Racing in the darkness as though frightened by more than just the still quiet of the late night, Chloe climbs the cement stairs to the musty apartment knowing that once she's inside not even her pillow will be able to comfort her. It seems that she can find solace in nothing between the cold block walls that cage her. Even thoughts of happier times, or dreams of Clark, cannot provide her a moment's peace. Actually, thinking about such things make enduring this life even harder.

Plunging her hand deep into the abyss of useless clutter corroding her purse, Chloe searches frantically for her little monkey key chain, knowing once again she must unlock her hidden world behind the door and pull herself inside. Yet, despite the flurry of her fingers, all she's able to find is a few loose pennies, another reminder of the purgatory in which her poverty has placed her.

Who would've thought the gentle jingling of change could awaken one who normally sleeps beneath a veil as heavy as death thanks to their alcohol addiction? But, Gabe was hardly asleep. His daughter's absence was known to him although his worry over her tardiness was not tied with his familiar paternal instinct. His months of unemployment had long ago buried those feelings under a mound of paranoia and self pity.

Suddenly sliced by the sudden shaft of light pouring out of the doorway, the darkness oddly seems like the safer place to be. If Chloe knew that Clark was still behind her. He had kept himself hidden in the shadows during her walk home, not able to leave until he made sure she arrived home safely. If only she could see him there, then she would know she could run to him and be held within the arms that would never hurt her. But in another outburst of her arrogant pride, she had left him no choice but to remain at arm's distance, only able to protect her from afar.

When Clark sees Chloe's father in the doorway he feels comfortable to turn away, leaving her for the night until his eyes can find her again in the morning. If only he knew these last few months had turned her father into a person more frightening than a stranger on the street. The man who once was so gentle and loving, now had a face hardened and cruel. As he stands before her in the doorway, his eyes begin accusing her of things she hasn't done, and his fist begins to tighten out of irrational thoughts that he can not control.

Frozen by the bright light of the apartment, as though a victim of interrogation, Chloe stands paralyzed, still in shock that her father is awake, or even cares enough to notice that she's coming home so late.

"I'm sorry I'm late, Dad," Chloe says, still tasting the final word of her sentence. Chloe really hadn't noticed until just then how her feeling towards her father were beginning to change. Just saying the word 'dad' made her realize he was no longer worthy of the title.

"I fell asleep at The Talon," she adds, thinking the truth will be enough to free her from the hateful gaze under which she is pinned.

Gabe not only notices Chloe's hesitancy in addressing him, he feels it in his heart. "Fell asleep?" He repeats incredulously, insinuating that he suspects she's guilty of another act taking place in a bed.

Chloe had been able to hide the events of last summer flawlesslessly, knowing how important it is for a father to believe his daughter is a symbol of purity and innocence until the day she walks down the aisle. Chloe felt it best to protect her father's heart, and her own reputation, by acting as though she never indulged in sex; if that's even what you could call those three minutes on the floor.

Gabe had always trusted his daughter, well aware that her head's on straight and her feet are planted firmly on the ground. She had been a model child from the day she was born, only ever causing him stress by the rapid rate it seemed she wanted to grow up. She was always able to make her own choices and they tended to be the right ones. Yet, his new relationship with Jack Daniels often made him forget the things he knows as fact. Nowadays he seems only able to see the bad side of things and these plaguing thoughts push him into fits of rage, and depths of despair, that Chloe cannot pull him back from.

Unfortunately, this night her father's intoxication ignites sorrows not so easily drowned away. With every moment that ticked by waiting for Chloe to get home, Gabe's fears turned into paranoia, making him believe that once again a woman that he loves, the last person he has in the entire world, had walked away, leaving him to face the deafening silence all alone.

He couldn't allow that to happen again. He needed to hold on to his daughter, to prevent her from leaving him. If he were to be honest with himself, he wasn't scared that a boy like Clark Kent would steal her away from him with a promise of a better life. No, the truth was that Gabe was most frightened that Chloe would choose a different life, any life, away from her father simply because he wasn't in it.

Suddenly she feels his large hands upon her arms, shaking her so hard her head can only whip back, unable to keep up with the movement of her body. His grip is so tight it scares her, yet she fears if he lets go it will send her flying backwards down the staircase. She hears the contents of her purse smacking against the concrete, as she frantically tries to break free from her father's grasp.

It would never make any sense, no matter how many times she would try to understand it. The reason for her father's actions were hidden deep within the depths of his own mind. In the odd vein of how we hurt the ones we love, Gabe reached out to hold onto his daughter, but in doing so he drove her further away.

Chloe's vision begins to blur, allowing her to only see the brightness of the light being swallowed by darkness swirling around her. Her mind cannot focus on the evident question of 'why?', she can only try to break free. As she fights to keep her eyes open, she tries to move her body away from the stairs.

Gabe feels her fighting back, and his rage intensifies. His hold on her becomes like a vice, and Chloe finds herself powerless against him. His hands bruise her flesh, and he's shaking so violently neither she nor him can know how this will end. Suddenly there's blackness, and she is free from his hands.