Chapter Six

Chloe scanned the room with bored eyes and sipped at her champagne nonchalantly; she'd already lost count of how many glasses she had drained. She had lost Lex to yet another bevy of businessmen but she didn't really mind. She understood that it was his sole purpose for being here but she hated being alone, especially when all the other women in the room looked stunning in their evening-wear while she just looked and felt awkward. Distractedly, she stroked the spaghetti straps of the indigo blue silk gown Lex had bought her specifically for this function. He had seemed so pleased with himself and she hadn't the heart to tell him that she would never ever wear it again. She walked alone around the room, gazing up at the artwork adorning the white walls of the room, occasionally glancing back to Lex and the men who hung on his every word. She wondered if the other women were jealous of her, that this graceless teenager had managed to attend a function of this importance on the arm of Lex Luthor no less. She smiled to herself at the thought and walked with a little more attitude; even though her heels were killing her.

"Miss Sullivan?" said a voice and she spun around to face a tall, thin man in the same suit as most of the other men in the room. He was already offering his hand and she frowned as she shook it firmly. "I'm John Scott; I noticed that you arrived with Mr Luthor,"

"Yes, I did," she said simply and turned back to the paintings, frowning to herself as recognition hit.

"I wanted to ask, does Mr Luthor ever discuss his business dealings with you? For instance, there are rumours that he is about to takeover a new chemical company, a company interested in Middle Eastern affairs," he asked, Chloe looked down into her champagne flute and cursed her journalistic curiosity as she turned to face John.

"Who are you and why the hell would you think Lex would discuss business with me?" she asked, curtly.

"I work for the Inquisitor," he said in a hushed tone. "I was informed that you have some interest in journalism, I was thinking that you would be an interesting addition to the Inquisitor staff considering your relationship to Mr Luthor,"

"I'm sorry, Mr Scott but you're way out of line," she said and walked away, hoping that she was maintaining some semblance of dignity despite the fact that she could barely walk in her too-high shoes. She headed towards Lex and the businessmen, she didn't want to interrupt them but Lex surely needed to know that there were paparazzi in the room. She was certain that John Scott had not been invited.

"Chloe," he said as she slipped her arm through his, she smiled up at him as he introduced her to the men he was speaking with. She smiled politely and asked if she could speak with him for a moment, he excused himself graciously and walked away with her. "What's going on?"

"Some Inquisitor guy just tried to buy me," she said, the indignation clear in her eyes. Lex glanced over the top of her head and looked around the room quickly. "His name was John Scott, I'm sure he was at your birthday party but he said he worked for you then. It's weird, right?"

"Not really, Chloe. A lot of reporters come to these things, it's a price you have to pay for being a Luthor," he sighed. "Now I need to get back to my meeting, do you think you can keep yourself out of trouble?" He walked away from her, striding back into the circle of men with ease and leaving Chloe angry.

"Don't treat me like a child, Lex," she shouted after him, a hush spread over the room as all eyes focused on the couple. Lex turned to face her, he said nothing but the look in his eyes was clearly meant to shut her up. It wasn't going to work, Lex's previous insipid girlfriends may have known their place with him but Chloe wasn't his arm candy, she was her own woman. "What's going on anyway? What's all this crap about Middle Eastern deals?" There was a sharp intake of breath from around the room and Chloe realised that she had just made a huge mistake; why did she have to open her mouth? She knew only too well that her tongue had been loosened by too many glasses of free champagne and she felt every bit the awkward teenager everyone else saw her as.

"Chloe, please go and wait in the car. I'll be out in a moment," said Lex calmly and turned away from her, apologising for her to his peers. Chloe felt terrible, Lex had made her feel so small in front of everyone in that room and all she could do was walk from the room with her head held high, pretending that it didn't bother her and trying desperately not to cry. She vowed under her breath to never touch another drop of alcohol again.

Lex slammed the door of his study shut and strode meaningfully towards the decanter of scotch that sat on his chest of drawers. His eyes were blazing with anger and his silence gave away more than he could ever say. Chloe watched him quickly down a shot before pouring out a good measure into his glass. She let herself drop into the leather chair next to the unlit fireplace, the mansion was cold and Chloe pulled her shawl tighter around her shoulders. Lex sauntered over and sat opposite her, she hated him so much right now. This was a side of Lex she had never seen, this was Metropolis Lex and he was as hard and cold as his father.

"You've been drinking the whole trip home, don't you think you've had enough?" she murmured quietly, Lex looked at her icily and took a mouthful of scotch in defiance. Enough was enough. Chloe stood up from her chair and stood over Lex. "I have apologised enough, Lex. I can't keep saying I'm sorry. I'm going home; I don't even want to see you right now. Can you organise a car for me or am I walking?"

"You're not going anywhere," growled Lex, jumping up and pushing her back down onto the chair. He was pacing now, obviously incensed but Chloe didn't care. She wasn't some object he could just push around. "All you had to do was be my girlfriend, that's all. Why do you feel it necessary to mouth off about things you have no understanding of?" Chloe stood again, abandoning her shawl to the chair and jabbing a finger into Lex's chest.

"Don't patronise me, Lex, I am not a fucking kid. I can say what I like to whoever I like, you don't own me,"

"Sit down, Chloe," he snapped, pushing her back gently but as she fell, her heel snapped audibly and she tumbled to the floor. Lex's face fell as she realised what he had done and he dropped to his knees. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry,"

"No, you broke my shoe and I've hurt my leg," Lex tried to stroke her hair and face but she pushed him away. "Stop it; I'm still mad at you. You can't make things okay with a hug and a kiss. It's not that easy,"

"I'm sorry, I do love you, Chloe," he whispered, kissing her shoulder and moving to her neck but she shrugged him away a little harder.

