6.
Long after Lionel had left him alone, Lex sat behind his desk, watching the flame that once burned in the fireplace turn to embers. And then watched as they smoldered out completely.
He could clearly remember that day after the court hearing when his men had informed him that the explosives had been put in place. And he had had the FBI take Chloe to her safehouse, knowing that after the explosion, and her belief that the FBI had overlooked it, that she would have no one to trust besides him. She would have to trust in him, and he had wanted that more than anything else in the world.
He'd wanted her trust. Her friendship. Even her love.
He'd hidden the small device in his pocket until her and Gabe had been safely tucked away in the entrace to the underground tunnel. Then he'd pressed the button that blew the house apart.
And had indebted Chloe to him indefinitely.
He knew this, because upon his arrival in town, a certain farm boy had saved his own life. And he'd been trying to pay him back since.
He had always figured that if he told Chloe the truth she would hate him. But though he hadn't purposefully put her life in danger, and he'd planned the explosion to the very last detail along with a pyrotechnical staff, there had always been the sliver of a chance that something could go horribly wrong.
And he was sure she'd see that. That he had put her life in danger in order to win her over in his favor. To insure that she could only rely on him.
But he hadn't followed through with his plans. He hadn't asked her to work on anything for him. Hadn't become close enough to her for her to truly love him. Hadn't been able to bring himself to comfort her, knowing what he did. Knowing the truth that she couldn't possibly love him as much as he wanted her to. That a fantasy had no business being part of a reality. Or at least not his.
Alone in the guest house, Lionel rubbed the surface of the stone with his thumb. Obviously if anyone were going to act on Lex's unrequited love it would have to be him. Mind made up, he dialed Chloe's cell phone and waited until the voicemail picked up. He knew she'd be at the Torch this evening and that she rarely ever answered her phone when she was busy with a layout. A hint of a smile touched his lips as he thought of the hard work she put into everything she did. Even if it was just running a highschool paper.
He left her a numerical message with the mansion's number and Lex's studies extension before hanging up. As he walked into the small dining area he leaned over and smelled the clean aroma of lillies that were in a vase on the table. Lillian's favorite.
He smiled at the thought of what she would say if she found out what he was doing.
Chloe and Lex seemed to work better together when they had something to fight against. And last time, that something, proved to be him.
If he had to act the role now in order for them to join forces, then so be it.
Chloe rubbed her hands over her face and spared a glance at the clock hanging above the doorway. Nearly midnight and she was still here at school busting her ass to get tomorrow's paper ready for print.
She used to her mouse to drag yet another story about the infamous mystery meat in the cafeteria over to the second page layout. She tapped out her frustrations with her nails on the mousepad. For some reason or another, there had been a lack of mutants rampaging the town.
She could hear the distant vibrations of her cellphone warning her of a message. She dug through her bag and pulled out the phone, checking the number left for her.
It took her a moment to figure out who it was, then frowned, trying to figure out why Lex would be calling her so late at night.
Instead of picking up the phone and returning his call she stared off into the distance thinking about the conversation her and Lionel had had earlier that morning.
Lionel had reached out and smoothed a hand down the arm of her shirt. "You're looking well, Chloe."
Chloe smiled and looked up into his eyes. The lines around them giving way to his age, his hair causing him to look somewhat more innocent than the main of locks he'd worn before. "I'm feeling much better." Then she had turned around and walked away from him, presenting herself with some room to maneuver before she spoke again. "You said you'd never hurt me." When she didn't get a reply she turned back around to find Lionel staring at her. He nodded for her to go on. She felt the tears return, burning in the backs of her eyes, afraid to blink for the fear that they would fall. "But you did."
Lionel had noted the sheen of water covering her eyes, the sparkle that shone through the light reflecting off her hazel iris'. He stepped closer to her, placing his hands on her shoulders and then running them both down her arms until his fingers encircled her wrists. "Chloe." he shook his head, hearing the sound of his own voice going hoarse. "Chloe you've been like a daughter to me."
Chloe gently pulled away from him and back up until she was sitting on the loveseat in the corner of the room. "And Lex hasn't been your son?"
