Chapter 7

It didn't take long to pack their things into the luggage and boxes. She didn't have many pairs of clothes so what took up most of the two suitcases were Remy's things. His toys were stored in the cardboard box that she always brought to Pete's place when he was babysitting. As the last of their items were put in the place they needed to be, Chloe leaned back and sighed. It was almost midnight, Remy was asleep and she still had to go to school tomorrow morning. Slowly, she pushed herself up to stand, placing her hands at the small of her back. There was a dull ache throbbing through that area as she spent most of the past few hours hunched over their things. Never before had she felt so old. Even though she was merely twenty-one, her mind and body felt much older. There were so many ordeals – things to take in all in one swallow. It was a wonder that she hadn't broken down already.

Or maybe I have, but haven't really noticed it. She thought of that possibility. To many, it seemed like she was handling the emotional weight with great maturity that seemed beyond her years. At that, the image of her father's funeral came flashing into her mind. Was she mature that day as he lowered into the ground? Did she seem so composed with the tears running down her face, unnoticed by her until long after the ceremony was over? Was it mature of her to take out her anger on those who were trying to console her?

She shook her head to herself, the tears springing back into her eyes. She didn't want it to hurt anymore, but it did. She knew that in truth, she was broken and immature – not letting go of her father's memory because he was her father. The truth was that the only reason why she lasted as long as she did without going into a state of not caring was because she focused her mind on the only thing that she could keep it on: taking care of Remy. Her father wanted that – perhaps not while the boy was still young and with him in the world of the non-living, but he probably expected the two to be around each other.

In many ways, she loved that Remy was there… she loved him because he was so special; he was a child with a man's mind – far too perceptive for her to comprehend. But there was that little pang that came when she woke in the middle of the night. When she wanted her father's big hug, she found the smaller figure of the four-year-old boy instead. She wasn't ungrateful! No! Remy became her anchor to the world of sanity. But there were just some things that he couldn't provide, causing the nostalgia to overload her senses.

Desperate to fight the pain of thinking of her father's passing, she shook her head more violently than she had just previously. Her blonde tresses – grown to be shoulder length, as she didn't want to waste the money she earned on something as trivial as that – whipped against her face, making her more aware of herself and her present position. Back in her senses, she walked purposefully to the small kitchen to get a glass of milk. Her mouth was dry, but she didn't want water, so milk was her best choice.

She was in the middle of drinking when there was a sudden knock on the front door. Nearly spitting the contents back into the glass, she put down the drink, wiping her face so as not to have a milk moustache and cautiously made her way to the door. Another series of knocking came, causing her to jump again.

"Chloe?" the person on the other side called.

Recognizing the voice to be that of Pete's, she let out a relieved breath and went on to open the door for him. She scowled at him purposefully. "You know, you scared me half to death."

He in turn gave a half interested look. "Oh? How so?"

She pursed her lips, wondering whether he ought to know the truth or not. "I almost choked on my milk when you knocked," she admitted after a moment of reconsideration.

At that, Pete suppressed a laugh, but still a little snort came out. Chloe couldn't help but break out into a grin herself. He stopped short, however, when he noted their things packed near the side of the room. He turned to Chloe, his eyes narrowed on her. "Where do you think you're moving off to? You have an education to finish. You can't just up and leave!" he pointed out fiercely in a low voice.

She shook her head at the misunderstanding. "Pete," she began in just the same volume. "I'm not dropping out of college. I'm just… moving to another area of residence, that's all." She was at least telling half of the truth, which was better than lying completely.

She already knew how Pete felt about Lex Luthor… actually all the Luthors in general. When they saw the news casting on Lionel's assassination, her friend actually did a happy dance, not stopping until Chloe had to force him to because Remy was watching him with an odd expression on his face. Pete's current dumbfounded expression calmed her somewhat as he seemed temporarily satisfied with her answer.

"Oh… well… that's good…" he paused. "Anyway, I just hope that the place that you're moving to is far more immaculate and larger than this rickety old place."

"Don't worry," she reassured her friend. "It is… Now," she added quickly. "Why don't you tell me why you stop by so late tonight?"

"Well, you didn't exactly leave me a message that you and the Remy weren't coming," he answered with a purposeful look at her. "You were supposed to come hours ago. I tried calling but your phone's not working. I decided just twenty minutes ago to check to see if you were okay."

"Thanks, Pete… for caring…" She gave him a grateful smile and pulled him close for a hug. After a brief embrace and a swift pat on the back, they pulled away from each other. "Now, I know that look," she added as she noted his stern expression. "You want to know what's kept me away from a fun day with the Ross-ster."

Pete rolled his eyes at his nickname. "Geez, Chlo, you'd think that considering the number of years it's been since middle school you'd get over that fetish of calling people lame names." Still there was the hint of a chuckle in his voice as he said it. His demeanour changed after a while, indicating that she ought to start with the explanation.

"There is no escaping the reason, huh?"

She sighed tiredly at the negative shake of his head. As her lips dropped from their usual cheer, she motioned towards the couch. Doing that was a clear indication that the subject at hand was quite the serious one. Chloe always did that when she had to tell him something big. Once settled on the seat and she got over her first wave of nervousness at telling her friend, she spoke. It was halting at first, making little to no sense at all as she waved her hand or shook her head to start her sentences over again, but soon it came flowing out; how Lex had just suddenly materialized out of no where and asked her to give Remy to him.

As she spoke, she noticed with a little grimace the changes on Pete's face – from collected to confused, and then to angry and outraged. When she finally finished, she bit her lip and watched for any suggestion of sudden violent spasms – physical or verbal.

"That bastard," he muttered under his breath after a while.

