Clark was in his loft "stargazing" later that night. Madison came up the stairs and he turned to greet her.
" I wanted to thank you for saving my life." She said sincerely. " Are you sure you are okay?" She said concerned.
" Yeah, I'm fine." Madison nodded still feeling like the events of yesterday didn't add up. " You sure spent a lot of time up here."
" Well everyone needs a place to go to think and be alone. Though I can't seem to get the alone part down yet. Maybe I need a new fortress of solitude." Madison laughed.
" Lex said you were kinda of upset about leaving Smallville."
" Well you would be upset if you had to leave right? Plus the stars in Metropolis aren't as nice." She said as joke to him. " Honestly I am going to miss it and some of its people." She said looking at him.
" You know that wasn't the first time I was kidnapped." She said changing the subject , ready to be honest with Clark.
" What happened the first time?" She walked over to the couch and had a seat.
" Well these guys kidnapped my roommate and me last year from Prep. They let her go in the woods a day later but they kept me. They called my dad said they would kill me if they didn't get 100 Grand within the week. My dad refused to pay claiming he didn't negotiate with terrorists." Clark saw the sadness in her eyes. She sighed." So the kidnappers decided to send a half a pint of my blood to my father everyday and see if that changed his mind. They drew my blood everyday and sent it." Clark felt sorry for Madison having to go through that. Madison got up and walked to the ledge she looked out. " My father waited 6 days until he finally paid. They let me go and he sent me back to school the next day."
" Madison, I'm sorry."
" Why should you be it's not your fault." Clark looked down. " Do remember when I said I came from a small farm?" Madison said ready to tell the truth to Clark.
" Yeah."
" My father wasn't always a ruthless tycoon, he learned that from Lionel Luther. He loved me more than life itself once upon a time. See I was born here in Smallville. We lived just over that ridge. My father was an inventor for fun .My mother stayed home and worked on the farm. I loved it; I played in the forests and the cornfields. One day when I was 6 Lionel Luthor showed up on our land with a proposal. If we sell our farm he'd give my father a job. My father agreed, against my mother's wishes. Money never mattered to her. We sold our farm and moved to Metropolis. After a few years Lionel Luthor proposed to make my father a partner. My father worked relentlessly for 4 years. Once again my father agreed against my mothers wishes. You see her dream was to have a big farm in a small quiet town a few children and the "simple" things. That was my father's dream until Lionel Luthor's bait hooked him. He stopped coming home and working late nights at the office. Slowly our family started to fall apart. It was just me and my mother. She became depressed, missing my father and her old life here. One day when I was 12 my father came home from work telling me to pack my bags he enrolled me in Metropolis Prep the premiere boarding school. It was like prison. There I met Lex again. He was a senior and a rebellious one at that. He taught me how to be devious and break the laws before I knew it I was 14 and the biggest troublemaker the school had seen following in Lex's footsteps. "
" But Lex isn't like that anymore."
" Isn't he? People can change but one wrong turn and they are on that road again." Clark knew Madison was right but he still trusted Lex. " My father turned into a tyrant worried only about his work and building an empire to match Lionel Luthor. My wild antics were in the paper. My father was so disappointed in my behavior he banned me from coming home. That was the last straw for my mother. She had lost her dream, her husband and her daughter. The next thing she lost was her life. She died a month later. The doctors aren't sure why but I know it was from a broken heart. Can you imagine having everything you ever want, your happiness, taken away because of one small deal?"
" I'm sorry about your mother." Madison turned away. Clark finally knew why she was running.
" Lionel Luthor promised to save our family, solve all our problems, but all he did was destroy our family from the inside out. Clark I know Lex is your friend, and he isn't his father, but unfortunately the apple never really does fall far from the tree."
" Lex is my friend and I trust him." Clark said firmly. " He isn't Lionel Luthor and I'm sorry Lionel hurt your family but that isn't a reason to hold a grudge against Lex." She sighed knowing Clark was right.
" You're right Clark. But I guess what I'm trying to say keep an eye on Lex, he is a good guy but he has a whole lot of skeletons in his closet dying to come out." Clark saw the sincerity in her eyes. " Goodbye Clark, maybe I'll see you again sometime."
" Maybe." he said somewhat hopeful. He started to get a liking for Madison. "You're always welcome in Smallville."
" I know." She waved goodbye to him before walking down the stairs and outside. Clark looked outside and saw Lana leave for her shift at the Talon. He leaned against the railing pondering Madison's advice and her honesty.