Lionel flinched at the words. Chloe should have felt something, but she didn't. She didn't want to let him in so easily after what had happened. "Lex is..." Lionel mulled over the words for a moment, not wanting to say anything deceptive. If he was going to start a new life, he had to be completely honest. "Lex was not the son I had always wanted." At Chloe's sharply inhaled breath he held up his hand. It spoke more to her than words and she pat the cushion beside her gently. Lionel sat beside her, hunching over and placing his head in his hands. "I based what I thought of my son on lies. Lies that, at the time, I thought had torn apart our family." When she reached over and put her hand on his shoulder, it comforted and soothed and he leaned into it. "When Lex went through therapy to try to remember what I had erased of his mind," he paused when he felt Chloe's hand tighten for a moment on him and then relax again and he continued, "he had some repressed memory of his mother." Lionel took a much needed breath and then lifted his head and looked into Chloe's eyes. "My wife, Lillian, was the one to kill Julian."
Chloe shook her head and placed a hand over her mouth. "But Lex..."
Lionel nodded, remembering the day on the Kent farm when he'd gone there to seek out Clark only to find Lex had been stashed away in the barn and Chloe had been keeping watch over him. He'd recognized the hurt in his son's eyes when he'd realized that Chloe had been used to stall him. He did not, however, know what had happened in the barn prior to Lex getting away from her. Instead of bringing it up, he trudged on.
"Lex had tried to protect his mother, and took the fall for the sick thing Lillian had become." Chloe grabbed his hand and held onto him tightly. Feeling strength from her he continued on, "I never even noticed the way she would change the subject when I'd mention Julian's name. She would tell me that she didn't want to talk about it, about him, and then she'd pour her affection onto Lex." Lionel inhaled raggedly and closed his eyes. "I'd gone on, letting her believe," at another quick intake of breath Chloe realized Lionel was trying hard not to let the tears come, "letting her believe that Julian's death was a mistake." Chloe was already crying, tears rolling down her cheeks and off her chin in big droplets. She was crying for the father who'd protected his son although he'd lost another. She was crying for the husband who had protected his wife and had tried to keep her mental health in tact. But as Chloe gently pulled Lionel into a hug and held him in her arms, her face burried in his neck, she realized she was crying even more so for the little boy Lex had once been. For the good son who had tried to protect his mother from an overdemanding husband. For the son who had witnessed his mother commit such a horrible act.
She cried for Lex, and the life he had missed out on because of one suppressed memory and the pain he had had to live with, believing that he had killed his own brother.
Chloe came back to the present as her cellphone jingled in her hand. She wiped the moisture from her cheeks and sniffled, then answered her phone.
"Hi, dad."
Gabe yawned on the other end and she could hear how tired her was in his voice. "Honey, are you coming home soon?"
Chloe clicked the document closed and began packing up her bag. "Actually, I am, I was just about to leave."
Gabe rubbed his tired eyes and looked around for his keys. "Well I've got to get to work, damn midnight shift."
Chloe eyes wandered to the clock on the wall as she stood up and slung the shoulder strap of her bag over her head. "All right, make sure you take your coffee and drive safely."
Gabe halted in midstep and turned on his heel to go back to the kitchen to grab his travel mug. It was hell on a man his age to all of a sudden turn into a night owl. "I will, honey, and I'll lock up and see you tomorrow?"
Chloe smiled and closed and locked the door to the Torch office behind her. "Maybe we can meet for lunch if you're not too tired."
Gabe stifled another yawn as he raised his mug to his mouth. "Sounds like an excellent plan, sweetie." He closed and locked the door to their apartment behind him. "You're coming straight home, right?"
Chloe made her way down the hallway, ignoring the click on her shoes against the newly buffed floors. "Straight home, Dad. Promise."
Gabe grinned as he made his way to the bank of elevators. "All right, then I guess I can end my over-protective parenting routine and say good night."
Chloe stopped at the door leading out to the school parking lot. She pressed her lips together tightly and then blurted out what she'd wanted to say from the second she'd heard his voice. "I love you, dad."
Gabe blinked at the sudden announcement and then let a smile bloom across his face. "I love you too, pumpkin."
"Good night."
Gabe stepped into the elevator and pushed the first floor button, hoping the old cage would make it all the way down this time, instead of leaving him stranded between floors. "Night, hun."
Chloe flipped her phone shut and made her way toward her car, surrepticiously wiping the unshed tears from her eyes. She supposed the old adage was true, you never knew how much something meant to you until you'd lost it.
TBC