No surprise there, she thought with a little inward smile. Pete could always be counted on to be a pillar of strength – even in Smallville, he was so collected even when he was under a lot of pressure – both in school and out of it. Chloe could feel her shoulders slump noticeably at his words. "I thought you'd take it worse than this," she admitted out loud. "Something; like, start throwing things around or screaming until the walls come down."

"Do I look like the big bad wolf?" he asked sarcastically, but then he paused. "Still, I've never been tempted to act the part till now. You're going to go, aren't you?"

"I have no other choice."

"Yes, you do," he insisted. "We can all move to another state and assume new identities and –"

"Come on, Pete, think logically, will you? This is a Luthor we're talking about! You can't run away from a Luthor! And there's no way that I'm going to live my life running from my problems."

"So you'll live with that psycho billionaire? What if he tries something on you? What if he tries to rape you as well?"

"He won't and if he tries, I'm kicking his ass. I know how to defend myself. I've lived here in this neighbourhood for the past few years haven't I? And besides, I'll only live with him until he gets over his superhero complex and then Remy and I will leave."

"Things aren't as simple as that, Chloe. Did you consider the possibility that he might actually want to keep Remy? The man isn't easy to read. He's always got tricks up his sleeve."

"I'm well aware of that, Pete." Chloe sighed. "I guess I'm just being a bit hopeful for everyone. Maybe I'm hoping that he'll realize that he's just going through a phase and that he'll grow out of it and want us to leave. Then I'll be able to live the life that I've been living for these past couple of months."

"What you've been living is actually close to hell, Chlo'," he pointed out. "I want you to change this lifestyle you've got but I don't want you moving in with a psychopath that will probably torture you ten different ways before killing you."

"You can't always get what you want. So it's either I stay here and lose Remy or go live with Luthor. I can't lose Remy so I'm picking the latter."

Pete let out a drawn-out breath. "And I can't convince you to run? Okay, I knew it would have been a long shot even as I was thinking about it." He got up suddenly looking quite tired. "Please just promise me that you'll keep me updated on what's going on."

"Of course," she complied with an incredulous expression on her face. "Why wouldn't I? And please don't worry about me too much, Pete. I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself."

"Yeah, I know. I just feel that brotherly protectiveness over the two of you, that's all." He hesitated for a moment. "You don't mind if I wait here so I can see you guys off, do you?"

"No, I don't mind at all! That would be quite… reassuring actually." She smiled at his relieved expression. Taking his hand she pulled him towards the bedroom. "Come on, you look like you could use some sleeping time." He showed no resistance to her suggestion and allowed himself to be led to the bedroom where the three would sleep, side by side, on the same mattress.

Lex turned in his bed for the hundredth time that night. The boy – Remy – was coming… he thought of the name and allowed it to roll around in his mind. Remy… Remy Luthor… it doesn't sound too shabby… but it breaks the pattern of 'L' names in our family… Again, Lex turned over and pressed his eyelids together. The boy had gotten under his skin. Just one look and his mind was reeling at his image. The boy was an enigma with piercing blue eyes and a haunting expression. Did he really create the child? How could something so beautiful and pure be the spawn of the devil's son?

Giving up on trying to sleep, Lex threw back the covers and padded out his bedroom to his study. There, he sat in his easy chair and stared at the cold fireplace before him, accompanied by the steady ticking of the grandfather clock in the room. He sat waiting blankly. The boy was coming…

Holding Remy's hand tight in her right hand, she walked slowly through the grand entrance of the Luthor Manor while the hired help of the place saw to their belongings. The place was overwhelmingly posh, much to Chloe's discomfort and awe. The slight squeeze of small fists in her own caused her to look down and smile weakly at the boy she kept close to her side, relieving her somewhat of the tension she was feeling.

The place was glass and marble everywhere she looked, she was faced with the clear view of the vast lush gardens of the estate or the shine of polished rock. She felt so out of place in her jeans, shirt and sneakers. How the hell did I get myself into this mess? Oh right, I didn't! A notorious bald billionaire did!

Almost as if in sync with her thoughts, Lex's voice permeated her ringing ears. "Ah, Miss Sullivan. Good morning. I'm glad that you chose to take my word and not take the opportunity of your free time to leave Metropolis."

Chloe turned to the voice and saw him – the entire length of him as he was encased in black slacks and a lavender top. He hadn't changed his sense of style after all these years. What more his attitude? "It never occurred to me to run away. I'm not idiotic enough to think that you wouldn't find me one way or another." She practically spat the words out, her eyes narrowing almost menacingly. "You didn't leave me much choice, Luthor."

"I would appreciate it if you were a bit more cordial towards me. I have, after all, taken you in from quite a low standard of life."

"We were quite content with it, thanks." She looked at her watch then down at Remy with an unsure look upon her face. "Damn it. I don't have a lot of time."

"If you're talking about getting to your class, you don't need to go today," Lex informed her squarely. "I called up the University and requested that you take an extended week off before returning to your studies."

"Why the heck would you do that? I need to go to class in order to graduate!"

"They showed no resistance to my request, Miss Sullivan," he pointed out a bit more forcefully. "In fact they were quite relieved about it."

"Yeah, I bet," she muttered. Remy heard her and smiled a bit at her comment, but bit his lip so that it wasn't noticeable. "Well, considering these sudden changes in my schedule, I guess I have no choice but to stay here and watch over Remy. All the better for me. I won't have to worry about what you'll do to him."

The temper flared in Lex's grey eyes. "I won't do anything that will hurt him. I brought him here so that I could be the parent that I couldn't be before. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be in my study. Go… do something. Just don't touch anything that looks even remotely valuable." He stalked off after that.

"Yeah well, that leaves just about nothing that we can really use as a form or entertainment," she sighed heavily.

Still with Remy's hand in her own grasp, the two began their tour of the large manor they now had to call home.

To be continued...

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