Disclaimer: Smallville and its characters are the property of the WB and Marvel and such, not me.
Songs aint mine either. This is my story, however, and is now copyright. © Don't even TRY
and steal it! (Just kidding!)
A/N: Hey again. Hope this chap isn't late; I can't remember when I posted the last.
Autumngold: Hey thanks for reviewing. Also, great idea! I hadn't thought of that. It's not
used in this chap, but expect it in chap 3.
Dark-X: Thanks for reviewing, glad you like the style.J
Read and Review. New chapter coming soon.
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As the week went by, Chloe became more and more of a shell. She eventually lost the spark in her
eye, and that killer journalistic look telling you she was up to something. Her clothes were
always piled on way too much for the intense heat and she jumped when anyone touched her. She would
skip classes she normally loved, then emerge in the next one with blood-shot eyes. She wouldn't
pay attention in class or when anyone spoke to her.
Then she came to school with a bruise on her face.
"Chloe? How'd you get that bruise?" Pete asked.
"Oh it was nothing. I just fell down the stairs."
"Must have been one hell of a fall."
"Yeah, well, you get that."
"Still dressed as an Eskimo I see."
"What are you getting at?"
"Let me help you. There's no use lying about it, all of us can see that something's wrong."
"Nothing…"
"Chloe, please! I can't stand seeing you like this."
"Like what?" She said it angrier than she intended.
"You're not yourself."
"Who are you to say who I am and aren't? Just go away!"
Pete left, trying not to upset her more. She felt horrible, so she did the only thing she could do. She
began to write. She pulled up an old idea she had for a story, and began to type. She didn't bother
properly watching anything, just letting her fingers get the better of her. In her CD player was the
CD she made, and it was on the song "2 beds and a coffee machine". She listened to the words
while typing.
"And she takes another step
Slowly she opens the door
Check that he is sleeping
Pick up all the broken glass and furniture on the floor
Been up half the night screaming now it's time to get away
Pack up the kids in the car"
How I want to leave! Just get away! But I can't. He'd just find me again, and make me pay.
"Another bruise to try and hide
Another alibi to write"
Always hiding the truth. Clark doesn't know, Pete and Lana don't know…no one ever will.
"Another ditch in the road
You keep moving
Another stop sign
You keep moving on
And the years go by so fast
Wonder how I ever made it through"
Am I actually here? Alive? No, alive is a word used to describe something else, something more
than me. I'm just a shell. There's nothing inside me anymore. Maybe one day I'll understand it.
"And there are children to think of
Baby's asleep in the backseat
Wonder how they'll ever make it through this living nightmare
But the mind is an amazing thing
Full of candy dreams and new toys in another cheap hotel
Two beds and a coffee machine
But there are groceries to buy
And she knows she'll have to go home"
Go home? Home. What a laugh. It's just a house I happen to be residing in. Homes are filled with
love and happiness, more than just memories of a time once been. They have meaning, people like
homes.
"Another ditch in the road
You keep moving
Another stop sign
You keep moving on
And the years go by so fast
Wonder how I ever made it through
Another bruise to try and hide
Another alibi to write
Another lonely highway in the black of night
But there's hope in the darkness
You know you're going to make it"
Am I? Am I REALLY going to make it? Sometimes hope seems so far away. It's almost as if there
is none, not anymore. I've given up believing.
"Another ditch in the road
Keep moving
Another stop sign
You keep moving on
And the years go by so fast
Silent fortress built to last
Wonder how I ever made it"
I didn't make it. I know I'm not going to last much longer. Maybe one day someone will
find me. Ha! They'd have to look through this. I'm gone. I don't exist.
She began to cry silently, tears filling her vision.
Why do I have to cope with this? Why can't I just get away? Stop it…stop. You're hurting me.
Keep away. I need to cry out. He'll kill me if I do. He'll kill me if I tell anyone. Kill? Why am I so
afraid of that? I'm not alive. Yet part of me wants to be. How can I? I can't sleep, whenever I close my eyes
I see him. He's never going to stop. I'll never be free.
