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Ch. 9
"Clark—glad I caught you."
Clark sat the pool stick down. He had been waiting for Lex for half and hour to work on their project. "I'm at your house, Lex. Just like I am every day after school for the past 2 weeks."
"I'm sorry, Clark—I'm going to have to cut our session short today."
Clark wasn't sure what he would do with the rest of his day, but he understood Lex had a business to run. "Okay."
"And every day after that."
Clark was shocked. "What?"
"Just until things with your family get settled down. Then we can resume our project."
"Lex, you know how important this thing is. We can't just stop it—what will happen if…"
"I'll take care of it until you get back, Clark. But you can't come back until I know everything's okay at your home."
"I'm doing this for my family."
"You're doing this to hide from your family, Clark."
Clark stopped. He wanted to win this conversation. "Sometimes there's a fine line. Isn't that what you usually say?"
"Yeah, well, you usually know which side of that line you're on."
Clark stopped again. He didn't want to be manipulated into going home, yet it was Lex's house. "Lex…"
"Clark, as much as I wish it would, staying here isn't going to make your grandfather better. Go home. As a friend who has been there- go home or you'll regret it for the rest of your life."
Clark stood there for a little while. "I see him every day after I come from here. We talk."
Lex raised his eyebrows. "You talk, or he talks and you ignore him?"
"We…" Clark let it trail. "That's not the point."
"Clark, what are you so scared of?"
Clark stood still. He hadn't let himself think of that before. It hurt too much. He had already lost too many people he cared about. Those who were kind to him died, and those who lived were estranged from him. He wasn't sure he could make that better again. And then there was Jonathon. Although Jonathon was respectful to William, and stopped fighting over him staying at the farm, he was still very weary of Will. He knew Clark was looking for someone to confide in, and he was really scared he would confide in William. He was, after all, family. So wherever Clark was, Jonathon usually was, too—just to make sure.
"Lex, my house is a little crowded right now."
"I know the feeling."
Clark stopped, suddenly getting Lex's humor. "If you want me out…"
"This has nothing to do with what I want, Clark. This is between you and your family. And if I have to say that one more time, I will resume my investigation of your farm."
It had been long enough now that they could joke about that. Clark smiled. "My dad doesn't really trust my grandfather."
"My advice- if you don't want your grandfather to know you have a secret, stop acting like you have a secret." Clark looked shocked. He hadn't expected Lex to be so forward.
"Good-bye Clark." Lex turned around and left him alone. "If you're not gone in 5 minutes…"
"I know…" Clark yelled after him. "You'll call the police," he muttered to himself.