"No, Lex," she said finally but as she went to push him away, he grabbed both wrists and twisted them behind her back. "You're hurting me," She twisted her wrists back in a futile attempt to break Lex's hold on her. He didn't seem to hear her pleading, he was whispering into her neck and hair but she couldn't make out any words and when he crushed her mouth with his own, she felt sick. He tasted of cigars and sweet alcohol and it was making her ill, she wanted him off her but she was practically pinned to the floor.

"I love you," he said again, holding her hands above her head with one hand while the other stroked its way up her thigh, pushing material aside as it went.

"Lex, please stop. I don't want to do this," she cried, hoping that Lex would hear the anguish in her voice and realise that he was just being drunk and stupid. He would never hurt her in the real world, he was drunk, he had to be drunk. He ignored her. His fingers gently touched the soft lace of her panties and she squirmed; it was usually enough to persuade her to make love but this wasn't some excuse about being tired for him to overcome, Lex was on top of her and she really didn't want this. In a last ditch attempt to escape, she bucked her body enough to free her hands and immediately pushed him off, jumping to her feet and pulling her dress down. He stood up too, reaching out to her.

"Come on, baby," he smiled, stroking her bare shoulder. His voice was thick with scotch and desire and Chloe wanted to leave, she couldn't deal with him like this. "I just wanted to show you I was sorry,"

"No, you have been such a dick tonight," snapped Chloe and with that, Lex jerked his hand away, tearing away the dress' spaghetti strap he had been caressing. Her hand went up instinctively to hold the fabric in place and protect her modesty, even from her boyfriend. "You bastard," she screamed and slapped him hard across the face. She regretted it instantly, the sound still hung on the air and Lex's cheek bloomed rose red almost immediately. She was about to apologise for losing it when he hit her back, only he had put all of his weight and strength behind it and Chloe tumbled to the floor again. Her eyes stinging with tears and her cheekbone felt as if it had been shattered into a thousand pieces. She looked up at him, the horror of what he had done etched on his face, evident in his eyes but it was far too late. They had lost their tempers with each other before, they were both passionate people and it was to be expected but Lex had never hit her before, even when she had attacked him first. She swallowed back her tears hard and shakily, got back onto her feet. Her knees felt like jelly and she was convinced she would fall again but she stood firm.

"I'm so sorry, I can't believe that just happened, I'm so sorry," he babbled.

"Forget it," she sniffed, her attempts at holding back the tears failing miserably. "I'm going home, we're through," She grabbed her shawl and handbag, walking out of the study and into the hallway, picking up the phone and ordering a taxi for as soon as possible. Lex followed her, running a hand absent-mindedly over his head as the events of tonight sank in, all colour had drained from his cheeks.

"I've never done anything like that before, I think I've had too much to drink," he said, trying not to cry at the sight of Chloe's eye, starting to swell. "God Chloe, I am so sorry," He felt stupid and drunk and pathetic, how could he have hurt her? There was just no excuse for it, he had let go of all his barriers and attempted to rape his girlfriend. The thought made him feel sick to his stomach; he would never be able to make it up to her. He had tried to rape her and when she fought him off, he had hit her. No amount of alcohol in the world could be an excuse for him now, he was disgusted with himself.

"They're just words, they don't mean anything," she said, limping on the broken heel of her shoe to the front door. "I do love you but this… this it too much," She touched her eye tenderly out of curiosity, it was painful and she was shocked at how hard he had hit her. Maybe the alcohol had robbed him of judgment but she didn't care anymore. Pushing her over was an accident but smacking her back down to the floor was not. She took her shoes off and opened the front door; it took all of her willpower not to look back at him as she ran out of the manor and down the driveway, out of the main gates and onto the road. She would rather wait for her taxi in the dark chill of the night than stay in that house, giving him the chance to win her back with words. His favourite weapon.

She could've cried with relief when the taxi arrived if she weren't already crying from the mess of the evening. She climbed into the back seat and glanced up at the manor, the sobs sticking in her throat. The driver asked if she was okay and she nodded with a half-smile, he accepted her lies and asked where they were heading; Chloe was about to say 'Pleasant Meadows' when she changed her mind and said, "Kent Farm,". She didn't know the reasons why but she needed Clark right now, she needed someone to hold her as she sobbed and Clark was the best guy in the world for doing just that. The car journey seemed to take no time at all and soon, Chloe found herself stood outside the farm with her shoes in her hands and her dress torn up, make up running down her face with her tears. Right now, she couldn't care less how she looked, she just wanted Clark. She needed to fall into his arms and let the rest of the world disappear. It was way into the early hours of the morning and she didn't want to wake Clark's parents; she picked up some gravel from the dusty yard and threw them at Clark's window.

She had only ever done this once before and smiled to herself as she remembered those childhood days; she was just glad Clark was a light sleeper. He appeared at the window in just his boxer shorts, his eyes still blurry from sleep and his hair a mess of dark brown; Chloe waved and he frowned, moving back from the window and pulling on a t-shirt. As he ran down the let her into the house, he wondered why she was at his window at 3am but when he saw her face, it didn't matter. Nothing did. He ushered her inside and sat her down on the sofa, his hands instinctively moving to her face, caressing her swollen eye gently. She looked up at him in silence, his brow furrowed with concentration as he stroked her skin, trying not to hurt her.

"Who did this? What happened?" he asked finally, Chloe shook her head and fell into Clark's arms, letting the tears fall as if they would never stop. She didn't want to talk about tonight, she just wanted someone to hold her and stroke her hair until she fell asleep. That was all she needed and she knew that Clark would give her anything she needed. She suddenly realised that was why she had come here, she needed Clark.