She couldn't take being in the room anymore. She got up and left the Torch office as fast as she
could.
~*~
Clark walked into the Torch office hoping to find Chloe. What he did see was horrible. The start of
a story was on the screen, but it didn't end as her stories normally did.
"As you all know, the caves are in the possession of Lex Corp. Since the discovery of these caves
No. I can't do this anymore.
How I want to leave! Just get away! But I can't. He'd just find me again, and make me pay.
Always hiding the truth. Clark doesn't know, Pete and Lana don't know…no one ever will.
Am I actually here? Alive? No, alive is a word used to describe something else, something more
than me. I'm just a shell. There's nothing inside me anymore. Maybe one day I'll understand it.
Go home? Home. What a laugh. It's just a house I happen to be residing in. Homes are filled with
love and happiness, more than just memories of a time once been. They have meaning, people like homes.
Am I REALLY going to make it? Sometimes hope seems so far away. It's almost as if there is none,
not anymore. I've given up believing.
I didn't make it. I know I'm not going to last much longer. Maybe one day someone will find me.
Ha! They'd have to look through this.
I'm gone. I don't exist. Why do I have to cope with this?
Why can't I just get away?
Stop it…stop. You're hurting me. Keep away. I need to cry out. He'll kill me if I do. He'll kill me if I
tell anyone. Kill? Why am I so afraid of that?
I'm not alive. Yet part of me wants to be. How can I? I can't sleep, whenever I close my eyes I see
him. He's never going to stop. I'll never be free."
"No! Chloe!" He printed out the story and ran as fast as he could to find Pete.
~*~
Pete and Clark found Chloe, as she was about to jump in her car and go home.
"Wait! Chloe come here." Pete yelled.
"What? Oh hi. Sorry I gotta go." She started to turn away, but Clark grabbed her arm lightly to stop
her.
"OW! Clark, let go. You're hurting me!" Fear was in her eyes, this was too much like Gabe.
"Chloe, I barely touched you."
He held her hand lightly and rolled up her sleeve. She didn't bother protesting. What they saw made
both boys gasp. Her arm was black, purple, blue and yellow. There was almost nowhere a bruise
didn't inhabit. He grabbed her other arm and did the same. This one was similar, but a scar was
running from her shoulder to her elbow.
"Who did this to you?" Pete asked.
"No one. I…I fell. It wasn't…"
"Chloe, we found your story on the computer." Clark handed her the piece of paper. She looked at
it, and then fell into his arms, sobbing loudly.
~*~
Chloe was hiding in Clark's loft, lying on the couch in a small huddle. At a closer examination,
Clark could see that her bruises were worse then that. Some had scarred not only her flesh, but also
her soul. Even up here she felt vulnerable.
He's going to come after me! He knows where I am! I need to find Clark.
So she went in search of him. She had just walked down the steps when heard Clark and Mr. Kent
arguing just outside the barn door. She peaked out, but didn't let them see her. Jonathon and Clark
were facing each other, not happy but not angry either. Martha was between them looking, as
always, concerned.
"Look, Clark, I don't want her to go back home as much as you, but here?"
"Where else could she go?"
"What about Pete? She could stay with him."
"Dad, Pete and I both agreed that I'd be the best protection against Gabe."
"But son, what if you…"
"I've almost learned to control it! Nothing will happen."
"But what if…"
"Dad, please. I'm not letting her leave. I don't trust him."
Jonathon sighed. "Alright. I know this is the only way. I wish Pete could, he knows about it enough
to know of the danger, but I think Gabe is a bigger danger than you are."
"Thanks Dad."
Chloe smiled. Yes, Clark would protect her. He always did. He could protect her from anything.
She headed back to the loft and lay on the couch again, feeling better than before, but scared all the
same. She was also curious. What was it that could make her in danger of Clark? What did he mean,
"control it"?
~*~
Ok, y'all can review now. I'll accept flames, praises, constructive criticism, anything. As long
as you mean it.