeline cracked a smile. Chloe handed her a spoon, and the two girls began eating right out of the carton.
Chloe wasn't sure she had ever seen Emmeline look like such a wreck. She had certainly been through her fair share of crap, especially in the past couple of years, but she still held it together overall. Now…her hair was a mess, her clothes were at least three days old, and her eyes were very red and swollen.
"You know…" Emmeline started. "Pete was my first real boyfriend. In fact, I think he was the first guy to ever show interest in me."
"There will be more, Em. I promise. One day, you'll find someone who won't even think about leaving your side. You've got your whole life ahead of you."
She nodded a little, her eyes watering again. "He…was the first guy I ever loved." Chloe looked at her sadly and quickly hugged her tightly. "I'm going to miss him so much!"
She rubbed comforting circles on her best friend's back, wishing she could say something to ease the pain.
Upon Chloe's urging, Emmeline showered and dressed so she could go with her to the Torch office. Chloe insisted that she didn't even have to do any work, but she just wanted her to get out of the house. She used the incentive that they would later have a movie marathon featuring Christian Bale.
They had been in the office for a couple hours when a familiar but surprising face walked in.
"Mr. Kent," Chloe acknowledged.
"So this is the legendary Torch," Jonathon said with a small smile.
"Yeah. A little less glamorous than you imagined, huh?" She stood up from her desk. "If you're looking for Clark, neither of us have seen a trace of him."
Jonathon held up a plastic bag with a teacup inside. "I was looking for you."
"Something's telling me you're not here to throw a tea party."
"Look, I understand that you're very good at getting to the bottom of things. Do you think you could run the fingerprints off of this for me?"
Chloe took the bag from him. "No problem. Um, is there a name that's attached to the fingerprints?"
"That's actually what I need you to find out for me, Chloe. I need the identity of the last person that touched that cup."
"Okay. Well, if I can get a little more info about the plot of this mystery, it might help to solve—"
"Chloe, as a personal favor to me, please don't press the issue."
Chloe nodded her head a little and picked up her desk phone. "Okay. Yeah. I'll call my guy right now."
"Thank you."
When Chloe noticed he wasn't leaving, she gave him an awkward smile. "It's gonna take a little while."
"Of course."
Jonathon left the office as the two girls watched him. "What was that all about?" Emmeline asked.
"The Kent family is full of secrets. Maybe one day, I'll find out why."
A couple days later, the biggest trial of the decade and perhaps even the century was scheduled to take place: the trial to determine if Lionel Luthor was going to prison or not.
Both Clark and Chloe were there to testify and even though Emmeline had had her fair share of courtrooms in the past few months, she was going to support her friends and finally see that monster go to prison. It was something that would definitely make her feel better after everything that had happened.
Chloe checked her watch for the hundredth time.
"Relax, Chloe, he'll be here," Emmeline told her. "He may be unreliable sometimes, but he wouldn't miss something this important."
"Doesn't stop me from worrying." They looked over as Lex came into view. "Lex. Clark still isn't here, and the judge says that if he doesn't show up within the next five minutes, he's setting bail for your dad."
"Did you try calling him?" Lex asked.
"Yes, I called him at home and on his cell phone. There was no answer. Something big must've happened because he flaked on Lana too."
That had not been a happy good-bye. Emmeline had had to say good-bye one too many times in the past couple weeks. But nevertheless, Lana was thankful Emmeline still came to say good-bye to her, and deep down, she knew she was too.
A guilty look crossed Lex's face. "Lex, what's going on?"
"Nothing. I'm just hoping Clark didn't change his mind."
"You're his best friend. Why would he do that?" Chloe sighed heavily as Clark appeared behind him. "There he is, just in time to save the day."
"As always," Emmeline added.
Lex went over to him. "Clark, hey—"
Without even looking or talking to anyone, Clark coldly walked past them all and headed inside the courtroom. Emmeline and Chloe exchanged confused glances. Clearly something happened between Clark and Lex that he wasn't telling them.
"Go get him," Emmeline said to Chloe referring to Lionel.
"I will."
The case was a success. Lionel Luthor was condemned to prison. Of course, being the man he was, he still claimed innocence even after all the evidence that had been provided. It didn't matter. That dangerous man was finally being locked away, and he would no longer harm anyone.
"Great job, Chloe," Emmeline said to her friend. "You broke free of him."
Chloe sighed. "Em…there's something I need to tell you."
As Emmeline sat on her bed, hugging her knees to her chest, she looked out the window. With a heavy sigh, she got up and went over to it, wishing that things were different.
Far away in another part of Smallville, a safety house exploded.
And Clark was nowhere to be found.
And with that, we wrap up Season 3! WHAT?!
To everyone who's stuck with this from the beginning, you're incredible. And to the now 100 people who have favorited, you're all fantastic :)
